996 GT2 + Ohlins dampers + Ruf exhaust + remap & other bits
Discussion
WARNING : Apologies, this is an extremely long post ! ! I think Fiorano on here would refer to it as "cathartic", others may find it more soporific . . .
Without a doubt, if you suffer from insomnia, it may be just the thread you’re looking for !
If however you think you may be interested, do please read on.
If you get bored at any time, do please feel free to left click and return to the other topics such as residuals on your P & J, imploding/overheating 997 engines, the pros and cons of N rated tyres, which battery charger to use with the cheap and nasty OPC supplied battery forced upon you by Porsche AG and a host of other frequently discussed subjects on this excellent, friendly and occasionally informative forum.
Now take the dog for a walk, make sure there's nothing interesting on TV, pull up a chair, pour yourself a glass of something relaxing and read on.
After ten frustrating weeks the GT2 is back in the garage having being fettled superbly by Matt and the lads at Fearnsport.
Some of you may remember the trials and tribulations I experienced with my old Midnight Blue 996 GT2 (now owned by PHer Consul) more of which can be found here (be warned, it'll make a very long read longer still ! !) :
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
During my ownership of that car between November 2006 and May 2008 I found myself frustrated with both brake and suspension issues.
Despite the conclusions reached at the end of that thread, neither the handling issues or the brakes were ever “fixed” really convincingly, this despite the efforts of all those that worked on the car.
Regrettably this was confirmed later by a road test of that very car in a magazine feature in GT Porsche whilst the car was up for sale at a leading independant. The journalist who drove it made reference to horrendous low speed understeer that had frequently plagued it during my ownership.
My frustration with it led me to buy a Gen 1 997 GT3, a car which impressed me greatly.
Regrettably ownership of the GT3 left me feeling financially exposed as the credit crunch tightened it’s grip. The announcement of the Gen 2 997 GT3 version only served to fuel my concerns that it’s depreciation curve might prove to be somewhat steeper than I’d first thought. I thus sold it without any financial loss in March 2008.
The GT2 was sold painlessly to Tom and Henry at V911 in May of that year.
I subsequently bought back my old Mk1 996 GT3 from Club GT and fettled it back to rude health and I still own it to this day.
However over the next eighteen months I started to experience a nasty itch . . . . a GT2 shaped itch.
I always knew I’d got “unfinished business” with the GT2, and now, three years on I felt I had the knowlege to address the issues convincingly.
Despite my condemning my old car on this very forum, I seemed to be the only real dissenter.
The more I read about owners raving about their cars on PH, the more I started to have doubts about my own appraisal of my old car.
After looking at various cars last autumn, Gavins car appeared on the market (again ! !)
I therefore took a trip up to Manchester to view it poste haste.
Having been royally shafted by Reading OPC when I purchased my previous GT2 I entrusted the PPI to Mike at S & C.
He pronounced it undriveable and dangerous but a good car with no obvious previous accident damage and a few small issues.
On that basis a deal was struck.
I left the car with Mike to carry out various repairs and disappeared off to the Canaries for the best part of a month during which time the UK was buried under several inches of freezing snow.
Upon my return I collected the car and placed it into storage before the next fall of snow. The car then remained in storage until late February.
With the roads dry and temperatures increasing, I took the car for its first proper drive.
My initial view was of a car with waaaaay too much camber front and rear, so much so that the car constantly wandered and weaved with any change in road camber (add in bumps and it became borderline dangerous as Mike @ S &C had said)
Despite this I found my confidence increasing with every mile driven, and with some heat in the tyres and faith that the front end really would stick after it’s initial overly crisp turn in (you’re right Gavin, it was excessively “pointy”, so no real surprise you found yourself spinning on several occasions) nontheless I took the car by the scruff of the neck and drove it as I would my GT3.
The car turned out to be incredibly biddable (in a way that my old car had never been) so much so that in medium speed corners I could get on the power early enough to make the front lose grip but in a totally controllable manner.
After an hour of "spirited" driving, the corroded exhaust manifold to turbo fastenings (that Mike at S & C had correctly and accurately noted as a future issue) cried enough and the O/S manifold to turbo joint "O" ring started to blow badly.
The journey home was considerably more sedate as I attempted to keep the revs and boost to the minimum.
With the car in the garage and raised off the ground I managed to run a die along the threads of the three securing studs and get some decent flanged nuts on to enable me to use the car again.
A couple of weeks later I got a call from Surface Transforms (ST) to say that the carbon silicon carbide
brake discs where now ready (having been drilled)
In conjunction with ST I fitted these very same discs on to my old GT2 back in 2007. (
Seen here in their undrilled state)
Regrettably we experienced issues with the bedding in process and thereafter inconsistent brake performance.
ST have now established how to minimise the bedding in time and obtain good co-efficient of friction figures with minimal bedding in.
My thanks to John Edwards from Alcon who kindly offered to install the discs in exchange for a test drive of the car ! With the brakes fitted, John took the car up to Bruntingthorpe where they used it as a display vehicle on one of their open days.
By the time John delivered the car back to me the brakes were partially bedded in.
I enquired how they were, to which John commented they stopped the car more efficiently (and quietly) than the Performance Friction front (dimpled) discs and the 350mm steel OE rear discs previously fitted to the car, he added that their performance would improve drastically with further mileage.
I drove the car later that same day and found them to be just as John had described. Having now driven the car for 400 miles, I can confirm that they’re massively powerful, silent and hugely beneficial to the cars handling characteristics. Brakes sorted. Check.
Shortly after the brakes were installed I booked the car into Fearnsport to have a host of jobs carried out.
Twelve months ago I found myself at a Porsche independent, whilst there I noticed a set of Ohlins three way adjustable remote cannister dampers on the bench. I enquired as to what they were off and was told they were off a “GT3 race car”
I asked if they’d fit a 996 GT2 (knowing that at some point in the future I’d conclude my "unfinished business" with the model)
The vendor assured me they would and a deal was struck.
Some months later I bumped into an old mate, and upon enquiring what he was doing these days, he informed me he now worked for the Ohlins Moto GP squad . . . . ! !
