Am I daft to be considering a 996 GT3?

[northerner]

OP - Only having a 6GT3 on the drive for a few weeks, a couple of realisations have hit home:

1) Why did I wait so long to get one? They are utterly immersive in comparison to the high end modern stuff. I'm lucky enough to have other cars to do the family and dedicated track stuff but i'll still default to the GT3 if I need to pop out for something.

2) You've got to be committed to it. The one I bought was tired and had passed through a number of hands without much being to be done to it. I've spent quite a bit of time and money bring it back to a good state, added some mods but more importantly, performed preventative maintenance. They are cars approaching their 20th birthday, will have stuff that goes wrong and serve up plenty of agg due to seized or snapped bolts, etc. But for me, I enjoy the car fixing bit as much as the driving of it.

[nxi20]

marky911 said:

nxi20 said:

As you may know, we took over the Porsche Alcon distribution from JZM in 2014 & kept it for 5 years. I saw this exact problem several times, including on my own GT3 and went to the trouble of tracking down the only UK supplier of the spring washers. Replacing them does cure the rattle but obviously it's more profitable to condem the bobbins.

The only way you can buy the springs washers from Alcon is to buy the complete bobbin kit...

Nick I removed and stripped the disc today and your diagnosis was spot on. Spring washers are ground flat.
PM sent regarding things. I’ve emailed you at [e-mail]. I hope that’s right.

I knew you had something to do with Alcon gear but read a comment somewhere that you no longer do it, otherwise I’d have contacted you first.

Anyway, goodstuff. Many thanks.

Sorry for the hijack Maxym. Your thread has helped me anyway.
As you were....

All sorted now - Mark will have rattle-free discs next week

[marky911]

Yes, a big thanks to Nick for chiming in.
It’s rare to find a specialist that isn’t out to maximise a profit these days, especially in the Porsche world.
There was next to nothing in it for Nick, but I’m very grateful for the help.

One “expert” wanted to sell me a full kit of gear and another said the discs could well need binning.

So all sorted now. Big thumbs up to Nick at Uber9s.

[Slippydiff]

julian987R said:

Coming out of those modern Porsches I bet the most likely frustration will be the PCM unit. So you’d want to factor in the costs for updating it with the new Porsche Classic 996 Radio.

Thanks Julian, that's comedy gold and it's made my week

I think you'll find the "entertainment" comes courtesy of the engine, 'box, suspension and the car's dynamics generally, rather than the latest touchscreen infotainment system, contrasting cigarette lighter icons or optional Tequipment wiper blades

marky911 said:

Hi Braddo,

It’s not so much a mod, simply that the front coffin arms are two piece, so to add camber you can insert different width shims which lengthens the coffin arm, thus pushing the bottom of the wheel out and increasing camber for track use.

This sort of track biased setup makes for an erm “focussed” drive on bumpy roads.

My car had them in when I bought it so I removed them before getting a more road friendly setup done.

Nicely put Mark (hope you're well, email to follow)

It was a standing joke between a mate and I, we used to refer to it as a "Slow, fast road set up"

Using such a geo set up on an otherwise stock 996 GT3 with road biased tyres, across bumpy, cambered roads, you'll either look like a driving god, or a complete pillock. (dependent on how experienced your passenger is in all things Porsche ) though I suspect it's normally the latter, especially when any decent modern hatchback overtakes you on said bumpy roads

[ChrisW.]

BertBert said:

ChrisW. said:

A good car will be very inexpensive motoring ...

Well that's not my experience. You are right regarding depreciation, but the 996s and 997s I've owned have regularly generated Porsche size bills through servicing and stuff that needs fixing.

I weighed my words very carefully.

A GOOD car will be very inexpensive motoring.

If not GOOD it may therefore be more expensive.

A good specialist and second owner parts (recycling is good) can still achieve low cost and long life repairs ...

But I do agree with you if the car isn't good. Even a car just out of an OPC extended warranty ... I bought one which needed new radiators / condensers / exhaust silencer boxes / lower control arm bushes ... it cost me £5k to sort it but I had no depreciation, result.

[marky911]

Slippydiff said:

julian987R said:

Coming out of those modern Porsches I bet the most likely frustration will be the PCM unit. So you’d want to factor in the costs for updating it with the new Porsche Classic 996 Radio.

Thanks Julian, that's comedy gold and it's made my week

I’m amazed that post went unchallenged for so long. It is indeed, very good.

Slippydiff said:

marky911 said:

This sort of track biased setup makes for an erm “focussed” drive on bumpy roads.

