Collected my 997.1 GT3 today!

[Roro]

That's a very sensible rule Marky! My old M2, while I let it go for a number of reasons, one of them was indeed that I felt it detracted too much from the GT3. Just too much competition between the 2, both being fun to drive 2 door manual coupes. I'm picking up a used auto F30 328i saloon this weekend, which ultimately replaces the M2 for daily duties, I don't see that competing with the GT3 :grin: ... Although I've already started talking to Birds BMW up the road about basic mods to make it a bit more fun to drive...

 

[Lenny39]

I have a BMW M140 with a stage 1 remap as my daily so similar BHP as my GT3 but the steering is numb in comparison with the GT3.

 

[Senoj]

I have a BMW M140 with a stage 1 remap as my daily so similar BHP as my GT3 but the steering is numb in comparison with the GT3.

Had a similar set for years ( m135i) and gt3 always felt special. Lots to like in the 1 series and still think a superb car but it did mostly feel like someone else was driving relatively speaking :floor:

 

[Roro]

Just another boring trackday update... :grin:

I returned to Donington couple of weeks ago, it's definitely one of my favourite UK tracks. This time it was the GP layout, which I'm actually beginning to warm to. The extension to the national layout used to feel a bit 'overflow carpark' to me, but now I know the lines a little better I'm fine with it. I still prefer the national layout though given the choice, feels more of a hoon. The food at Donington is still as bad as I remember though... bland mush, will stick with sandwiches next time!

There was a good GT3 turnout which was nice to see, 2x 996.2, 2x 991.1 (I think), a 992 and my 997. There were also a couple of 991 GT3 RSs flying around, and 1 or 2 GT4s



Unfortunately there were a lot of red flags, one of which due to a big off. Apparently a car dumped oil just before the GP chicane, and the car behind went straight into the tyre wall (concrete) at full pelt. Must have been doing at least 100. Sober reminder that things can go very wrong without you being at fault. The driver was fine fortunately. However, I was a bit surprised to see the car that allegedly dumped the oil out on track later in the day, I would've thought he'd be sent home. At the end of the day I don't know all the facts, but still... Also there was a red flag immediately after lunch, who goes full pelt without letting the car / tyres warm up properly first? Sounds like that's what happened, based on conversations I heard at the time. Madness

Despite that, the day was full of positive vibes, everyone seemed to otherwise be in a good mood and it was nice talking to other GT3 owners



As with Snetterton, the car was excellent at Donington, really digging in and sticking to the track. It must be a combination of fresh Cup2s and DSC giving more confidence. I still need to explore the potential of the DSC module in terms of experimenting with updating settings, something I'm yet to do properly, but it's on the to do list

The car definitely behaves differently and seems more glued to the track than it used to before fitting the DSC. In the normal setting it feels like there's actually a bit more pitch and roll, which makes the car feel more naturally balanced than before, when it would feel almost artificially flat through corners. It's equally grippy at both ends, and I feel like I can judge speed approaching and going round corners better than I could before the DSC. I didn't play around with the other firmer setting much as I wanted to get a feel for the settings in isolation, but as you would expect, pushing the PASM button was similar but just firmer. PASM definitely felt more usable than previous to the DSC being fitted. Really curious to know what Tractive adds on top of this, I'm watching Digger's exploits keenly



One issue was that I felt like I was messing around too much with tyre pressures on this trackday. I normally aim for 31f 32r ish hot, but this time the TPMS kept shouting 'Add air!' messages at me. I was checking pressures regularly with a digital gauge, but because of the TPMS warnings I kept getting paranoid. I started thinking about finding the TPMS fuse and pulling, but thought that would be more effort than it was worth. There probably isn't a fuse to pull anyway... I thought technology was supposed to make lives easier lol. I might have the TPMS coded off, I don't see the point of having it as I check pressures so often on this car anyway



... ETA. With hindsight I expect I went wrong because I took some air out of the tyres before heading out on track. I should have gone out for some laps first to get the tyres hot, then come in and bled down. Rookie mistake, teach me for not doing enough trackdays... so it wasn't the cars fault at all, sorry GT3

Overall the car was brilliant as usual. Who knew I'd still be enjoying this car 11 years after buying it



I want to try and get another trackday in this year if I can, before the good weather disappears. Possibly Silverstone, haven't been there in years

 

[GTTommy]

Cars looking really good in those shots! 8)

 

[Roro]

:thumbs:

 

[Diggermeister]

.... And the 10 Year Anniversary Preventative Maintenance Blitz continues ...

I left the car with Daytona Coachworx recently for work to the cars underside - TL;DR basically the underside of my GT3 is now like that of a brand new car

I had much of the underbody stripped to metal, epoxied, primered, painted and the whole thing waxoyled. Initially I just wanted the front arches and inner sill corrosion sorted, but when I saw the extent of the corrosion (inner sills, outer sills slightly bubbling, jacking points, arches/gravel rash) I decided it made sense to just get everything done in one go. I couldn't see the point in doing half a job and then having to do it again if/when the corrosion returns




Things were not too bad in terms of the actual severity of the corrosion, but at the end of the day corrosion is corrosion, and it's a downhill spiral if not removed. I can't see the point just spraying stuff on top as that's not really dealing with the problem. I figured nipping this in the bud early was the best approach, rather than waiting for things to get worse and then fixing a bigger problem further down the line





In addition to the areas mentioned above, the front and rear cross braces were also starting to corrode, so I ordered new ones from Porsche and had them fitted

The rear quarters were also painted, mainly to blend in the new paint along the sills, but there were also some minor dents on the exterior of both rear arches which were removed complimentary. These had been there donkeys years, caused i think by stones kicked up inside the arches from the rear tyres. Daytona were also kind enough to do a complimentary repaint of my rear bumper and a paint correction which was very nice of them








I'll also get these areas ppf'd, I need to wait a few weeks for the paint to fully cure. I'm planning to do the sills and arches myself, nice little DIY project ... we'll see how that turns out ...

