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Today was a big service day for the GT3 and with any luck the last shop visit for the next 6 or so months.
On the agenda:
Replace the 6 year old 235 PS4S front tires for brand new 245s
Adjust parking brake
Remove front and rear wheel spacers (new wheel bolts and brake disc screws supplied)
Secure the Cup splitter with screws through a backing plate and into the fender liners
Extend battery vent tube in wheel well to prevent corrosion
Replace worn front strut that was causing a clunking noise (unfortunately the new strut showed up with a pinched wire right as it entered the shock body so this didn't end up happening--figures we didn't discover it until AFTER the front suspension was apart )
Install GT2 rear sway bar
Full ride height adjustment, corner balance and alignment
While the worn strut replacement didn't end up working out, in the process of taking apart the front suspension we learned that the car was on an aftermarket spring setup:
Somehow this was missed during the PPI, not that I'm complaining as it's a pretty common mod to up the spring rates on a .1. What neither my shop nor I have been able to figure out is how exactly whoever installed the rear springs managed to fit a 60mm diameter spring on what appears to be the stock top mount. Not sure if they machined the top mount to fit the new spring size, used a spacer or what. If anyone can tell based on the picture I'd be interested in hearing.
Instead of ordering another damper and trying this process all over again, I may just end up going the Tractive route sometime next year. I'm still super impressed what the DSC controller has managed to do by itself and I can only imagine that Tractive dampers will take it all to the next level.
After most of the remaining work was completed, the last items on the list were the ride height adjustment and alignment. As I suspected, the car was riding quite a bit higher than the factory 108/133 and they ended up dropping the front 83mm (likely exacerbated by the wider front rubber) and the rear by 36mm
With the ride height done, the alignment definitely needed some work. Camber was mostly fine, although a bit aggressive for a primarily street setup. Toe was way off and deviated by 2mm from side to side:
After paying for the damages, I started the drive home. I was somewhat hesitant to make so many handling changes all at once between the wider/newer front rubber, stiffer rear sway, ride height drop and the alignment but my shop is an hour away so I opted not to do them piecemeal. However, it's immediately apparent to me how much more stable the car is now at speed, the steering feels slightly less darty and the car seems to be much less prone to tramlining on bad pavement. The car seems less prone to push and you can really feel the front dig in better in the corners compared to how it was. I had them set the GT2 rear sway at full soft (still stiffer than full stiff on the .1 bar) and I'm very happy with the balance so far. I may still experiment with the middle setting but expect I may sacrifice rear grip.
The removal of the wheel spacers and the ride height drop also made a big improvement in the looks department and now the wheel fitment is just where I want it:
p.s. one of these days I'll finally swap out the red seat belts for yellow. Main reason I've been putting it off is because I've been driving it so much that I don't want to deal with the downtime from getting them re-webbed
Not to undermine all the work you've done that can't be seen in pictures but putting these before and after pics side by side present such a different car. Congratulations. What a cool rescue project. Your car looks amazing.
Next we tackled the DSC controller. Since my car is a .1, we had to deal with the accelerometer which really wasn't that bad using taps. After getting that buttoned up and the DSC box installed we went for a test drive. I have to say that I went into this optimistic based on all the positive reviews but skeptical of how big of a difference it would really make. To my pleasant surprise, the difference is immediately noticeable and fairly dramatic. Gone are the occasional suspension crash or pogo effect and the front end no longer gets noticeably lighter on hard acceleration. Everything feels so much more planted and confident and I'm generally staying in sport mode on the suspension on the street, whereas that mode was almost unusable with the OEM box. The friend I did the install with told me that whatever I paid for this box it was well worth it and my non car person partner said she likes riding in the car much more now. If you've been on the fence about this mod and still have PASM, just do it...
Thanks again for the review. I installed the DSC controller (and accelerometer) this weekend and have the same thoughts. I drive my .1 most nice days and this has really made the ride more compliant especially over the crap roads in the northeast. Should have done this sooner. I will say installing the accelerometer was a pain and I'm a bit in the dark about whether I did it properly. I'm going to attempt to data log just to verify it's getting the appropriate power and signal, but I'm assuming it is because my butt tells me so.
