Picking Up A GT3 Today
Discussion
Well yesterday was an experience to say the least.
Right from the off the car felt a lot lot quicker than my Cayman did, as you would expect. And even though it was only running Michelin PS2's (the Cayman was running SuperSports for the last few months I owned it) there was still a surprising amount of grip. Right up until the point I found myself with none at all diving into the middle of Cascades. That was a real sphincter workout moment as the bonet whistled mere feet from the Armco. I have uploade footage to YouTube for those that can't resist a good near miss vid.
There is still a lot for me to learn about the car, but then that's going to be the fun bit. Learning to trust the amount of rear-end grip out of corners is probably the biggest challenge and learning to feel comfortable with the car sat with a few degrees of slip on the exit of every corner in order for the car to fire me onto the next straight. But I have to say, apart from the one strange moment, the car is very confidence inspiring and I felt good about just jumping in and going for it.
Anyway, here is my first flying lap attempt. This was from probably my 3rd session in the car, quite early in the morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-NttOrh6RE&fea...
Right from the off the car felt a lot lot quicker than my Cayman did, as you would expect. And even though it was only running Michelin PS2's (the Cayman was running SuperSports for the last few months I owned it) there was still a surprising amount of grip. Right up until the point I found myself with none at all diving into the middle of Cascades. That was a real sphincter workout moment as the bonet whistled mere feet from the Armco. I have uploade footage to YouTube for those that can't resist a good near miss vid.
There is still a lot for me to learn about the car, but then that's going to be the fun bit. Learning to trust the amount of rear-end grip out of corners is probably the biggest challenge and learning to feel comfortable with the car sat with a few degrees of slip on the exit of every corner in order for the car to fire me onto the next straight. But I have to say, apart from the one strange moment, the car is very confidence inspiring and I felt good about just jumping in and going for it.
Anyway, here is my first flying lap attempt. This was from probably my 3rd session in the car, quite early in the morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-NttOrh6RE&fea...
The tyres are squealing because I'm going fast, Mike...
And those RS rear wings look ridiculous....especially those dodgy Manthey ones, so I've heard...
Definitely room for improvement in both driving, geo and tyre set up. I was running hot 30psi all round, by the way and the spin was after about 3-4 hot laps. There is a little twitch in the middle of Old Hall just prior to spin, plus there was mud on the track in Cascades. It was there on the previous lap but as I came in I didn't see any so assumed it had all gone... Oh well, at least it's not like I've only had the car a week or anything :-)
And those RS rear wings look ridiculous....especially those dodgy Manthey ones, so I've heard...
Definitely room for improvement in both driving, geo and tyre set up. I was running hot 30psi all round, by the way and the spin was after about 3-4 hot laps. There is a little twitch in the middle of Old Hall just prior to spin, plus there was mud on the track in Cascades. It was there on the previous lap but as I came in I didn't see any so assumed it had all gone... Oh well, at least it's not like I've only had the car a week or anything :-)
Steve Rance said:
Ha ha.. Nope it's fine, bumps like that are great because they just add to the challenge of the circuit. The one on the exit of Druids is brilliant!!
Yes, love the one at the exit of Druids. Have to really try and get the car straight before you hit that or you are in a world of s
t, and probably the Armco. The question about would this happen in a PSM equipped car: Steve, I think he means PSM (Please Save Me!) rather than PASM.
I never had anything like this incident in the Cayman, but I don't know if that is because of PSM or because of the less rearward biase of the car.
Was this lift off oversteer? I would say no. I didn't lift. If I had lifted the back would have come round MUCH faster and I almost definitely would have hit the Armco on the inside. The GT3's attitude in a corner is MUCH more sensitive to throttle input than the Cayman was.
I see this as the car being loaded in the bend, hitting the bump, and that unsettling the rear and throwing it around. It went quickly because the tyres had gone off. Coming into Old Hall the rear let go slightly and really that should have been my warning. Some dust on the track certainly didn't help. Finally, I wasn't a goods enough to catch it
I don't have a garage. Car has to be available to use at short notice, so renting a garage isn't an option.