I questioned whether he was able to build the dampers for me, to which he replied “given the correct build specifications, yes”
We thus set about trying to establish from the part numbers just what the dampers were and whether they would indeed fit the GT2.
After discussions with Ohlins we narrowed the fitment down to three cars. they were the 996 GT3 Clubsport, the 996 GT3 RS (2001) and the 996 GT3 RSR.
Knowing the car was going to used solely on the road, we decided the build spec would be the GT3 Clubsport.
The required main springs, tender springs, seals, pipes, spring seats, adjusting collars (and a host of other service parts) were sourced and the dampers rebuilt over a period of six weeks whilst my mate jetted all around the world on the Moto GP trail !
I delivered the car to Fearnsport with the rebuilt dampers in the boot on June 15th.
Unfortunately when Matty came to fit the dampers he encountered several issues.
Firstly the stock rear damper top mounts were in no way compatible with the Ohlins dampers.
After some investigative work Matt established that 997 Cup car mounts fitted perfectly.
Better still the Cup car top mounts featured uniballs similar in design to the GT2s OE front mounts.
An order was placed with Porsche Motorsport in Germany and the parts arrived a week later.
Unfortunately it was only when Matt came to fit the new mounts to the dampers he realised the spherical bearings are supplied as a separate part from the mount itself. Another order. Another week !
Once the bearings arrived and had been installed into the mounts, the damper units were offered up to the car. It then became clear we had a major issue, as when an attempt was made to set the ride heights, the wheels disappeared several inches into the wheel arches . . . . .
Initially we thought this could be overcome by adding some machined spacers between the tender springs and the main springs.
Having had a set of spacers machined up, and fitted the dampers on the car once again, it became clear that such an easy fix was not going to be forthcoming . . . .
Matt called in his Ohlins expert who took the dampers away to assess them, along with the cars original dampers and springs, our preferred ride heights, the cars total weight and the individual corner weights (and a brief regarding the cars intended use)
Being the height of the racing season meant this took the best part of week. Worse still his assessment highlighted that to maintain or improve on the standard dampers full travel, we’d need new main springs, rear damper rods, rear damper bodies and a complete rebuild to incorporate shim stacks commensurate with the revised spring rates.
Annoyingly, the original cost of the dampers plus the first build to convert them back to what we considered a standard Ohlins specification PLUS this second “rebuild”, left their cost perilously close to the cost of a set of Ohlins latest TTX dampers.
Seen fitted here to a kit car of some description . . .
Several lessons well learnt here, first and foremost, never trust a racer who says race dampers will fit a road car ! !
With the dampers finally built to the recommended specs, we turned our attention to the rear suspension control arms
The standard GT2 toe links are the items also used on the Turbo and the GT3. They feature a sealed outer ball joint, whilst the inner end utilizes a bonded rubber bush. Adjustment of the rear toe is via an eccentric bolt and washer fitted through the bush at the inner end of the toe arm.
This method of adjustment presents several issues. Firstly, once the eccentric bolt/washer and nut assembly has been slackened off and (frequently) over tightened, it stretches and has been known on occasions to allow the rear toe adjustment to shift. Secondly it can be awkward to adjust accurately and quickly due to its location.
The toe arm itself also has shortcomings, they centre on the aforementioned inner rubber bush deteriorating with age. In doing so the rear toe can shift as the bush allows a degree of deflection.
In the case of the GT2 with its large 315 section tyres and copious amounts of torque and horsepower trying their best to tie the rear suspension in knots, the problem seems to be exacerbated.
As anyone who has driven a poorly aligned GT2 will tell you, excessive rear toe out can make for some very “interesting” moments !
The Cup car toe link addresses these issues by replacing the flexible inner rubber bush with a rose joint.
The adjustment is made simpler by the addition of a threaded (with both left and right handed threads) adjuster in the centre of the link. This means the link can be adjusted quickly, accurately and easily in situ.
As an aside, the Cup car toe links can also be fitted to the car in conjunction with a pair of plates and a plain nut and bolt.
http://www.tarett.com/items/996-997-products/locki...
The plates fit within the voids in the rear sub frame normally utilised by the aforementioned eccentric bolt/washer. Doing so removes any chance of the rear toe moving.
Whilst discussing the rear suspension we gave consideration to the fitting of a “dog bone” kit. (You’ll need four of these puppies should you decide they're a necessity . . . .)
http://www.tarett.com/items/996-997-products/996-r...
My discussions with Matt indicated that removing all the compliance from the rear of the car could make it fidget over cambers, added to which we had concerns over NVH and general refinement for road use. We thus elected to inspect all the other components and if found to be serviceable leave them as standard.
With the toe links installed, the dampers were then fitted to the car and a full ride height, corner weight and geometry adjustment carried out.
Having sorted out the ride heights we then made a custom set of anti roll bar drop links (which are both adjustable and rose jointed) This was done to ensure there was no preload whatsoever in the anti roll bars at the cars static ride height.
The corner weights came out as follows :
Fr L 266Kg Fr R 266Kg
Rr L 464Kg Rr R 467Kg
Total weight 1462Kg (with half a tank of fuel)
We applied a fairly benign geometry set up as we wanted to make the car turn in crisply but not follow every camber in the road :
Camber :
Fr L -1deg 48 mins Fr R -1deg 45 min
Rr L -1deg 59 mins Rr R -1deg 59 mins
Front toe TBA
Rear toe TBA
Suspension sourced, built, fitted and set up. Check.
You’ll notice from the images of the car that we’ve raised the ride height to it’s maximum permissible setting whilst remaining within the manufacturers tolerances. This was done primarily to increase the useable suspension travel and make the car as compliant as possible. Added to which I find that hearing those expensive front brake ducts grounding, out on bumpy roads makes me cringe ! !
With the suspension fitted, attention turned to the engine and exhaust.
Early last year I came close to buying a non-X50 996 Turbo that had been fitted with a Ruf exhaust and mapped by Superchips. It also featured one of Rufs Bilstein PSS9 based coil over suspension kits.
