irish guitar

with the ride of a 996 GT3? Is it more harsh? Slightly less?

Just curious if any of you 997 guys have experience of the two cars. TIA for any thoughts.

Le Chef

A friend has a 996 GT3 and I have found it to be more supple than my former C2S Coupe with PASM on "sport". It also "nods" less at the front end and skips less on bad pavement.

Everybody is different, but given the personal choice of the 996 GT3 or a 997 S with suspension on sport, I would take the GT3 any day.

Dave07997S

I agree with your assesment...I drove a friends 04 GT3 and I was surprised that it seemed more supple and in control than my 997S in sport mode and it didn't bob up and down like the 997C2S with PASM in sport mode. Then again 2 different roads and conditons..but those were my impressions.

Dave

500

Did the 04 GT3 come with 18 or 19's stock?

Le Chef

That also may be a reason it rides better - less unsprung weight.

PAULSPEED

Hi,
Getting my 997 S aligned for track use helped. I
suspect that all GT-3's are aligned for track use.
Paul

dstrimbu

A lot of frenetic "bobbing" goes on with the 997 in PASM sport on city streets, and I dunno if an alignment is going to help that, Paul... the combo of short wheelbase + stiff rebound rates + 19" rims is killer on my old body. My buddy Andrew's 996 GT3 MkII is much more supple... but then, his car doesn't have a computer second-guessing the shock action. And the GT3 revs like a maniac.

Guys, I'm trained as an engineer and I work for a software company. I love computers more than you can imagine. But a computer managing my sports car's suspension? Not necessary. Screw that. PASM sport _will_ "adapt" if you leave it on long enough - but with the roads in the Chicago 'burbs, it's a cross between PASM's "learning" cycle, potential concussion due to repetitive shock, or your kidneys bleeding - simultaneously.

Really - if you want a car with no roll, go for the steel-suspended GT3. Or maybe dump a couple of kilobucks into a PSS9 system for the 997. On the other hand, the 996 GT3 is noisier than the 997 coupe, but it's good noise.

Just MHO. YMMV. I'm crabby tonight. That -20mm ROW steel suspension looks better every day... :-) Maybe if I can find a damn smooth road around here, I can appreciate PASM sport. I've experienced short bursts of ennui in PASM Sport, but reality (read: bad pavement) always gets my attention before too long...

On the other hand - PASM Normal is pretty spectacular. There has to be a middle ground, no? Maybe in the 998... but then, it'll have 20" rims...

mglobe

I agree that PASM Sport mode stinks on the street, and I also agree that Normal mode is great for tooling around town. Based on that I avoided Sport mode on the track for quite a while until someone suggested I try it. Guess what? Sport mode on the track is really good! Better than a GT3? I doubt it, but definitely better than Normal mode on the track.

Crazy Canuck

997 S is harsh in sport mode on the street, quite nice on the track if that track is smooth.

GT3 IS a whole other animal. It likes bigger bumps. Small bumps, broken pavement and expansion joints aren't all that comfortable or much fun. It kind of skips over them. Kind of like the 997S in sport mode.

It's a tossup. I tried sport mode on the street with the 997S and I felt like I was getting pounded so I stopped pressing the little button.

Personally I like the all mechanical suspension of the GT3 at the track. I've had both my 997S and my GT3 on the same tracks.

The interesting thing is that owning both makes me appreciate that much more what both of them offer. The GT3 isn't a very good street car but it's a great track car. The 997S, compared to the GT3 is a much, much better street car but isn't nearly the track car that is the GT3.

Dave07997S

18s..

drummin4fun

Alright... this is off topic, but, seriously Dave... How am I supposed to be expected to maintain concentration on your posts with that avatar?? **wink**

RonCT

When I'm preparing for the track and have my 18s on, I think to myself "Man, Porsche marketing really messed this one up -- giving us 19s standard on the S..." 18s on PASM normal is such a great ride, while 18s on Sport is fantastic on the track or street.

irish guitar

Thanks for the insights everyone. Yet again I find myself considering a 996GT3. I think I need someone to talk some common sense into me, as in reality I'm sure it would be much more difficult to live with........, but it is a thing of great beauty!

http://rusnak-pasadena.porschedealer...ntoryid=355014

RonCT

I have a good friend, a DE instructor, that owns a 996 GT3 and per him and my driving it, the conclusion is that it's not a good street car. To low, the tires are R-comps and so he can't drive it in the cold (not that you need to worry about that in CA and you could put PS2s on), it is high-strung with respect to the suspension, it lacks any corrective measures (PSM) for street driving, etc. He is looking for a "street" Porsche presently to compliment his "track Porsche".

The 997S appears to be the best of all worlds. As quick on the track as the 996 GT3, but much better manners for the street.

dstrimbu

Hey Irish - one other thing. Last time I drove Andrew's GT3, I stepped down a bit too briskly at a 4-way stop (on dry pavement) and ground looped the car. I agree with Ron - a 996 GT3 is probably not a great daily driver simply because of the lack of PSM.

Again, I'm a Porsche newbie so if you're a better driver, you'll be fine. Anyway, I was taken a bit aback by how hard it snapped sideways at what I thought was a minor throttle application :-)