Life on the Dark Side

[bobfair]

With almost 500 miles on the clock I am learning to live with and love my new GT 3. Wow what a motor this is going to be an intense relationship.

The car makes a wonderful noise that is addictive. Keep the revs below 3,000 and you can poodle around like you can in any Porsche but once 4,000 arrives the noise level increases and you just have to press that go peddle and listen all the way up to 8,500. A truly wonderful motoring experince and perhaps explains why my fuel consumption is a little on the high side. I love having those extra 2,000 revs to play with and there is a lot to be said for normal aspiration.

The car feels much lighter than my old Gen 1 Turbo (which of course it is) and this is very noticeable in the breaking zone. Although the Turbo stopped very well you could feel all that weight trying to keep the momentum going forward. By contrast the GT 3 stops so much easier and feels so much more nimble and changes direction so much easier as well. It really is like driving a go cart that turns in when you ask it. However you have to work hard to make the GT 3 work. The turbo is much easier to drive fast and with all that Torque its so easy to adopt a point and squirt driving technique. You have to use the gearbox in the GT 3 and yes the manual gearbox is a lot of fun even if the double clutch is quicker. For me a PDK is right for a Gen 2 Turbo but if it wasnt a manual I would want a full sequential box in a GT 3. For now the manual will do just fine. In the Turbo it is very easy to hit the rev limiter but I am still adjusting to the change in noise level so have yet to commit that sin in this car

The car is like a highly strung mistress. It doesnt lie back and think of England but demands your involvement if you want to have fun. The performance is there but you have to work to get it. In the Turbo you can relax and let the car do the work with the GT 3 you have to be on red alert all the time. However it is surprisingly comfortable and much less tiring than I thought it would be. Ride quality is every bit as good as my old C2S and the bucket seats are very comfortable but the lack of vertical adjustment gets the thumbs down from my management. The intensity of the car proably means its not for every one but I would encourage all petrolheads to try and drive one at least once if they can.

If you are petrolhead then you could live with driving this car every day but in town the heavy clutch would probably get you down after a while and of course it is 30mm lower than a standard Carrera.

There are some neat details on the car that I love and I think Porsche has done a great job with the car making it usable on the road but keeping the track focus

I have 6 track days booked for the year and I am really looking forward to giving the car its head. Father Christmas gave me a days tuition with Mike Wilds (http://www.mikewilds.com/ ) and I am really looking forward to learning more about how to get the best out of the car

All in all a pretty good start to the relationship

 

[Lancerlot]

Nice photos and write up, Bob.

Congratulations, so glad you're enjoying your new steed - it certainly looks the business.

It's an interesting comparison the GT3 and 997TT.

Seems like what the GT3 lacks in grunt, it makes up for in nimbleness and smiles.

I've no doubt it'll loosen up quite a bit with a few more miles on it, so it should get better and better.

Have fun.[]

Regards,

Clive

 

[okellyt]

Bob

Great Photo's, like the sea in the backdrop

I have to say though the car looks better in the metal than in any photo[]

Welcome to life with the rest of us trying to keep up with he torquey turbo's on the road.

I am sure you will love the car.

 

[spook]

Great writeup Bob,and thanks for the brilliant photos. Very interested to hear your comparisons between the TT vv GT3 since as you know I'm making the jump later this year.Just hope I don't have to wait too long.I'm 5th on the dealer list , 2 have already been delivered and 1 is due very soon. Perhaps I'd better lobby for a build slot.I liked your analogy of the highly strung mistress[] although not from experience you understand and can identify with the rev limiter problem of the TT. I'll be keen to hear reports following your future track days. What are your plans regarding track day tyres? A spare set of centre fix wheels are going to cost or will you just switch tyres each time.The standard semi race tyres don't have much meat on to start with, so will be interesting to see how they last. With regard to the car spec, did you go for the front lift option? Glad to hear you're chuffed with the car and look forward to your future posts. Regards. Mike.

 

[garyw]

Super comparison Bob with stunning accompanying shots. [8D]
I'm really glad its all working out and the car is offering the pleasure you are/were seaking []
I'd sure love that extra 2000rpm too []

garyw

 

[marlin]

Thanks very much for your write up and great pictures (some one on PH asked if Cobalt Blue would be a re sale problem) well I can say is look at your pictures . Have been tempted to the dark side but old age and being a shit driver has deterred me, looks like the lazy turbo will have to cosset me until I hand in my licence []

 

[GT3 Jan]

That looks beautiful, ...great colour too, hope you continue to enjoy it...which track days are you doing???

Enjoy your day with Mike Wilds. have done quite a bit of training with him this year......awesome guy..

 

[jbm]

Bob, thanks for the piccies, and it certainly is a lovely car! That was an excellent write up of life on the dark side - I've had much the same experience myself but you put it much more eloquently that I ever could!! Hopefully I'll catch up with you at one of the track days this year - in the meantime, enjoy the car. All the best, John

 

[mex99]

Beutiful!

D

 

[bobfair]

Mike
Yes I have the front end lifting as I wanted to make the car as practical as possible for road use. I dont think it is essential unless you live somwhere with lots of speed bumps or steeply sloping entrances but it is a nice to have. One small point it only works if the door is shut ( H & S aparently) as I have found out after a lot of head scratching. I also went for the dynamic engine mounts and I think they must be helping with the ride quaility which really is good. Seat wise I got that wrong and went for the folding buckets if I did it again I would go for the lightweight buckets as they sit you lower in the car. I didnt realise that until it was too late.

