Not your typical newbie intro (new GT3 pics)
01-12-2007, 06:10 PM
#46
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Congratulation! Great post and introduction to you new ride and your past perspective.
JCM
JCM
01-13-2007, 07:21 AM
#48
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2K over MSRP...I am just shaking my head.
I have been waiting 9 months, with another 6+ month wait.
I would gladly have paid the 2K.
Congratulations, and enjoy.
Cheers..
I have been waiting 9 months, with another 6+ month wait.
I would gladly have paid the 2K.
Congratulations, and enjoy.
Cheers..
01-13-2007, 07:29 AM
#49
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Congratulations,
But I do have a question for you,
After you bought your very nice 997 GT3 and have own several fast car before,do you think the word "Porsche, There is No Substitute" is exactly what you feel right now,or still not sure about it?
But I do have a question for you,
After you bought your very nice 997 GT3 and have own several fast car before,do you think the word "Porsche, There is No Substitute" is exactly what you feel right now,or still not sure about it?
01-13-2007, 06:15 PM
#50
Burning Brakes
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jugger911: Thanks man, keep me in mind if you guys get together. Not that far of a drive.
frayed: Will do. So far, I really do like the leather wheel. But the alacantra feels so nice on everything else. I plan to keep the leather wheel, even tough I can't see myself ever putting it back on the car. And I'll give you a shout next time I'm in town, the liver still works.
princeton porsche: I ordered it from my local dealer, (Porsche of Chattanooga). Was asking about the GT3 wheel, parts guy asked me if I wanted the RS wheel. Both were the same price. So I went RS. Just reusing the airbag in use now. No need for another one.
Shark-GT3: I hear you, best my local dealer could do was mid 2008. I refuse to wait that long for any car. I got lucky!
prosper: Yep, I fully understand that slogan now.
As for the GT3 screens, I see them listed on Carnewal & will most likely get them ordered this weekend. I plan to have them powdercoated black, hopefully flat black. It will take longer than painting, but powdercoating is much more resistant to chips.
frayed: Will do. So far, I really do like the leather wheel. But the alacantra feels so nice on everything else. I plan to keep the leather wheel, even tough I can't see myself ever putting it back on the car. And I'll give you a shout next time I'm in town, the liver still works.
princeton porsche: I ordered it from my local dealer, (Porsche of Chattanooga). Was asking about the GT3 wheel, parts guy asked me if I wanted the RS wheel. Both were the same price. So I went RS. Just reusing the airbag in use now. No need for another one.
Shark-GT3: I hear you, best my local dealer could do was mid 2008. I refuse to wait that long for any car. I got lucky!
prosper: Yep, I fully understand that slogan now.
As for the GT3 screens, I see them listed on Carnewal & will most likely get them ordered this weekend. I plan to have them powdercoated black, hopefully flat black. It will take longer than painting, but powdercoating is much more resistant to chips.
Last edited by WalkerInTN; 01-13-2007 at 07:11 PM.
01-14-2007, 02:31 AM
#52
Burning Brakes
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I hit the 1000 mile mark today, & celebrated by taking it up to 7000 rpms.
As promised, here are some first impressions (the good, the bad & the ugly) since ownership:
The Good:
I'd have to start out by noting how nice the people at my local dealership have been. From the time I walked in asking about a GT3, everyone was nice. I didn't even ask for a brochure, the salesman offered one up (Had to get the one for my Corvette from ebay). Even after I drove up in the GT3 & they knew they had missed a new car sale, everyone is as nice & helpful as they can be. It feels genuine, & not forced. Maybe you guys are used to this kind of treatment from a car dealer, but I'm not. I am loving it!!!
We'll start with the paint & finish: It looks great, & after 2 washes, I can't find any "factory installed" flaws. Looks smooth, not uhh, bumpy. Much higher quality than I'm used to.
Interior quality, fit & finish. So this is what a quality interior feel like! Wow! Seats feel great, supportive during cornering, comfy cruising down the road. Headrest seems to be in the perfect place for use with a helmet. Materials quality, fit & finish are all excellent! Love the way the shift boot meets up with the shift ****, it almost looks like 1 piece. Never seen an American car with leather of this nice a quality, period.
Handling: So far, I haven't really found the car's limits. I haven’t pushed it too hard, since I'm inexperienced with rear engine handling. Having completed the Corvette equivalent of 3 PDE classes, I'm familiar with car balance & being smooth. On Rails definitely fits. From the taste I've had so far, I'm very impressed. I'm already more comfortable with it's cornering than I am with the modified Corvette I've been driving for 9 years. I also noticed the GT3 doesn't seem to get upset by mid-corner bumps like my vette does either. Can't wait until I'm more comfortable with the limits
Suspension: I love the way it feels. Sporty, tight, predictable, pretty damn flat through the corners. Has that same nice feel that I had to spend $$$$ to get on my other cars, including the vette.
