997 GT3 - what mods would you do

[Steviebeee]

Suspension - a few seems to hate PASM, so what would replace it? KWs? Costs would be good
Brakes - What's the preferred steel disc and pad replacemt choice. Costs for both road and track would be great
Aero - Cup splitter and Deck lid are supposed to add downforce anyone with any experience?
Exhausts / Intakes
Wheels/Tyres
ARBs


Basically any enhancements anyone thinks are worthwhile and can share any experience.

I'm ditching OPC warranty next year and looking to make it 'my own'. Cause I'll then be allowed

Stevie

[colin1976]

ete-tc dampers and an Akroprovic would be my priorities (no personal experience but based on what I've read):
http://www.exe-tc.co.uk/images/porsche/gtporsche_a...

ETA: costs in the linked article

[Cunno]

To start with what do you use the car for? Track or road?

Is there anything you don't like about the car at present. Must people I know who mod their GT3s are track focused. If its a road car I would bother.

Jon

[Dr S]

Good passive suspension tuned by a pro to your primary use/track. Akrapovic adds incredible sound but could also be too much if you use the car everyday.

[Harris_I]

Dr S said:

Good passive suspension tuned by a pro to your primary use/track.

This.

Don't bother with Cup decklid and wing - worth it only if you are chasing tenths on a high downforce circuit. Also need to balance the car with extended front splitter otherwise you will get float as you approach 150mph.

[mrdemon]

ARB's
Engine mounts
Rear Cat delete
Motons
Alcons


would be my mods.

[wtdoom]

On my 997rs I did dampers( jrz set up by parr with a whole day at brands ) , front and rear spoiler/ splitter , brakes , wheels , etc etc.
Didn't need to bother , sure it had more feel etc on track ( and was obviously faster ) but was it worth it for a road car ? Probably not .
4.0 rs just has a good geo , the end .

[johnycarrera]

Stevie it depends what you want to spend, Akrapovic full system is about 7-9 grand I believe, best Ohlins suspension set up is astronomical.

I think you'd be best with a nice set of BBS wheels and the gen2 or RS rear spoiler.
If you want passive dampers the KW you mention get a good write up and are pretty affordable

[markiii]

So for a road car is the general consensus that ditching pasm for a decent set of passive dampers would be a better use of the cash than say blistering damptronics?

[wtdoom]

For a road car you just need a geo

[fioran0]

Assuming you are thinking spirited weekend use and track days then in order:

1:
Rear toe locking plates, adj toe arms and uprated dog bones.
Geo/alignment setup
Brake pads
2:
Rear sway bar
Passive suspension
3:
Diff
4:
Cup front splitter, Cup decklid and wing.

Without locking the rear you are wasting your money on setup. you will lose rear toe very quickly and these cars ate extremely rear toe sensitive. You will also have a car that squirms around under you.
With this sorted a better setup on the car will start it beginning to feel like it should.
The stock pads do not last on a track. A day can realistically burn them through. If you are happy with DIY, you can easily use stock pads for street and swap over to track pads for track days.
The stock discs are fine. Just use them up then weigh up options when its time to replace.

The next round once you get confidence and speed in the car is centred around getting rid of the understeer and PASM which will now be holding you back/wrestling with you.

Once you have this nailed, the weak diff really shows itself. 28/40 locking isn't enough and the factory plates are incredibly weak. You want 40/60 and motorsport or guard internals.

The Cup splitter along with the rear lid and wing makes a massive difference to the cars stability and feel. It's most definitely not related just to those last tenths. It also makes it look cool look at getty for parts for the lid and wing.

Once you're through that list you can move on to all the peripheral things that toughen the car up further. The items on this (cup shift cables, semi solid engine mounts etc etc) all begin to move a car from the totally sorted category into the highly focused bracket so its not for everyone.

An exhaust can be added at any stage, it certainly makes the car feel more of an event however anything you choose will pretty much prevent you driving at track days. You will fail noise testing. As such something like a sharkwerks bypass makes the most sense. Cheap and easily fitted its also easy to refit your stock rear box for track days.

If you however want to just "pimp" it up then ignore this list and focus on parts that one can see.

[fioran0]

As for suspension. The expensive KW dampers are nicely made, the more commonly seen stuff is less so. Look at the spring rates too, KW have historically used a very odd spring setup with a very hard rear and a very soft front. It would be nice to suggest they've discovered some magic combo but it would be a lie.