Nicely put Mark (hope you're well, email to follow)

It was a standing joke between a mate and I, we used to refer to it as a "Slow, fast road set up"

Using such a geo set up on an otherwise stock 996 GT3 with road biased tyres, across bumpy, cambered roads, you'll either look like a driving god, or a complete pillock. (dependent on how experienced your passenger is in all things Porsche ) though I suspect it's normally the latter, especially when any decent modern hatchback overtakes you on said bumpy roads

Haha, so true.
You need to hope matey boy from the local retail park doesn’t chase you in his Civic Type R if you’re running the pseudo race car setup.

[BadBull]

Get the June edition of CAR Magazine. They have a big article on these.

[BertBert]

ChrisW. said:

I weighed my words very carefully.

A GOOD car will be very inexpensive motoring.

If not GOOD it may therefore be more expensive.

A good specialist and second owner parts (recycling is good) can still achieve low cost and long life repairs ...

But I do agree with you if the car isn't good. Even a car just out of an OPC extended warranty ... I bought one which needed new radiators / condensers / exhaust silencer boxes / lower control arm bushes ... it cost me £5k to sort it but I had no depreciation, result.

I just think that at the age they are at, they will most likely generate regular chunky bills as mine have done. The elusive good one that doesn't will be next to impossible to find.
In my view is best to be prepared for this and get on with it. It'll be hard enough to find a decent one these days.

To the OP and back on topic, fab cars, go for it!

[Joehow]

Find a well used one that has loads of maintainance and it should serve you well.

Ive had 2 and still have my second, i over maintain as its tracked quite a bit but its not crazy money. No more than an e46 me for example.

[ClaphamGT3]

Depending on where you live, the biggest challenge could be the ground clearance. Planning routes out of Built up areas that avoid speed humps becomes a chore very quickly

[Slippydiff]

BertBert said:

I just think that at the age they are at, they will most likely generate regular chunky bills as mine have done. The elusive good one that doesn't will be next to impossible to find.
In my view is best to be prepared for this and get on with it. It'll be hard enough to find a decent one these days.

To the OP and back on topic, fab cars, go for it!

They are indeed fantastic cars.

But they were a £70K car when new, and any bills will still be commensurate with that. To think otherwise would be misguided. Any notion that Stuttgart build cars sprinkled with a special fairydust that imbues them with bullet-proof durability, is a fallacy. The Mezger is a tough old thing, but the exhaust, cooling system, suspension componentry, brakes, clutch, diff and transmission are less so.

[ditchvisitor]

https://www.facebook.com/297587366754/posts/101577...

My old car is now up for sale at Paragon, it’s VERY well sorted, miss it hugely as it’s an incredible car.

Here’s my thread on it, https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Pip1968]

ditchvisitor said:

https://www.facebook.com/297587366754/posts/101577...

My old car is now up for sale at Paragon, it’s VERY well sorted, miss it hugely as it’s an incredible car.

Here’s my thread on it, https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Very nice. Hopefully it will go to an owner that drives it. What will you be replacing it with though - 'upgrading' (I prefer the words side stepping) to a newer model ???

Pip

[Maxym]

Thanks for the ongoing contributions guys.

DF, I see yours is a Mk I. Instinctively I would have gone for a Mk II but only because it would be 'newer'. But I suspect that condition is rather more important than age... right?

Any thoughts on Mk I v Mk II?

[n12maser]

Chris Harris has some, on this very site
https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-features/tell-...

[Heathrow]

The first few minutes of this is worth a watch on the Gen 1 vs Gen 2 question.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJLmc_M-0ng

[marky911]

Having owned both there’s nothing in it as a road car.
For track use the Mk2 has a stronger gearbox with oil cooler, 6 pot front calipers and a bit more power.
Lots of Mk1s have had the Mk2 brakes fitted though.

I’d just look for the nicest car in budget. They are both great cars. Mk1 rear wing is perfection mind and those split rims.

Loads of vids online obviously but this a good one with Jethro B.
Skip to 4 mins for the GT3 part.



https://youtu.be/NTv1iNB9gJA

[Slippydiff]

Maxym said:

Thanks for the ongoing contributions guys.

DF, I see yours is a Mk I. Instinctively I would have gone for a Mk II but only because it would be 'newer'. But I suspect that condition is rather more important than age... right?

Any thoughts on Mk I v Mk II?

They're both fantastic cars, but one's just a tiny bit better than the other (subjectively of course) ...



Enjoy your forthcoming "education" as you decide which suits your needs best, though ultimately you really can't go wrong whichever you decide upon.

[ditchvisitor]

Well mine has sold at Paragon!! That was quick.

[evodarren]

ditchvisitor said:

Well mine has sold at Paragon!! That was quick.

It looked a great car and obviously was .

These 996 GT3 are selling quickly.
They are on the up.