PASM turned on: Everything I read about turning this on while on anything less than glass smooth pavement made it sound like certain disaster. I believe one article called it harsh. So of course i had to try it out. You can really feel it firm up the shocks, but it's not something I'd call harsh. I even drove about 50 miles of my trip bring it home, on crappy under construction roads in south GA. Should be really nice on a track.
The Shifter: It has a very nice feel, I never would have thought cables could do that. Instead of putting it into a gate (say 3rd gear) & pushing the shifter forward, hoping it's in gear, I can feel this one slide into gear. It's everything a street car shifter should feel like. Not even close to the "firm" I've heard it called.
Transmission/Gearing: This thing is geared much higher than my GM cars. Rear end gearing is between 3.42-3.46 on them all, but the transmission gearing is vastly different. The GT3 runs at higher revs, but then it also revs 2000 rpms higher. Seems very happy to run at those higher revs as well.
Power: I'm still trying to be good, but so far, I'm really happy. The vette is killing it in this department. Last time on the dynojet, the vette did 621 RWHP & 754 RWTQ (not a typo). 427 cubic inches + twin turbos at 14 psi, on 93 octane. And that's just the warranty setting, add a boost controller & race gas & have some serious fun. No way the GT3 could ever get up there. Knew that well before I bought it. If I felt like I was going to need big power, I'd have waited for the GT2. Figured I'd be happy with the GT3 power, so far, It's better than expected. The tighter spacing in the transmission really seems to help here. Certainly doesn't feel line it making 500 less foot pounds of torque.
Trying to stay below 4000 rpms for the first 2000 miles is impossible!
Stereo with sound package plus: Well, it's not audiophile quality, but it is pretty darn good, especially for factory. Could benefit from a subwoofer to finish off the low end, but in the interest of weight savings, is best left out. I can live with it. Haven't used the Nav yet (never had it before),
Rain sensor & auto dimming mirror: It's not something I would order (I know how to operate wiper speeds & always have tint), but both functions do seem to work well. Had to use the rain sensor bringing it home from the dealer. It sped the wipers up when their was more rain hitting the windshield, & slowed down during lighter moments. Operates well, but never bothersome or annoying. I was surprised at the dimming feature, the lights don't end up looking green. Just dimmer. Every other car I've owned or driven (including the Infinity M35 in Austin) dims lights, but makes them all a green color. Porsche did it right.
The Key: With all the new technology these days, I've noticed some car makers replacing the ignition key with some kind of weird fob or "keylike" device (Corvette & M35 come to mind). I'm not a fan of that stuff, I like my vehicles to have a real ignition key. Nice to see Porsche stick with a key.
Misc:
I'd have to say that I do like the way Porsche handles options on their cars. Pretty much everything is separate, just pick what you want. With GM, it's all lumped into packages. To get 1 thing, you'll have to buy 5 other "options".
I've noticed that I got tons more stares when I first got the Corvette (granted it's the purple & yellow pace car). Nobody around here seems to know anything about the GT3. They just know it's a black 911. I like it that way, less attention.
It's nice owning a car that I don't feel like I need to modify. Just add a few personal touches, which I always do anyways. Everything seems well up to snuff.
Race on Sunday, sell on Monday. That used to be a big slogan for General Motors in the 60's. Street cars were very similar to the cars being raced. Nowadays, it's not even close. ALMS Corvettes don't even use the same style of springs. Porsche seems to be living by this old slogan. And hey, I did buy it on Monday.
The Bad:
I do have a few complaints, the first of which is the titanium faced tach. White markings on a silver face can be hard to see during the day. The other black faced gauges are much easier to see & read. The tach does match the other gauges at night, & looks perfect then. During the day, the silver annoys me.
Ok, wheel spacers on a $100,000+ car? Are you kidding me? I'd think for a car costing that much, they could make wheels with the right offset. NO car should come from the factory with wheel spacers, much less a Porsche. I'm just in awe on this one.
The Ugly:
You knew I had to talk about the sunroof. Of the 1000 miles on the car, I'd say it's been open for about 400 of those miles. I really have enjoyed it, & will continue to do so. It was very nice while running the Tail of the Dragon. Having said that, this car should not have one. If it were optional, I would have not bought a GT3 with one. To whoever it was in Germany that decided to force a sunroof for these cars on us owners, I'd personally like to bury you up to your neck in sauerkraut. Shame on you.
PS: I do have an occasional "buzz" coming from the passenger side of the sunroof interior cover. Noticed the first day of ownership while going down the interstate. I'll have the dealer look at it when I have the steering wheel swapped out. Excuse me mister "neck deep in sauerkraut", is that egg on your face.