And I use my cars. My Cayman did 76,000 miles in 5.5 years (most of them in the first 4 years) and the Merc has done 46,000 in just over 2 years. Yes I like cars, but I buy them to use, not polish and keep in showroom condition. It's not my pride and joy. That would be my wife and son. They get heating, cleaning and a roof over their head every night and locks on the door. The GT3? It's an object. A tool. And ultimately a toy. Admittedly an expensive one, but let's not kid ourselves, it's not one of lifes necessities.
Sorry if that seems flippant, but that's how I see it.
And I use my cars. My Cayman did 76,000 miles in 5.5 years (most of them in the first 4 years) and the Merc has done 46,000 in just over 2 years. Yes I like cars, but I buy them to use, not polish and keep in showroom condition. It's not my pride and joy. That would be my wife and son. They get heating, cleaning and a roof over their head every night and locks on the door. The GT3? It's an object. A tool. And ultimately a toy. Admittedly an expensive one, but let's not kid ourselves, it's not one of lifes necessities.
Sorry if that seems flippant, but that's how I see it.
Steve Rance said:
Apologies, I misread your post. To be honest I'm not sure if it would. I have little experience of PSM on the circuit, all of my experience of driving 911's has been GT3, GT2, RS and RSR!! My view on PSM and other driver aids is that they certainly make cars of higher power outputs accessible to all drivers. The downside is that they do nothing to encourage a driver from progressing to learn the skills essential to track driving
Agree 100%. They can show you where the limit is and teach you to drive smoothly, but that is it. To go faster you need to turn them off and then it's like learning to drive all over again. It's like learning to ride a bike with stabalizers. You think you can ride when in fact you just keep leaning on the stabalizers and really have no idea how to balance the bike. When you take them off you need to learn to balance the bike without falling off, which is like learning to ride all over again.
wfarrell said:
..is this the worst post-rationalised excuse / defence / justification for not having a garage ever ??
No, it's my rationalised reasoning for why I still went ahead and bought a car I wanted regardless of the fact that I don't have a garage.It's really heartwarming to see the breadth and depth of people's concern for my poor little car. I'll go and give it a hug to show it I still love it.
Edited by jackwood on Monday 30th April 08:28
wfarrell said:
it's not just "stuff" though, is it ? ("stuff" doesn't get dedicated interweb threads describing in great detail the purchase process and user experience to a discerning peer group, does it ?)
I think it does. There are forums and threads on everything from model trains to TVs to iPhones. I consider all of those things to stuff too. anonymous said:
[redacted]
That is a very fair point. I can care about it, but also be realistic about it. I can also prioritise it's importance within my life. Anyway, drove the car to work this morning. It's amazing how it can make even the most boring stretch of motorway entertaining. The whole car hunts around in it's lane, jinking and weaving as it goes. It's a really addictive feeling. And it's something I've never felt in a 997.
Well, that's the first 1,000 miles done!
These front splitters don't last long do they now?? My car is pretty much at the maximum end of Porsche recommended ride hight range and it still catches on absolutely everything!
There is also a knocking from the front end. If you go on power and then brake you get a metallic clunk. If you run over a lateral ridge in the road with both wheels you also get the same clunk.
I had it jacked up today with the front wheels off and everything feels rock solid. No play in the arms or in the ARB links that I could feel.
Next stop is to get it into Mikes at Sports and Classic I suppose and see if he can find out what's causing it.
These front splitters don't last long do they now?? My car is pretty much at the maximum end of Porsche recommended ride hight range and it still catches on absolutely everything!
There is also a knocking from the front end. If you go on power and then brake you get a metallic clunk. If you run over a lateral ridge in the road with both wheels you also get the same clunk.
I had it jacked up today with the front wheels off and everything feels rock solid. No play in the arms or in the ARB links that I could feel.
Next stop is to get it into Mikes at Sports and Classic I suppose and see if he can find out what's causing it.
Henry-F said:
I suspect the noise is just the brake pads moving slightly within the caliper. Probably most noticeable if you reverse, brake then apply the brakes as you move forward.
Have it checked out but from what you describe that sounds most likely and nothing to worry about.
Henry
Thanks Henry but quite sure it's not that. Have it checked out but from what you describe that sounds most likely and nothing to worry about.
Henry
I did have that phenomena with the Cayman with Non-OEM Pagids fitted but this is noise is just from driving down the road over surface imperfections. I'm sure Mike will find the problem in a couple of minutes. It's certainly not effecting my enjoyment of the car :-)
keep it lit said:
loose top mount or arb drop link...
