fstockcarrera

Sorry I'm guessing all relative Rookies

Dwane

Scared myself real good in turn 7 at Tremblant a few years back in my 964...ran out of talent...if I was driving a faster car...

Matt Lane

This is a fascinating thread. Like most things, lots of valid points of view, but the fundamental truth comes out once the dust settles.

Yes, it needs to be properly aligned (and locked down to stay that way).

Yes, it needs a functional LS differential.

In other words, Yes, it's a track car.

The real issue is that it's a LOT of car, and most of us are not a LOT of drover.

At least I'm not.

That's ok. Still a lot of fun driving kit within our comfort level.

Cheers

Matt

Errsomeone

TXE36: PM sent to leave the thread on topic.

9.5 Degrees

With all due respect, the highlighted area reflects a vehicle that is highly modified in the suspension department and far from stock. granted the driver skill is the highest level of variable, but the OP did not relay if the GT3's that have been damaged on track were of the stock variety or not which throws a huge variable into the mix. My guest is that a stock 996 GT3 would be more of a handful for you or other experienced people that have posted in this thread. To say that you have a car that is set up perfectly and then go out and do laps at 10/10s is disingenuous. Guaranteed another drover with experience would say your 10/10s is his 8/10s. Guaranteed a good driver of a stock 996 GT3 could get in a modified one such as yours and easily best your laps times because they are working with a much harder platform that is not optimized thus making your car seem almost easy to drive. Once again, not trying to throw stones, but there are too many variables in this conversation to be a one stop shop for all in terms of answers to the initial question.

The other things that have been pointed out is that any GT3 is going to get more attention just because of the model. early 911s spin all the time, probably at a higher rate than GT3s, but don't seem to be mentioned. The fact that 996 GT3s are limited in production numbers also would lend to the fact that they would garner more attention in a crash.

Finally, knowing the coolant line fittings have been an issue, how many of these GT3s have had a spin and/or crash due to that? Surely a category that would be independent of either driver skill or level of modification.

hf1

You make good points, with few caveats:
1. Most of the 6gt3's unpredictability can be eliminated by adding rear toe links to keep the rear alignment fixed. The rest of the mods on my car are performance (and safety) based. They may make it faster but they don't necessarily make the car easier to drive at the limit. For instance, IMO, a car with stiffer springs, more camber, and sticky tires is more of a challenge to drive at its (admittedly higher limit) compared to a stock one on street tires (and rear toe links). If one follows your line of thought, then a tricked out 6cup should be the easiest to drive at the limit.

EDIT: Btw, my car still has the stock LSD. Most people say replacing it with Guard LSD improves the car's handling and predictability by a large margin, especially under braking into turns which is when it counts most.

2. You are missing the point about 10/10ths. Every car and set-up has its own 10/10ths limit of grip on its four contact patches. A good driver should be able to safely find and straddle this limit relatively quickly. Granted, there are always drivers who will be faster than me, but I highly doubt that someone can find and straddle a grip limit that is 25% higher than the one found by me in the same car. I'm referring to your statement that my 10/10ths could be someone else's 8/10ths. 8 or 10/10ths has nothing to do with the absolute speeds one is used to driving a certain track in different cars.

multi21

Until you've won a DE, you don't know...

Steve113

I may see this stuff more the most unfortunately .
It’s what most of said Way to steep a learning curve. Focused more on speed and less on technique and line

LuigiVampa

Out of all the DE days I have attended the most often banged up car has been a GT3. Interestingly, I recall that it is normally in the first session in the first few laps. Over exuberance combined with cold tires is my thoughts. I have an awesome collection of banged up cars on my iPhone but out of courtesy to the owners I never post stuff like that.

Those are my non-scientific comments.

RickBetterley

And some science is what we need. 😃
I wish I had access to some actuarial data to see what the incidence rate and severity looks like for different cars, different tracks, weather, run group, sponsor, time of day.
Oh the fun I could have.

996FLT6

There was one trackweekend it was Gt3 hell at Thill. 1st up to bat- spun at t8(totally muffed apex) went backwards into the infamous "roll your car if you nail it sideways"- snapped belt plus fms leak and cosmetically challenged rear bumper/ Lar dinged my uhaul trailer while backing up in his 997 gt3/patrick snapped his shiftlink off his 6gt3/ Mooty did some fence jumping and some other gt3's which I don't remember. Weird weekend. Mike

Matt Lane

Yup, and that was the point of my initial post. With 100 cars at an average DE - there are proportionally more accidents with damage in a 996 GT3 than other models. Not the 996 and later cars with traction control, and not the early cars that are moving at a somewhat slower pace.

A lot of good information shared here. Besides a safe and optimized setup, most of this is in the hands of the driver. That's what I suspected from the outset.

Best,

Matt

hf1

FWIW, I haven't noticed that 6gt3's are crashing with a frequency higher then other cars at the track.

mooty

u forgot that it was a SM that pushed me off the STRAIGHT....

but really 996gt3 is a great car and not unpredictable at all. if you dont listen to it, then it will bite you. it has plenty of warning before it breaks loose on you. but you do need to come up to speed slowly with patience and some experience and lots of respect.

996FLT6

^isnt spec miata or a slew of them considered a wall? They don't really budge like walls!!! Mike