Wrapping it up:
Everything about this car has exceeded my expectations, as well as my dreams. After wanting a black 911 for over 25 years, I really have had very high hopes. There have been no disappointments.
I can't get over how sexy this car seems. Always did go for a nice set of hips & rear end. I want it to have my children. I'm in love with this car!
How in love? no offence intended, but I wouldn't take a CGT in trade for it.
Actually I would, but only because I could sell a CGT, & with the proceeds, buy another black GT3, as well as a white GT3 cup car.
One last thing, I don't buy cars to sell, I buy them to keep (1 car sold in the last 10 years). I plan to have this car for a very long time.
Thanks again to everyone for being so nice.
Cliff Notes Version: Yeah, this car really is better than sex.
As promised, here are some first impressions (the good, the bad & the ugly) since ownership:
The Good:
I'd have to start out by noting how nice the people at my local dealership have been. From the time I walked in asking about a GT3, everyone was nice. I didn't even ask for a brochure, the salesman offered one up (Had to get the one for my Corvette from ebay). Even after I drove up in the GT3 & they knew they had missed a new car sale, everyone is as nice & helpful as they can be. It feels genuine, & not forced. Maybe you guys are used to this kind of treatment from a car dealer, but I'm not. I am loving it!!!
We'll start with the paint & finish: It looks great, & after 2 washes, I can't find any "factory installed" flaws. Looks smooth, not uhh, bumpy. Much higher quality than I'm used to.
Interior quality, fit & finish. So this is what a quality interior feel like! Wow! Seats feel great, supportive during cornering, comfy cruising down the road. Headrest seems to be in the perfect place for use with a helmet. Materials quality, fit & finish are all excellent! Love the way the shift boot meets up with the shift ****, it almost looks like 1 piece. Never seen an American car with leather of this nice a quality, period.
Handling: So far, I haven't really found the car's limits. I haven’t pushed it too hard, since I'm inexperienced with rear engine handling. Having completed the Corvette equivalent of 3 PDE classes, I'm familiar with car balance & being smooth. On Rails definitely fits. From the taste I've had so far, I'm very impressed. I'm already more comfortable with it's cornering than I am with the modified Corvette I've been driving for 9 years. I also noticed the GT3 doesn't seem to get upset by mid-corner bumps like my vette does either. Can't wait until I'm more comfortable with the limits
Suspension: I love the way it feels. Sporty, tight, predictable, pretty damn flat through the corners. Has that same nice feel that I had to spend $$$$ to get on my other cars, including the vette.
PASM turned on: Everything I read about turning this on while on anything less than glass smooth pavement made it sound like certain disaster. I believe one article called it harsh. So of course i had to try it out. You can really feel it firm up the shocks, but it's not something I'd call harsh. I even drove about 50 miles of my trip bring it home, on crappy under construction roads in south GA. Should be really nice on a track.
The Shifter: It has a very nice feel, I never would have thought cables could do that. Instead of putting it into a gate (say 3rd gear) & pushing the shifter forward, hoping it's in gear, I can feel this one slide into gear. It's everything a street car shifter should feel like. Not even close to the "firm" I've heard it called.
Transmission/Gearing: This thing is geared much higher than my GM cars. Rear end gearing is between 3.42-3.46 on them all, but the transmission gearing is vastly different. The GT3 runs at higher revs, but then it also revs 2000 rpms higher. Seems very happy to run at those higher revs as well.
Power: I'm still trying to be good, but so far, I'm really happy. The vette is killing it in this department. Last time on the dynojet, the vette did 621 RWHP & 754 RWTQ (not a typo). 427 cubic inches + twin turbos at 14 psi, on 93 octane. And that's just the warranty setting, add a boost controller & race gas & have some serious fun. No way the GT3 could ever get up there. Knew that well before I bought it. If I felt like I was going to need big power, I'd have waited for the GT2. Figured I'd be happy with the GT3 power, so far, It's better than expected. The tighter spacing in the transmission really seems to help here. Certainly doesn't feel line it making 500 less foot pounds of torque.
Trying to stay below 4000 rpms for the first 2000 miles is impossible!
Stereo with sound package plus: Well, it's not audiophile quality, but it is pretty darn good, especially for factory. Could benefit from a subwoofer to finish off the low end, but in the interest of weight savings, is best left out. I can live with it. Haven't used the Nav yet (never had it before),
Rain sensor & auto dimming mirror: It's not something I would order (I know how to operate wiper speeds & always have tint), but both functions do seem to work well. Had to use the rain sensor bringing it home from the dealer. It sped the wipers up when their was more rain hitting the windshield, & slowed down during lighter moments. Operates well, but never bothersome or annoying. I was surprised at the dimming feature, the lights don't end up looking green. Just dimmer. Every other car I've owned or driven (including the Infinity M35 in Austin) dims lights, but makes them all a green color. Porsche did it right.
