gbaker

Race track = race car.

/thread

DrJupeman

I've tried to make a dual purpose car work and it just doesn't. I was destroying tires (MPSCs) in 1 track weekend with a streetable car because the compromise alignment simply doesn't work.

A beginner need not jump into a track car immediately, but once you start going fast, gbaker is spot on.

930man

its a hard choice.... i had dedicated track cars for a long time and i really think it is the way to go but choose wisely... the 944s and 996s are great choices.. i tried something different i have a car that i drive on the track ran the mess out of the other day then loaded it up on trailer got home changed wheels, and drove it to a black tie event that night and grocery store the next day... it may not be the fastest car out there but it is sure fun to drive... ( i wish i would have remembered to wash the numbers off the windows!!!!! )

i do have a full " improved" suspension and race pads they do squeel a bit!

todinlaw

I have one more thought to add on this topic. before I bought the 3, I had a 996 TT. After my lease was up I traded it in and for a long time, a year, I did not replace it till I bought the 3. My complaint was the TT was it was so much car I could not really use it or even get on it without taking big risk in going to Jail, (ohio is real up tight about speeding) So when I bought the 3 I said if I don' track it don't buy it. Well I did track it and now i am addicted to it. Bluntly, I do not get any enjoyment driving it at 65 mph to work in traffic. maybe a night out with the wife is ok but I really only care to drive it on the track anyway. So My car is registered but it has roll bar, GT3 seats and harnesses. I would like to get a bypass and then it will really get difficult to drive on the street. If I had tons of money and I don't, I would make the 3 a dedicated track car. but I still have 3 years of lease payments to go, if you know what I mean.

930man

the car does wander all over the highway!

blake

+1! And that is what happened to me as well... My car is registered, but the only road use it sees includes breaking in new pads/rotors and driving to the dealership for maintenance.

Good luck with your decision.

-Blake

930man

hell i would say im addicted ... but it is a trip to run to grocery stoe with a full race exhaust and and some banging floating rotors i love when some one says you brakes are worn you need to get them changed lmao

sechsgang

buy my car...it runs real gooood...







seriously, do it...

Crazy Canuck

I always wanted a 911. So I bought a 997 Carrera S. Went to the track. Hooked like a ho on crack.

Drove 1 season w/PS2s and shredded them. Repeatedly. Kept cording the outer front driver's side tire. Bought RA-1s and a set of 18s since PS2s in 19" are ungodly expensive. Drove for awhile. Was about to put seats, harnesses, roll bar etc. in car. Since I am so damn tall my helmet would rub on headliner so I had to recline. Made driving very uncomfortable to the point of not being enjoyable. Decided against butchering beautiful Carrera S.

Decided to leave 997 more or less stock. Put deposit on 997 GT3. Passed on first one offered to me. Noticed rapidly improving Canadian dollar (vs. US dollar). Woo Hoo! Did some math. Figured out I could buy a 996 GT3 from the US for slightly more than the difference of trading my 997 CS in for a Canadian spec 997 GT3. Easy decision. If I don't drive the 997 anymore I sell it.

After months of watching bought '04 996 GT3 in July 2007 w/980 miles on it in the color I wanted relatively close to home. Out came the stock seats which suck *** and in went DAS rollbar, OMP seats (driver's bolted a rabbit-hair off the floor), toe-links, aggressive alignment etc. I love it. I love the headroom. I love the fixed back buckets. I love no sunroof. I love no PASM, TC, PMS etc. I love the turn-in. I love the sound. I love the 997 on the street. I hate the GT3 on the street. I love the GT3 on the track. Each has their element and I appreciate each more in the environment within which they excel.

I am fortunate that the company I work for has a few HD pickups around along with a bunch of car trailers in inventory that I can use/demonstrate while towing my car to the track so it isn't directly on my dime. Indirectly yes, because the company is partly mine.

Dedicated track car is the way to go.

earlyapex

A street car is full of compromises in safety and performance.

930man

so you say.... lmao

Crazy Canuck

How is that hammer you call a GT2?

930man

its quick ... hella of a beast to drive on the track.... but ran some low 2:02s the other day at vir ,,, and i thought wtf.... what a blast .. damn the AC was on and so was the radio.......

but what the hell its not my ole cup car..... but having some fun with it

1AS

I think our initial poster had a significant economic concern, in that he couldn't have 3 cars.
To have a dedicated track car (I have 4, so you know how nuts I am), you need a tow vehicle, a trailer, a track car, and a place to store the trailer and car. Plus, it all makes no sense if you don't enjoy driving your street car daily. I personally wouldn't want to drive a truck everywhere I went.
For our poster, I think keeping his Porsche fairly stock ( Maybe just springs and rear bar) will allow him to use the car and drive on the track. I think a low cost track car and trailer is better, if one can swing it, in addition to the initial fleet.
Having said that, there is some beauty to just being able to drive your street car to the track, rather than loading and unloading trailer and tools, and averaging 15 mph slower on the trip out and the trip home. That's why I got a new CLK Black Series- namely the ability to leave work and go to the track with fewer hassles.
In the best of worlds, you need 4 cars. One sports car to drive every day, one that is track tuned and can be drive to the track, one dedicated track car for really pushing the envelope, one tow vehicle, and don't forget the trailer. And the warehouse. AS

RonCT

As I own both a dedicated track car (964 C2, racing suspension, seats, roll bar, harnesses, etc.) and a street / DE 997S, I'll say this... There's something really cool about taking my wife out to dinner at night in the 997S, getting home, swapping pads and wheels / tires, and heading to the track in the morning (PSCups). I really don't want a tow vehicle, and I don't have to have that last ounce of theoretical performance of the all-out race car. If I wanted to go into club racing, then that would have been another matter.