Anybody use a 996 or 997 GT3 for work every day?

[crbox]

Meant to be a serious question. If so, what model, what sort of mileage and is it a realistic proposition? I only travel about 22 miles in total each day and I'm drawn to the 997 GT3, but it would have to be my main everyday car. I know a Carrera 2S manual would be easier to live with, but the sometime inconvenience of the GT3 would be tempered by the fact that, if bought right, possibly less likely to lose much in depreciation.

[exigepete]

Depends really, I'm on my second 997 GT3, hard suspension, low front spoiler and heavy clutch do not create an ideal recipe for a commuter. However it is possible, but it might become a bind.

I would buy one and spend another £500 quid on a snotter to commute in then savour the GT3 for the weekends and enjoy every mile instead of potentially being stuck in traffic.

[Steve Rance]

I did 20k in a Mk1 996 one winter. It was my daily driver. No problems at all. Great fun. I'd love to run one again. Probably more practical on PS2's rather than cups. But to be honest, they wernt too bad either.

[mrdemon]

I had one, did my head in, and I like quite hard core cars. Use a Cayman R every day though.

[Raitzi]

997 has traction control at least You can drive about anything from Porsche range year round if your attitude is right. I mean GT3 clutch is not any ligher on track

[marky911]

mrdemon said:

I had one, did my head in, and I like quite hard core cars. Use a Cayman R every day though.

That's because a Cayman R isn't hardcore.

Op I wouldn't use my Mk1 as a daily but only because it would become the norm and I like the sense of occasion in a 2nd car.

You could though, it all depends as Mr.Demon says, as to how hardcore you can bare your drive to work.

[Xps911]

i use my 996 gt2 as a daily driver, mostly start stop traffic, but still enjoyable

[NBTBRV8]

I drive my 997.2 GT3 daily and do about 15000 miles per year without any problems or regrets. It is a great daily that is equally at home on the track.

[mrdemon]

marky911 said:

That's because a Cayman R isn't hardcore.

Op I wouldn't use my Mk1 as a daily but only because it would become the norm and I like the sense of occasion in a 2nd car.

You could though, it all depends as Mr.Demon says, as to how hardcore you can bare your drive to work.

It depends what you class as hard core, it's no limo and the sus is quite hard so the R would put the ave punter off it
my 996 GT3 was set up as soft and as easy as could be and was usable, but was still annoying, The person who now owns it has it set back to hardcore.

The issue is, with ARB and geo settings it's not that easy to switch from a usable road car to a more track focus set up on a week to week basis anyway.

It's no good doing a B road at 8/10th but having to let off every time a car comes the other way in case you hit a bump and your car moves 2 foot to the right.
My gt3 was quite un-usable 8/10ths and I found it just very frustrating to a point it was no fun going out in it for a drive.
and driving 7/10ths is no fun.

I have made my geo and setting more hardcore in the R which is already the most hardcore Cayman Porsche make, so the car feels alive, but it is very much planted.

So on a smaller bumpy B the road a GT3 would never match my car point to point as an example even with 100bhp more.
Then on the track it's down to geo, tyres and driver skill not which car you own and track days are not race days !!

It comes down to geo, do you want to do B roads fast, or use just it to go to work in at 50 mph and do track days in and euro trips.

If it's for the latter than no problem, if it's to do 80-mph B roads blasts for fun forget it, it's the wrong car for the job, only you know which

all imho of course :-p but for me the Gt3 was the best car I never drove, very over rated and spent it's live sat up in a garage.
I use my R as a daily and it puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.

I would like a GT3 in the fleet if money was no object though as a 3rd car, but I have my Spyder as my 3rd fun use car atm.

Edited by mrdemon on Monday 29th July 10:26

[spad78]

I did for about 6 months and one of the main issues is that you get so used to travelling quickly that it actually becomes anti-social and dangerous. Save it for high days and holdiays, get yourself something with slightly less grip for daily use so you can have fun without endangering entire villages and / or getting locked up for life

[drpep]

spad78 said:

I did for about 6 months and one of the main issues is that you get so used to travelling quickly that it actually becomes anti-social and dangerous. Save it for high days and holdiays, get yourself something with slightly less grip for daily use so you can have fun without endangering entire villages and / or getting locked up for life

Yep, what he said it's doable but I found it lost some of the novelty of awesomeness when use daily. Also the splitter scraping everywhere was a bit annoying as a daily prospect.

