modifier

Probably worth it to take a trip up north just a ways and check out Orbit Racing. They have a bunch of Cups in house that they service and race. I bought mine from them and it is a very clean car and just like it was advertised.

http://www.orbitracing.com/

tkerrmd

very good advice, one of the best around

tiara4300

Thanks guys for the great advice. I appreciate everyone offering to share their experiences. I'm going to do as much searching on the forum before bothering you guys with simple questions. I did my due diligence the modern way , by watching youtube videos of cup cars for hours last night. It does seem that with the introduction of the 991 cup for 2014 there will be more 997s available. I really do like the way the sequential box seems to work.
One question , I see mentions of an auto blipper system. Does that mean without that system you still heel toe the down shifts? Is that a Porsche system or an aftermarket accessory? I've driven a F430 Challenge car and of course the throttle blips were automatic, is the 997 system the same?

tiara4300

Thanks Glen for your offer to help I will take you up once I'm closer to a decision.


How many motor and or tranny builds have you done in the 17k kms?

Am I to understand the 997 Cup has no ABS?

Glen

Zero on either. Put over 100 hours on the "30" hour motor.

No failures ever on any of the 15 cups I've owned. Just updated the clutch packs in my LSD on one of my outlaws to the 4 plate from the old 2 plate. Went through the gearbox because it was out and it was perfect inside.

The 3.6 motor never seems to fail unless you do something stupid, plenty of amateur/club cups out there past 200 hours. They will soften on power over time but for club purposes they run well even then.

Saw a 2002 3.6 world challenge blow up at over 200 hours but in fairness that car was never maintained well.

3.8 seems to soften @ 70 when raced hard in an imsa type or pro environment. Down 8-20 hp.
Theory is that the more aggressive side thrust angle wears the pistons out sooner, creating blow by etc...


Only had to change a 5th gear one time in my 7 due to a chipped tooth. Found it when doing fluid change. Gearbox was still working fine. This was before the days if Blippers so they are far more reliable now.


No abs on 997 cups.

Very synoptic version of my last 10 years.

Love pmna, they are great to work with and are stand up when needed.

Back to the most important point...

Safest platform I know of. The factory has wrecked a bunch of them over the past 50 years and always improved driver safety throughout that time on the 911 bases race cars.

toni

Glen

you want say that world challenge motor with 2 ring pistons can run 100hrs.?I can't believe,tought 2 ring pistons can run maximum 40-50 hrs.

Glen

I ran my 2007 WC 100 hours from new. It failed after that, the failure was not internal it was the screw from the twin flap intake that let go. The very same screw that was the recall on street RS motors and technical bulletin put out by pmna for 2008 up cup cars.

The 2002 challenge was the 2 ring also and it blew up at well over 200 hours. Was a friends car and was not serviced regularly as probably it should have been.It failed due to the ring landing cracking. Those pistons were updated after 2002.

My 3.8 rsr motor had over 50 and was running great when I sold it to a gentleman who needed it for his rsr. He refreshed it and suffice to say it looked very good inside.

Do your leak downs and keep a crankcase pressure sensor on the car. Get a baseline and set alarm for if it spikes significantly off your baseline, link a big light to the alarm and if the light goes off, rebuild it...

Pro car is different story, don't want a failure to cost a championship so better safe than sorry.

You can see my posts for a decade saying the same things, always met with disbelief...

Great cars , very safe and reliable, also very reasonable to run all things considered...

roketman

What ever you buy get documentation for what they claim about the car “like brand new or just rebuilt”. Repair orders are key to cutting thru the B.S. Also get a pre purchase inspection by a “reputable expert” Its worth the extra cost.
A used race car ,is a used race car…
My 02 having done this to many times!

Polesitter

I agree with Glen's comments above. As to your blipper question, it can be retrofitted onto any 997 Cup. I'm not sure about 996s. I would recommend you doing this because it is a good way to prolong transmission life unless your heel and toe is always perfect. I believe the part is around 1,500 or so. If you really want to look under the tent, we will be running a private test this coming week with several cups. Send me a private message....

tcsracing1

For an open lapping/track day car under $100k with resonable operating costs and service at home in your own shop I would say again, Cayman spec race car.

Cayman racers can be found for under 100k.
Replacement DFI engines can be had (and in 3.8L) for $15k and are bulletproof.
You can choose between a manual or PDK transmission!
Very comfortable/predictable car on the track.

Now, as much as I love a Cup car they are serious machines.
The 996 Cup has ABS and basic manual transmission. Not a bad choice. Engine rebuilds are approx $20k+ if required.
The 997 has no ABS and a sequential shift. A different animal. Takes a while to get used to it. Hurt it and it is $25k. Engine rebuilds are also $20k+. Auto blippers and ABS can be added to the 997 but at a cost of course. A lot of car for lapping days. You really got to want it.

example of a cayman racer:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-PORSCHE...vip=true&rt=nc

FLA997

Boy, isn't that the understatement of the year....!

The BS has been stacked high for sure on Cups, and almost always from those who don't own one.

spg993tt

Lets presume the costs to run a Cayman is X. Cost to run a 996 Cup is about 1.2 X and a 997 Cup is 1.5, 1.6 X. i've had an assortment of various caymans, 996 and 997 cups and while i would regret ever recording the exact figures and actually comparing, thats about the sum total of it.
engine wear, trans wear, axles, brake pads, rotors and the big one is tires.
time away from home, family, aggravation is the same across the board.
an average cayman can annoy you. ive had 2 that were not done great. bad choices on the build. and then my WC which was better than most cup cars and more fun.
there are alot of nice caymans out there but look at the build pieces, the equipment selection, cage fabrication, and all the tricks, etc.

nice thing abou the factory cups is most of that stuff is done at the factory and you just get in and have fun.

for lapping days, i thin you'd hate a cup car. way too much. too much cost, too much aggravation, too much up keep. you need osmeone to probably help with it at the track, so many little demands that thing has....for a fun lapping day, i agree with TSC. the lure of a cup is huge, but so are the costs, the aggravation , etc. and all to basicallly get held up by slower cars in pursuit of another fast lap.

the cayman , if done right, can be more fun, cheaper, and less aggravation.
for lapping days, that'd be my choice.

Glen

Agree with above.

Caveat: the Pirellis last longer.

Veloce Raptor

+1

FFaust

This thread is becoming a gem.

Glen, ^ this is a great idea. Can you tell more? Is this an off the shelf system, or something "home-made" by Topp? Where do you hook up to the crankcase?