Looking for a 997 GTS, but with leather and studs.

[chrisABP]

I looked for my GTS for well over 12 months and in all that time I saw just one car come up for sale with 5 stud wheels - I found myself keep returning to the add as couldn't believe it was specced without CL's! It sat there for a good 6 months and was around £5k cheaper than all other GTS at the time.

Personally a GTS would have to be CL's and Alcantara for me as along with the wide body they are the essence of the 997 GTS

[c4sman]

chrisABP said:

I looked for my GTS for well over 12 months and in all that time I saw just one car come up for sale with 5 stud wheels - I found myself keep returning to the add as couldn't believe it was specced without CL's! It sat there for a good 6 months and was around £5k cheaper than all other GTS at the time.

Personally a GTS would have to be CL's and Alcantara for me as along with the wide body they are the essence of the 997 GTS

What he said! CLs Partly define the uniqueness of the car for me. I have suffered one puncture in the last 10y of Porsche motoring and yes I could now be unlucky, but wouldn't let that define my ownership of a car just because a repair is a bit more costly and hassle. All modern prestige cars have some aspects that you can't pop to kwickfit to get repaired. If that worried me I would stick to a Ford Fiesta.

As per the first post, if you don't like the main features of a GTS including alcantara, why not get a C2S and save a few £k.

Edited by c4sman on Wednesday 25th March 07:52

[av185]

c4sman said:

chrisABP said:

I looked for my GTS for well over 12 months and in all that time I saw just one car come up for sale with 5 stud wheels - I found myself keep returning to the add as couldn't believe it was specced without CL's! It sat there for a good 6 months and was around £5k cheaper than all other GTS at the time.

Personally a GTS would have to be CL's and Alcantara for me as along with the wide body they are the essence of the 997 GTS

What he said! CLs Partly define the uniqueness of the car for me. I have suffered one puncture in the last 10y of Porsche motoring and yes I could now be unlucky, but wouldn't let that define my ownership of a car just because a repair is a bit more costly and hassle. All modern prestige cars have some aspects that you can't pop to kwickfit to get repaired. If that worried me I would stick to a Ford Fiesta.

As per the first post, if you don't like the main features of a GTS including alcantara, why not get a C2S and save a few £k.

Edited by c4sman on Wednesday 25th March 07:52

Very true......the CLs are a major feature of the GTS and unless you are a hardcore trackie beard in reality there is too much bs talked about them. No punctures or problems with mine in over three years road use......if you are not in Porsche Assist big deal....join the AA for c £80 who will recover the car to OPC or garage of your choice in the event of a puncture.

[av185]

Go leather btw........

[Eleven]

av185 said:

Very true......the CLs are a major feature of the GTS and unless you are a hardcore trackie beard in reality there is too much bs talked about them. No punctures or problems with mine in over three years road use......if you are not in Porsche Assist big deal....join the AA for c £80 who will recover the car to OPC or garage of your choice in the event of a puncture.

Unfortunately my job, which is in some respects similar to yours, means that sometimes I am out in my own car (as opposed to my business car) and I need to visit places where there are lots of nails, screws and sharp things. I DO get a lot of punctures. I also don't want to have to replace a tyre every time I get a puncture, when it can be quite safely repaired. Unfortunately my OPC believes that Armageddon will result from a repair.

[chrisABP]

You could always buy a car with the CL's (which will be a lot easier to find, looks better and will resell easier) and invest in a Precision Instruments collapsible torque wrench kit which fits in the front boot. From memory I paid around £300-£350 for mine which allows the flexibility of anyone (with correct instructions and ability) to be able to remove etc. Once you've done it a few times it is actually a lot quicker than removing a 5-stud wheel.

[Eleven]

Do I recall there was some issue about Porsche CLs and track use?

[crystalmethod]

Eleven said:

Do I recall there was some issue about Porsche CLs and track use?

I think was GT3 CLs, which had to be recalled and inspected if I remember correctly.

There haven't been any such issues with GTS CLs though.

[c4sman]

av185 said:

Go leather btw........

That pic is not just normal leather and includes extended leather on centre console with logo etc. Looks nice but most GTS' with leather will not look like that

[DiscoColin]

crystalmethod said:

Eleven said:

Do I recall there was some issue about Porsche CLs and track use?

I think was GT3 CLs, which had to be recalled and inspected if I remember correctly.

There haven't been any such issues with GTS CLs though.

Incorrect - the exact same components are on the GTS as the gen 2 GT3/RS/2RS/Turbo S (though if you mean that there have not yet been any actual catastrophic failures on the GTS this is probably right, but bear in mind that there haven't actually been many on anything else).

All Porsche CLs are subject to a set of requirements including higher torque (600Nm), a special greasing regime with optimal paste and a very short component replacement lifecycle when used under track conditions. If you do not use the car on track then it doesn't matter, but if you do Porsche say that you should record exact track mileage and replace various elements of the corners to a schedule that starts at only every 4200 track miles for the rear hubs and bearings (which is expensive both in parts and labour costs). The intervals vary, but the affected components are the hub, nut, bearings and hub carriers and the labour alone for the jobs is up to 3 hours per corner.

The schedule is different on centre lock 991s as that does use different components, but the hubs even on that are still lifed.

[Eleven]

DiscoColin said:

crystalmethod said:

Eleven said:

Do I recall there was some issue about Porsche CLs and track use?

I think was GT3 CLs, which had to be recalled and inspected if I remember correctly.

There haven't been any such issues with GTS CLs though.

Incorrect - the exact same components are on the GTS as the gen 2 GT3/RS/2RS/Turbo S (though if you mean that there have not yet been any actual catastrophic failures on the GTS this is probably right, but bear in mind that there haven't actually been many on anything else).

