So let the 997.1 gt3 search begin...

[RC1]

Well its been a while in the making but my return to the pork fold begun in earnest today with my first ever visit to a dealer. i met a really nice chap called joji at 911 virgin and also had the dubious pleasure of one of their dogs peeing on the front spoiler of my cosseted alpina...

so a few things that i found interesting..

- not to get too hung up on the warranty thing
- even if i get one with carbons might be worth switching them out for steels depending on intended use
- rev range reports should be considered in light of the overall car and not in absolute terms (unless the car is clearly shagged)
- bolder colours are more popular than normal ones (bugger as i like the boring ones)
- some flexibility around comfort vs CS might help me get into one quicker as few CS were made
- carbons and CS will command a marked premium

Looking forward to the search and any tips from learned folk always welcome

[Dblue]

Warranty is always desirable, there's a fair few very high ticket potential failures in any GT3.
CS is desirable but its more the seats and the LW flywheel than the cage thats worthwhile.
Don't get hung up on nav or sound upgrade , both are pants anyway, replace with proper modern solution if it bothers you.

[RC1]

cheers

to the normal driver would he notice the difference between the flywheels?

[rrroro]

LWFW question is somewhat academic, as only the 997.1 RS had this fitted. It wasn’t a factory option on the 997.1 GT3 or 997.1 GT3 Clubsport

[rrroro]

PS good luck with the search!

[braddo]

Not sure older generation ceramic brakes like on 997.1 would command a premium would they? Personally I would be actively seeking a car with steel brakes...

Also, I would think the vast majority of 997.1s are running without Porsche warranty these days (so yes, don't get hung up about the warranty).

Good luck.

[Cunno]

Dblue said:

Warranty is always desirable, there's a fair few very high ticket potential failures in any GT3.

Please expand on the above? I’d personally think that a warranty on a 10-11 year old car wouldn’t be value unless the engine let go as I’d expect an OPC would try and off load any claim as wear and tire?

What items do you think a warranty would pay out on?

[JulierPass]

whats your intended use for the car? Daily, weekend toy, track car, euro trips?

[Essential]

braddo said:

Not sure older generation ceramic brakes like on 997.1 would command a premium would they? Personally I would be actively seeking a car with steel brakes...

Also, I would think the vast majority of 997.1s are running without Porsche warranty these days (so yes, don't get hung up about the warranty).

Good luck.

Very easy to remove PCCB and replace with steels if required. Keep the same calipers.

[isaldiri]

IIRC the bucket seats on the 7.1 were the fixed back cgt ones which not everyone gets along with as they are quite narrow especially around the shoulders. Probably worth a sit/drive in to be sure they are ok for the OP.

[RC1]

yep bang on. i have a slightly dicky back so that may be an issue that better lends itself to a comfort. i had recaro pole positions in my 968 CS and whilst narrow, they fitted my frame quite well.

[short-shift]

I kept the Porsche extended warranty current on my 997.1 GT3 during the time I owned it; the car was more than 10 years old when I sold it. Peace of mind in the event of something big and expensive (and unexpected) happening and, in my case, I certainly had value for money from it in terms of covering costs of work and replacement parts (suspension - front struts etc; split coolant pipes etc).

Everyone has their own take on this but for around £900 a year or £80 a month (if you haggle over the cost of the 111-point inspection and take the two-year package) then to me it's a no-brainer.

James

[evodarren]

Yes as James said. My 997.1GT3 is now 11 years old and I have just renewed the warranty. It is a good piece of mind . The warranty covers most of the major items. Mine has had warranty all its life so I will continue to it’s uuavaliable anymore.

[Dblue]

Cunno said:

Dblue said:

Warranty is always desirable, there's a fair few very high ticket potential failures in any GT3.

Please expand on the above? I’d personally think that a warranty on a 10-11 year old car wouldn’t be value unless the engine let go as I’d expect an OPC would try and off load any claim as wear and tire?

What items do you think a warranty would pay out on?

Engine is very expensive to replace in a catastrophic failure, hoses letting go is an engine out job A Porsche used warranty also looked after a slave cylinder failure on mine, and a few other bits.
Don't think for a moment its a deal breaker but a good bit of peace of mind is worthwhile.

The fixed buckets on a 997.1 are Carrera GT seats and narrow, especially if trimmed in leather. CS use the same seats trimmed in nomex making them just a bit more forgiving.

[RC1]

i am getting a little lost on the seat options for a comfort. from what i can see there are the standard hard backed sports seats that could be heated and are adjustable but is there also a bucket seat option in leather. if so, are they adjustable buckets unlike the CS which has fixed buckets either in leather/alcantara or nomex?

[evodarren]

RC1
Have you managed to d.rive one yet

[RC1]

Brilliant intel on the seats thanks for that. Re the test drive despite begging and trying to borrow the answer is no. Guess that leaves stealing?

Based on my chat with joji at 911v I'd be surprised if the drive doesn't captivate me in the way my 964 did but I'm less sure about the ideal spec and only a first hand experience will help me there

Is it a given that the michelins are better suited to the car than the pirellis?

My intended use is spirited recreational driving and fewer than 5 track days per year. Not likely any euro or gt style trips

[evodarren]

RC1 said:

Brilliant intel on the seats thanks for that. Re the test drive despite begging and trying to borrow the answer is no. Guess that leaves stealing?

Based on my chat with joji at 911v I'd be surprised if the drive doesn't captivate me in the way my 964 did but I'm less sure about the ideal spec and only a first hand experience will help me there

Is it a given that the michelins are better suited to the car than the pirellis?

My intended use is spirited recreational driving and fewer than 5 track days per year. Not likely any euro or gt style trips

Done a Euro trip in mine this june. Down to Cannes, Monaco then onto Portafino in italy, 2,200 miles. Fantastic car. Handle the long bits on the motorways great, but really can alive done the Route Napolean. The twisty mounting roads were epic. Got told of by the misses a few times when the back end came out on the hair pins.

[short-shift]

On the seats, and with reference to buckets:

As far as I know, the folding buckets (the so-called GT2 folding buckets) were introduced on the 997 GT2 and became available on the second generation 997 GT3 - but I'm not aware that they were available from the factory on the 997.1 cars.

The fixed-back buckets which were more commonplace on the gen 1 cars came in two guises. The Club Sport pack included these in a Nomex-type of fabric (so essentially cloth) covering, with Alcantara inserts. However, when fixed buckets were specified as an option on non-CS cars, these were leather covered (again, with Alcantara cushion and backrest inserts).

People will have a different view on what they want and what makes a good spec - horses for courses, etc. My car was a non-CS car (so-called 'comfort spec', though they were never officially designated as such) so didn't have the rollover bar behind the seats, but it did have the optional leather and alcantara fixed buckets which, together with the option of leather on the dash and door casings, gave the interior of the car a very special ambience.

Comfort in the buckets was spot-on for me, too (5'8"; around 11st) although I seem to recall that I raised the front of the seat frames a tad to give a bit more recline and some more under-thigh support.

Enjoy your search!

James

[isaldiri]

RC1 said:

Is it a given that the michelins are better suited to the car than the pirellis?

My intended use is spirited recreational driving and fewer than 5 track days per year. Not likely any euro or gt style trips

IMO, you would be hard put to find a better general road tyre than the michelin ps4s currently. Personally I'd have a michelin tyre every time over the pirelli equivalent.