tlisotta

Hello Rennlisters-

I have been thinking about adding more safety to my 997.1 base carrera (this is before I even saw the latest DE thread about safety). Challenge is if I want to be able to use the 997 on the street - seems like you are out of options. Meaning if you want to add a roll bar and get restraints - you need to change out the seats, etc. My understanding at that point it is not safe to drive on the street bc if you do get into a wreck the roll bar can be dangerous without a helmet on. Net/Net - sounds like if you go all in you will have a car that you need to trailer to the track. I love 911's so am I left with jumping up to a 997.1 GT3 since they seem to have the right equipment for track and street? Am I missing something? Apologize if this has been debated before. I have read a few threads but looking for any suggestions. I have a base 997.1 with the sport seats that have the electric settings. It is a third car but I want a track car I can drive to the track not trailer.

Spyerx

Find a set of the GT2 seats (yes they are expensive) for your car. They bolt right in and have side airbags and fold forward. Put in a rear roll/harness bar. You will lose back seat use. Get harnesses. Get a hans. Get a good helmet.

GT3 comes with no more safety equipment in the US than the carreras. Other than 2010 models could be optioned with the GT2 seats.

dan212

A full cage is not safe on the street, but a roll bar is fine. You can't put a Halo seat into a street car.

I put a roll bar in my GT3 way back the week after I bought it and a pair of Recaro Porsche leather seats. The don't fold, but are quite comfortable on long trips. There are better seats for track use. Higher sides will hold you better and cloth is actually better than leather at keeping you from sliding around, but the leather seats look nice and will weather better than clothe which will get ragged after a couple of years.

mglobe

Roll bar is perfectly fine on a street car. Roll cage is not, as previously mentioned. I would HIGHLY recommend that you go with Porsche brand seats (the 996 GT3 shells, or the GT2 seats). They will drop right into the car easily. Any other seat may end up giving you all sorts of headaches installing. IIRC the GT2 seats fold, which will give you at least some access to the rear seat for carrying stuff. With the GT3 shells, the back seat ends up being pretty much dead air.

tlisotta

Thanks guys for posting. The seat comments make sense but man - they are $$$. Wondering if I should search for a used car that is set up for track and street. On the other hand looks like you can sell the seats easily if you return to stock.

Frank 993 C4S

Used 996 GT3 seats are easy to come by and you will probably be able to sell them for what you bought them for one day. Add a bolt in roll bar (which you can also remove again), 6 point belts, a HANS device and a fire extinguisher and you're good to go. Save all your original parts so you can convert your car back to stock when it is time to sell. I would also highly recommend some clear bra on the front and behind the wheels.

tlisotta

Thanks but looks like the 996 GT3 don't have the airbags and the Gt2 do? Will need to think through trade offs. Other thing is where to get used ones as seems when I search the web for either - hard to come by OEM wise.

e9stibi

You are correct on the airbags. The 996 Euro GT3 seat is very nice for DEs. I have them in my 993 together with a rollbar and a 6 pt Harness. Add HANS and a good helmet and you should be all set for DEs.

Another good investment might be better brake pads and fluid. Pads can be relatively easy exchanged for events on the Porsches and it gives you always an opportunity to inspect the car and the wheels before and after an event.

tlisotta

Any idea where to buy OEM GT3 seats?

Frank 993 C4S

They come up on Rennlist and Pelican parts for sale every once in a while. They tend to be sold more in the Fall than the Spring.

Not sure whether these are still for sale:

996 GT3 Seats for Sale

This pretty much covers everything you would need:

Stuff for sale

Another set:

GT3 Seats

onefastviking

OEM gt2/gt3 seats are good.
I'd personally prefer a Halo seat.

Sparco now offers a Halo seat in which the Halo side are removeable which would make it perfect for street AND track use. I forget the name of it but any Sparco dealer should be aware of it. I know Mark Francis from OG racing (Rennlist member and sponsor) has spoken about this seat on other posts, feel free to contact him for more details, he is Carrera51 on here.

Try to sit in as many seats as possible to get the correct one for your body size and shape, that's very important.

Viking

tlisotta

Thanks for the replies. I do have a sunroof so will need to get the roll bar for sunroofs. I did read about the Sparco seat and seems like a good idea. Is the consensus to do both driver and passenger seats? I get if you have instructors they won't like the idea of you in the safety seat and they are not. Challenge is you are putting a passenger (example wife) when you are using the car around town and you have given up Seat Airbags. Is this just something you have to get over - is it not worth the safety or is it still safe for street use when using Sparco seats or GT3 seats. Lastly, is the roll bar safe for street use - meaning is there risk of head injury without a helmet if something happened?

danielyonker

You are on a very slippery slope. My recommendation is to keep the 997 as is and by an older car that has already been prepped for the track. Preferably you should find one that does not have all the electronic gadgetry to help you go faster (traction control, abs, etc), which in the end will actually make you faster.

Ask me how I have so much wisdom

Frank 993 C4S

For PCA Driver Education, the driver and instructor have to have the same kind of safety equipment - that's a requirement so you need two seats and restraint systems that are pretty much the same. I am not sure what other clubs require.

With the GT3 seats, you only give up the seat airbags (if you have them) which can be deactivated. All the others stay in place.

The roll bar is behind your seat (look at the pictures of the link I posted). It should enhance rollover protection while driving on the seat. The only downside is that the rollbar (with integrated harness bar to mount your 6 point belts to) in combination with the rigid back GT3 seats render the rear seats on your car useless. It also becomes harder to clean your rear window .

BTW - I think most of us started track driving the same way, i.e. drive your track car to/from the track. But as Yonks points out, it's a really slippery slope. If you keep hanging out in this forum, you'll be in a dedicated track vehicle with enclosed trailer and diesel dually in no time. BTW - back to you original question, GT3s are probably the worst cars to learn in.

tlisotta

Yep - have thought about that. Question is do you trailer it or is it driveable to the track? I don't want to trailer yet . Decisions....decisions. I just need a cup car