maomao911

I have a high tolerance for chassis stiffness, used to run 800lbs springs for my NSX and was ok with it. But for me, the GT3 is horrible for the street. the suspension is quite stiff and the wheel base too short. it jumps around too much. I bought it as a track day car so I dont mind. But I would not buy it as a weekend car or DD for sure. I used to have a 997 GTS and I think that suspension set up is perfect for a street car.

RobT 394

^^ +1
With MPSC the .1 PASM is ok and seems to be in reasonable balance. With stickier tires MCS + springs make a world of difference and surprisingly are better on the street as well.

wogamax

Some may scoff, but I chose Hankook Ventus (street tires) to dial this out. A lot comes down to the road, but I generally welcomed the stiffer springs.

etchhead

Insure saw/felt a big difference on the street after moving away from the Cups on my Turbo. Do the MPSS tires help take out some of the street roughness?

JustSan

X2, but I'm full monoball.

Its not for everyone.

Spyerx

I can only compare moss to nitro nt01 or dunlop on the street with the gt car, the MPSS is by far the quietest, smoother riding tire. It's really nice for the street and has great grip.

maomao911

SS are what's on my car, so the answer is no, driving on NorCal roads

maomao911

Rather, it's not for every type of use.

stout

I wrote the review in question years ago, and stand by my observations and (yes) opinions. There's a long thread if you want to dig into it, but, in my experience, early GT3 PASM was far from Porsche's best work. Way too jiggly, with too much body motion. That said, it never did anything evil to me on road or track. And the car had a lot more mechanical grip than its predecessor, it just didn't shine in the same way. Sure fixed the 996 GT3's tramlining on the freeway, though!

Of all the comments here, the one above most closely matches my experience. I've tested some cars with very high spring rates and well-tuned dampers and they were just fine in my view, even on fairly rough roads. The 997-1 GT3 wasn't harsh, but its chassis simply felt underdeveloped and poorly damped, and remains the go-to example for me of Porsche not always getting suspension "right." 997-1 GT2 and 997-2 GT3 RS 4.0 are two examples of really well done, track day-oriented street suspension, and the 997-2 Carrera GTS with its standard suspension, as noted above, was perfect for a street car. Just sublime.

As to questions of vehicle condition when I tested it: That was the first loan for that car, and I picked it up at LAX with something like 54 miles (IIRC) and broke it in over the course of a 2500+mile test. One of my first stops was at a race/hotrod shop that knows its suspension, just to see if I was crazy. Two blocks down the road, the resident damper guru looked over at me with crazed eyes and said "this is how it came from Porsche?!" Then I hit the button for the firmer damping. A friend and colleague who drove that press car and bought a 997-1 GT3 because it looked so great and had such a fabulous engine swore his later 2007 GT3 had better damping than that early 2007 press car. He felt there may have been a software update for PASM. There is reason to believe it could have been done given the final tweaks made to PASM just before the 997-1 Cabriolet hit the production line, but Porsche wasn't talking. Nevertheless, the suspension was part of why he ended up trading his 997-1 GT3 in on a Boxster Spyder, and he still owns and loves that 987. Says he'll never sell it.

I've found suspension, like many things in cars, can be pretty subjective. A certain ride quality or handling characteristic that bothers one might not bother another. I can only share my observations as one more data point. That said, it is my firm belief that the damping of the early PASM for the 997-1 GT3 wasn't good. It was improved in the 997-2 GT3/RS, and sublime in the RS 4.0.

All that said, I still remain a fan of the 997-1 GT3, if for no other reason that its great (!) looks, great interior, incredible engine, fabulous gearbox, sounds, etc. To me, it's a suspension system/setup away from total brilliance. Of course, YMMV.

Hope this is helpful to the OP, and it may be worth digging up that other thread for more on the subject if you care.

pete

maomao911

^ what changes were made to the 4.0 suspension versus the 3.8?

mooty

^ too many little things. not just the suspension. some strange things too. i dont really know but you can ask tony. he did my 3.8 and 4.0. he was a little surprised too. they look same, but not the same. some are not disclosed by porsche. i dont really care about spec, this or that. if my a** tells me it's good, i buy. if it doesn't like it, i don't. i am very scientific.

just have tony put a set of double adj MCS on the RS. then all done

aussie jimmy

i am not a specs man either.

stout

+1

A lot of little stuff, and they weren't talking. Springs are different, I think the control box is different, and there's more—but it added up to a significant improvement on the loop and elsewhere. Some drivers may not notice, especially on smooth surfaces, but the difference was like night and day on the loop. I felt far more comfortable to drive harder and felt safer and more in control while doing so, the sure sign of a brilliant chassis. As with so many things, that last 2-10% can make a 50-100% difference for some. Others look at it and may even experience it, blink, and move on—especially if a price premium is involved.

RS 4.0 was culmination of 997 GT3 in all forms, 997 GT2, 997 GT2 RS, and was noticeably better than all of them from a chassis perspective when driven as intended. I'm more into the 4.0 for its chassis than its engine. YMMV