Thanks again for the review. I installed the DSC controller (and accelerometer) this weekend and have the same thoughts. I drive my .1 most nice days and this has really made the ride more compliant especially over the crap roads in the northeast. Should have done this sooner. I will say installing the accelerometer was a pain and I'm a bit in the dark about whether I did it properly. I'm going to attempt to data log just to verify it's getting the appropriate power and signal, but I'm assuming it is because my butt tells me so.
Happy to hear it! I'd been meaning to check in to see if you managed to track one down and whether you had completed the install so glad to hear you already have it installed. Agree with you that installing the accelerometer is a pain but wire taps definitely make it easier.
I'd go as far as to say that if you do anything to a 997.1 GT3 that it should be a DSC controller. Essential mod for any car that still has the PASM suspension intact.
Thanks! I'll have to give this is a try. Do you have any pics of how the spoiler looks after a repaint by chance?
My driveway is steep enough that I've actually ripped the Cup spoiler off a couple of times backing out of the driveway and then proceeded to run over it moving forward, which is why I had my shop attach it with screws through the fender liners. Needless to say it's all kinds of f****d up
I'll try to get a better pic later this afternoon, but my spoiler has been hit with paint more times than I can count. If there's a little white scrape, I'll hit it with the can on car wash day. First day, you can tell and the finish is ever so slightly different, but a few days later it's indistinguishable.
I'll try to get a better pic later this afternoon, but my spoiler has been hit with paint more times than I can count. If there's a little white scrape, I'll hit it with the can on car wash day. First day, you can tell and the finish is ever so slightly different, but a few days later it's indistinguishable.
Looks great. You don't also have a Cup lip, correct? I'm wondering how it would look on the more rubberized Cup lip finish/material and how it would hold up to material flexing but I guess there's only one way to find out.
Brief update on what I’ve been up to with the car. On an exciting personal news front, this month my fiancée and I had our wedding in Charleston. We decided to drive instead of fly and I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to enjoy the GT3 in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee on the way home.
From St. Louis, it’s a little over 900 miles each way and about 13 hours. We had planned on knocking out the drive down in one day but honestly weren’t sure how we’d fare in the buckets but neither of us ever experienced any discomfort.
All packed up for the journey along with a full frunk:
Hit a major mileage milestone on the way. 40k and still drives like a champ:
Isle of Palms in Charleston:
A few photos from the Blue Ridge Parkway:
Our wedding was sublime—perfect weather in a beautiful city surrounded by those we cherished. Bringing the GT3 was just the icing on the cake. We had such a great drive in the car on the way back, taking the scenic route through parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Tail of the Dragon, among others. The car performed exactly as expected other than it developing a new buzzing noise down by the shift cables that I’ll need to sort out and it averaged just shy of 20mpg.
In the six months since I’ve had the car, I’ve added about 5,000 miles to it. It’s surely depreciated some from when I bought it but I’ve created lifelong memories in this car and loved every mile in it.
Brief update on what I’ve been up to with the car. On an exciting personal news front, this month my fiancée and I had our wedding in Charleston. We decided to drive instead of fly and I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to enjoy the GT3 in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee on the way home.
From St. Louis, it’s a little over 900 miles each way and about 13 hours. We had planned on knocking out the drive down in one day but honestly weren’t sure how we’d fare in the buckets but neither of us ever experienced any discomfort.
All packed up for the journey along with a full frunk:
Hit a major mileage milestone on the way. 40k and still drives like a champ:
Isle of Palms in Charleston:
A few photos from the Blue Ridge Parkway:
Our wedding was sublime—perfect weather in a beautiful city surrounded by those we cherished. Bringing the GT3 was just the icing on the cake. We had such a great drive in the car on the way back, taking the scenic route through parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Tail of the Dragon, among others. The car performed exactly as expected other than it developing a new buzzing noise down by the shift cables that I’ll need to sort out and it averaged just shy of 20mpg.
In the six months since I’ve had the car, I’ve added about 5,000 miles to it. It’s surely depreciated some from when I bought it but I’ve created lifelong memories in this car and loved every mile in it.
Congrats! I don't even check my gas milage. I know it'd be bad lol.
Congrats Vocan. Excellent choice taking & driving the car. That will be part of your memories for life after such a great wedding!!
I just got back from 1,800 miles in mine too, doing the Dragon(s), etc roads. Phenom to experience them here on the east coast. Love that you did that!!!
... may you continue to enjoy many more thousands of miles in your GT3
08-17-2023 | 11:19 PM
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