Having driven the car a bit I can feel/appreciate the benefit of lower weight which is one of the reasons I went for PCCBs as I also think they add to the ride quality as a result of the lower unsprung weight. Each of these is probably small in its own right but when all added up together are noticeable and benefiicial

 

[Z80]

Lovely, really nice.

Greg

 

[Sandy59]

Bob, I was at the Silverstone Experience Centre recently and compared both types of bucket seats. They both 'appeared' to be mounted around the same height, but interestingly the instructor said the folding ones had thicker padding for extra comfort, but that obviously made them feel slightly higher. I don't know if you can get lower padding to fit in but might be worth asking about. Also noticed the folding ones definitely didn't go back as far as the LW's, so a bit less legroom.
I need to decide myself soon, would like the folding ones, but also need max legroom !!

 

[Lancerlot]

ORIGINAL: Sandy59
...... Also noticed the folding ones definitely didn't go back as far as the LW's, so a bit less legroom.
I need to decide myself soon, would like the folding ones, but also need max legroom !!

They will go back as far as the roll cage will allow! []
Regards,

Clive

 

[bobfair]

I have not sat in a fixed bucket in a car but read in a mag that they sit you lower as they sit on a different mounting. I have not found the height a major problem would just like to be a bit lower in the car especially when wearing a helmet.

The folding buckets are comfortable and I think I am right in saying that they have an extra air bag. Dropping that air bag is one of the ways the fixed bucket is lighter. The other reason I went for the folding seat was to get better acces to the rear. You can fit a soft bag in between the roll cage which helps if you are away from home.

Overall though car is fabulous whatever seats you go for. Given how good the ride is I could see a case for a comfort version with sports adaptive seats if you wanted a car for the road that was very sporty. I went clubsport as I think there is a better second hand market for those with many people putting roll cages into second hand comfort cars as they want a track orientated car. In my spec I tried to get a balance between sportiness (Clubsport) and practicality (front end lifting) If you go Clubsport Porsche will only supply a Red Schroth Harness but Schroth make the same harness in four colours.

The other thing to remember is that if you like to take the wheels off yourself you will need either a Torque wrench that goes up to 500NM or a Torgue multiplier which is the route I went. It takes 700NM to undo the centre bolt so you also need a heavy duty breaking bar

 

[Sandy59]

I found the headroom fine with both seats to be honest, it was just the legroom was less with the folding ones. As Lancerlot says they can obviously go further back, probably not a huge job to do something with the brackets which might be the best option.
I've got another month to get things finalised so will have another re-think.
That's quite a torque by the way, more expense !!

 

[blueSL]

ORIGINAL: bobfair

The other thing to remember is that if you like to take the wheels off yourself you will need either a Torque wrench that goes up to 500NM or a Torgue multiplier which is the route I went. It takes 700NM to undo the centre bolt so you also need a heavy duty breaking bar

Great write-up, thank you. I think I'd have trouble squeezing into those seats or at least getting out of them...

700 Nm, gosh. The ones on the turbo are "only" 500 Nm which is enough - normal wheel bolt is around 100 - 120 Nm.

I went with a Seely 200 Nm electronic torque wrench and a 3.3:1 torque multiplier, all 3/4" fittings. Bob, they caution in the manual about using felt tape around a screwdriver when removing the centre cap to avoid marking the bolt, wondered if you had found a better solution?

 

[Lancerlot]

ORIGINAL: blueSL
I went with a Seely 200 Nm electronic torque wrench and a 3.3:1 torque multiplier, all 3/4" fittings. Bob, they caution in the manual about using felt tape around a screwdriver when removing the centre cap to avoid marking the bolt, wondered if you had found a better solution?

Seely also list a kit of plastic pry-bar/levers, intended for trim removal, that would proabably do the job quite well. around £10 -£15 for a set of 5 different shapes, I believe. []

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Clive

 

[hdoherty]

I really havent had a chance to get the car out yet weather in NW Ireland has and still is terrible. Planning to hopefully get out early march. I purchased a Sealy STW601 torque wrench which goes up to 900nmtrs. This wrench torques both clockwise and anticlockwise as it has a push thru 3/4 drive and also has a ratchet mode allowing to remove the fastener as well, reason why i went this route was in the Porsche instruction manual it says when you are torquing up the wheel fastener, " Torque the fastener to 500nmtrs then undo the fastener a 1/4turn and then retorque the fastener to 500 nmtrs" which means i can do the whole operation with one spanner. The only thing is the spanner is about a meter long and comes in a carrying case, could be mistook for a sniper rifle.

 

[Sandy59]

On the Gen 1 car with PCCB's Porsche supplied 2 x aluminium 'dowel guides' which screwed into 2 of the bolt holes, this was to prevent the wheel from contacting the edge of the disk when removing the wheel, which could potentially cause damage to the disk. Is there any provision for this with these new wheels, or do you just have to be really really careful ??
Thanks,
Sandy

 

[Lancerlot]

ORIGINAL: hdoherty
..................I purchased a Sealy STW601 torque wrench which goes up to 900nmtrs. This wrench torques both clockwise and anticlockwise as it has a push thru 3/4 drive and also has a ratchet mode allowing to remove the fastener as well........

At over £400 squids the cost is a bit eye-watering. [&:]

Regards,

Clive