Moton were highly regarded but no idea how product is since the buy out. Motion control is where the moton guys went.
JRZ, Ohlins and Sachs all make very good stuff with good adjustability.

[fioran0]

markiii said:

So for a road car is the general consensus that ditching pasm for a decent set of passive dampers would be a better use of the cash than say blistering damptronics?

Not at all. For a road car PASM is a good attribute. Leave it on, unless you drive on a private road you shouldn't find yourself in battles with it.
The problem with PASM is that its reactive. As you get closer to the cars maximum this behaviour puts it in direct conflict with the driver (who is also reacting to the same thing). It makes for scary moments along with some downright dangerous ones.

[colin1976]

Fioran0,

How would your answer differ (if at all) for the same requirements (spirited weekend use and track days) on a 996 GT3?
Do these benefit from rear toe locking plates, adj toe arms and uprated dog bones like the 997 GT3?

Many Thanks,
Colin

[mollytherocker]

My mods in order would be;

Replace worn parts
Fit quality tyres
Geo
Driver training and practice

There is no point doing anything else until the above has been completed, especially the last one.

[fioran0]

almost exactly the same. the sway bars and diff comments need tweaked and the suspension is less critical since theres no PASM to worry about. one can be fast on stock setup on a 996. its only when you outgrow the spring rates that you need to upgrade.
the sway bars needing nothing more than setup on a 996 while the diff already has 40/60 locking. one only needs to update the plates which are similarly weak. since they wear out so quickly it can be rolled in to regular maintenance.

the rear toe locking should be the first thing on any list for an owner looking for more, even just weekend blasts.

[Steviebeee]

Fioran,

Thank you very much for your detailed response. I always read your post with great interest and it's good to here thoughts from someone who clearly knows what he's talking about from experience.

The rear toe lock plates sound interesting. The aero is to add to both asthetics and driving experience but admittedly way way down the line. Next thing to do is renew my front brakes, so it's great to here std disc are good enough with upgraded pads (Padig of some kind?) std discs aren't expensive.

It sounds like I have a good few years left to grow with the car rather than just cashing it in and moving on to another newer car. I miss modding. Got the bug real bad with my old Evo 8RS in 2007!

It's predominantly a road car with only a track day or two a year.

The only thing that irritates me about the car is its harshness around town - something that the EXE-TC set up sounds as though it may address. I fellow Evo owner had it on his 9 and the setup was incredibly compliment, with tremendous cross county capability.

For me the exhaust is plenty loud and wouldn't look to change it. Especially at that amount of money.

People talk about under steer on the 997, but I don't seem to have any? Kenny Brown did my geo last year, dropping the car a fair bit and brought the nose down, compared to the back. As for exact castor/camber settings I really have no idea, but would like to start learning!

It would be good to hear from someone who's tried the KW V3s on a GT3 as these are probably more in line with what I would like to spend at 3k.

Did some driver training last year with Rory Butcher and really pushed the car on in the braking department. Brave boy sitting next to a novis shouting "power! Power! Power! BRAKE!" whilst I'm thinking "I would have started braking AGES ago" !

I think ideally I'm looking at New Suspension, Toe Locks, Pads then possibly aero and wheels so much to buy, but so little money to spend hahaha!

Thanks for all the input guys.

[mrdemon]

Shocked engine mounts are not talked about for track use.

Or solid bushings.
engine mount seems a must have though to aid gear change under forces seen on track.
I would fit wevo ones


Start putting shocks on with r spec tyres and making every thing harder and your engine will move more, then you have gear change issues and other issues like engine your trying to go straight on while you are turning left for example. :-)

Would be my 1st track mod after a geo.

Edited by mrdemon on Thursday 24th January 21:52

[SAG6Y]

Without a shadow of a doubt. Exhaust. I have a lightweight cargraphic on mine. The sound, the power increase and the torque improvement are amazing. So much better than stock.

Only problem is the noise can get a bit tiresome if a daily drive and no more track days. I only use mine for weekend blasts so its perfect.

Other than that, a good geo set up and a set of super sports are a must.

[Steviebeee]

How is the car with the new engine mounts? Is it like a tractor, or is it ok once they soften after the first few weeks?

Sag6y, def switching to SS next. Got Pilot Sports at the moment.