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larry, that's what i thought PCA = GTA, DFL

john, i think GT2 in POC could be interesting. who else is in there. if you are, i aint going, unless you drive only on 2 cylinders and 3 tires with a fried LSD.

GTS5 in nasa is tough. that's the highest class.... so cup cars are there too?

but i love the idea though.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love watching these projects as they progress, but why do you think a 996 cup car would require a "tremendous amount" of mantenance versus the street car conversion raced similarly? This seems to be debated a lot but I've never seen any analysis that supports that view. Maybe I'm missing something

Anyway, have fun with the project, we'll be enjoying the updates

 

I love the project also...Thanks..!!

BUT, I really have a hard time figuring out why you would not get an 04-05 cup...prices right now are super reasonable....probably less than you will invest in converting the yellow beast, they share 90% of the parts with the street GT3, so maintenance is NOT a cost issue over the CUP car....and resale value of the CUP will always be higher than the converted car.....

Don't get me wrong, not trying to spoil the fun here...and as a shop owner it looks like a nice, fun, rewarding project to have in the shop......but from a practical/economic perspective a cup would make more sense, fit squarley in most race classes and you would be racing it right now....instead of listening to me..

 

Agree with Rick.

If you are building the car for the fun of it, and have no concerns over $$$ (which does not seem to be the case) then stick with it.

If you want a fast car that is most economical to buy and operate, get an 04-05 cup or an older one converted to 04-05 specs.

Here is the realistic math. You probably already paid at least $50 for the donor car. At minimum looks like you will be spending another $20 on the prep and this includes minimal suspension or tranny work. So you have $70 in a car that is still only worth $50 and you are 3-4 seconds a lap slower than a 04 cup.

To make this car as fast as a cup car - spend an additional $20-30K on transmission, suspension, etc. Oh yeah for saftey a fuel cell, thats another 20. Now you have a car that might be as fast as a cup car. But it also costs as much to maintain as a cup car. And its worth less.

The cage work is great and its good that you have saftey first on your list.

If you want to save cost..... after your cage work, but the car back together and sell it as a good DE car, then buy a cup car.






Good Luck.

 

A street GT3 driven in a stock class will be cheaper to operate than a 996 Cup because of it's application. The lower cost and longer life of Hoosiers over slicks is obvious, but what is not so apparent is that the lower grip level saves axles, CV joints, brakes, bearings and bushings. Also the taller gear ratios keep the motor away from max RPM for longer periods of time, hence better mileage, less motor wear, less shifting and trans wear etc. It all adds up. Put slicks and short gears in it though and you basically have a cup car with it's increased maintenance costs.

 

my memory is light on this, but I don't think the cage meets NASA specs. I think I remember that you need a harness bar in the same plane as the main hoop.

 

Cost:

If you maintain a CUP CAR to what Porsche recommends, then a CUP CAR is more expensive:

1) Hubs/Uprights
2) Axles
3) An older Cup car will need to have its fuel cell replaces ($5000 +)
4) Hours on cup motors = 75-100 hours is its life. Talk to Porsche about a rebuild. $$$$$ (20-25K)
5) Wheels (BBS wheels with older cup cars will need to be replaced or rebuilt ($$$)
6) Tranny will need to be rebuilt in older cup cars.
7) Clutch replacement
8) Suspension pieces will need to be rebuilt ($$$)


Sure you can buy an older cup car at a decent price, but if you factor in the cost to bring that CUP CAR up to race prep, you will find yourself spending a lot of money versus a build of a GT3.

 

Gutsy move, thanks for sharing.

Ditto for comments regarding the cage, looks good.

 

i got a foot in each both. cup or something like yours.

on your side, donar car is 50 or so.
to get it right is about 30k min. anything less than that it's NOT RIGHT. i know b/c i have ran the calc over 4 years and no less than 10,000 times.

on RSRracer and Deman's side, cup car's allure is undeniable. i always hear that cups are reasonably priced. but really, if you compare engine hour/tub hour of a cup car that's as fresh as OP's donar, we are looking at 996cups for about 90k. yes, i have seen "some" exceptions, but really, a fresh cup is high 80's and one with provenance is easily 100+ (these are 996cups not 7).

i am not siding one way or another. i like cups and i like this project and as you can see, very confused...

 

Looks like a very cool build and nice cage work, but...

Since most of the suspension pieces are the same - and the ones that are different you will want to replace if you are serious about racing a GT3 street, the motor is the same (other than no variable valve timing), and the tranny is actually stronger in a cup with better synchros/shift forks, then why shouldn't you maintain your GT3 street to the same standards as a cup if you are racing it competitively?

 

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I think if it makes sense to you, then go for it.
technically it will still be "street legal"... not that you would... I am just sayin

 

Let me clarify.
The same maintenance standards go for both the GT3 and the CUP car.
My point was, that an "experienced" CUP CAR will need a good freshening over a street GT3. Hence more upfront costs. Stub axles, motor freshening, etc.

 

I agree. The way the rules are in PCA, the car wont be competitive. They should adopt a "power to weight" formula, that SCCA, NASA and other sanctioning bodies are switching over to.

Please understand that my car was designed and built to be competitive in NASA, World Challenge GTS and POC.

With the car weighing in at around 2800 with 1/4 tank of gas, and with me weighing in at 235. That puts the car in at 3035. I can race in GT3 or GT4 as I will be running slicks.

So the car will be EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE in GT3

 

I love the build, and hope you are successful either way, but I can promise you if you do build this thing out, and race it hard, you will spend more with total cost of ownership than if you just buy a decent (not perfect) 04-05 996 cup.

Market prices are not as high as everyone is saying.

A decent 996 cup 04-05 sells for $70-75K.

A decent early (05-07) 997 cup is $100K +/- $10K depending upon seller motivation.

Hell - someone in CA was selling a BRAND NEW zero hours 2007 cup for $117K a few months ago.