Tom@TPC Racing

Just did this 2 days ago so haven't been on track yet. But we have crazy sporadic rain storms here in the Northeast so testing on a wet parking lot the diff does work!

Astrix

I did this on my 997 early this year before the season commenced, it changed the car dramatically, it's hooked up and it's more predictable.

I did it in my old 6 gt3 for a mate and he notes the same improvements on track.

My suspicion on the OEM is that those friction plates will not live up to more preload like the Guard components, no preload = load on/off in accel/ de-accel transitions. I found the car got unsettled on hard braking.. No longer an issue

Tom@TPC Racing

Thanks for your input. Actually I have never found my car to be unsettled during hard braking(except for one time when I specifically paired PFC-11 pads with NT01 tires, when I changed pads the next day the unsettling was immediately gone). Perhaps between my suspension setup and my braking style it is less provoking of unsettling. Driver do mods to achieve different goals, my goal with LSD build is to improve putting power down for exit. With the increased exit mechanical grip I will take some wing angle out.

Tom@TPC Racing

Even though the 997.1 Cup replica wing has proven to be aerodynamically effective, the fit and finish is not exactly factory quality. Which is okay because it cost significant less than a factory wing making it a good performance-to-dollar value. So doing what I can to jazz it up by buying various sheets of carbon fiber to make more attractive end plates to replace the aftermarket foam core end plates.



Using the foam core end plate as a template.



Labor of love.






Had some Ducati Superbike fairing bolts that came in handy. They blend nicely with CF.



Ahhh. Much better than foam core and almost factory-like.





Stay tuned for more CF parts from those sheets...now that I'm on a CF kick.

Astrix

And that is where I have noticed the grip, especially in the lower speed, tighter turns, I can come in much hotter, trail it, rotate it and get back on the gas....but now i want cup ring and pinion...

Keep up the good work, I like reading your updates.

Tom@TPC Racing

Thank you Sir!

Tom@TPC Racing

Okay, I probably went a little overboard with this CF kick that I've been on for the past two weeks. As they say, pictures are worth a thousand words so I'll let them speak for themselves. They represent every minute of my spare time for the past two weeks from 6am-1am. Oh, as I was wrapping things up tonight I remember a high school substitute teacher once told me I would never amount to anything obsessing about cars all the time, well, I think you might be wrong Mr. Sub.

I remade the ram air channels in CF. No appreciable performance gain by changing material from aluminum to CF. Just wanted to do it. Its part of the TomSport package.














The factory Nav is outdated and radio suck anyway...




The full TomSport package right here-


















Found a way to secure the window and mirror switches.



I have made it on the preferred customer list this month of the specialty hardware company.



The two-piece stainless steel countersunk hardware looks boss on carbon.






Has been raining at 5pm like clockwork for past few days. Come on, the shop is packed with cars I need a spot to work.












The door latch is not finished yet. I ordered red rally pull straps from the UK. Should be in next week.

shadowz

Door cards look great! Love following this build thread

Tom@TPC Racing

Thank you!

Tom@TPC Racing

I consider myself to be pretty okay with suspension setup but a novice with the diff...until a couple of weeks ago. I purposely didn't seek out any help from anyone here at the shop and took on the understanding(in terms of the inner workings and the cause and effect to setup) and the rebuild/upgrade labor as a consumer. Matt at Guard was more than helpful when I had a few questions. I didn't expect him to but he answered my silly rookie questions on a Sunday via email. Thanks again Matt!

Immediate after the Guard diff rebuild/upgrade I measured the breakaway torque at 82.5 ft-lbs. A very nice upgrade from zero!

First track day, with no other changes, I was 0.7 second quicker at my home track. For me, the improvement came from corner exit. I did experienced huge corner exit understeer that I didn't have before having a highly effective locking diff that wants to propel the car straight, so I adjusted my driving on entry by turning more getting the car tucked in to be more in line to the exit then hammer down! The locking diff is so effective that I even reduce the rear wing angle from 7 degrees down to 4.5 degrees. I also stiffened the rear sway bar to attribute to less exit push.

For the second track day, I knew there's more time by getting rid of the exit understeer so I throw the kitchen sink at it- soften front bar, replaced 70/130nm spring with 100/150nm and raised the rear height 3mm. I uprated the rear springs for two reason- 1) to reduce weight transfer to the rear during exit throttle and I was thinking the cup replica rear wing was too much for old springs seeing photos of my car squatting. With adjusting my driving some more to setup changes was worth 1.4 second! I know there's more on tap with more seat time.

Afterwards I checked the breakaway torque, its settling at 73.6 fit-lbs. FYI- these are my travel wheels/tires.




A highly effective locking diff working as a system with the suspension setup is the bomb! I am a very happy camper but next time I'll soften the front bar one more hole to see if the exit can be even better or gets the car loose.

On the carbon side, I installed Porsche Motorsport flaps for the front tires. To be frank, I expected better fit and finished(my homemade CF pieces are way better quality) but they do fit flush with the .1 Cup front spoiler and adds a nice touch aesthetically; my Forgeline GS1R's and Hoosiers still protude beyond the flap.








Spring swap on a Friday night and softening front bar...

Tom@TPC Racing

Back in July I had extremely positive results from rebuilding/upgrading the worn out OEM limited-slip differential using parts from Guard Transmission. With some suspension tweaks and driving adjustment to pair with the new "lock up" feature I have received compliments from my track peers on how planted the car was during overtaking. I am still on cloud 9 about the way the car is now, not that it was bad before but having a highly effective diff just ties the whole package together nicely from the shocks, springs, sway bars, down to the brake pad compound selection. So now what? If you've been reading this thread all along then you know damn well that I want to raise the bar and jump over it! ...its definitely a personality flaw. Without further ado, my next mod -





Sorry, Matt@Guard I just had to disassembly it to show everyone the beautiful billet internals. To say these photos don't do the parts justice is really an understatement. On the business end, we up the preload a little bit for more locking.




Contemporary or modern? If I had the means I'd buy another as a table piece. Love that spider pins have oiling channels machined in.




Do I need this? Absolutely Not! Do I want this? F@CK YEAH!!!

bmwtye

Very nice Tom. What is the difference between the guards GT2 pro diff and and guards GT3 club diff.

Spyerx

Materials. If I recall from Matt the function is the same but the higher end diffs are made from much Stronger billet

Luke Huxham

Hey! Small world...

I was just going through your whole build process, love it. My car still has a long way to go, once I get better parking situation I want to buy a daily and strip my GT3 to make it a little more race orientated. It's a shame here we don't have the same support as you guys do in America for aftermarket parts, really want that guard LSD but unsure how to go about getting one from Japan.

Best of luck with you building, eagerly watching.

Tom@TPC Racing

Yep. Both Guard Club and Pro are billet. Both billet materials are stronger than the OEM cast metal.