Apologies for the lengthy delay in updating this thread. Firstly I've found myself embroiled with a ladeeee since the end of July, that's meant I've spent far less in front of my PC, let alone having the time to write further reviews on this amazing 996 ....
But what really brought a halt to proceedings was my dear mother falling and fracturing her hip on November 19th. Though the operation to repair the fractured hip went well, she subsequently contracted sepsis ten days later and fell seriously ill.
My sister I and feared for her life, so much so that I stayed with her overnight on the Thursday 30th November.
Large hospitals are strangely surreal places in the early hours of the morning, with only occasion whispers from members of staff checking BP, oxygen sats etc, or offering kindly cups of tea, coffee or sandwiches to break the long periods of silence. But periodically the tranquility is shattered by elderly patients crying or screaming out for help, all of which I found deeply unsettling when your nearest and dearest is critically ill and trying to rest..
Sleep wasn't an option, so I tried to pass the time bringing this review up to date, but also thought it a good way to take my mind off the inevitable.
My dear mother passed away shortly before midnight two days later on Saturday 2nd December aged 90.
In the best tradition of the English stiff upper lip mentality, onwards and upwards, life must go on ! ! Do please enjoy :
It's 3.30am on a fine Sunday morning in early September, and another pre-dawn alarm call urgently wakes me from my slumber.
Now I'd like to say the exciting thought of a stint behind the wheel of this finely honed Mk1 996 GT3 was the reason for my waking so early, but it wasn't. This early morning alarm call came courtesy of some poorly stored or cooked chicken from a well known Italian chain of high street restaurants. If you'd like to know which one, just PM me and ASK....
So with the world having fallen out of my bottom :grin: I grabbed another two hours sleep before getting up, showering and once again heading up to fine roads of N.Wales to test this phenomenal exercise in 996 GT3 honing.
Apologies for the hopeless images, they were taken in the shade and my iPhone 5S really isn't up to the job :coat:
Same location, far more talented photographer/better camera ...
The new owner has had the car three months now, and in that time has clocked up a good few miles.
Having passengered him on 3-4 occasions, it became clear he'd mastered the throttle response and clutch operation to the point he made driving the car look easy .......
So with the first leg of the route out to our usual breakfast stop complete and a hearty full English consumed, the new owner handed the key to me and says "it's you're turn now" .....
I tend to be pretty generous when it comes to sharing cars (with the caveat I need to feel the recipient of the keys is sensible, mechanically sympathetic, knowledgeable, can "drive" and understands what they're about to drive) and knowing the owner of this car gets emotionally attached to his cars, I felt
incredibly privileged to given the opportunity to drive his truly unique and stunning car.
I'd taken the time to watch and study him driving the car (and as said previously, he made it look easy ! !) so what came next was a bit of a shock.
The car has a Cup flyweight flywheel (think 964/993 RS, Mk 1 996 GT3 Clubsport, then remove three kilos more... !!!) the flywheel in itself isn't a problem (I've owned all the above fitted with LWT flywheels) No, what made the process genuinely tricky was the unsprung paddle clutch ie a full race unit more at home in a race, sprint, rally or rallycross car .
A paddle clutch has one function, that being to transmit the engine's power as efficiently as possible without any slippage. Period. In reality that means they're not designed for road use or in traffic. They are effectively in or out, and very switch like.
They can be made to last on the road by avoiding riding the clutch when setting off or changing gear, but they're primarily designed for race circuit/rally stage use.
So that was the first hurdle to overcome, the next was equally tricky.
As I've mentioned before, this car runs some very trick, custom throttle bodies and a Motec management system (not to mention the exquisite carbon airbox pictured) As with most throttle body installs, this one was utilised primarily to liberate additional horsepower and ensure the magical 500hp brief was met. And whilst the throttle bodies are an important part of what is a symbiotic blend of parts (heads, cams, exhaust, engine capacity, and induction/management) they, long duration, high lift cams and large inlet/exhaust ports aren't the perfect solution for a road going car.
So whilst this engine and its driveability were perfected after many hours on an engine dyno (not a rolling road) the throttle response low down in the rev range, sub 2k rpm, still isn't perfect.
Pair the clutch with this less than progressive low down throttle response AND the flyweight Cup flywheel/clutch assembly and things start to get "interesting" especially for an individual as inept as my good self :grin: (actually I once owned an ex Prodrive Impreza WRC car, the second car they built after the one they'd built for the late, great Colin McRae) and that was actually easier to drive once you'd mastered the straight cut 'dog 'box ! ! !
But I digress, I wimped out and asked the owner to extract the car from it's parking space at our breakfast stop :hand: and once clear of prying eyes, I took to the drivers seat :mrgreen:
The gearbox is fitted with Cup cables and a 996 Cup shift assembly. Forget all the other short shift kits on the market (well except the superb and pricey Manthey billet shift assembly) this is THE best 996 shift you'll find, crisp and accurate whilst maintaining sensible throws AND weights. Added to which those peeking through the windows into the interior of the car won't think it's owned/driven by a complete boy racer, unlike the abominations from the likes of Numeric ....
The gearbox itself is a trick item, possibly a 2000 GT3 R or 2001 GT3 RS item (TBC) fitted with a Guard Transmissions (GT) billet LSD and probably a 8/32 crownwheel and pinion (TBC) and an external, front mounted oil cooler. Irrespective of its lineage, it transmits 500 NA horsepower to the Tarmac very, very efficiently indeed.
With each passing mile the JRZ dampers have become more compliant, and this along with the myriad rose jointed toe arms, castor arms and track control arms makes for the best handling 996 GT3 chassis I've ever driven. The suspension geo has been tweaked by danny at Unit11 and on Cup 2's in the dry the car goes where it's pointed, end of.
The finely crafted inconel and titanium exhaust is as quiet, if not quieter, than the standard exhaust, such was the previous owners insistence the car should pass every circuit's noise test. For a brief glimpse of the beautifully crafted masterpiece, watch this video at 27 seconds :
https://youtu.be/b6IQs4rEDw8
When cruising, the intake noise, the mechanical sound of the engine and the transmission (courtesy of the Cup gearchange cables) are more prevalent than any exhaust noise. But don't be thinking this is tiresome overly noisy car to drive, it isn't. Actually that's not true, the noisiest aspect of this car (apart form the induction noise) is those bloody Endless brake pads !! which squeal in protest every time they're used. And whilst there's no doubting their bite, nor indeed their ability to haul the car down from massive speeds with ease, time after time, they are ridiculously noisy.
But the ultra lightweight flywheel (and clutch) also impact steady state cruising on low throttle openings, the lack of any meaningful flywheel effect, means the the engine can fall off the cam and when it does so, it can get histrionic. It's straightforward enough to address though, you change down a gear and get the engine revs raised so it's back on the cam. It could be seen as downside, or you can view it as I did, that being it just adds to the car's incredible character.
I should add the owner has since carried out one modification to the car over the Winter (this review is based on my experience of driving the car early in September last year remember) and it has drastically changed the the drivability of the car to a degree you wouldn't think possible. But I'll update this thread with another driving review shortly (I promise it won't be another 6 months next time !!)
More to follow ....