Melb-Mike

The cars were professionally prepped in every way possible short of a dedicated race car. Most had roll bars, some had Recaro race seats, all with 6 point harnesses & quite a few wearing HANS device. They had around a dozen cars there and were absolutely beautiful cars. The 2 cup cars had the single spindle nut as we saw two guys manhandle the 4 foot torque wrench while one guy sat in the car with the brakes applied. Some were running Michelin race tires & some were on Hoosiers. I saw one 996TT with Michelin street tires & he may have been the best driver there. As to skill level, I would say they were experienced but not skilled since I firmly believe the cup cars should have been superior to ours without question. I saw the brake way too early & they were all driving in their mirrors as Ron & I ran up their butts

z06801

I should mention that a 996tt can be very! Fast with the right mods. just look at Wanna911 here, developed car and great driver, will most likely win the national TT1 championship. I'm just trying to get there to try and keep him in my sights for a bit also the rings times stock that I found are identical with the C5Z06. One thing else is to drive a stock 996tt fast takes more skill IMO the weight and suspension that feels to soft has to be loaded up going into the corner but the grip is there.

Melb-Mike

When I started this thread, my idea of a comparison between the two cars were based on street use in stock mode. The thread has evolved into race mode which is fine, allows for more discussion. Both cars are fun, great to drive and a thrill to own either. A new Vette is 1/3 the price of a new 997TT, BIG difference in cost.

A Vette will go faster than the Porsche when budget constraints are in effect. It is easier & cheaper to make the Vette track ready. On a fast track with long straights, the Vette has the advantage. Throw in a bunch of turns, I have to give the odds on the rear engine rear wheel or AWD car. The Porsche can exit the turn with almost full power at the apex & worst case scenario, will suffer under steer whereas the front engine rear wheel car has to wait a lot longer to apply power.

For about $5,000, a Vette is track ready for serious DE activity. The Porsche will set you back at least double that depending on how your car was outfitted from the factory.

One more undeniable fact is that Porsche sets the benchmark for all comparisons, and that has to be the ultimate compliment.

bmwtmx

I switched cars with one of my buddies a few months ago. My 996TT with nothing but a tune and exhaust (and suspension mods but nothing major to motor) and my buddy who has a ZR1 Vette. I know it's not a new Vette but....

And we were both astounded. My car pulled on his car every single time no matter the driver. That's the 4WD at work. Car just launches harder. My car was ahead up to around 120mph where we leveled off as this was the street.

Quality? No comparison. My car is 2001 and was ridiculously better put together. My car felt like a vault despite some squeaks. His car felt very disconnected. Hard to describe. We both walked away thinking the same thing: the Vette was damn awesome but the 996TT was better. And that being an older design and the most unloved Turbo in Porsche's history.

cdk4219

So your exhaust tune 996 kept up with a car
That traps 128 to 130 in the 1/4 mile up to 120 huh? Seems like a great story for the porsche club guys. Sounds like your car makes about 550 hp or more, pretty healthy for some k16 hair dryers.

Dock

Did they make their runs on the track?

dprantl

Both of you must not know how to drive the ZR-1 then... its 1st gear tops out at 66mph and it does 0-60 in 3.1 seconds without needing a shift. Its supercharger also provides an instant 350 lb.ft of torque at 1000 RPM, so you don't even need to dump and abuse the clutch in contrast to a 996TT that doesn't build full boost until close to 3,000RPM even with the smaller K16's.

Dan.

Dock

I personally don't care which car is "faster", but from a technical assessment, the ZR1's tall first gear is not an asset when attempting to accelerate from a stop. And the Vette's published 0-60 time was likely accomplished on a prepared track with outstanding traction. Real world street driving, where traction can be an issue, can be quite another story. Better traction (think rear weight bias and AWD) can easily offset track perfect numbers.

cdk4219

I think the fact that he typed "on the street" it is safe to say that it may have been on the street. Maybe you should warn them about street racing, and if you go fast on the road it is to impress your friends only full throttle to 60 mph like you have told us.

Nonetheless, ZR1 vs 2001 996 turbo with the 996 coming out winning up to 120mph is a technical difficulty, and of course letting the civilians know that most of the traction from a 996 is created by the heavy bits of the car hanging behind the rear wheels, with very little assistance from the front.
Carry on your amorous affair, gentlemen.

Dock

Then quoting track numbers may not apply.

The 911's rear weight bias is a big asset when accelerating from a stop. And it is a significant contribution to the car's great all weather/real world driveability.

cdk4219

Much easier to drive a larger displacement NA engine on the street, than a small displacement turbo. More torque off idle, more linear power curve. Not to mention the 996 close ratio gear box, good for track but lots of rowing the gears for daily driving. Skip shifting on a corvette is normal fare, but not so much for a 996 with a 3.6.

Now a 996 turbo with a 6.2L single turbo may just be the cure.

Dock

I dont find my Turbo more difficult or less useful on public roads versus my car with a large displacement N/A V8.

One of the things I like about owning a sports car is shifting gears; shifting gears isn't a burden, it's a pleasure.

Melb-Mike

Not to rain on anyone's parade but the ZR1 doesn't hit 60 in only 3.1 seconds, more like 3.7 with warmed up street tires and a very good driver. AWD of the 996 will allow a much quicker launch but torque of the bigger engine will soon close in. Since I own both a Z06 and a 996TT, I think I know what I'm talking about to some degree. And since I race SCCA with a Lotus and have over 5,000 track miles on my Z06 also racing, I find the claim that the nearly stock 996TT would run even with the ZR1 up to 120 mph.......well, a bit of a stretch. My all stock 996TT will not keep up with my Z06 other than the first 100 feet on a drag, after that all the 996 sees is the disappearing tail pipes. Also, I've run against 996TT's, 997TT's, GT3's and only one very hot & modified 997TT from Miami shamed me. No, I don't street race, that's not very smart. Most guys that do are the ones who claim they just whipped a Bugatti Veyron off the line.... Unfortunately the Bugatti driver wasn't aware there was a race.

Quality of assembly goes to Porsche. However, my Z06 feels much more solid than my 996TT but the 996 feels more nimble and better planted but it does have some rattles, none on the Z06. I love both cars and enjoy driving both. They're similar but uniquely different too. I don't feel like I have to trash one to elevate the other. I feel lucky to have both these magnificent cars.

Ursoboostd

^ great post. I love that you said you don't have to trash one to elevate the other.

996tnz

Very true. The fronts need the extra weighting to grip and turn sharply. This probably explains why some road testers consider cars like the 996T a bit boring. They are simply not driving it hard enough to its strengths - not trail braking to help it rotate in, and then likely not mentally leaving enough spare road at the track out point when handling the steering wheel to leave room for a bit of AWD power-on understeer to carry the car out to the edge under full acceleration.

Your comments also go a fair way to explaining why I love open wheelers. Been lucky enough to have done about 50 laps in them across 15 or so sprint sessions at corporate days (light, slicked, ex spec race series cars with rev limited Gixxer 1100 engines). I normally run my 996T without PSM and ABS so felt right at home, and am now finding only ex series racers standing higher on the podium. My biggest lift though came from faith in downforce (couldn't pass up the pun sorry). As you've probably experienced, it's like the magic hand of God in the faster corners, but I guess the trick is not to slip out of his fingers!

BTW, latish model Corvettes are pretty exotic here in New Zealand and I love seeing them around. About the only time I pulled up alongside one in another line of traffic, I wound my window down, gave the driver a thumb's up and asked him what model it was.