It made for the perfect (IMO) 996 Turbo, the performance was superbly matched to the sensibly uprated suspension.
The Ruf exhaust features quad pipes that look subtlety different to the siamesed Porsche OE option items (or indeed anything else on the market )
With a slight increase in noise (but without any resonance or booming) the Ruf part is a good upgrade with the benefit of better flow characteristics. The downside being the price Ruf charge for what is after all a modified standard exhaust system (5500 Euros !!)
Regrettably the owner backed out of the sale of the car. Undeterred I responded to a US advert on 6 Speedonline for the same Ruf exhaust, regrettably I received no response from the vendor.
However, things were taking a take a turn for the better and the owner subsequently re-advertised the car a few months later and sold it to a PHer.
The new owner used the car for his daily (low mileage) commute to and from work and soon started to realise that it was costing him a fortune in fuel AND not doing the cars’ engine much good either . . . . .
Earlier this year he mentioned in a thread on PH that he might be selling for the above reasons, added to which he was getting married.
I contacted him and subsequently went to view the car. It was just as I remembered. With an inspection carried out a deal was struck and I found myself the owner of a lovely Seal grey 996 Turbo !
The deal included the original standard exhaust which I subsequently collected from the vendor. Weighing in at 35kgs+, it barely fitted in the back of SWMBOs car ! !
I delivered the exhaust to Fearnsport and requested they remove the Ruf exhaust and replace it with the standard item.
Once done, the car went in the PH classifieds and sold a week later for the purchase price I’d paid two weeks previously.
Ruf exhaust sourced (cheap) Check.
Bearing in mind the problems I’d experienced with the exhaust fasteners during my first proper drive of the car, it seemed pragmatic to replace all the fasteners, gaskets, heat shields and O rings whilst the Ruf exhaust was being fitted.
Once fitted to the car it was noticeable that the tailpipes stuck out unevenly from the bumper apertures from one side to the other.
Somewhat disappointed, I mentioned it to Matt, whilst at the same time asking if any adjustment of the system was possible bearing in mind I knew the manner in which the system is mounted to the cats and then onto the turbo flanges. Matt duly confirmed my worst fears, no adjustment would be possible.
Nontheless we went outside to look at the problem, “hmmm, I see what you mean” said Matt.
“How about we try and adjust the bumper” we said in unison.
Voila, two minutes later one perfectly fitting exhaust . . . .
With the exhaust fitted and the diverter valves and wastegates checked, discussions centered on whether there would be any improvement in lag as the Ruf exhaust featured 200 cell cats.
Matt drove the car with the standard map and the new exhaust and professed that it felt “very strong”. A view I concurred with as it felt as if it pulled harder and came on boost earlier than my old Midnight blue car (when it was totally standard engine/exhaust wise)
However Matt felt the power delivery could be improved on.
With the car back in one piece I went to test it on Saturday of the Bank Holiday weekend. Whilst it was dry when I set off from home, it had been raining heavily at Silverstone.
Matt loaded a new map into the car and I set off along my designated “test route”. With the rain stopped but the roads drying, the car felt ”Biblically fast” © J Clarkson.
The boost now came in earlier and harder, but far more smoothly than the factory map, ergo it also seemed more progressive despite the additional horsepower, and thus actually easier to control.
I returned to Fearnsport along the same road. Once back there I requested some adjustments to the damping (of which more later)
I then headed out again. With the damping adjusted I found myself travelling even quicker, however on the return leg the rain started once again.
Though still circumspect I was gaining in confidence, perhaps too much so, as when I accelerated down the slip road onto a dual carriageway, I witnessed that all too familiar sight of the rev counter heading rapidly towards 6000rpm but with no increase in forward motion. There was however a drastic increase in the yaw angle of the car . . . . .
I’d planned to take the car home for the Bank holiday weekend, but a mistake at the DVLA meant the car wasn’t taxed, in addition to which I’d requested Matt fitted the CPZ thicker option steering wheel I’d obtained.
http://www.carnewal-europe.com/cpx_p96138.htm
The car was thus left to have a spanner check, the steering wheel fitted, a softer map loaded into the ECU and an issue with the clock binnacle rectified.
I returned to collect the car on Wednesday. I took it for another drive along the test route to see if the new map was more suitable for use in all weather conditions.
Whilst the boost comes in harder later on (the peak boost is the same as the previous map) it still comes in earlier but more progressively than the standard map.
The car is now significantly quicker both through the gears and at the top end ……….
The Ruf exhaust sounds excellent from a cold start and is marginally noisier inside the car, but non of the cars refinement has been compromised, quite simply there is no droning, booming or resonance.
At full chat the noise has to be heard to be appreciated. Have a listen to this video clip of GuyRs old Ruf Nardo engined GT2 approx ¾ of the way through this video and you’ll get a good idea of what it sounds like . . .
http://www.ricophoto.co.uk/RGT2unedited.mov
The Ohlins suspension on the car has quite simply transformed it.
On my test road prior to dropping the car off at Fearnsport to have the mods carried out, I had a big “moment” when a combination of a heavily cambered road AND a large bump on the N/S of the carriageway spat the car straight over the white line and halfway across the opposite carriageway. Fortunately there was no traffic approaching at the time.
The above happened in the dry. Last weekend I approached the same piece of road nearly 30% quicker in the wet (and yes I ensured there was no traffic in the opposite carriageway before doing so) The car remained rock solid and didn’t deviate AT ALL from my chosen trajectory.
The damping at high speed is quite eerie, it’s almost as if the bumps don’t exist.
The grip levels have been transformed too, whereas previously the car relied on big camber angles on the front to assist its turn in (and as a result suffered from massive instability over any bumps, added to which it followed EVERY camber in the road surface) now the car tracks true and straight irrespective of its speed or the road surface. All this whilst running sensible camber figures.
We still have some fine tuning to carry out. The slow speed ride, whilst superior to the standard set up, could be more compliant still. Added to which the front end of the car has no roll on initial turn in, thus whilst you know it will grip and turn in, there is no real feedback or sense that you’re loading up the front tyres and/or the suspension.
