jonnkycvrd

Hi all, been lurking on this forum and the cup car forum for a while now and wanted to get some your input/thoughts on whether a clubsport makes sense for me at this point?

Currently have a 991.1 GT3RS that I bought primarily to get into tracking more seriously. Managed 20+ days last year and trying to match that this year. Cars had some minor work done to make it more suitable for the track(alignment, spherical bearings, harness/cage, AP racing brake kit, and just got some 19s to run this summer). Made some good progress in terms of lap times, running more with intermediate/advanced groups.

What I like, so far, about the 3RS is the consumable cost is manageable financially for me. Tires every 4-6 events and brakes pad. I'm a rookie when it comes to serving cars but these things are easy for me to do on the 3RS.

I've ruled out a cup car, the maintenance on those far exceeds my budget. But curious on how much of the maintenance on the Clubsport is DIY vs a dedicated race shop?

What I find appealing about the GT4 is well the obvious racecar looks, sounds and vibes are cool. Obviously it's more refined for the track and safety is better. Lastly, there is some club racing at my local track I could partake in, racing in general sounds fun but not sure I've got the $$$ for that yet.

Pic of me in my RS just for fun.

zedcat

Worth considering. I tracked street cars for a number of years including GT3/4s. Began to be a little concerned about safety, and when the 718 Clubsport was announced and it could be bought without a race series commitment, I jumped. No regrets. I self support at the track. I take it to my long time Porsche dealer for things like alignment, PDK service, or if I'm lazy they do oil changes and brake pads. Otherwise regular maintenance is straightforward. Some things require specialist service but infrequent. Specifically the fire system bottle service. I am coming up on fuel cell recertification too. There is a learning curve for things like the Cosworth dash but not too difficult. As an owner you can set up an account with Porsche Motorsport allowing access to the Tech manual and parts catalog. The tech manual has procedures for many routine service items. Many parts are the street car parts with multiple sources. Motorsports parts can be ordered with an account.

A couple of important things - do you already have a trailer/ tow vehicle? Or ready to take that step? And, tires- the car is designed to run slicks. I order them direct from Hankook, or Frisby for Pirelli and get a mobile tire service to mount them. They will not last nearly as long as you described for your 991 GT3. the most I have driven on a set was 13 heat cycles that's about 3 typical DE days and they were pretty awful the last day. I just wanted to see how far I could go on them - I had some chunking and cord showing at the end.

That said they are great fun cars to drive. There's nothing like a factory race car. With PDK, ABS, sophisticated TC/ECS they are easy to drive. The grip from fresh tires is amazing vs a street car.

Hope that's useful, best of luck

GT3_Driver

Yes What he said...110 %

And that coming, and still have, a 2018 GT3

jonnkycvrd

Thanks for all of the insight!

I trailer the GT3 most places, nice to have the space for all the crap you bring but never use.

CaymanR99

I have a 981 Clubsport. It hit the sweet spot for me with a street car engine and PDK. Brakes are the same as a 991 cup. Unbelievable compared to a street car.

Once you drive a race car on track it will be very hard to go back to a street car. Be forewarned.

Daytona4RS

My 718 GT4 CS was my first PCar which I bought at the beginning of last season after years of BMW race cars. I put about 900 miles on it over a few events. The car pretty much needed nothing aside from fluids. I did have it detuned a little for NASA GTS3. So that was around 330whp compared to 400whp stock. I stuck with mainly running Hoosiers and Pirelli scrubs. Hoosiers didn't go too well. Only about 3-4 HC's before I began to struggle some. My setup really wasn't dialed in for them though. I found the Pirelli scrubs to have much better longevity for my purposes. I think you will find running cost to be similar to your GT3. I did work with a shop for prepping the car every other event. But I really didn't have any issues that I felt couldn't be handled as DIY. The fluid change on the gearbox is a pain even for the dealership. So I wouldn't suggest taking that on.

I switched to a 4RS CS in Oct and even after only 4-5 days around 500 miles total, it's a completely different animal than the GT4. The car goes through consumables at a much higher rate. Seems like pads are only lasting me around 300 miles. Also going through rotors and various mechanical components at a higher rate as well. I'd say the maintenance cost falls between a CS and Cup. I guess that's just the cost of the higher level of performance. I'd say the GT4 is a really good option based on what you've said. Values seem to have dropped a good bit since Dec. May be just the winder slowdown, but I don't recall a similar dip in prior years. I guess as the 4RS's have become more prevalent more of the GT4's have come available causing price declines.

911fanboy

I just bought a 981 CS, Maintenance and consumables less costly than a cup car. My cup had no ABS. I'm able to brake much harder now! One trivial concern re trailering. My CS has fixed windows. I cannot exit the car unless I raise the side of my trailer, at least without extreme difficulty..

RossP

Lots of people have traveled the path you are on. GT4CS is a very manageable step from street car into factory race car, especially in terms of reliability, maintenance, cost. The CS platform is largely the same as the street car so your service/rebuild intervals are still estimated based on mileage, not time. With that said, a factory race car is still much more expensive than a street car. As the speeds increase, so does the money burn.

TMANN

Ditto what others have said, so I'll just add that the increased safety systems (factory tested) were my #1 factor for switching to a CS from a trailered, dedicated street car. Along with the joy of using a tool for its intended purpose - race car for the track with wrap/ livery means no worries (being OCD) about paint blemishes from track debris, rubber sludge, etc. as opposed to diaper-detailing a $200K street car after every event to maintain its resale value. Its my third anniversary this month of owning a CS, pure joy, no looking back. These "hey guys..." posts come out every winter, fun to see, but we should sticky a post that says...Just do it!

mongolikecandy

I asked a very similar question a little over a year ago
https://rennlist.com/forums/gt4-club...rt-vs-gt3.html

I bit the bullet and bought a 718 CS. It's been awesome! keep in mind you'll need to tow it around to get pre track inspections done, which is a bit of a PITA.

bhf_clt

What color green is your 992 GT3? I've got one in British Racing Green - can't tell if that's what you have or Irish Green.

jonnkycvrd

Thanks all! Already have the truck and trailer so towing's not a big deal. Have been able to do oil change, brake fluid flush and brake pads so minor maintenance isn't a big issue. Next question I guess to ponder is which clubsport haha

RossP

718 Comp. Values have dipped a bit in the last couple of years (to my dismay) which makes it the best value in the Clubsport lineup.

mongolikecandy

Python green, Porsche Atlanta's lighting was kinda dim

bhf_clt

You're not kidding.