All Porsche CLs are subject to a set of requirements including higher torque (600Nm), a special greasing regime with optimal paste and a very short component replacement lifecycle when used under track conditions. If you do not use the car on track then it doesn't matter, but if you do Porsche say that you should record exact track mileage and replace various elements of the corners to a schedule that starts at only every 4200 track miles for the rear hubs and bearings (which is expensive both in parts and labour costs). The intervals vary, but the affected components are the hub, nut, bearings and hub carriers and the labour alone for the jobs is up to 3 hours per corner.

The schedule is different on centre lock 991s as that does use different components, but the hubs even on that are still lifed.

So, the odd track day is OK but regular track use will require a F1 type budget?

[crystalmethod]

Eleven said:

DiscoColin said:

crystalmethod said:

Eleven said:

Do I recall there was some issue about Porsche CLs and track use?

I think was GT3 CLs, which had to be recalled and inspected if I remember correctly.

There haven't been any such issues with GTS CLs though.

Incorrect - the exact same components are on the GTS as the gen 2 GT3/RS/2RS/Turbo S (though if you mean that there have not yet been any actual catastrophic failures on the GTS this is probably right, but bear in mind that there haven't actually been many on anything else).

All Porsche CLs are subject to a set of requirements including higher torque (600Nm), a special greasing regime with optimal paste and a very short component replacement lifecycle when used under track conditions. If you do not use the car on track then it doesn't matter, but if you do Porsche say that you should record exact track mileage and replace various elements of the corners to a schedule that starts at only every 4200 track miles for the rear hubs and bearings (which is expensive both in parts and labour costs). The intervals vary, but the affected components are the hub, nut, bearings and hub carriers and the labour alone for the jobs is up to 3 hours per corner.

The schedule is different on centre lock 991s as that does use different components, but the hubs even on that are still lifed.

So, the odd track day is OK but regular track use will require a F1 type budget?

I just read this, which just mentions GT3s: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=123...

Then I checked with my OPC who said my GTS didn't need any attention.

That said, you may well be correct Colin. I'm no expert...

Edited by crystalmethod on Wednesday 25th March 18:50

[av185]

c4sman said:

av185 said:

Go leather btw........

That pic is not just normal leather and includes extended leather on centre console with logo etc. Looks nice but most GTS' with leather will not look like that

That's a pic of my car.....full leather including central console with GTS logo and leather adjoining gearlever.

Both a strong requirement on the GTS imo as 997s look cheap and nasty with the placcy bits.....unless you have the basic placcy but weight saving dash to match.....

[hondansx]

nigestar said:

I'm pretty sure this Guards Red GTS4 was up for sale at OPC Mid Sussex last month.
http://www.paragongb.com/cars/porsche-carrera-4-gt...
Now seems to be at Paragon. It had the upgraded painted red seat backs, same miles and was 11 plate like this one.
FWIW I think the red seat backs with red belts works great in Red and with Alcantara differentiates from bog std 997 interior

I started off not wanting alcantara but in the end I got to rather like it.

That looks great, other than the aforementioned weedy wheel offset.

[Eleven]

hondansx said:

That looks great, other than the aforementioned weedy wheel offset.

Better with the Carrera Sports? Difficult to compare at a different angle, but I think it is.

[c4sman]

av185 said:

That's a pic of my car.....full leather including central console with GTS logo and leather adjoining gearlever.

Both a strong requirement on the GTS imo as 997s look cheap and nasty with the placcy bits.....unless you have the basic placcy but weight saving dash to match.....

Your car interior looks great, no dispute there. But I also love my alcantara interior just because it is so different to the usual black leather everywhere of so many other normal cars, and it gives the car a unique sporty feel

[crystalmethod]

c4sman said:

av185 said:

That's a pic of my car.....full leather including central console with GTS logo and leather adjoining gearlever.

Both a strong requirement on the GTS imo as 997s look cheap and nasty with the placcy bits.....unless you have the basic placcy but weight saving dash to match.....

Your car interior looks great, no dispute there. But I also love my alcantara interior just because it is so different to the usual black leather everywhere of so many other normal cars, and it gives the car a unique sporty feel

It does look great.

I opted for alcantara with additional leather on dash, door, centre etc.. Seems to be a nice combination. Alcantara wheel holding up surprisingly well after three years. Really didn't expect it to.

[Shiverman]

hondansx said:

nigestar said:

I'm pretty sure this Guards Red GTS4 was up for sale at OPC Mid Sussex last month.
http://www.paragongb.com/cars/porsche-carrera-4-gt...
Now seems to be at Paragon. It had the upgraded painted red seat backs, same miles and was 11 plate like this one.
FWIW I think the red seat backs with red belts works great in Red and with Alcantara differentiates from bog std 997 interior

I started off not wanting alcantara but in the end I got to rather like it.

That looks great, other than the aforementioned weedy wheel offset.

Lovely looking car & holding its money really well. Red with the black wheels looks awesome.

[c4sman]

Eleven said:

Better with the Carrera Sports? Difficult to compare at a different angle, but I think it is.

Carrera Sports look good but are the heaviest 997 wheel which for me doesn't sit well with GTS ethos

[nigestar]

av185 said:

c4sman said:

av185 said:

Go leather btw........

That pic is not just normal leather and includes extended leather on centre console with logo etc. Looks nice but most GTS' with leather will not look like that

That's a pic of my car.....full leather including central console with GTS logo and leather adjoining gearlever.

Both a strong requirement on the GTS imo as 997s look cheap and nasty with the placcy bits.....unless you have the basic placcy but weight saving dash to match.....

nice to get those leather extras you have though I couldnt find it in the right colour for me.. in my case you soon forget about it once you've found one!