LFTOFFOVRSTR

Having about 10 years of HPDE/Racing experience and finally acquired my GT3 earlier this year. The best way I could describe the 997 GT3 is that it is a very precise machine. The car will respond exactly to your inputs if they are intentional or not. Initially, this can be quite intimidating, but everything about driving this car fast and in a safe manner has already been covered by a previous post. My advice having driven this car with a poor set-up and old tires is, to get fresh tires and get the car aligned correctly, and also check your differential. The biggest improvements I noticed were swapping to Nankang CR-S and tossing the worn-out stock diff for a Guards unit. These two changes gave me much more confidence in corner entry. Just like in driving any 911, once you get it right it is one of the most rewarding cars to drive on the track.

bweSteve

what the he!! is the difference between "Splice Line", and a "Separation" ?? seems they're walking a very thin line with that justification

Auto_Werks 3.6

This line appears on a significant number of falken 660s. It's not my favorite attribute, and I think I would hesitate to track them, but they seem to do fine for autocross with the splice showing up. Many times the line disappears as you wear farther into the tire. I've only ever seen these tires separate on endurance race cars.

DD GT3 RD

yeah seems like some BS to me.

yeah just wouldn’t feel comfortable at track speeds. Seems sketchy.

ngng

Before the shortages I would run NT01s exclusively. A combination of not having been on track for a few years and the shortages had me looking for a set of high perf street tires. My buddy had a set of RT615s that I put on for Thunderhill. I REALLY like that tire. 200TW tires have come a long way. The only thing I didn't like about the tires is their breakaway. Even with my BBK, I never got into ABS. Once you got past the ideal slip angle the tire would chatter when the car slide sideways. But, not a huge deal. The fact that I could arrive and drive with the same set of tires was great.

AudiOn19s

I'm in the "get it setup right and then give it another go camp". Good set of rubber (doesn't have to be slicks or Hoosiers), confirm and dial in the setup to help front grip some, confirm bars are where they need to be for good balance and then work into the principals.

Good list here..but don't over-think it when you're out there.
(i) brake hard, smooth, and straight, or else . . .;
(i) do NOT lift;
(iii) trust the power out traction (got this conceptually, but Jesus, that's gonna take some stones to employ . . .);
(iv) fore-aft weight balance is everything (and I suck at it);
(v) throttle application is mad sensitive and will ruin a turn if it's wrong;
(vi) SMOOTH or go home.

The fear of "don't lift" might be hindering you here some. As I stated before back to the gas for maintenance throttle early helps but don't be afraid of modulation to aid in iv- fore-aft weight balance. You need to move the weight around a little in your favor at times, grip levels change with elevation, surface change and a ton of other variables so if you're of the mindset that once you get back to the gas you can't modulate at all you'll suffer from understeer. Don't lift is still a very real thing, but that doesn't mean you can't slightly modulate to move weight in your favor.

I tracked bikes before I tracked anything else and one of the books that resonated the most with me was Keith Code's "A twist of the wrist" because the book has a heavy focus on contact patch management and all of the ways that you can manage what available grip you have. Ross's speed secrets books talk about it too but I really enjoyed the way the Code book laid it out.

Finally pick a low risk corner and start experimenting with trail braking. It's an essential advanced skill to go fast in these cars so the sooner you can start experimenting the sooner you can start to implement it eveywhere. Not sure if you have a sim rig of not but iRacing is a great place to hone this skill..most of the cars on iRacing, particularly the cup car require more than a real world amount of trail braking to get them to settle on entry but it's an easy way to work on the principals. if you carry too much brake from straight line to turn-in the car will lock and miss apex, if you learn to release gradually it'll turn down to apex like a dream. Again, iRacing takes more trail braking than anything I've ever driven in real life so be prepared to scale it back but it's a great way to get the mechanics down.

I haven't been at the track much the last 3 years since moving to racing Karts but if you're at Mid Ohio this summer let me know and maybe I can swing up and hop in for a session.

Wonderdan

I've been trying to work on stopping myself from doing this by practicing pushing the tail out a bit... this is where the drift guys really kick my ***. Its amazing how no matter how much advice I read about on here I realize its just seat time... more seat time . Its like going back to Vegas every 3-6 months and playing craps... keep forgetting half the **** I need to do, day 3 I'm a rockstar...but not before losing 1/2 my money.

jreifler

Good stuff, Andy. Thank you! I'm on the tire hunt and have mapped out preliminary alignment specs to try. Also been eyeing SIM setups for a while.

I definitely found myself trail braking trying to steady the entry. I normally do it to manage / maximize certain turns, but I totally see that it's part of managing this platform more generally.

Stoked to get back out there in this car. Definitely also eyeing Mid-Ohio again in '23. Will give you a shout.

Hella-Buggin'

I like the Hankook RS4's. They're not the fastest tire compared to Sport Cup 2's or RE71's but they are very predictable and after a few laps pushing on them hard chasing my buddy in his 991 RS and you feel like you've overdriven them, back off for a lap and they are good to go again. And they're less sketchy in the rain than SC2's.

jreifler

Had these on an older M car. Agree they were solid performers.

Elliotw44

I'm adding a Guard Diff kit 40/60 into my RS. Wondering how this will affect driving on the track. To my understanding the car should be more stable under braking(no wagging). But I assume this will affect understeer/oversteer as well. Appreciate any insight.

nle

The stock LSD when new on your RS has breakaway torque of 20-25ft lb. The mild Guard set should drive very similar to how the car was intended with more durability in the LSD. Wiggle under straight line braking will go away and you should be able to get on throttle much sooner in corner exits without the feeling of the rear washing out. The biggest areas I notice a difference in are with hairpin and carousel corners - you can carry a lot more speed midcorner under throttle.

Elliotw44

Edit I was incorrect with my info and actually its a 40/60 Guard Unit.

vma1788

Re: RT660- I just did 3 events back to back with my 660s and dont see any indication of the splice line. I saw a few sets doing it on IG so i inspected mine diligently since i was very nervous to have an issue on track. 3 fairly easy track days and 1k road miles and mine still have a ton of life left. Easy days but still fairly quick laps: 1:54.4 CW13 and 1:58.2 CVR (first time there). 245/35/19 & 315/30/19 for record.

As for driving impressions, I'm still shocked at how planted the rear of the car is I always thought 911s drove with the rear. I'd like more initial turn in up front but i think I am maxed out on camber. Current setup:
.2 RS
F: -3.2* camber, .5mm toe in per side, 8* caster
R: -2.4* camber, 1mm toe in per side
OSG LSD
Gurney flap on the rear wing (been considering removing this to see if it reduces rear downforce and mitigates understeer up front. Thoughts?)

DD GT3 RD

any vids on Buttonwillow lap? Ran 1:56’s in my 7.1gt3 on rt660 always trying to see places I can improve Have similar alignment except some toe out up front