aussie jimmy

probably why it's called, 'safe'!
how was randy's track exhaust?

ATL Fahrer

Loud and at home on the track. Not so sure around the 'hood tho'

mdrums

Randy's track exhaust....?....put it his way....I'm a drummer, I can take loud, Randy's exhaust is louder!

TRAKCAR

L O U D.

Too much for me, but beautiful though.

aussie jimmy

nice....he shall be the highway star!

sin911

First of all I have to thank Randy for keeping Megan in such a great shape She looks brand new! She was a little dirty when I picked her up because it rained the day before but I had her washed yesterday after a tough track day with rubber marks all over her

Here is my first impression:

The car in stock form is very capable on the track

Despite the horror stories that you hear from friends and acquaintances the GT3 is a controllable beast, but a beast none the less. It may be twitchy and snappy at times but it is nothing that can’t be corrected by steering input or a gentle tap on the brakes.

Under hard braking the rear end is twitchy, I don’t know if this is due to the failing factory LSD or the rubber bushings in the rear toe links that everyone keeps talking about. With no electronic aids to keep you from breaking loose it is a little scary to be perfectly honest.

The steering is well and precise. The added down force on the front adds to the handling compared to the rest of the line up. For a track car the suspension is soft and flexible, maybe even too flexible at times, but better for a rough and bumpy track that would like to throw you out to the outer edge of the track and eventually the wall like Sebring.

The engine is a marvel. The 8,400 RPM redline is one sweet song that you’d like to hear more each time before you shift. The bypass adds to the experience of course, it’s like installing a sub woofer to your sound system. Each time the needle passes 6,000 RPM you can hear God’s angry roar descending down from the heavens so we mortals can hear his fury.

Down the straights you sometimes feel the lack of down low torque due to smaller engine (3.6L) when the exit speed is low, but considering the car has no PSM standard like the new model I am grateful at times. It would be much more difficult to handle the car if it had more raw power.

Shifting is crisp and precise, no need for a short shifter with this car. As the reviews say it really does need a determined hand to get it into the right gear fast on the track. I had problem once all day driving really hard all day coming out of Turn 7 and shifting up into third, which I was warned by Andrew the night before chatting at the bar of the hotel.

Pressing the clutch is like going to the gym and doing leg presses, it is surprising how hard it is. If you get stuck in traffic and let the car sit in gear while depressing the clutch pedal you will break a sweat. After some time you get used to it, but it sucks being stuck in Friday afternoon traffic.

The final verdict is the 997.1 GT3 is a very, very capable car of doing great times at the track in stock form while putting a big smile on your face. It is more likely that your cheeks will hurt more from grinning than your left foot.


All I can say is "Thank you!" to Porsche for making such a fun car street legal They should still own up to the RMS leaks and the crappy LSD.

BTW my LSD is pretty much shot as well...

jenk12m

i dont know where to start, i just drove straight from sebring back to atlanta 8hrs and got in a 2am in the morning and im already up from taking the kids to the bus stop this morning. i guess red bulls and some sun flower seeds do work . i couldnt stay and rest up b/c i was down in tampa for the whole week leading up to sebring and brought the family with me. so we had to make it back in time for school in the morning

