997 GT3 - questions

[CK_N4S]

Currently looking into getting one of these for some trackwork - multiple Nürburgring trips, and occasional sunday blast. However, lack of cars which meet my criteria for extras have prompted a few questions about these cars.

1: Can the front part of the cage easily be mounted? Or do you need to drill the holes in the car for the bottom to fit, rip our carpets and generally make a hassle?

2: Will a 90L fuel tank slip right on any car? Would be very nice to have the greater range capacity for the 500 mile trip back and forth to the Ring.

3: Which harness is preferable to use with the car?

4: Do you take the Monkey Harris route on the exhaust and fit Akrapovic for the weight saving or are other systems preferred?

5: What tyre do you strap on the original rims for wet weather driving - and what new wheels do you strap the Michelin Cup's onto? Was thinking Michelin Pilot Sports for the rain and dreaming of a set of Volk CE28 for the cup tyres. What are you experiences on this?


And just to set the mood, theses are the ones currently taking my liking.

This has the edge right now

http://data.bytbil.com/carinfo.cgi?id=A1E2257E5337...





But this also looks a proper motor

http://data.bytbil.com/carinfo.cgi?id=DF20CCBA78D3...





CK

[nsm3]

Jeez, those 2 are £85 to £88k !!

And we thought it was "Rip Off Britain"

Oh, just noticed Swedish Krona not Danish - but still £72/3k.

Edited by nsm3 on Friday 6th January 10:30

[DiscoColin]

CK_N4S said:

Currently looking into getting one of these for some trackwork - multiple Nürburgring trips, and occasional sunday blast. However, lack of cars which meet my criteria for extras have prompted a few questions about these cars.

• 1: Can the front part of the cage easily be mounted? Or do you need to drill the holes in the car for the bottom to fit, rip our carpets and generally make a hassle?

I think that at the very least you will need to cut the carpets, but given the price of the front cage a couple of hours labour should not really be a factor. On the 997 the front cage was not standard on any model and they are comparatively very rare (it is a motorsport part costing around £2500+fitting if I recall correctly). On the 996, putting the clubsport cage (with front section) into a non-original CS involved welding plates into the floor. I am sure that someone will be along shortly to clarify the 997 situation though - which may or may not be different.

• 2: Will a 90L fuel tank slip right on any car? Would be very nice to have the greater range capacity for the 500 mile trip back and forth to the Ring.

It ought to fit any car as long as it is left hand drive, but sorry - I don't know how much work would be involved in switching the tank.

• 3: Which harness is preferable to use with the car?

Factory OE is the Schroth Profi II-6 (the Porsche part number is 997.803.037.90, but you can source the 997 GT3 fitment harness from any Schroth dealer and you can also get them in colours other than red if that is your thing). A clubsport specification car will include one of these. Some people use HANS devices, and in such cases there is a HANS variant of the harness with different shoulder straps.

• 4: Do you take the Monkey Harris route on the exhaust and fit Akrapovic for the weight saving or are other systems preferred?

In relative terms very few people change the exhaust - even stock is too loud for many track days and aftermarket options are an expensive indulgence (and of course invalidate any warranty).

• 5: What tyre do you strap on the original rims for wet weather driving - and what new wheels do you strap the Michelin Cup's onto? Was thinking Michelin Pilot Sports for the rain and dreaming of a set of Volk CE28 for the cup tyres. What are you experiences on this?

Pilot Sports are fine in rain but readily overheat when it dries. Look at the Michelin Supersport - many consider it to be the tyre to be on for changeable conditions (haven't tried it personally yet though). I've not seen many aftermarket rims on 997s - most seem to get a second set of factory wheels (often off of eBay). The American forums are probably a better place to ask about anything else to do with wheels.

Hope this helps.

Edited by DiscoColin on Friday 6th January 18:38

[Trev450]

DiscoColin said:

In relative terms very few people change the exhaust - even stock is too loud for many track days

Sorry to go off topic but is this a common experience at many tracks?

[Steviebeee]

The carpet is already precut for the front section of cage. But 2500.00 for two bars - Ouch, Always fancied this, but not at that price!

Exhaust - standard is fairly loud! Although there is a weight saving on aftermarket items.

Hope this helps!

Stevie

PS: That silver car looks to have a more aggressive suspension set up compared to the white. Just an observation!

[CK_N4S]

Thanks for your replies - seems like the front roll cage is a more preferred option than I imagined, compared to the cost/hassle of doing it my self.