The Key: With all the new technology these days, I've noticed some car makers replacing the ignition key with some kind of weird fob or "keylike" device (Corvette & M35 come to mind). I'm not a fan of that stuff, I like my vehicles to have a real ignition key. Nice to see Porsche stick with a key.
Misc:
I'd have to say that I do like the way Porsche handles options on their cars. Pretty much everything is separate, just pick what you want. With GM, it's all lumped into packages. To get 1 thing, you'll have to buy 5 other "options".
I've noticed that I got tons more stares when I first got the Corvette (granted it's the purple & yellow pace car). Nobody around here seems to know anything about the GT3. They just know it's a black 911. I like it that way, less attention.
It's nice owning a car that I don't feel like I need to modify. Just add a few personal touches, which I always do anyways. Everything seems well up to snuff.
Race on Sunday, sell on Monday. That used to be a big slogan for General Motors in the 60's. Street cars were very similar to the cars being raced. Nowadays, it's not even close. ALMS Corvettes don't even use the same style of springs. Porsche seems to be living by this old slogan. And hey, I did buy it on Monday.
The Bad:
I do have a few complaints, the first of which is the titanium faced tach. White markings on a silver face can be hard to see during the day. The other black faced gauges are much easier to see & read. The tach does match the other gauges at night, & looks perfect then. During the day, the silver annoys me.
Ok, wheel spacers on a $100,000+ car? Are you kidding me? I'd think for a car costing that much, they could make wheels with the right offset. NO car should come from the factory with wheel spacers, much less a Porsche. I'm just in awe on this one.
The Ugly:
You knew I had to talk about the sunroof. Of the 1000 miles on the car, I'd say it's been open for about 400 of those miles. I really have enjoyed it, & will continue to do so. It was very nice while running the Tail of the Dragon. Having said that, this car should not have one. If it were optional, I would have not bought a GT3 with one. To whoever it was in Germany that decided to force a sunroof for these cars on us owners, I'd personally like to bury you up to your neck in sauerkraut. Shame on you.
PS: I do have an occasional "buzz" coming from the passenger side of the sunroof interior cover. Noticed the first day of ownership while going down the interstate. I'll have the dealer look at it when I have the steering wheel swapped out. Excuse me mister "neck deep in sauerkraut", is that egg on your face.
Wrapping it up:
Everything about this car has exceeded my expectations, as well as my dreams. After wanting a black 911 for over 25 years, I really have had very high hopes. There have been no disappointments.
I can't get over how sexy this car seems. Always did go for a nice set of hips & rear end. I want it to have my children. I'm in love with this car!
How in love? no offence intended, but I wouldn't take a CGT in trade for it.
Actually I would, but only because I could sell a CGT, & with the proceeds, buy another black GT3, as well as a white GT3 cup car.
One last thing, I don't buy cars to sell, I buy them to keep (1 car sold in the last 10 years). I plan to have this car for a very long time.
Thanks again to everyone for being so nice.
Cliff Notes Version: Yeah, this car really is better than sex.
01-14-2007, 03:20 AM
#53
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Join Date: Dec 2006
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Congrats on your new ride. It looks great. I know you are going to have a great time with that in the months & years to come.
And welcome to the Porsche family!
And welcome to the Porsche family!
01-14-2007, 04:18 AM
#54
Three Wheelin'
when ya goin ta PDE, walker?
i've paid but not scheduled.
maybe we can schedule the same time!
jeff
i've paid but not scheduled.
maybe we can schedule the same time!
jeff
01-14-2007, 10:35 AM
#57
Three Wheelin'
Originally Posted by icon
when ya goin ta PDE, walker?
i've paid but not scheduled.
maybe we can schedule the same time!
jeff
i've paid but not scheduled.
maybe we can schedule the same time!
jeff
01-14-2007, 10:53 AM
#58
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Very nice write-up. Makes the waiting even harder.
01-14-2007, 11:05 AM
#59
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Thanks for the write up.
On the spacer issue, I thought that spacers are used b/c in a few places (I think Japan) their DOT regs don't allow the wheels to sit as far outboard. Could be mistaken though. Purely a cost saving measure to use the same set of wheels worldwide.
On the spacer issue, I thought that spacers are used b/c in a few places (I think Japan) their DOT regs don't allow the wheels to sit as far outboard. Could be mistaken though. Purely a cost saving measure to use the same set of wheels worldwide.
01-14-2007, 11:34 AM
#60
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Originally Posted by leif997
don't bet on it, Walker....Jeff lives next door to PDE and can't seem to find the gate
Very Funny..
I don't understand, perhaps he's afraid.
I'll do PDE agan before he does his first, perhaps next month