The combination of the benign geometry set up, Ohlins dampers AND the Cup toe links makes for an excellent ride handling compromise without any NVH issues from the suspension whatsoever.
The CPZ option steering wheel makes driving the car much more pleasant. The standard wheel is the right diameter, but is too thin and too hard .
The Cup wheel made by Momo seems to a popular choice amongst the GT3isti. Whilst it might be fine for a trackday car, it means dispensing with the airbag (and fitting a resistor to extinguish the airbag light too) added to which the reduction in diameter is not ideal for a road car.
The CPZ wheel has a slightly thicker grip and is marginally less hard and looks stock to the casual observer.
I realise none of the mods I’ve listed are extreme by the standards of many current GT2 and Turbo owners on here, but as result the car hasn’t been compromised in ANY aspect. To my mind the dynamics of the car have only been improved.
When I bought my Midnight blue car back in 2006 I was disappointed by the brakes and suspension. To be brutally honest the majority of the blame for these deficiencies must lie at the previous owners feet. A wealthy individual who used the car predominantly on track, and had scrapped two sets of PCCBs in the four years and less than 12k miles . . . . . He went on to buy a 997 GT3 RS, I only hope he specced the car with steel brakes !
Back then the only way to improve the GT2 seemed to be by throwing race derived parts at it that had been designed primarily for those tracking their GT3s. Whilst these did the job, more often than not they did so by compromising on the cars refinement.
The ST discs should last indefinitely and retain OE levels of refinement with the benefits of greatly reduced unsprung weight and far higher levels of durability than most PCCBs will attain (clearly driven on the road they have the ability to last 180K if the GT3 Henry currently has on sale is anything to go by ! !)
The Ruf exhaust and re-map are relatively tame mods by todays standards, but they’ve improved the power delivery and the power level with no downsides whatsoever.
The Ohlins dampers and Cup car toe links have made the chassis and suspension into what it should have been from the factory. In the process they’ve made the car more controllable and dramatically improved its ride and grip levels.
My deepest thanks go to Matt, Lee (AKA Karl) and Blake at Fearnsport for persevering with the project (I think the dampers have been on and off the car on at least seven occasions). And doing such a brilliant job on the car. Thanks again lads.
Antoni Sznerch at ST for supplying the ceramic discs and subsequently getting them drilled.
My mate Paul for building the dampers at little or no cost originally. Sorry I chose the wrong specs mate !
John Edwards at Alcon for the fitting of the ceramic discs.
The lads in the parts department at Solihull Porsche for obtaining the parts I ordered quickly and efficiently.
Mike at sports & Classic for fitting in, and carrying out, a very thorough inspection at short notice when he was absolutely snowed under. Thanks mate.
Ben at BG developments for a brilliant job sorting the spec and building the dampers.
Chris at Exel wheels for transforming the wheels back to standard having been painted atrociously previously (by Ray Charles brother I imagine)
The lads at Fearnsports body shop who painted the front bumper and “forgot” to leave the holes in for the front number plate mounting plinth . . .
Lastly my heartfelt thanks to whoever previously fitted the Tequipment cage in the car and butchered the seat belt height adjusters and their covers. In future please unbolt them rather than crush them with a hammer! With a bit of time and patience they’re now fixed !
Without a doubt, if you suffer from insomnia, it may be just the thread you’re looking for !
If however you think you may be interested, do please read on.
If you get bored at any time, do please feel free to left click and return to the other topics such as residuals on your P & J, imploding/overheating 997 engines, the pros and cons of N rated tyres, which battery charger to use with the cheap and nasty OPC supplied battery forced upon you by Porsche AG and a host of other frequently discussed subjects on this excellent, friendly and occasionally informative forum.
Now take the dog for a walk, make sure there's nothing interesting on TV, pull up a chair, pour yourself a glass of something relaxing and read on.
After ten frustrating weeks the GT2 is back in the garage having being fettled superbly by Matt and the lads at Fearnsport.
Some of you may remember the trials and tribulations I experienced with my old Midnight Blue 996 GT2 (now owned by PHer Consul) more of which can be found here (be warned, it'll make a very long read longer still ! !) :
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
During my ownership of that car between November 2006 and May 2008 I found myself frustrated with both brake and suspension issues.
Despite the conclusions reached at the end of that thread, neither the handling issues or the brakes were ever “fixed” really convincingly, this despite the efforts of all those that worked on the car.
Regrettably this was confirmed later by a road test of that very car in a magazine feature in GT Porsche whilst the car was up for sale at a leading independant. The journalist who drove it made reference to horrendous low speed understeer that had frequently plagued it during my ownership.
My frustration with it led me to buy a Gen 1 997 GT3, a car which impressed me greatly.
Regrettably ownership of the GT3 left me feeling financially exposed as the credit crunch tightened it’s grip. The announcement of the Gen 2 997 GT3 version only served to fuel my concerns that it’s depreciation curve might prove to be somewhat steeper than I’d first thought. I thus sold it without any financial loss in March 2008.
The GT2 was sold painlessly to Tom and Henry at V911 in May of that year.
I subsequently bought back my old Mk1 996 GT3 from Club GT and fettled it back to rude health and I still own it to this day.
However over the next eighteen months I started to experience a nasty itch . . . . a GT2 shaped itch.
I always knew I’d got “unfinished business” with the GT2, and now, three years on I felt I had the knowlege to address the issues convincingly.
Despite my condemning my old car on this very forum, I seemed to be the only real dissenter.
The more I read about owners raving about their cars on PH, the more I started to have doubts about my own appraisal of my old car.
After looking at various cars last autumn, Gavins car appeared on the market (again ! !)
I therefore took a trip up to Manchester to view it poste haste.
Having been royally shafted by Reading OPC when I purchased my previous GT2 I entrusted the PPI to Mike at S & C.
He pronounced it undriveable and dangerous but a good car with no obvious previous accident damage and a few small issues.
On that basis a deal was struck.
I left the car with Mike to carry out various repairs and disappeared off to the Canaries for the best part of a month during which time the UK was buried under several inches of freezing snow.
