997gt3north

- just got back from 2 days at VIR with audi of potomac
- it was on and off wet but ended on a good note with the last afternoon being dry

Before I get into the all of my thoughts, thought I would start with the "I spun again this year" - just like last year tracking out in corner number 2 on the first hot lap in the second session:
- tempt was mid 50s
- first lap it was a tiny bit damp
- i knew i had the new gt2 rear sway , plus a bit more front and less rear camber than last year so i was just waiting for it - it came, i countered, countered again and then just decided to go off
- i had asked an instructor (Tom) owner of a 996 gt3 (and excellent driver) to sit in that session to appraise the car versus his, told him about all the changes prior to him getting in and we basically were both almost laughing that I went off (basically at most 30 miles per hour) - we got back on, came into the pits for a quick check and then back out to finish the session
- at first i thought it was the sway bar (he thought the car felt a bit nervous) but later i made 2 conclusions about the spins:
1) it was the first time on the track for me since october and I was very rusty
2) mpscs absolutely need lots of heat in them to get sticky - one lap on a damp track and then semi hot into #1 with a slow brain from 5 months off is not a good combination
I also let Tom drive the car for half a session later in the day and h felt the car was excellently set up - not nervous as he had initialy felt in the passanger seat - as a total aside, I took a ride in his 996 gt3 with ra1s (cold tempts were 18/20) - he is a fantastic driver and my first thoughts are that the "edgy" gt3 feels so much better with more compliant tires (i have a set of 19" r888s that are next to be mounted)

Now back to the story (random thoughts not in order of importance)
1) I love VIR - I think it has to be one of the best tracks in the USA

2) We got to stay in the new condos (#601) at the top of the climbing esses - has to be the absolutely best place in the whole complex to hang out / watch the track - you can see clearly from 5a all the way up the esses, you are in front of #10 you can clearly see 11, the oak tree and the entire back straight (just not the braking zone) - we arrived early Sunday and watched a bmw race and a formula 2000 race

3) the gt2 rear bar on the middle hole (20% stiffer than the stock OE gt3 bar on fully stiff) does not upset the car in anyway over rumble strips - we / I hit them hard and deliberately as a test and the car is fine
- last year I ran with the stock OE front tire, the stock race alignment and the stock rear wing at full attack
- this year the front tires were the real 235/35/19 with stock mpsc in back, setup is now -2.8f, -2.2real, 1/16 total toe out front, rear stock toe in, rear wing is now RS wing and was set at 10 degrees + new 4.0 r&p and new paul guard 50/80 lsd
- with all of the above (but basically the alignment and sways) the car was better / more balanced (less push) - still with some as it struggled to turn in perfectly in 5a
- i could compare my car when i was following a 1996C2 running kumho v710s (245/285s with similar allignment) and 2 996 gt3s (one on ra1s and one on 18" 245/295 mpscs) that would be better through the slippery 5a
- so better for sure but after this more front tire / better front tire will be needed to balance our larger 305 rear (I can still go fully stiff on the gt2 rear bar and or go to fully soft on the stock front bar (I think I may try the front at fully soft first)) to get that last bit of improvement)

3) the cup r&p - love it
- i did blow through the limiter a few times as i wasn't ready for how fast the limiter was reached
- for vir this gearing seemed to work as it was now possible to use 3rd in #2 and #4 as the car in these corners still had enough tq to break way the rear wheels if desired
- the 4.0 r&p and the added hp over the 996gt3 allowed me the "rapidly" close / pass if desired 1/2 to 2/3rds the way down the front and back straights (even with 10degrees of wing)

4) the paul guard (50/80) lsd
- i never had an issue last year at this time of highspeed braking instability at VIR, but I did at year end at Mosport
- no high speed instability underbraking - alsolutely rock solid
- i was braking at the 4 1/2 marker at 148-150 on the front and 150-155 at the 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 markers on the back straight
- the car also tracked as straight as a bullet through 5a / 6 / 6a and just inspired huge confidence to nail the throttle