[V8KSN]

drpep said:

spad78 said:

I did for about 6 months and one of the main issues is that you get so used to travelling quickly that it actually becomes anti-social and dangerous. Save it for high days and holdiays, get yourself something with slightly less grip for daily use so you can have fun without endangering entire villages and / or getting locked up for life

Yep, what he said it's doable but I found it lost some of the novelty of awesomeness when use daily. Also the splitter scraping everywhere was a bit annoying as a daily prospect.

I have used mine to commute to work recently and because my work is only 10 miles away, I find myself doing a longer journey to warm everything up first and then I take the long way home too!

It can be frustrating when you come upon a nice piece of road and there is lots of traffic with no place to overtake but then again, thats the same with any car.

[S1MMA]

I used a 997 GT3 every day for about 18 months.

No problems with the car at all, you get used to the clutch quickly. It is a bit of a bind in stop start traffic tho, don't recommend it for that.

I found that it took the shine off a bit though, it didn't feel as special when it was the daily beater and I didn't like that. Become the norm. So I got another car and use the GT3 for more special drives or weekend/evening use. Now feels special again!

No carerra/turbo/cayman will give the same feeling as a GT3, so only you will know if you will miss having that or not. I'd budget for another car long term if you want a GT3 to do the crappy day to day stuff, shopping etc. You can use a GT3 for say a year then get another car, shouldn't be a problem and you will get to learn the car well in that time!

[crbox]

Thanks for the insightful info guys. I guess Im just going to have to test one and see. I think I can put up with what the average driver wouldn't, but equally I dont want a buzzing vibrating race car, after a difficult day at work. Cleary a GT3 might turn out just that and I also want a car my wife to agree to at least going on short journeys in.
Additionally,I dont really want to keep it for weekends as I already have a hardcore competition car here



My daily driver for the last 7 years has been this gem. Its so joyous, words fail me.



However, it now need some paintwork, that in my career, tends to lead to a full blown restoration. Thats where the idea of getting something newer instead.
I just feel a C2S is too tame and obvious and the I'm not keen on the look of the GTS.

[anniesdad]

OP,

Love your wheelchair designs by the way. I'm sure my dad, if he were still with us, would have loved one of those. I especially like the Manual GT-3 version.

As for the 996 GT3 I owned a Mk2 one for 3 years until a year or so ago when I sold it. I found that I could commute in it and use it every day but came to the conclusion what was the point? Where I live meant I had to drive out at least half an hour to find some decent roads and found I was finding less time to do so so it was used on the commute only which was boring motorway travel.

So the car went. If I were doing regular trackdays and/or I lived right on some decent roads I'd probably still have it now.

Edited by anniesdad on Monday 29th July 13:55

[pistolp]

Anyone get a bad back from their GT3? I find the hard clutch sometimes makes my back ache. Everytime I get back in my 125d I really appreciate its usability. For me its always a second car. I wouldn't want to commute in a GT3

[Housey]

I did 20K miles in 14 months in my Mk2 996 GT3. Never missed a beat, never got tired of it, loved every minute. To be fair most of my journeys were long but was fine as a day to day car.

[Geneve]

Had both. 996 GT3 isn't really suited to daily use. 997 GT3 much better.

A few issues - low front splitter, Corsa/Cup tyres (probably better with Michelin Super Sports), clutch weighty but OK IMO, 'comfort' spec cars more practical than 'club sports'.

The 997 Turbo is a much better day to day driver. Not as involving or rewarding as a GT3, but more comfortable, and amazingly competent.

[Junior Bianno]

997 Turbo all day long. I commute every day in one and it's fantastic. Comfortable, mind-bendingly quick, and great grip and feel on the twisties (despite what you read on here sometimes). The GT3 is much more focussed and therefore a totally different proposition.

..plus those back seats aren't half handy if you've got offsprings

[spad78]

You cam retro fit rear seats into a comfort though...