RickBetterley

Beware - Ben speaks the truth.
Though I must admit, he and Paolo ended up with some very nice cars.

MUSSBERGER

The 986 rops does not offer as much head clearance as the 987 rops does.

ronbo56

+1

Nothing says learning to drive like a normally aspirated 944.

I bought a well-maintained '86 for $5k, put $10k into the suspension and a few grand more into a cage, seats, harnesses, steering wheel, trailer, etc. (adds up fast!). It's a safe, nimble car that's a ton of fun and the downside really is pretty modest. Also, it's built to 944 Cup rules, so next year - bring it!

If I had more money and more experience I'd go with the RS America, and I wouldn't throw an SC out of my garage, but on a per $ basis you can't beat the 944.

karlooz

boxster S. pi icked mine up early this year in the low 20Ks. bought a safety devices roll cage for it. waiting to have it installed. stock supsension is too wallowy. a decent coilover suspension (pss9s) will transform the car.

local pca DEs allow the BK extension to be used. racing requires a cage.

the boxster is very easy to drive and the steering/handling is telelpathic. much more stable than my 996.

negative thing is that there is chassis flex. the safety devices cage should stiffen it some and a full weld in cage would transform the car. local fabricator quoted 3K for a cage. another problem with the boxster is the power steering fluid overheats and leaks but there is and undrive pulley that solves it.

good thing is that it is a modern porsche with plenty of parts. you can even use gt3 cup car suspension bits for it.

VERBOTN

Karlooz:

Shhhhhhhh..... the only thing left is the 3.6 dry sump. They are lovely cars, PSS9's and GT3 LCA totally change the car: point and shoot

karlooz

heh heh.

i love the handling. so much so that i am debating which car i should turn into the dedicated track car.... my 996 or 986S. the 996 has a stiffer chassis and a hard top.

paradisenb

This is why I am getter closer and closer to a Cayman S for my track car. Coupe. Mid-engine. 295 HP. Great brakes. Very forgiving. Now, if used ones would just come down another $10k.
Look at the qualifying results from PCA Club Racing, Cayman S's pull times on par with the 993 RS which is a class up.

karlooz

i would go with the cayman S as well if they are in the 20K range. that'll be in another 4~5years.

Lou L

I'm prejudiced, but I vote for the 968 - the great handling, balance and race parts of the 944, but with normally aspirated decent power. I have seen 968's becoming more and more competetive in PCA and its comfortable and reliable. (Gee, guess what I race)

Lou

mdrums

There is a guy that runs with us at Sebring in an awesome 914 that has great power and is modded up for the track. That car is very fast with what he has done.

I have not seen anyone mention a C5 Corvette. That car could be had in your price range and there are a ton of track accessories for it. The Vette would be a lot of fun too.

karlooz

c5? for a self professed novice?

mdrums

Sure why not as long as he understands the quirks of the car and drives at 7/10ths while he learns. I drive a 2006 997S Cabriolet and guys turn there nose up at my car saying it is too much car for a beginner. However I am safe, leave my ego at home and am learning a lot and having an absolute blast.

OldGuy

Not that I get to track that much right now with my back but I have tracked my 993TT and both GT3s
(997 not yet but will) and I crew for a guy in VARA-
This is what I have picked up here-
get a 964 or SC 911 and explore the limits with this underpowered 911 (compared to your TT) and get everything out of it you can-You will then enjoy your TT more-It doesnt make sense to me (I am dense) to get a different kind of car- non rear engined -with your TT there. You may even want to track it once you discover how to drive a 911 correctly( I havent yet)

One other thing no one has mentioned speaking of VARA( Vintage Auto Racing association) You can go open wheel for really cheap- My buddy has a 1994 Van Deimon and he showed me one with trailer-spare motor wheels and lots of parts for $18K-looks like a small Indy car. 2 litre ford motor
which I think is the most used motor in the world-Really cheap-lots of parts and pretty easy to understand and work on- align etc. I dont think the the avon tires were overly expensive. I crew for him and those guys have a hoot. Any of those older cars are inexpensive to track and race.
VARA I think has a 25 year limit on stock cars like 911's 914 etc etc. But real race cars-formula fords
continental 2000's stuff like that are 10 years or something like that. If you are interested you can google VARA.