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Sitting while wife cooks Hannukah dinner & was waiting till I got some proper street time after the track with it installed to share some thoughts, which I am cause I couldn’t find much info when I was looking to do it.
had Bill Rader install the R&P and service the trans which he said didn’t need much at all and was in great shape after 75k miles. My car has def seen track time in its life but has zero over revs and has a massive book of service. As we know the cars are stout if you take care of them.
All I can say is it’s SO MUCH BETTER EVERYWHERE. I’d say my 2nd favorite mod after a proper LSD.
Track experience will depend on which track as ratios are track dependent but at Buttonwillow it’s awesome. Can enter and come out of turn 2 (button hook) in 3rd beautifully skipping the need for the downshift and mid turn up shift to 3. You do have to grab 4th before cotton corners but 3rd is perfect thru them and up shift to 4 and exit bus stop in 4th which is nice. Can ride redline before last turn sunset or short shift a tad into 5th .
STREET driving is so much better. Can roll into 1st gear without hitting the gas and won’t bog. Cruising around in 2nd gear is so much better. City driving in 2nd used to suck at city speeds where it almost wanted to be in 1st gear and now 2nd is useable. It’s so much more fun and useable. Canyons way better!!
FREEWAY driving is a riot and I’m good with stock 6th gear. I drive to track and don’t have a crazy loud exhaust. Just side muffler delete with stock center. I didn’t replace 6th with a longer gear. About 4100 rpm at 90mph. So if cruising at 70-80 it’s fine around 3500-3800. I was moving on way back around 100 and still wasn’t bothersome at all at 4100-4500. If I had an insanely loud exhaust I may feel different 🤣
I did the same R&P conversion (plus I did the taller sixth gear) on my 997.1RS. Fantastic modification. Guard LSD internals, second gear detent fix, and a few other items, and it transformed the car.
On my 7.2 I did the RS 3.89 R&P and the taller RS 6th. I also had a 4.0RS clutch / LWFW done along with Guard LSD internals. It'a a totally different car which went from utterly boring to thoroughly fun and enjoyable. This is how Porsche should have sold the car from the factory but then there would almost no difference between the standard car and the RS other than the aero. I actually look toward driving the car now which I never really did before only putting 200 miles on it in the previous year and a half.
I bought the R&P and 6th through the dealer (the only place you can really get it) just prior to the last price hike and the clutch I sourced online. There are tons of places to get the clutch parts online by simply searching the part numbers via google.
I'll add my two cents although I did this to a 996 gt3. To echo Sam's comment's, its pretty transformative and I did not find the improvement to be "subtle" at all. Felt like I picked up 50 ft-lbs of torque. More shifting though, for sure (which is not a bad thing in these "vintage" cars LOL!) I do, however, regret not getting a taller sixth. I looked at the charts and figured I'd be ok with the stock 6th, but I do a lot of freeway driving (and run a 997 M&M rear center section with side bypass pipes (thanks Sam!) and its pretty loud, and a few less revs while cruising at 80-85 wouldn't be a bad thing (and its not like you are using 6th gear much in "performance driving" situations anyway).
Also, quick plug for Kevin at UMW. I bought my 3.89 rp from him and at least back then (couple years ago) he was cheaper than the dealer!
What's the going rate for this conversion all in ?
3.89 factory R&P from 3.8 RS is 4k
can get the factory 4:00 cup unit for half (2k)which is smarter and I would but I daily my car so wanted to make sure no extra noise.
then shop to remove and reinstall trans.
trans person to install R&P.
these rates can vary a lot. From 4-5k total probably.
3.89 factory R&P from 3.8 RS is 4k
can get the factory 4:00 cup unit for half (2k)which is smarter and I would but I daily my car so wanted to make sure no extra noise.
.
yea the 4.0 gear sets r the ones that get noisey and wear out. They r a 8/32 gear set so the same teeth hit every rotation.
Im gonna do the 9/35 (99730291190) rs gear set in my 6-gt3 and drop the final drive but i cant decide if its worth swaping some of the lower gears as i do track the car 20-30 days a summer.
@HarmonyJim Is second gear pop out an issue on 997 gt3's? i thought it was a 996 thing?
When I talked with California Motorsports (located in Lake Havasu, AZ), the owner recommended it. It was cheap, and easy to install since the transaxle was apart. I have never had an issue with that before or after the rebuild.
12-13-2023, 08:51 PM
7.2 GT3 RS 3.89 Ring & Pinion Install on 7.1 GT3
