VintageCollector

Gang, I haven't been here for a while.

I'm looking to convert my front bumper cover to GT2 spec from stock and am having trouble finding a used GT2 front bumper cover. They are quite expensive from the dealer new.

Has anyone here done this conversion? What else has to be changed besides the bumper?

I found this conversion online but the parts list seems to not be correct (or have changed) as I had the list priced out at a local dealer and they told me some of the parts don't match. For example, what are brackets in the list ended up being rads at the dealer.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ion-996tt.html


I've also been recommended these aftermarket front ends, but others have stated that the aftermarket pieces don't fit and finish as well and they often need a little work.

Also, they don't come with necessary conversion pieces such as duct work.


Does anyone have any experience with these aftermarket pieces? Any advice to give?

Thanks in advance.

GT Racing 996 Turbo GT2 Front Bumper

Turbo_Works - PORSCHE 911 996 GT2 FRONT BUMPER from Poland

Vivid Racing - OEM front bumper / lip / grille for 996TT

powdrhound

Most of the aftermarket bumper are relatively garbage unfortunately. Most are made of fiberglass with dubious fitment. Some are better, some worse, none perfect. Matching ducting to properly work with the aftermarket bumpers will be difficult resulting in more of a cosmetic item lacking the proper aero function.

With that said, the only bumpers I would recommend are the OEM 996GT2 or the OEM RUF bumper. Both are factory pieces with perfect fit and finish. How do I know? I have one of each brand new in my parts stock with all the supporting ducting and pieces. The downside to the GT2 bumper is that some of the supporting parts are discontinued / NLA with no production date from Porsche. The RUF bumper kits as of right now are still available from RUF. At some point, they may be discontinued also.

Good luck...

VintageCollector

The fit / finish of aftermarket parts and availability of OEM parts was what I was afraid of.

Thanks for the quick reply!

powdrhound

I think the aftermarket stuff can be generally summed up with “good from afar but far from good”.

s65e90

I've had the NR Auto, the only poly rep. Requires lots of prep and still doesn't look perfect IMO, but YMMV. I have the kevlar FVD gt2 front end now, fitment is 10/10, but it's all one-piece including the lower lip so you will definitely break it. People like the one from Precision Porsche, it's fiberglass and uses the OEM lower lip. I think the lip has gotten almost $400 so you'll need to think about that if it's not included. You will need all the ancillary stuff. The center rad is canted forward, you can use the OEM hoses. The gt2 fender liners are also not vented if you're going for the whole ordeal. Also, some bumpers don't include the upper vent, something to make sure before purchase.

s65e90

The RUF or OEM does seem to be the best option, but not cheap. RUF comes with everything which is nice. I'd search your local dealers parts dept, you make get lucky. There was a few that had a bumper in stock last I checked, but this was a year or so ago. GL.

powdrhound

I do a decent amount of business with FVD. Their stuff is generally excellent. All made in Germany. I'm not familiar with their bumpers but would imagine they are one of the best of the aftermarket with regards to fitment and quality. If I had to go aftermarket the FVD would be it. Fiberglass is always a downside however from a durability standpoint. As you say, the trick is all the "behind the scenes" parts to effective pull it all together. The OEM GT2 parts are huge money and as I mentioned not all available anymore.

docwyte

I've looked into this more than I'd care to admit. My body shop, which admittedly can't stand aftermarket parts, flat out told me to not put a fiberglass bumper on my car. That's due to the increased cost for prep, fitment and paint, but also the cost to repair it over time as it gets cracked/damaged. An NR Auto bumper, which is poly, costs ~$2000, then $1000 for the OEM vents to get it to work right. Then additional money to get it to fit and look correct. By that time you've basically spent the amount of money the Ruf bumper costs, which fits like OEM and comes with every last part you need to install it. I prefer the look of the OEM GT2 bumper compared to the Ruf bumper, but the OEM bumper and all the parts you need is over $8000, so twice the cost of the Ruf one...

VintageCollector

I'm very picky and detail oriented, so I can relate. Been spending WAY too much time looking into this.

My concern isn't cost as it is ease and convenience. I can't seem to find a correct source on all the additional parts I'd need with an OEM GT2 bumper. In my first post above I provided a link where someone did the conversation and detailed all the part no's necessary to do the conversation but my local Porsche dealer says many of these part numbers don't exist.

What I'm trying to avoid is starting the job and having the body shop get stuck in the process. I want to line everything up so that it's a smooth sail.

Thanks for your input!

powdrhound

Your dealer is right. Some of these parts no longer exist in the Porsche system. They are NLA. I would venture a guess that the only complete new GT2 bumper in the world with all the supporting parts currently resides in my basement. I'm not sure what someone with a GT2 will end up doing if they smash up the front end and want to properly fix it. I would hope that Porsche does another production run of the NLA parts but the dealer certainly has nothing in the system with an ETA.

T10Chris

Before the parts went NLA a few years ago, I was quoted something like $14k for the bumper and all the vents and brackets from one of the wholesale parts dealerships (local dealership was around 18k for everything)- this is parts only, not including handing it off to the body shop. The conversion is unfortunately no longer possible to do it 100% OEM way due to parts being discontinued. And as anything with Porsche goes, if they do make another run of the parts, expect the price to go up by at least 50%...

kamlung

are the ducts and brackets the stuff that's NLA?

powdrhound

Left or right duct and a frame if I recall.

frederik

Interesting stuff. I assume that if you go this route, you also need to do something about the stock rear spoiler to balance the aero?

kamlung

i'd be more than happy to do the bumper... i live 20 mins from Markus and he could probably do a sweet CF one like blokhed has... but it's all the ancillary parts i can't get that is the issue... i love the look of the front GT2...