kolosy

I’ve been tracking a heavily modified E90 M3 for the past year (I’ve got about 15 track day total, and the first two levels / 4 days of the P school at Barber). I live in the middle of Chicago, and having 3 cars is just a giant pain. It also means that a trailer is a non-starter because while I’m lucky enough to have a private 2 car garage (and a rented spot for the track car), there’s just no room for a trailer and going to UHaul for every track day is a huge pain.

SO. I’ve been thinking of getting rid of the E90 and swapping around dailies (my wife’s X5 M50 goes away, she gets my X5 M Comp) and getting a 991.2 GTS as a low mileage daily + frequent HPDE car. How do you think the GTS would hold up and perform in that setting? The Porsche school uses the GTSs as their track car so I’ve got some seat time in one and it’s obviously a solid performer and likely faster than my M3. How much out of street spec would I need to make it to be “good” on track? I don’t mind swapping around wheels and pads, anything needed beyond that or does it hold up stock?

Pic of the current setup for clickZ

ProCoach

You'll love it.

Fight the tendency to do more than wheels and pads. Run it and THEN see where it takes you...

ldamelio

It will hold up fine in terms of durability. The modern 911s and 718s are sturdy and the engines from the factory are nowhere near the top of their potential performance as evidenced by the gains possible with tunes. I track my 718S (different car, but in many ways same engine as yours with 2 cylinders lopped off) 20 - 25 days a year without problems. Most of my friends are in modern 911s and 981/718s and have the same experience - no issues.

Brakes, maybe 200TW tires if you're not running them already and you'll be more than fine. From there, the slippery slope can start. I'm sure you already know, but if you go down the rabbit hole, go for safety (seats, bar, harnesses) before more performance. You car is already blazingly fast.

CT_Peter

Other than normal consumables (brakes & tires obviously) the 991.2 GTS is an extremely fun/competent street & track car. The only areas it really falls short compared to GT3s are: (objectively) camber adjustment & (subjectively) sound. Yes, GT3s have even more going for them that just those things, but for ~10 days a year in a car that will also be used on the street, the differences are surprisingly minor. Do it.

b16gsr

You will be just fine, they like fuel, brakes and tires. I am at 14k miles of track time on my 991.2, and have developed it heavily over the past 5 years. I purchased it used with 10k miles on it mostly track miles. Its honestly faster than most of the GT cars when we get to the track. Becomes a real talking point when people come over to chat. I almost sold it last fall in favor of a GT car but the expense could not be justified. I ended up doing a large suspension upgrade over the winter. Be glad to talk more if you like shoot me a PM.

JRitt@essex

On the brake side, I'd suggest Ferodo DS1.11 or DS3.12 pads for the track, Ferodo DS2500 for the street. For fluid, I'd suggest AP Racing R3. Three bottles should give you a complete flush and leave a little remaining for a secondary bleed in case you have some air trapped in the system. As ProCoach says, run the stock discs until they crack. Once they do, you'll know how long they lasted, and whether it makes any sense to upgrade them to something like our AP Racing 2-piece J Hook Discs. If they stock discs last 3 seasons and they aren't running so hot that they're causing some type of brake fade, then it make sens to just stick with them. If they are cracked so much that they're unusable after 3 events, then you're going to have to consider upgrading to make the situation more feasible. The initial cost would be higher for 2-piece discs, but their longevity would mean that you would actually save money in the long haul. You just have to see how fast the car consumes everything under the specific conditions you're putting it in, and then calculate your dollars per mile for each consumable option.

Also keep in mind that any time you modify the car, that's going to change the equation. For example, if you decide to do an ECU tune and add +120 HP, that's going to accelerate the wear of everything, and put considerably more stress on your brakes. The same is also true if you decide to pick up an extra set of wheels and run competition/race tires...more grip= more heat in the brakes, more stress on the rest of the components, etc.

Here's our full brake menu for the 991.2 GTS: https://www.essexparts.com/my-vehicl...TS/Iron%20disc

Feel free to reach out via PM if you need more specific guidance for your particular situation.

jakermc

It's a very long thread, but it covers most of the ground you'll want to cover and should find it very helpful:

https://rennlist.com/forums/991/1355...-reviewed.html

mla413

100% do it.

The E90 M3 is a great car but they are not great track cars without significant changes. I've had 2 of them.
You really need to strip them down and reduce weight significantly if you want to run them all day and not chew through consumables. (Pace dependent of course)
Looks like you still have factory seats and interior in the picture posted.

After tracking a GTS you will never go back. The M3 is an amazing all around type of car but once you're at 50+ track days you'll want something more nimble and it will feel like a boat compared to any Porsche.

craina

They are pretty capable out of the box. Bonus if its got the LWBS.

Pads, fluid, and gt3 lower control arms to dial in some camber.

CT_Peter

GT3 LCAs or 3rd party definitely a good idea. I went for camber plates for my 80/20 street/track use car and they’ve done a surprisingly good job of getting me close to sufficient camber for the track. I’m not saying they’re as good as proper LCAs would be… just good enough for my use.

Just a plug for Essex re: the above post: I am VERY happy with my 2 piece rotors from them paired with Ferodo DS 3.12 pads. The pads squeal like crazy on the street, but I’m too lazy to swap pads for the track. I ran DS2500 pads for several years and they handled *my* use very well for both track and street. Went with 3.12s for better track longevity at the price of happiness on the street. Might go back to 2500s. Highly recommend calling Essex for any and all brake questions. They are far more well versed in this important part of driving on the track than all of us Internet warriors.

MaxLTV

Great HPDE car, as everyone says. With that many days per year, I'd definitely get the two-piece aftermarket rotors - they last noticeably longer and will end up saving money pretty quickly. Depending on tire choice, you may need to get some minor aftermarket parts to dial in wheel alignment for the track.