Upon my return I collected the car and placed it into storage before the next fall of snow. The car then remained in storage until late February.
With the roads dry and temperatures increasing, I took the car for its first proper drive.
My initial view was of a car with waaaaay too much camber front and rear, so much so that the car constantly wandered and weaved with any change in road camber (add in bumps and it became borderline dangerous as Mike @ S &C had said)
Despite this I found my confidence increasing with every mile driven, and with some heat in the tyres and faith that the front end really would stick after it’s initial overly crisp turn in (you’re right Gavin, it was excessively “pointy”, so no real surprise you found yourself spinning on several occasions) nontheless I took the car by the scruff of the neck and drove it as I would my GT3.
The car turned out to be incredibly biddable (in a way that my old car had never been) so much so that in medium speed corners I could get on the power early enough to make the front lose grip but in a totally controllable manner.
After an hour of "spirited" driving, the corroded exhaust manifold to turbo fastenings (that Mike at S & C had correctly and accurately noted as a future issue) cried enough and the O/S manifold to turbo joint "O" ring started to blow badly.
The journey home was considerably more sedate as I attempted to keep the revs and boost to the minimum.
With the car in the garage and raised off the ground I managed to run a die along the threads of the three securing studs and get some decent flanged nuts on to enable me to use the car again.
A couple of weeks later I got a call from Surface Transforms (ST) to say that the carbon silicon carbide
brake discs where now ready (having been drilled)
In conjunction with ST I fitted these very same discs on to my old GT2 back in 2007. (
Seen here in their undrilled state)
Regrettably we experienced issues with the bedding in process and thereafter inconsistent brake performance.
ST have now established how to minimise the bedding in time and obtain good co-efficient of friction figures with minimal bedding in.
My thanks to John Edwards from Alcon who kindly offered to install the discs in exchange for a test drive of the car ! With the brakes fitted, John took the car up to Bruntingthorpe where they used it as a display vehicle on one of their open days.
By the time John delivered the car back to me the brakes were partially bedded in.
I enquired how they were, to which John commented they stopped the car more efficiently (and quietly) than the Performance Friction front (dimpled) discs and the 350mm steel OE rear discs previously fitted to the car, he added that their performance would improve drastically with further mileage.
I drove the car later that same day and found them to be just as John had described. Having now driven the car for 400 miles, I can confirm that they’re massively powerful, silent and hugely beneficial to the cars handling characteristics. Brakes sorted. Check.
Shortly after the brakes were installed I booked the car into Fearnsport to have a host of jobs carried out.
Twelve months ago I found myself at a Porsche independent, whilst there I noticed a set of Ohlins three way adjustable remote cannister dampers on the bench. I enquired as to what they were off and was told they were off a “GT3 race car”
I asked if they’d fit a 996 GT2 (knowing that at some point in the future I’d conclude my "unfinished business" with the model)
The vendor assured me they would and a deal was struck.
Some months later I bumped into an old mate, and upon enquiring what he was doing these days, he informed me he now worked for the Ohlins Moto GP squad . . . . ! !
I questioned whether he was able to build the dampers for me, to which he replied “given the correct build specifications, yes”
We thus set about trying to establish from the part numbers just what the dampers were and whether they would indeed fit the GT2.
After discussions with Ohlins we narrowed the fitment down to three cars. they were the 996 GT3 Clubsport, the 996 GT3 RS (2001) and the 996 GT3 RSR.
Knowing the car was going to used solely on the road, we decided the build spec would be the GT3 Clubsport.
The required main springs, tender springs, seals, pipes, spring seats, adjusting collars (and a host of other service parts) were sourced and the dampers rebuilt over a period of six weeks whilst my mate jetted all around the world on the Moto GP trail !
I delivered the car to Fearnsport with the rebuilt dampers in the boot on June 15th.
Unfortunately when Matty came to fit the dampers he encountered several issues.
Firstly the stock rear damper top mounts were in no way compatible with the Ohlins dampers.
After some investigative work Matt established that 997 Cup car mounts fitted perfectly.
Better still the Cup car top mounts featured uniballs similar in design to the GT2s OE front mounts.
An order was placed with Porsche Motorsport in Germany and the parts arrived a week later.
Unfortunately it was only when Matt came to fit the new mounts to the dampers he realised the spherical bearings are supplied as a separate part from the mount itself. Another order. Another week !
Once the bearings arrived and had been installed into the mounts, the damper units were offered up to the car. It then became clear we had a major issue, as when an attempt was made to set the ride heights, the wheels disappeared several inches into the wheel arches . . . . .
Initially we thought this could be overcome by adding some machined spacers between the tender springs and the main springs.
Having had a set of spacers machined up, and fitted the dampers on the car once again, it became clear that such an easy fix was not going to be forthcoming . . . .
Matt called in his Ohlins expert who took the dampers away to assess them, along with the cars original dampers and springs, our preferred ride heights, the cars total weight and the individual corner weights (and a brief regarding the cars intended use)
Being the height of the racing season meant this took the best part of week. Worse still his assessment highlighted that to maintain or improve on the standard dampers full travel, we’d need new main springs, rear damper rods, rear damper bodies and a complete rebuild to incorporate shim stacks commensurate with the revised spring rates.
Annoyingly, the original cost of the dampers plus the first build to convert them back to what we considered a standard Ohlins specification PLUS this second “rebuild”, left their cost perilously close to the cost of a set of Ohlins latest TTX dampers.
Seen fitted here to a kit car of some description . . .
Several lessons well learnt here, first and foremost, never trust a racer who says race dampers will fit a road car ! !
With the dampers finally built to the recommended specs, we turned our attention to the rear suspension control arms
The standard GT2 toe links are the items also used on the Turbo and the GT3. They feature a sealed outer ball joint, whilst the inner end utilizes a bonded rubber bush. Adjustment of the rear toe is via an eccentric bolt and washer fitted through the bush at the inner end of the toe arm.
This method of adjustment presents several issues. Firstly, once the eccentric bolt/washer and nut assembly has been slackened off and (frequently) over tightened, it stretches and has been known on occasions to allow the rear toe adjustment to shift. Secondly it can be awkward to adjust accurately and quickly due to its location.
