davesg

Hi Team, I am looking for a used 911 (992) GT3 PDK spec. What are some of the must have specs I should look for that will be useful short & long term? After doing some research, I found the following specs that are explicitly called out:

1. Front Axle Lift System - Is this spec a deal breaker? Will I not be able to get my car into a steep parking lot (or) a speed bump if I don't have it? Let me know your experience.
2. Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) - How important is this one?
3. Sport Chrono Package -
4. Full Bucket Seats (or) Sports Seats in comparison to Standard seats
5. Carbon Fiber Roof
6. Sports Exhaust System - Does it come as standard?
7. BOSE surround system - Since, these are not mechanical parts, I don't have preference for the sound system, but want to know if the difference is substantial

If you could share your experience on the above specs (or) any other specs I missed out, that will be a great help. I found this forum very helpful and glad to be here.

f4bones

Here's my take:

1. FAL is VERY important - I use it everyday, but it can be retrofitted if you find the perfect car without it, but not a simple retrofit - count on $5,000 w/ used parts.
2. PCCBs - I think they are a must-have, but a simple upgrade. The calipers are the same, but you can buy the conversion kit for $15K that includes 4 new calipers, pads, rotors and hardware. Then sell your steel brakes (market value around $4K) . . . or keep for track duty. Very simple swap.
3. Sport Chrono Package - I think this is standard - never seen a GT3 w/o it but I'm not certain. Can be retrofit.
4. I love both the 18 ways and the LWCBs - the 18 ways are impossible to find, while the LWCBs are readily available. I would opt for the 18 ways and try them out. The LWCBs go for about $15K. I've never seen a seet of 992 GT3 18 ways for sale, so don't know market value. Again, this is a matter of personal preference - the LWCBs look amazing, but for longer drives, the 18 ways work excellent and are MUCH more comfortable. And if you decide to switch, it is MUCH easier to go from 18 ways to LWCBs than the other direction.
5. Carbon roof - I love this option - really give the car a sporty look, and nice contrast to paint. On a PTS car, I could go either way. There are some weight benefits, but not that material. I'd look for a carbon roof if I were shopping, but it wouldn't be a deal killer. Also, as I'm doing on my projects, the "double bubble" carbon roof from the RS is a direct replacement and give the car the S/T look - but expensive - $11K for the roof plus install, which won't be cheap.
6. I wouldn't worry about exhaust at all - you will want to replace it with one of the aftermarket systems - after researching all of them, I went with the full Akropovic system - amazing. Plenty of vendors in Europe that can source and ship to you - around $13K total w/ shipping. However, all the other common systems are good - very marginal differences between the high-quality versions.
7. Bose system is just OK, but is easily upgraded with the Musicar system - highly recommended. Not many GT3s out there w/o the Bose system from what I've seen. Burmester not available.

The think you didn't address is interior - I'd really look for one with leather interior and deviated stitching - looks amazing, and is very expensive / difficult to change should you get one with stock plastic interior and decide you want leather. Exclusive Options can help you upgrade the leather to whatever standard you want - it's a slippery slope and a deep money pit! But Frank's work is amazing. Lastly, you WILL want to do the S/T suspension reflash w/ @rnlst_log and also add sound deadening from Resonix to the interior - these are the two biggest game changers for the GT3. Both mods very reasonable to do - you can do the reflash in 30 min, but the Resonix install is a few day DIY - kind of a PITA, but SOOO worth it.

davesg

Hi @f4bones, thanks a lot for your inputs, I really appreciate it. What an incredible level of detail!!!

For #2, Could you share your intuition on why you think PCCB is a must have? I would love to know your thinking regarding it. I thought if I don't want to track aggressively the normal brakes are fine, but I would love to hear your experience on that.

Regarding #1 since you feel its very important, I feel like its good to go with the stock option to save future overhead in terms of dealing with future installations with parts and labor cost.

Thanks for the clarity on seats, I think I like comfort so may be I'll see if I can find some 18 ways around. That was a good callout regarding the interior.

f4bones

PCCBs belong on a GT3 in my opinion - not only do they look amazing, they pretty much eliminate brake dust and the performance is unmatched. I think the car feels more nimble with the lighter brakes as well - quite a substantial reduction in unsprung weight. Really, it's worth it for dust and looks. But again, if I found the prefect car with steel bakes, I'd buy it in a heart beat - this is the easiest thing to change should you desire down the road.

Good luck! Take your time, and you will find the perfect car - there are plenty out there, and lots of flippers who only own them for a short period. My best advice is wait for EXACTLY the car you want - don't be in a rush. . . and I think there is downward pressure on pricing right now, but always some risk with the .2 on the horizon that it sucks, and prices increase on the .1 - I certainly wouldn't bet on it though! My guess is the .2 will be marginally better in most ways, but a lot more expensive, so will have little effect on .1 pricing. Find the right car, and jump on it when you do.

davesg

I think that makes sense with regards to the PCCB. Thanks a lot for your detailed insights on this topic.

Also, you seem to have so much experience with regards to GT3s. With regards to .1, do you have any suggestion among 2022, 2023 and 2024, I know Porsche does improvements on tuning and slight mechanical improvements each year, so I would be curious to your thoughts on how you would think about different year on .1. Let me know your thoughts on this.

f4bones

they are pretty much identical - just more expensive as they get newer! Year doesn't matter in my opinion.