Checked the top mount bolts and they are marked and haven't moved. ARB arms felt solid when car was jacked up with wheels off. The bushes looked in good knick. I did only check the ARB with one side jacked at a time. Do both wheels need to be on droop to check play in the ARBs? Or can you check one side at a time?Only seems to occur when both wheels are articulated simultaneously. If just one wheel hits a bump you don't get any noise at all.
mrdemon said:
It is a warranty claim ?
These 3rd party dealers always harp on about how they backup the cars they sell and how much prep money they put into them.
Bought the car without a warranty. The noise has only come on in the last few days. Pretty sure it's nothing serious and 911Virgin wouldn't have found it during a routine inspection.These 3rd party dealers always harp on about how they backup the cars they sell and how much prep money they put into them.
Well, as often happens with these sorts of things, the knocking noise that we thought was from slightly worn monoballs in the top mounts has gone. Completely gone.
After the blast across north Wales with Mike and Ade the other weekend the noise disappaited and disappeared.
There is still a bit of play in the O/S damper that was noted on the report that came with the car from Chris at Centet Gravity and the dampers are probably due a rebuild soon, so after the summer the car will get some fettling.
As another note, while the car was up on the ramp at Sports and Classic we saw that the Powerflex bushes on the front arms were getting chewed up at the ends. When the dampers are getting rebuilt we'll replace these with solid units.
First addition to the car is going to be a set of RS29 front and RS14 rear Pagid pads as per Fiorino's recommendation. Again while on the ramp we could see that the inside pads (standard P90 pads all round) were much more heavily worn on the inside of the disk than on the outside. They will definitely need changing after the next track day. Which will be an Evo track evening at Bedford in June.
I've also arranged to get some alcantera cushion covers made for tr seat base and back. Just to prevent sliding around in the seat until I decide if I'm going to get a half cage and harness fitted.
Oh, and thanks for the jack recommendations in the other thread. Ade (keep it lit) has a Snap On one on order for me.
Loving the car, by the way. 1650 miles done since collection. Sat outside right now covered in tree pollen. Oh the shame of it.
Jack
After the blast across north Wales with Mike and Ade the other weekend the noise disappaited and disappeared.
There is still a bit of play in the O/S damper that was noted on the report that came with the car from Chris at Centet Gravity and the dampers are probably due a rebuild soon, so after the summer the car will get some fettling.
As another note, while the car was up on the ramp at Sports and Classic we saw that the Powerflex bushes on the front arms were getting chewed up at the ends. When the dampers are getting rebuilt we'll replace these with solid units.
First addition to the car is going to be a set of RS29 front and RS14 rear Pagid pads as per Fiorino's recommendation. Again while on the ramp we could see that the inside pads (standard P90 pads all round) were much more heavily worn on the inside of the disk than on the outside. They will definitely need changing after the next track day. Which will be an Evo track evening at Bedford in June.
I've also arranged to get some alcantera cushion covers made for tr seat base and back. Just to prevent sliding around in the seat until I decide if I'm going to get a half cage and harness fitted.
Oh, and thanks for the jack recommendations in the other thread. Ade (keep it lit) has a Snap On one on order for me.
Loving the car, by the way. 1650 miles done since collection. Sat outside right now covered in tree pollen. Oh the shame of it.
Jack
Over 2000 miles in now and looking forward to Bedford on Friday evening with a load of mates and the Evo boys. Should be fun.
Also just fitted my first upgrade yesterday. I've had some cushion covers made for the base and back panels to prevent me sliding around too much on the seat when on track. Plus it'll keep the leather pads nice and tidy for later on.
Also just fitted my first upgrade yesterday. I've had some cushion covers made for the base and back panels to prevent me sliding around too much on the seat when on track. Plus it'll keep the leather pads nice and tidy for later on.
squirejo said:
Can you let me know who did your cushion covers? Are they grippy alcantara?
Because I wanted them in a rush they just used their standard motorsport seat covering. It's fire retardant blah blah blah and is very grippy. Not as plush as alcantara, but I will probably have some made in that too. The company I used is www.motordrive.com
Allan and Mel are lovely people. Very knowledgable and have been making seats for motorsports for years and years.
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