The toe arm itself also has shortcomings, they centre on the aforementioned inner rubber bush deteriorating with age. In doing so the rear toe can shift as the bush allows a degree of deflection.
In the case of the GT2 with its large 315 section tyres and copious amounts of torque and horsepower trying their best to tie the rear suspension in knots, the problem seems to be exacerbated.
As anyone who has driven a poorly aligned GT2 will tell you, excessive rear toe out can make for some very “interesting” moments !
The Cup car toe link addresses these issues by replacing the flexible inner rubber bush with a rose joint.
The adjustment is made simpler by the addition of a threaded (with both left and right handed threads) adjuster in the centre of the link. This means the link can be adjusted quickly, accurately and easily in situ.
As an aside, the Cup car toe links can also be fitted to the car in conjunction with a pair of plates and a plain nut and bolt.
http://www.tarett.com/items/996-997-products/locki...
The plates fit within the voids in the rear sub frame normally utilised by the aforementioned eccentric bolt/washer. Doing so removes any chance of the rear toe moving.
Whilst discussing the rear suspension we gave consideration to the fitting of a “dog bone” kit. (You’ll need four of these puppies should you decide they're a necessity . . . .)
http://www.tarett.com/items/996-997-products/996-r...
My discussions with Matt indicated that removing all the compliance from the rear of the car could make it fidget over cambers, added to which we had concerns over NVH and general refinement for road use. We thus elected to inspect all the other components and if found to be serviceable leave them as standard.
With the toe links installed, the dampers were then fitted to the car and a full ride height, corner weight and geometry adjustment carried out.
Having sorted out the ride heights we then made a custom set of anti roll bar drop links (which are both adjustable and rose jointed) This was done to ensure there was no preload whatsoever in the anti roll bars at the cars static ride height.
The corner weights came out as follows :
Fr L 266Kg Fr R 266Kg
Rr L 464Kg Rr R 467Kg
Total weight 1462Kg (with half a tank of fuel)
We applied a fairly benign geometry set up as we wanted to make the car turn in crisply but not follow every camber in the road :
Camber :
Fr L -1deg 48 mins Fr R -1deg 45 min
Rr L -1deg 59 mins Rr R -1deg 59 mins
Front toe TBA
Rear toe TBA
Suspension sourced, built, fitted and set up. Check.
You’ll notice from the images of the car that we’ve raised the ride height to it’s maximum permissible setting whilst remaining within the manufacturers tolerances. This was done primarily to increase the useable suspension travel and make the car as compliant as possible. Added to which I find that hearing those expensive front brake ducts grounding, out on bumpy roads makes me cringe ! !
With the suspension fitted, attention turned to the engine and exhaust.
Early last year I came close to buying a non-X50 996 Turbo that had been fitted with a Ruf exhaust and mapped by Superchips. It also featured one of Rufs Bilstein PSS9 based coil over suspension kits.
It made for the perfect (IMO) 996 Turbo, the performance was superbly matched to the sensibly uprated suspension.
The Ruf exhaust features quad pipes that look subtlety different to the siamesed Porsche OE option items (or indeed anything else on the market )
With a slight increase in noise (but without any resonance or booming) the Ruf part is a good upgrade with the benefit of better flow characteristics. The downside being the price Ruf charge for what is after all a modified standard exhaust system (5500 Euros !!)
Regrettably the owner backed out of the sale of the car. Undeterred I responded to a US advert on 6 Speedonline for the same Ruf exhaust, regrettably I received no response from the vendor.
However, things were taking a take a turn for the better and the owner subsequently re-advertised the car a few months later and sold it to a PHer.
The new owner used the car for his daily (low mileage) commute to and from work and soon started to realise that it was costing him a fortune in fuel AND not doing the cars’ engine much good either . . . . .
Earlier this year he mentioned in a thread on PH that he might be selling for the above reasons, added to which he was getting married.
I contacted him and subsequently went to view the car. It was just as I remembered. With an inspection carried out a deal was struck and I found myself the owner of a lovely Seal grey 996 Turbo !
The deal included the original standard exhaust which I subsequently collected from the vendor. Weighing in at 35kgs+, it barely fitted in the back of SWMBOs car ! !
I delivered the exhaust to Fearnsport and requested they remove the Ruf exhaust and replace it with the standard item.
Once done, the car went in the PH classifieds and sold a week later for the purchase price I’d paid two weeks previously.
Ruf exhaust sourced (cheap) Check.
Bearing in mind the problems I’d experienced with the exhaust fasteners during my first proper drive of the car, it seemed pragmatic to replace all the fasteners, gaskets, heat shields and O rings whilst the Ruf exhaust was being fitted.
Once fitted to the car it was noticeable that the tailpipes stuck out unevenly from the bumper apertures from one side to the other.
Somewhat disappointed, I mentioned it to Matt, whilst at the same time asking if any adjustment of the system was possible bearing in mind I knew the manner in which the system is mounted to the cats and then onto the turbo flanges. Matt duly confirmed my worst fears, no adjustment would be possible.
Nontheless we went outside to look at the problem, “hmmm, I see what you mean” said Matt.
“How about we try and adjust the bumper” we said in unison.
Voila, two minutes later one perfectly fitting exhaust . . . .
With the exhaust fitted and the diverter valves and wastegates checked, discussions centered on whether there would be any improvement in lag as the Ruf exhaust featured 200 cell cats.
Matt drove the car with the standard map and the new exhaust and professed that it felt “very strong”. A view I concurred with as it felt as if it pulled harder and came on boost earlier than my old Midnight blue car (when it was totally standard engine/exhaust wise)
However Matt felt the power delivery could be improved on.
With the car back in one piece I went to test it on Saturday of the Bank Holiday weekend. Whilst it was dry when I set off from home, it had been raining heavily at Silverstone.
Matt loaded a new map into the car and I set off along my designated “test route”. With the rain stopped but the roads drying, the car felt ”Biblically fast” © J Clarkson.
