jumper5836

That's the way I headed. 40k got me a car with suspension and performance tuning all ready done. near 500 hp and equivalent torque at 3385 lbs with stock seats and awd and full gas tank. I assume down to 3300 going with race seats and 3200 with light wight wheels and rwd conversion. Those are the easy things maybe getting rid of the sun roof and rear wiper will drop it near 991 GT3 weight.

Would have loved to have gotten the gt3 but at the end of the day it's a 40k car on the track instead of a 80k or plus 997 gt3

bmwtmx

I owned 2 Lotus Exiges (a 2006 n/a and 2009 S260). On the track they were race cars but on the street they were tiny to the point of feeling quite vulnerable. The feel is great, they are agile and loads of fun. Ultimately, they are a bit slow due to low power and the tracks down here being all HP tracks.

I got my 996TT after them and while it is definitely not lively on the track it is far more useful on the street, far more powerful in every respect, and with a good suspension setup and other lowish cost mods is in a different league on the track. Just doesn't feel as good.

For me, I would never buy a Cayman when you can get a 996TT for around $40k.

JustSan

996TT has by far the sloppiest gear box I have ever experienced...but when the Turbo's spool up, you totally forget about it, until you have shift again. Just buy a GT3...

jumper5836

or you could put in a GT3 shifter to reduce the throw but it will still feel sloppy like a GT3. Prefer to have a much shorter throw myself which means after market short shifter.

etchhead

I put the 997 shifter in (which helped) and with proper setup/alignment and suspension bits it was pretty good at track. Mine just had used PSS9s, NTs, exhaust/flash and was good for 1:40LS, 1:52SP, 2.06TH under my lack of control. I'm quite curios what the my 7.1 GT3 will do at the same tracks. The 6TT back end was a bit loose, but may have just been the weight fighting me.

rbahr

OK Guys,

here is some heresy - 2005 or 2006 STi or Mistu Evo - will keep up with and pass most GT3's, for less than $45K - and you will impress every teenager in your neighborhood...

Ray

LastMezger

Those are fast cars but you're not passing an equally driven GT3 in one...unless there's snow on the track...

scbeast

NSX...goes around town like an accord and takes a curve like a GT3. Acceleration is noticeably a decade behind the GT3 despite the 8K redline. 97+ will get you 290hp; 02+ gets you production numbers ~250 cars/year but is slightly above your $45K budget.

Proper maintenance and you should be able to unwind from an NSX with near zero depreciation, maybe even some appreciation...much like a GT3.

ChrisF

Been there, done that. EVO for sure. STi would require a lot of money and even then, good luck keeping it on track and not blowing up.

I had an EVO VIII with tons of mods and Motons. Tracked it for several years and next to my GT3, it is the most fun car I've ever owned. It was priceless chasing down high dollar cars and passing them just to see the look on their faces. At the end of the day though, it was still a bargain sh$tbox.

rbahr

Yep - except I had an STi with Ohlins, it too was a 'bargain sh$tbox.' I also got priceless reactions, which made it hugh fun and very very fast. But it was so far out of its design envelope that it was funny. I expect the GT3 to be a lot better in that respect...

FWIW - I was dealing with this question last June and considered: Boss 302, Z06 vett, Radical, Ariel atom, and the GT3.

The Boss & Z06 would have required some '$tuff' to get them track ready, the others would have been a problem with some of the clubs I run with, so I went with the GT3. Turns out the GT3 was 'run hard, and put away wet'... which I have dealt with this winter.

Ray

Larry Cable

+1

sharkster

There isn't an alternative. The alternative is just that.

mrsullivan

ok, i know its sacrilege, but in 5 pages no one has mentioned, so i will...

some would say a well maintained and set up to your liking 997 C2S can be made to "approximate" the gt3 experience...

Alan C.

I think I got fairly close to that position once with an 09 C2S. However, with a couple of days in a .1 or .2 GT3 I think I would have been quicker in the .1 GT3. I'm sure I would have been quicker in the .2 GT3 I'll find out in a little over a week when I pick up my 2010 GT3.

Jlopez55

not a lot of love for the C6 Z06 vs the GT3 here for obvious reasons.

However, would you guys pick a comparably priced 997 C2S over a C6 Z06?