Just picked up my first Porsche - a 997.2 C2S 6MT and am excited to get it on the track. The car will not be my daily driver and aside from track days, I'd guess I might put about 3,000 street miles on it a year, and it won't be driven in the rain unless I get caught in a pop-up thunderstorm or something, and I won't be driving it in freezing or near freezing temps. I plan to do about 12 track days a year, as I've done for years in other cars.

Here are my questions.....

Tires: My last car weighed just 2,000lbs and I ran Dunlop Direzza z2 star specs on it. Loved those tires and am considering them again (z3 version now), but am also curious what other tires I should consider. The tire needs to be streetable for the kind of driving I mentioned above, which the Dunlops absolutely were. I've read the Pilot Sport Cup 2 are a good tire but have not been able to find any info comparing them to the Dunlops via Google search.

Brake pads: I tried a few on my last car and ended up liking the Hawk DTC-60 the best and I found them to be just fine in the street. But that car had non-power brakes. I don't care about brake dust or noise unless the noise is really bad. I'm not opposed to swapping pads out for track use but prefer not to.
Any suggestions on good rotors? Also I noticed the factory brake ducts on my 997.... If I want an upgrade there, I think I read that the 996 gt3 ducts are a good option and bolt on?

I plan to run Ohlins Road & Track coilovers and see how it feels before messing with sway bar changes. Will run Motul fluids for brake, transmission and engine. I will probably install the center radiator, plus some aero down the road (likely gt3 wing and a front splitter).

Hopefully that's all I need. Let me know if you think I've missed anything essential.

 

The Bridgestone RE-71Rs seem to be quite popular with the groups I track with (PCA and NASA HPDE). I am going to switch over to them before my next track day event later this fall.
Pagid Yellow R29 pads front and rear are a great choice for pads. Squeal on the street so would be good to change them out between track days for the factory pads (easy to do on the 997.2 as they just pop out the top of the calipers). Factory Porsche steel rotors are a great value and hold up well for most scenarios but if you want an upgrade the Girodisk rotors are great.
I would run the stock suspension on a few different tracks and get a feel for that setup before deciding what you want to change. You currently have PASM or PASM Sport? Either way, you could look into a DSC PASM controller and swift springs for the factory active suspension. Many people swear by it.
I run Motul 300V in my daily driver 997.2 that is also my HPDE car and it holds up great to that mix of use (last change was 6 months with 3,500 miles including 8 track days at VIR and Summit Point)
Do the center radiator first as it is not too expensive, easy to install and helps keep oil temps under control on hot track days. If you need more details on the 3rd radiator install PM me as I have done this mod twice now.

Sharkwerks has a good tuning guide you may want to check out. https://www.sharkwerks.com/tuning-gu...-gts-2009-2012

Jeff

 

We ran PS4S and DTC 60s on One Lap.

 

Thank you both for the replies.

 

so I am just finishing my first outing in my 997.1 c2S. Like the OP I come from very light cars. My caged car is a spec Miata. Took me a couple sessions to get comfortable in the car. I ran the stock pads and while stable they have very little initial bite.

My question: My water temp was rock steady at 175. Never fluctuated. Oil temp was hitting 250 and maybe just a tick above consistently. Why address oil temp with 3rd radiator and water temps are perfect? Is there not a simple oil cooler that can be done?

 

Get a set of OZ or Apex wheels, and run Nitto NT01’s. They are street legal. I drive mine to and from the track. They stick like glue. Don’t risk damage to your stock wheels. I did, and won’t run them on the track ever again, even if the dent is straightened out.

Get the DSC. You have no idea how much that helps until you have it.

Hawks are good pads. Don’t get Pagid pads. You don’t need them. I have a set of R29s that would not fit next to my rotors. They are about 2mm thicker than stock.

 

I would take it out as-is and then decide what you need after that. You may find it is fine enough to keep you entertained just as it is, or you may see the flaws that need fixed and find them to be completely different than you think they are now.
As suggested above, the DSC box deserves strong consideration, it will not work with the coil overs you are considering.
Dedicated track wheels and tires are nice, but then you are going down the slippery slope...

 

I'm curious how the DSC compares to a really nice set of coilovers like the Ohlins. I get that DSC is electronically adjustable, but I also know the stock shocks are prone to leak and replacement is more expensive than a good aftermarket set. Add in the DSC cost of a bit over $1k and it's a tough sell. However, I do like the idea of automatic adjustability. I've heard the ride on the Ohlins is better than stock even on the street though.... But that's subjective, and it might not be better than DSC.

Also wonder how well the DSC system works with lowering springs like Tech-art. I'm not sure if those springs have different rates than stock, amd if so, how well the DSC OOB configuration works with them?

 

Good questions, and ones I could not answer without being able to do a back to back comparison.

I had coil overs on my 993 and thought they worked well. I liked being able to do ride height adjustments and to be able adjust the shocks.

The DSC box (with lowered springs) improved the street feel of the car and helped handling on the track. I do like just getting to the track, pushing a button and having improved performance. I’m not sure I like feeling the box do it’s thing mid corner, although I think it saved me when I was first to come on a bunch of dropped coolant in a fast sweeper at HPR. If I had more time and/or was more technically inclined I think there is a lot you can do with being able to program the suspension parameters with the box.

 

Tires, Look into Yokohama AD08R, Bridgestone RE-71R, Hankook RS4. I run RS4's on my car because they hold up on the duration of a session better IMHO.
NT01's are great but you need 18 inch rims. I think the same might be true for the Dunlops.
I like PFC08's for brakes. Very grippy but modulation is smoother than the Pagid RS29.
Get the Center Radiator. The Water Temp Gauge is an idiot light. It won't move from 175 until there is a problem. The thermostat doesn;t even start to open until 185 so on track I see Coolant in the 200 range. Oil, Motul is great. The .2 cars have a better oiling system so that's good.
As for gear oil, there's a thread on here about what to use. Search.
Brake ducts, I bought front and rear gt3 ducts and noticed my fluid overheating ceased. Could have been other reasons but I no longer worry about it.

 

Thanks for the replies. Do you suggest running a 160 degree thermostat? And will it throw and CELs or have any other issues that need to be addressed with an AccessPort and/or tuning?