Pink

I've been doing HPDE for about 10 years but only in BMWs, primarily an e36 M3. There are a good list of thing to do in that car to get it ready for track events. I want to get a 996 for weekend track duty. I'm sure I'll find a lot of information on here, but what specifically does the 996 need (besides IMS) to be a good track day candidate. Here are some things an e36 m3 needs for example as well as some more obvious track day needs for any car.

- Reinforced rear trailing arm, Rear shock mounts, Rear Sway bar and front subframe
- Negative Camber in front
- Welded oil pump nut, Oil Pan Baffle, Dry sump - (Some oil starvation solution for lateral forces)
- Oil Cooler
- Secondary fuel pump to combat fuel starvation
- Brake Cooling ducts/hoses
- Race Brake Pads/High Temp Fluid
- Cooling System upgrades - radiator, water pump, expansion tank etc.

zbomb

No particular order:

Wheels / Tires
Coilovers
Assure all control arms and bushings in good shape
Brake fluid
Pads / Rotors / lines
GT3 Brake ducts
Roll bar
Seats
Shifter
Weight reduction / noise escalation (stock mufflers)

Keep on top of maintenance, change oil frequently.

That should be a good start.

Many people will talk about the reliability issues inherent in the platform you are choosing, and many will talk about running them on track for years without issue - do your research.

badabing

Withdrawn

BFT3.2

If you dont replace the front control arms with GT3 ones that have shims for negative camber a good option are the Elephant Racing camber plates, their design allows for more adjustment range than other brands. Using those plates and PSS9 i'm able to get -3.2 in front.

If you do coilovers and lower the car you may need Tarrett toe links in the rear, I cant speak for a 996 but on a 986 you won't be able to get proper toe with the stock ones when lowered.

Pink

Thanks for the start. Yeah, I'm in research mode and trying to identify the best candidate for sale that has some of these things done already.

Steve113

why not just get a 996 Cup ? if you are trailering

Everyone tries to build a track car and they ultimately spend more then a Cup car and have half the car . Also Cup will hold its value veryyyy well

txhokie4life

Having tracked a Boxster S for 10K miles at CoTA -- I can tell you what I did to keep it alive.

I also did the same for a Cayman S but only 1 weekend before I sold it (not the cars fault) -- and our ChampCar Boxster that's probably got 100 hours of racing on it.

Assuming this is a drive to the track car
1/2" deep sump, and x51 or equivalent baffle.
Underdrive pulley (Mantis or TuneRS) to keep the power steering alive.
Center Radiator if it doesn't have it (the Boxster S did, the Cayman S didn't)
Racing brake fluid, and something like Pagid 29 brake pads.
gt3 brake ducts.

I consider that the basics...

All the negative camber you can get.
stainless steel brake lines
we've never done anything to the subframes.

You can go with the gt3 oil cooler if you like -- but the stock one on the 996 is larger than the Boxster S, and I never did that mod. (I might even have one laying around)

I've never had fuel starvation issues.


Oh and "Don't Lift" stickers every where your eyes might wander :-)

Quadcammer

This has been discussed literally 400 million times. A search will tell you everything. For instance, the normal 996 carrera doesnt have coolant pipes to pin or weld, so thats not useful for you

De Jeeper

Check the aos before every session or get a uaos or motorsport aos. Its been the cause if more then one hydrolocked motor at the track.

Pink

Perfect, thanks for the list. This was exactly what I was looking for. Some of the other threads I came across were pretty obvious like "coilovers," so this is a good list of track day specific needs.

And no to the cup car idea, budget is 20-30, not 50 or whatever a cup car costs, it will be driven to the track.

And Yes, don't lift until you see God himself.

mhm993

For Pink’s budget, buying a built car is the only option.

PGas32

There is (or was) a nice silver 996 in the classifieds. Built and maintained by Goldcrest, slotted in to GT3 in PCA. Was asking $36, buy that and be done

Hokie

Helpful thread for someone looking to do the same with a new-to-me 996. Thanks for the responses thus far.

JSETarga

I have been prepping and building and fixing my 996 for the last year. Here is what I have found to be "necessary."

The AOS went out on the first track event, so bought a motorsport AOS and have not had issues since.
I bought the FVD oil baffle/pan extender to help with oil starvation
It had an IMS solution done to it right before I got the car
I bought MCS coil overs that I have not installed yet but will be before next track day. I will say I though, I was suprised how much the HR lowering springs helped stifen and get rid of front floatty feeling it had.
With tarret front camber plates and HR springs I can get UP TO -2.33 front and -3.47 rear camber, which is enough for a dual purpose car.
Center radiator and associated upgrade parts helped with temps
wheel studs make changing wheels much easier than those bolts
high flow cats, headers and tune really made throttle response and feel a lot better. It may not be a substantial amount of power on dyno, but it made a big difference in actual feel and response
I have had to replace the cats, fuel injectors, spark plugs, ignition coils, a power steering hose, water pump, MAF (wasnt actually bad though just thought it was), some water pump hoses, so have some money for these types of issues that may arrise.
I bought a durametric to troubleshoot issues that I have had
Track Pads (take your choice) and SRF fluid and steel brake lines

I have spent money on other things too, but that gives you an idea. I am having a cage installed in week and a half. This car has definately required more than I anticipated

daylorb

I'm glad to see this comment as I've been thinking the same. I'm still a relative noob driving, had a Spec Miata for a while, cut my teeth on it, have driven my 987.2 Spyder at Cota a few times, taken some lessons here in Austin and have been looking at something dedicated for track days. The used cup cars always seem appealing. What is the downside?

I'm assuming no nannies is likely the biggest for a noob? I'm assuming rebuild can go far more than 30hrs if it is used for weekend track duty? Seems like cars like this are a pretty amazing value... https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1232215