It look a long time to have everything done, a month in all, but it was a lot of work and I'm chuffed that the car is now better protected than when it left the factory 15 years ago. I still can't believe theres no underbody protection from the factory on these cars, t's insane. I wonder if the new GT3's are any different. I find omitting underbody protection from the production process a bit of a strange thing to do to any vehicle. I don't really buy the weight saving argument, it's a false economy, if the car rusts away to dust after a few years then who's gaining anything



Top work by Daytona, very happy with the results :thumb:




After that it was off next door to Rennworks (Porschacare), for a geometry check up (a return to Centre Gravity settings), and also a general trackday check up

Having had the car back after a month, reconnecting it on the drive home was enlightening. The contrast between my GT3 and the mundane vehicles I drive on a daily basis is stark. Because there is no lane departure assist, proximity alert, reverse sensor, not even a stereo, etc etc, I have to pay attention to what the car is doing on the road. Maybe a better safety device would be to not allow any form of ICE or driver assistance aids, you know, to force people to pay f'ing attention to what is actually on the road in front of them? What a ridiculous old fashioned thought...

Dropped mine into my mate's bodyshop earlier in the week. His remit (he thought) was to re-paint the front lower sill at base of the front arch.

In essence he's decided to do exactly what's been done on Roro's lower sills and underside. He's someone I trust implicitly and is also recommended over the 'official' local Porsche bodyshop by my car detailer/PPF/ceramic coating guy, so I am completely happy that if he says it needs doing, it's necessary.

 

[Roro]

Yes definitely money well spent! :thumb:

I never looked into whether the newer GT models will have this issue in future, no idea whether 991/2 GT3 or GT4 models have any underbody protection or not :dont know:

EDIT: I found a comment over on Rennlist, looks like 991 onward have similar level of protection as Carrera etc models assuming this is correct -

"991.2 has the standard Porsche NA rust warranty -- 10 years unlimited mileages.

The underbody is pretty much completely sealed back to the rear axle, the engine is covered by the diffuser tray, and the front wheels have plastic liners."

 

[Diggermeister]

Yes definitely money well spent! :thumb:

I never looked into whether the newer GT models will have this issue in future, no idea whether 991/2 GT3 or GT4 models have any underbody protection or not :dont know:

EDIT: I found a comment over on Rennlist, looks like 991 onward have similar level of protection as Carrera etc models assuming this is correct -

"991.2 has the standard Porsche NA rust warranty -- 10 years unlimited mileages.

The underbody is pretty much completely sealed back to the rear axle, the engine is covered by the diffuser tray, and the front wheels have plastic liners."

Yes it's sort of time for all, or certainly most 996/7 GT cars to have had this done I guess.

I'm glad I found the time to get to it really.

 

[Diggermeister]

Outstanding job done by the guys at PMH Autobodies, in Rugeley, Staffs. Really pleased with it and glad i got the thing out of the way and attended to properly.

It is no the most exciting job to do - not like new suspension or titanium exhausts - but it's vital on these older cars to keep on top of the bodywork.

Barring the sills, it was in excellent shape. Subsequent to these pics, they also put some cover onto the jack points.

 

[Roro]

:agree:

No point spending money on the fun things if the car itself is slowly rotting away

Did you have the rear quarters resprayed as well? Something I'm not completely happy with was that the old window seals were reused when they refitted the windows. With hindsight I wish I'd thought about it more and ordered new rubber, would've been a good time to have it all refreshed. Minor thing though, will add that to the list of nice-to-do's

 

[Teffers]

Great work guys :thumbup:

 

[Diggermeister]

Did you have the rear quarters resprayed as well?

No Paul at PMH had a good look around it and reckoned all else was fine.

You can see he's run that rippled undercoat stuff just onto the lower edge of the fron sill/arch. It's visible, but does not stick out too badly, but he thinks it necessary, because it was stripped clean of paint before.

Great work guys :thumbup:

These are the unglamorous bits of GT ownership.

 

[Schnitzel]

Funnily enough I found a small amount of corrosion on the drivers sill and had both sills done and then full PPF on the them to prevent a return.

Having seen the underneath of the car prior to the work starting, I was pleased to see that everywhere else was really good.

What makes me laugh are all those owners on PH referring to paint depth gauges and original paint. Guy that did my paint, Porsche specialist, said that you'd be surprised how many cars have paint done, even on new cars.

These cars are made for driving and listening to that Mezger being driven hard!

 

[Roro]

Funnily enough I found a small amount of corrosion on the drivers sill and had both sills done and then full PPF on the them to prevent a return.

Having seen the underneath of the car prior to the work starting, I was pleased to see that everywhere else was really good.

What makes me laugh are all those owners on PH referring to paint depth gauges and original paint. Guy that did my paint, Porsche specialist, said that you'd be surprised how many cars have paint done, even on new cars.

These cars are made for driving and listening to that Mezger being driven hard!

Completely agree with that. I don't think it's possible for a car like this to not have had paint by now, especially if the car is actually used! They're all around 15 / 16 years old now after all