The boost now came in earlier and harder, but far more smoothly than the factory map, ergo it also seemed more progressive despite the additional horsepower, and thus actually easier to control.
I returned to Fearnsport along the same road. Once back there I requested some adjustments to the damping (of which more later)
I then headed out again. With the damping adjusted I found myself travelling even quicker, however on the return leg the rain started once again.
Though still circumspect I was gaining in confidence, perhaps too much so, as when I accelerated down the slip road onto a dual carriageway, I witnessed that all too familiar sight of the rev counter heading rapidly towards 6000rpm but with no increase in forward motion. There was however a drastic increase in the yaw angle of the car . . . . .
I’d planned to take the car home for the Bank holiday weekend, but a mistake at the DVLA meant the car wasn’t taxed, in addition to which I’d requested Matt fitted the CPZ thicker option steering wheel I’d obtained.
http://www.carnewal-europe.com/cpx_p96138.htm
The car was thus left to have a spanner check, the steering wheel fitted, a softer map loaded into the ECU and an issue with the clock binnacle rectified.
I returned to collect the car on Wednesday. I took it for another drive along the test route to see if the new map was more suitable for use in all weather conditions.
Whilst the boost comes in harder later on (the peak boost is the same as the previous map) it still comes in earlier but more progressively than the standard map.
The car is now significantly quicker both through the gears and at the top end ……….
The Ruf exhaust sounds excellent from a cold start and is marginally noisier inside the car, but non of the cars refinement has been compromised, quite simply there is no droning, booming or resonance.
At full chat the noise has to be heard to be appreciated. Have a listen to this video clip of GuyRs old Ruf Nardo engined GT2 approx ¾ of the way through this video and you’ll get a good idea of what it sounds like . . .
http://www.ricophoto.co.uk/RGT2unedited.mov
The Ohlins suspension on the car has quite simply transformed it.
On my test road prior to dropping the car off at Fearnsport to have the mods carried out, I had a big “moment” when a combination of a heavily cambered road AND a large bump on the N/S of the carriageway spat the car straight over the white line and halfway across the opposite carriageway. Fortunately there was no traffic approaching at the time.
The above happened in the dry. Last weekend I approached the same piece of road nearly 30% quicker in the wet (and yes I ensured there was no traffic in the opposite carriageway before doing so) The car remained rock solid and didn’t deviate AT ALL from my chosen trajectory.
The damping at high speed is quite eerie, it’s almost as if the bumps don’t exist.
The grip levels have been transformed too, whereas previously the car relied on big camber angles on the front to assist its turn in (and as a result suffered from massive instability over any bumps, added to which it followed EVERY camber in the road surface) now the car tracks true and straight irrespective of its speed or the road surface. All this whilst running sensible camber figures.
We still have some fine tuning to carry out. The slow speed ride, whilst superior to the standard set up, could be more compliant still. Added to which the front end of the car has no roll on initial turn in, thus whilst you know it will grip and turn in, there is no real feedback or sense that you’re loading up the front tyres and/or the suspension.
The combination of the benign geometry set up, Ohlins dampers AND the Cup toe links makes for an excellent ride handling compromise without any NVH issues from the suspension whatsoever.
The CPZ option steering wheel makes driving the car much more pleasant. The standard wheel is the right diameter, but is too thin and too hard .
The Cup wheel made by Momo seems to a popular choice amongst the GT3isti. Whilst it might be fine for a trackday car, it means dispensing with the airbag (and fitting a resistor to extinguish the airbag light too) added to which the reduction in diameter is not ideal for a road car.
The CPZ wheel has a slightly thicker grip and is marginally less hard and looks stock to the casual observer.
I realise none of the mods I’ve listed are extreme by the standards of many current GT2 and Turbo owners on here, but as result the car hasn’t been compromised in ANY aspect. To my mind the dynamics of the car have only been improved.
When I bought my Midnight blue car back in 2006 I was disappointed by the brakes and suspension. To be brutally honest the majority of the blame for these deficiencies must lie at the previous owners feet. A wealthy individual who used the car predominantly on track, and had scrapped two sets of PCCBs in the four years and less than 12k miles . . . . . He went on to buy a 997 GT3 RS, I only hope he specced the car with steel brakes !
Back then the only way to improve the GT2 seemed to be by throwing race derived parts at it that had been designed primarily for those tracking their GT3s. Whilst these did the job, more often than not they did so by compromising on the cars refinement.
The ST discs should last indefinitely and retain OE levels of refinement with the benefits of greatly reduced unsprung weight and far higher levels of durability than most PCCBs will attain (clearly driven on the road they have the ability to last 180K if the GT3 Henry currently has on sale is anything to go by ! !)
The Ruf exhaust and re-map are relatively tame mods by todays standards, but they’ve improved the power delivery and the power level with no downsides whatsoever.
The Ohlins dampers and Cup car toe links have made the chassis and suspension into what it should have been from the factory. In the process they’ve made the car more controllable and dramatically improved its ride and grip levels.
My deepest thanks go to Matt, Lee (AKA Karl) and Blake at Fearnsport for persevering with the project (I think the dampers have been on and off the car on at least seven occasions). And doing such a brilliant job on the car. Thanks again lads.
Antoni Sznerch at ST for supplying the ceramic discs and subsequently getting them drilled.
My mate Paul for building the dampers at little or no cost originally. Sorry I chose the wrong specs mate !
John Edwards at Alcon for the fitting of the ceramic discs.
The lads in the parts department at Solihull Porsche for obtaining the parts I ordered quickly and efficiently.
Mike at sports & Classic for fitting in, and carrying out, a very thorough inspection at short notice when he was absolutely snowed under. Thanks mate.
Ben at BG developments for a brilliant job sorting the spec and building the dampers.
Chris at Exel wheels for transforming the wheels back to standard having been painted atrociously previously (by Ray Charles brother I imagine)
The lads at Fearnsports body shop who painted the front bumper and “forgot” to leave the holes in for the front number plate mounting plinth . . .