5) some pccb thougths
- loved them last year but was beginning to think that i want more initial bite
- i also started last year to "rock the box" (heal toe downshift through every rear 5th to 4th to 3rd to 2nd) at the end of straights like VIR's front and back
- i did this for practice and i thought i was very good at it
- i remember skip barber had said to us that maybe this wasn't the best idea as it is almost impossible to keep perfect brake pressure for perfect slip angle and also blip the throttle when needed
- then the head instructor said in our meeting that it was far more important to concentrate on the braking zones into the oak tree and into 14/14a as you could make up so much time here if done correctly
- decided to go back to my old way and just try and do 100% braking and then heal toe at the last second into the desired gear
- all i can say is wow (i guess i wasn't getting anywhere near 100% braking / slip angle when i was doing all the downshifting)
- """""AND""""" the pccb pads really can give you that "hand of god" stopping the car feeling if you get them hot and keep them hot (i remember this about the pfc 01 pads that I used on my old track car - i had to brake really hard because if i released the brakes a bit they just wouldn't stop the car like if the pads got hot)
- i gave i few ride alongs and all 3 ride alongs were astonished by the braking

Finally, I picked up some R888s (19" 235/305s) from Sascos onsite and will used them at Watkins Glen next month.
Funny comment from the guys I was staying with, "look at the size of those rear tires" - I think this also explains why this car is harder to turn than earlier 911s

It was great to get back on the track again

For those the have the 996 gt3 seats, I did 13 hour drives straight from toronto to VIR and then back in one day in the car - the trick is a tempur pedic pillow for your back, a small pillow for you head, and remove the cushions from the passanger seat for addition *** support


I love this car

Paul

Kevinlpl

Thanks for the extensive write up! Congrats on the long drive and fun track time with no damage. Sounds like you are thinking through all the mods carefully and getting the results you want.

03-turbo911

It'll take a while to digest all the info you've included in this excellent write-up!

One thing, for now, what are your impressions on running the real mpsc's vs the original mpsc's?

roberga

my *** is so big there is no room for more pillows

997gt3north

Just to be clear, i'm talking about the "real" mpsc on the front 235/35/19 and the stock porsche OE 305/30/19 mpsc at the back

This is my second event doing this, the last event was last year at Watkins Glen when for the first day I ran brand new front and back OE MPSCs and then on the second day I switched the fronts to the real MPSCs. Watkins Glen is a fast track and wasn't really the place to test if the difference was noticeable - I maybe had a tiny bit more turn-in ability - but what also concerns me about the OE version is how poorly the edges wear along the inside edges next to the large rain channels - so far, the real mpscs don't show this poor wear.

What I believe to be the issue with th 997 versus the 996 on the track is that the larger rear tire width 305 vs 295 is causing too much relative rear grip to front grip - never mind that the 996 crowd usually also upsizes their 235 front to a 245 and then most of the time still runs a 295 in the rear:

Thus
- 996gt3 245/295 = neutral to overstear control with the throttle
- 997gt3 235/305 = pushing to more pushing with the throttle

Thus the new rear 30% stiffer gt2 bar + a little bit more front and a little bit less rear camber than the 996gt3 guys are generally running to try and get the same handling car.

Also, with more rear tire and more rear brake bias, the 997 has better braking (imo) - also one of the reasons that I think my stock LSD fried as the clutch pack in the LSD just couldn't take the added forces from lots of trail braking


paul

03-turbo911

Yeah that's what I meant. Thanks!! I'm due for new tires and want to stay with the 19" wheels so that's an alternative that I can go for.

You talked about your alighment settings but I'm also wondering if you lowered the front any? I was thinking of doing that but as I also use the car off the track, it might lead to grounding the front lip and I weary of doing that.

On the heal and toe front, I put half my right foot on the accelerator and the other half on the brake and just roll it. I gave up on doing proper heal and toe! I talked about it with a Porsche factory instructor and he admited to doing the same thing!

997gt3north

The car was corner balanced but I told them the car couldn't be lowered more than 5mm so that is the max extent of the lowering

I heal toe the same way

The point i was making is that while I thought I was getting 100 percent slip angle I clearly wasn't and it would appear that the ceramic pads perform much better with constant pressure

Paul