i guess instead of starting 8 different sebring threads, this will be a 40 page sebring recap from everyone my weekend started with new car, new 1st time trying ra1's, endless pads, motul 600, cup lip, shorter gearing, new pedals and new shoes and gloves. so with so many new variables lets just say i started out extremely slow for my first event in the car. the car almost felt like it was to much car after my 1st view laps, i must say i was a little over whelmed at how much more power and grip it had over my .1 GT3. so for those who question if the .2 is that much better than the .1, i say in every way.
so, with more seat time and getting use to the gearing the times started coming down in drastic fashion. however, it wasnt till i got in a ride in peter's car and saw how crazy fast he is is when i finally set my fastest time of the weekend. i went from doing high 30's to consistent 28-29's with my best lap being a 27.9 and my TBL being a 26.3. (sinan your TBL should be faster than your actual fast lap). i know i have a long way to go catch peter but i wasnt to far away this weekend with running a 24 on old tires and a greasy circuit
there were a quite a few highlights throught the weekend. being able to meet chris harris and have him drive my car with traqmate data to compare is freaking awesome. he did a 24 first time out with a angry peter following as close as he could with a passenger onboard.
then running with izzone all weekend and playing cat and mouse was a blast. we went through the process of getting our cars together and getting everything setup. all the way to doing our 1st events in the RS at the same track. the funniest part was at the end of the weekend was me running a faster lap time than izzone with his no option track rat compared to my heavy optioned heavier RS it was all in good fun and im sure i'll be trying to catch up to izzone by the time i can get back to sebring next year.
it was great to meet all the rennlisters and you guys are welcome for my idea on the picture on the track.
time to freshen up the fluids and get the dark knight ready for road atlanta this weekend then maybe, just maybe for vir randy. haha

aussie jimmy

need videos of this duel.......

great to see everybody have fun and stay safe.

85Gold

I'm the guy in the red shirt in the picture but my car was relegated to the trailer as M3's were verboten Seriously it was a good Sat. though a lot of traffic until Happy Hour. At least the last session was my fastest and a new personal best in Flopsie my e36M3. The track was getting greasy by then as I was flat through Bishops Bend until the last session and then a 45 degree step out at the exit convinced me it was time to head in.

My ex GT2 which Eddie was driving really felt good from the passengers seat when I rode along. Roger @ Orbit set the car up really well and it slithered nicely bit didn't do anything sudden.

I do love the .2GT3 RS and it was fun watching Randy get the feel of the car and get faster each session.

Now lets see who is going Apr 30/May 1.

Peter

TRAKCAR

Fixed it for ya

TRAKCAR

Mike, here is your car doing 2:23's..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXHvWt1Hsgc

I could not keep up, this was all I had for him.
He was proving that my higher gear is losing a lot of time in these hot conditions with a passenger, definately needed 2nd in T7 and T15 T16...

Chris Harris

Afternoon all

Now back in the UK after a great few days at Sebring. The quality of the cars, the driving and the people was superb.

Thanks to everyone who came and had a chat: I'm sorry if I didn't manage to be 100% sociable, but we had some quite specific aims with the suspension test we were doing, and, as ever, it took time and it ended up being quite involved.

Huge thanks to Izzone (hope that rear-toe is okay now) and jenk12M for letting me drive their cars. It's not that I don't want photos/GoPro - far from it - more that it adds another dimension of pressure when it's someone else's pride-and-joy, but you still want to post a sensible time in a very brief drive - without handing it back in several pieces! This was confirmed by TRACKCAR lurking in the shadows, then following me out and chasing me around the track!

Excellent fun, and he drove very well.

The Gen 2 car is a completely different animal around Sebring to the Gen 1: front-axle grip, gearing - actually - pretty much every aspect of its performance.

As for Gavin's Gen 1 Rally car - you have to get a ride in that thing. He drives it quite brilliantly and it does seemingly impossible things over the kerbs.

I loved the circuit - so challenging and bumpy. Now have to try and race there!

As for the US Porsche track-day scene - outside of Germany, it has to be the most diverse and exciting around.

Keep up the good work

Best

Chris

TRAKCAR

O crap, now I’m really embarrassed

I hope you had a good flight back.
An honor to follow you around the track

jenk12m

well now i know my car can stay in front of peter

i just need to change the title of the vid so that it seems like its me. haha

2nd in 7 looks like he was launching out of there and he takes a real tight line through 16. im glad you were able to get the video and you broke 25 with a passenger

sin911

Chris, it was a pleasure meeting you, even if it was short. I know you were really busy, and hopefully I can buy you a beer next time you're in FL and chat a little longer.

Now I really feel bad about not staying for the 2nd day and hanging out... It seems like you guys had more fun the second day