Lastly my heartfelt thanks to whoever previously fitted the Tequipment cage in the car and butchered the seat belt height adjusters and their covers. In future please unbolt them rather than crush them with a hammer! With a bit of time and patience they’re now fixed !
Edited by Slippydiff on Saturday 3rd September 09:20
Just the ticket, I'm sat here eating my breakfast getting set to drive mine to ***x.
Interesting writeup, it seemsthese cars are very sensitive to setup, mine displays none of the characteristics that yours did (tramlining, low speed understeer etc) but it certainly does need respect when the tryes are cold for sure.
Would love a run out in yours one day
Interesting writeup, it seemsthese cars are very sensitive to setup, mine displays none of the characteristics that yours did (tramlining, low speed understeer etc) but it certainly does need respect when the tryes are cold for sure.
Would love a run out in yours one day
Great write-up! Thanks for taking the time to share it all.
Makes me wonder what could be done with my mk1 GT3. It's by no means anything but wonderful at the moment, but I bet I'll have some interesting reading ahead of me when it comes time to replace the (as far as I can tell) original suspension bits...
What better way to learn more about how things work than reading your post and setting off on a similar route one day, eh? :-)
P.S. Loved the way you got your exhaust!
Makes me wonder what could be done with my mk1 GT3. It's by no means anything but wonderful at the moment, but I bet I'll have some interesting reading ahead of me when it comes time to replace the (as far as I can tell) original suspension bits...
What better way to learn more about how things work than reading your post and setting off on a similar route one day, eh? :-)
P.S. Loved the way you got your exhaust!
FactoryPilot said:
Great post
Really pleased to hear that the GT2 is now properly sorted (and the bumper looks soooooo much better without the front plate).
Fearnsport have my GT2 at the minute too, and funnily enough, we're also looking at Ohlins, steel brakes, etc etc....
You have a GT2?!!??? ...do tell more !!Really pleased to hear that the GT2 is now properly sorted (and the bumper looks soooooo much better without the front plate).
Fearnsport have my GT2 at the minute too, and funnily enough, we're also looking at Ohlins, steel brakes, etc etc....
Great post, really interesting, don't feel so bad now waiting for mine, H&R have had my bespoke struts for a month tinkering with the valving as they lost the original spec, feels like forever though (been 11 weeks trying to source RS top mounts and other bits in place of FVD ones).
Should be worth it though....... Labour of love.
Should be worth it though....... Labour of love.
A good read Slippy thx for posting it ! Buying a 996 turbo to get the exhaust made me chuckle !!
I saw your car on the ramps a few weeks back and indeed those ohlins are something else - was back at fearns today and apart from oggling the RS 4.0 & 993gt2 they have in the shop, I also noticed they have a display set of Ohlins TTX..... mama mia - they look good enough to eat.... spectacular looking dampers... was interested to fit to my own car... until I heard the price
I saw your car on the ramps a few weeks back and indeed those ohlins are something else - was back at fearns today and apart from oggling the RS 4.0 & 993gt2 they have in the shop, I also noticed they have a display set of Ohlins TTX..... mama mia - they look good enough to eat.... spectacular looking dampers... was interested to fit to my own car... until I heard the price
Hi all, many thanks for the kind words.
I've been out in the car today and picked up my 13 year old nephew in it. His mum totally ruined his street cred by telling him in a loud voice to "put your seat belt on"
Mums eh, who'd have have 'em when you're doing your best to be cool in front of the neighbours kids ?
I took him for a quick thrash in it, he seemed totally underwhelmed by the experience, but he did comment "that sounds like a proper engine"
I've been out in the car today and picked up my 13 year old nephew in it. His mum totally ruined his street cred by telling him in a loud voice to "put your seat belt on"
Mums eh, who'd have have 'em when you're doing your best to be cool in front of the neighbours kids ?
I took him for a quick thrash in it, he seemed totally underwhelmed by the experience, but he did comment "that sounds like a proper engine"
ZeroH said:
A good read Slippy thx for posting it ! Buying a 996 turbo to get the exhaust made me chuckle !!
I saw your car on the ramps a few weeks back and indeed those ohlins are something else - was back at fearns today and apart from oggling the RS 4.0 & 993gt2 they have in the shop, I also noticed they have a display set of Ohlins TTX..... mama mia - they look good enough to eat.... spectacular looking dampers... was interested to fit to my own car... until I heard the price
I bet you're missing yours aren't you Zero !I saw your car on the ramps a few weeks back and indeed those ohlins are something else - was back at fearns today and apart from oggling the RS 4.0 & 993gt2 they have in the shop, I also noticed they have a display set of Ohlins TTX..... mama mia - they look good enough to eat.... spectacular looking dampers... was interested to fit to my own car... until I heard the price
The Ohlins kit doesn't come cheap, but it's incredible what it does to the cars behaviour.
Bumpy roads taken at big speeds, feel like a magic carpet ride, the car is so composed.
At lower speeds on poorly surfaced roads the ride is better than standard but we're planning to run the dampers softer still.
I suspect that the high speed damping (for those that aren't familiar with the terms, this applies not to the speed of the car but the frequency of the input the damper is trying to control) needs further tweaking to make the car more compliant at low road speeds.
So driving over a pot hole or a poor joint between two lots of Tarmac will require good high speed damping to avoid the shock being transferred to the car and upsetting it composure and being felt by its occupants.
Meanwhile driving over gentle undulations at speed will require good low speed damping to avoid the car floating and getting out of phase with the undulations.
Furthermore the dampers can be adjusted to allow the car to roll more or less on initial turn in. At the moment the front of the car is too stiff on initial turn in and thus it's difficult to feel what's going on between the tyre and the road surface. There's grip aplenty, but not enough feedback.
And yes, those TTXs are indeed car porn ! !
I saw Factory Pilots new steed whilst I was there on Wednesday. I believe that a some upgrades are on the cards . . . Can't wait to see the end result !
The ST ceramics are now available from their European agent Movit in Germany. I'm not sure what the costs are currently as they were willing to use my old GT2 as test bed/guinea pig, we agreed a deal which took into account the developmental element of the project.
Edited by Slippydiff on Saturday 3rd September 23:11
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