Think the grey car has had the benefit of a Geo alignment - part of my reason for preferring it

CK

[all2ofme]

If you're based in Denmark is it ok to get a Swedish car and bring that in? But it's NOT to get one from Germany? I'd have thought there'd be more to choose from elsewhere (not even necessarily Germany) than from within Scandoland.

A friend's brother in Sweden gets all his interesting cars from Germany and as far as I can tell he just registers them in Sweden and enjoys himself.

[DiscoColin]

Trev450 said:

DiscoColin said:

In relative terms very few people change the exhaust - even stock is too loud for many track days

Sorry to go off topic but is this a common experience at many tracks?

It will not pass the static for a 101db day on MSV circuits, so you need to make sure it is a 105db day if using them. It is the normal 911 issue in that their noise meter (being a foot away from the engine) is picking up a lot of engine and induction noise in addition to the exhaust when they make you thrash it to 3/4 of 8500rpm. Complete non-issue if the primary noise control is based on drive by volume though (Silverstone, Donnington, Nurburgring, Spa, etc... are all fine).

Edited by DiscoColin on Saturday 7th January 12:23

[fioran0]

1) the preparation work for the front cage install is pretty labour intensive if not already done. once it is however the cage can be put in and out relatively easily

2)90L will fit right in but only on LHD cars. theres no large tank for RHD. its a big job however. entire front suspension/subframe/steering has to come off to get the tank out and in

3) harness - schroth

4) akrapovic haha. get some chromed wheels while you are there. seriously, stick with stock if you want to get onto track days for noise level or get a custom stainless system made with packable silencers and careful control over the noise output

5) wheels. entirely up to you but id just get a set of used oem wheels from the second hand market/ebay and use these for track work.

if you want to use this for track days then perhaps think about suspension and brakes before exhausts and wheels.

[GJB]

Clubsport 996 GT3's came with front section of cage unfitted along with fire extinguisher. However for road use the front section may cause issues with your insurance cover. Unless you drive on the road using harnesses and crash helmets you could brain youself and your passenger in the event of a RTA.
Lot's of track miles in my 996 GT3 and 997 GT3 RS, only ever used rear section of cage and have never seen a car involved in an incident where the front section would have made any difference. Have seen a few high speed accidents such as Eua Rouge at Spa but never intrusion into the cabin. Injuries such as as brusing, broken bones and hurt bank balance but nothing worse thankfully.

[CK_N4S]

I can get a car from anywhere and have it registered in Denmark - only issue is the price to do so, but that is OK for this project. There are not that many cars in Germany at the moment with the Clubsport specification that I find interesting - and generally they tend to be a good way away. These to are in Gothenburg which is quite handy.

Have only ever been in one big shunt, that was on the Nürburgring. My car ended up looking like this




This was at Kesselchen with an entry speed of roughly 140 MPH. Whether the front part of the cage in that car helped in that crash is uncertain for me. But I walked away with a bruised left arm and a small headache.

Having said that, the knowledge of me sitting, inside a steel cage, rather than in front of a roll bar, is what makes me prefer a car with a full cage. Insurance wise it makes no difference here in Denmark, and with enough padding on the cage, normal street driving without a helmet should be ok.

Many thanks for the info on cage and tank - seems like the cage is more expensive than I originally imagined - and need to look into the difference in registration tax on these two cars to get the eceonomics right, if I go for one of these. As it will be used on the continent the car will be LHD so the large tank can be mounted.

With the exhaust I would mostly be looking for weight savings. As mentioned on here, Nurburgring and Spa are pretty lax compared to UK - and most tracks in Sweden and Denmark I go to, are pretty good as well.

Any extra info is much appreciated.

CK

[matc]

Looks like a nasty accident! Just out of interest did you manage to get an insurance pay-out on it even though you were driving on the ring? I'm not sure how different the insurance rules are over there compared to here.

[CK_N4S]

Mat: fully covered insurance wise - it was on German plates and accident occured under the Scuderia 2010. So was classed as a driving course and not exempted from insurance cover.

CK

[M100MSA]

• 3: Which harness is preferable to use with the car?

Factory OE is the Schroth Profi II-6 (the Porsche part number is 997.803.037.90, but you can source the 997 GT3 fitment harness from any Schroth dealer and you can also get them in colours other than red if that is your thing). A clubsport specification car will include one of these. Some people use HANS devices, and in such cases there is a HANS variant of the harness with different shoulder straps.


You can get help on this from MSAR at www.msar.co.uk