Hey guys, would be interested in getting an idea about how most people on this board actually use their GT3s and RSs.

Are most people using them mainly as dedicated track toys, or are there people that use them mainly on the street, or a mix of both?

While I'm also planning to have a daily driver, best case scenario, I'd like to use mine as much as possible where practical. How easy or difficult is it to live with this car in the real world?

 

I've had my 2010 GT3RS for a little over the month and drive it daily though my commute is about 1 mile 3 days a week. I love driving it and plan to drive it as much as possible, both on the track and the street.

 

Track and street

 

I bought my RS in order to use it for motorsport, D.E etc. I bought it to be used. To learn with and enjoy. No concours events or PCA club parades for this car.

Initially,when searching for the right automobile I did not want a "trailer only" competiton car thus it had to have a title and be street legal. (I figured for the amount of money i was going to tie up and amount of events i would do it would be ashame not being able to also use the car on the street...)
I also must admit that in being my biggest purchase this time around it had to be something extremely awesome.

When replacing my previous homemade race car i decided i wanted a car that had a motorsports program and a racing background this time in order to try and stay factory as possible so that i could benefit from professional R&D, parts availability and tuning. No more "homemade" or street quality aftermarket.
I also required a car with a FIA full cage though, especially factory if at all possible.

I looked at used factory race cars such as Ford FR500, Ferrari 360 Challenge and 996 Cup. Cars that were close enough to street car configuration that i could "work" to put on the road if neccessary.

Once i began looking into converting these beasts into road warriors i soon realized that with lack of cooling fans for stop and go traffic, race fuel requirements and dealing with importation to my country with only bill of sales it was obvious i needed something else.

Enter the Clubsport Option from Porsche.
(Here on rennlist somebody brought this to my attention and i have been here ever since!)
Although not available in north america and other places in the world it could be ordered as parts 3rd party from germany and then installed in North America 3rd party.
The Clubsport option gives the street car owner the ability to use the car for motorsports by offering a full bolt-in cage, bucket seats, harnesses, fire bottle and kill switch.

The Clubsport was perfect for me. A FULL factory bolt in FIA cage specific for the GT3 street car that allows me to not only race but retain resale value too!
No other manufacture offered such an option thus i knew i was in the right place. The best of both worlds for me!

One of the benefits of having a car that has a factory motorsport program is that im able to use Cup car parts on my car to make it even lighter and faster. Programs offered by mazda and chevrolet do not give you the abilty to use many parts derived from their motorsport program for their street car as they are just too far apart whereas Porsche race cars are close to the street cars as possible.

Since owning a GT3RS, i have participated in 3 Targa Events (TN 2009, 2010, 2011), a host of first time track events on the pacific north west and multiple road trips across north america and back.

For a Full caged car, i am still surprised on how it can run a brutal 5 day targa event and still be easy enough to drive to the office the week after while also being able to get groceries, coffee or even drive 5000 miles across country to attend other events! A/C, Cup holders, stereo and full carpet! 3160 pounds.
This has to be the most reliable dual purpose race car in the world! Brakes, tires, fluids and alignments. Thats it.

If there was a better car out there that could do all this, i would have it, and believe me, there is not.
If this car was a more subtle color it would be even easier to use weekly, but alas this is my little hot rod and i love the color for motorsport events.

 

I'd drive mine more often to work, but its more like a wet cat in Austin traffic. I feel like it must think I'm punishing it for something it didn't do. While it functions perfectly as a daily driver, it's frustrating as hell to drive around town - I can't imagine not taking the leash off at the track.

 

Its funny how I looked for the perfect track oriented RS (radio delete, no front axle lift) when I knew that it would predominantly be used as a road car. For my commute which involves some very scenic mountain roads, this is very much the most amazing machine out there. Now if it were me, I would not want to use this car for short city commutes especially with lot of gridlock traffic. There are better tools that Porsche makes for that.

 

I bought it to do both but it has turned into mainly a track weapon

 

Bought mine just in time to put it away thanks to the idiots putting salt and sand down already...

Hope to get to the track next year though!

 

I only "use" mine mainly on tracks and on the Ring, but I drive there so half of my miles are on street, half on track....

 

Mainly track but it was not bad as a DD. That is what I plan to do mainly March-November. In hibernation now as I still have my C4S for the offseason.

 

I use mine as the ultimate street legal track car. Most recently, I drove it 500 miles each way to the Trackrat event, drove it hard for 2 days on track then drove her 500 miles home. Car is pretty lightly spec'd but has the necessities to be very streetable: nav, sound + and heated seats for my bad back.

Like tcsracing said, there is no better car I've found that can do both types of duty so well. If I could just get rid of that nagging "save some resale value!" voice in the back of my head, I would DD this car and aim for the 100K mile club. Just need a front lift kit

 

I use mine on back roads and track. Not much on the street. Maybe a bit on weekends on get togethers.

 

Both my 2004 996 GT3 and my 2011 997.2 GT3 were 95% track cars, didn't really like them as street car, my Boxster Spyder is a better street car IMHO.

 

I really only drive mine on the track but I drive it back and forth - that is a big part of the car's appeal - it is a near-race car but is street legal and requires no mods other than safety to drive it fast on the track. To not have to deal with a trailer and run near-track-like rubber like Pilot Sport Cups, the car is a pretty sensational combination of practicality and reliable track entertainment.

 

Track machine and street hooligan!