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My (new to me) stock 991.2 manual on track @ Spa Francorchamps
Quick intro as this is my first 911 after a bunch of mid-engined Porsches (the last was a 982 GT4)
This .2 came to me from Italy (I'm EU based) and had an interesting first owner - boss/heir of Martini Racing Manfredo Rossi. That guy has a collection of old F1, Le Mans, Group B cars etc so it's not surprising that this car was never tracked. Maybe he drove it to the track, but there'd be more suited stuff waiting for him there. He won the classic F1 championship once.
The car was wearing PSC2s from early 2018 when I got it on OEM black wheels with the red stripe. Not a huge fan of those (though they looked OK in the flesh) and I had already snagged a used set of Manthey BBS forged wheels so I put a new set of PSC2 N1 spec on those and they made the car look a whole lot better. Somewhat unusual for an EU car there's no clubsport package on it, which I'm OK with. Saves a bunch of weight and I fit pretty well in the buckets when I tighten and lock the 3pt stock belt in place before setting off on track. I've dealt with 6pt belts and HANS and for simple trackdays in a street car I prefer this.
My GT4 had some track-focused mods but I always like to put down a baseline for the stock car so I went to a Spa track day to find out how it does. The stock brake pads and fluid were very meh compared to my usual choice of Ferodo DS1.11 or 3.12 but they held up OK over more than 200 track miles on the day. The weather at Spa was slightly better than when I had my modded GT4 out there in August (5 degrees C cooler, not huge) but still the GT3 put 5 seconds on that car, to my surprise. It was very hard finding a clean lap without having to abort for slow traffic, in fact I only managed 1 all day and it wasn't even great because the tires were borderline overheated after aborting quick runs on the previous 8 laps. The 911 murders the Cayman on corner exits and has a little more stability built in. One big reason I wanted a GT3 and not a GT4 RS (aside from the fact it'd have been my 4th "nearly the same" car) is I got tired of the compromised rear suspension on the 981/982. My GT4 certainly did better in fast direction changes and I'm also surprised how much the rear of the GT3 likes to step out in slow corners but it's certainly a lot more capable overall.
Finally, I wanted the manual because - again - weight savings and life shouldn't be too easy. I feel that when used properly the difference in outright time PDK vs manual isn't actually a lot. Track depending of course. On fast tracks where the higher gears are used the lesser weigfht and drivetrain loss goes a long way to nullifying the slower shifts.
Some mods are planned for spring: more weight loss with a side muffler delete and fitting my 5lb Li-Ion battery that I used in the GT4. Proper brake pads and fluid + track alignment at Manthey racing. Then I will try and hunt down the 7 minutes BTG time at the Nurburgring... in a manual 911 with "puny" rear wing
In the mean time, here's a pretty fast lap for a totally stock GT3:
Could you share how your sourced that car, I am partially EU based, but have not found a good pan Euro source for cars...
It was pretty accidental actually. I had started looking around a bit and a guy I knew on insta who flips sportscars in Italy happened to get this car in. I had to have a manual .2 with wing and buckets, and can't stand the basic non-leather dash, other than that I was flexible. GT silver would've been my first choice but none were to be found.
Generally I'd tend to look on mobile.de which has loads of cars or autoscout which includes more EU cars outside of Germany. I was close to buying a red one on there with Manthey bits on it but this car had a nicer history and never been tracked so I went this way... in hindsight I might've gone for the easier option if I had to do it all over again, this one took some doing to move and import and ended up a bit more expensive than anticipated. But happy with it now.
It was pretty accidental actually. I had started looking around a bit and a guy I knew on insta who flips sportscars in Italy happened to get this car in. I had to have a manual .2 with wing and buckets, and can't stand the basic non-leather dash, other than that I was flexible. GT silver would've been my first choice but none were to be found.
Generally I'd tend to look on mobile.de which has loads of cars or autoscout which includes more EU cars outside of Germany. I was close to buying a red one on there with Manthey bits on it but this car had a nicer history and never been tracked so I went this way... in hindsight I might've gone for the easier option if I had to do it all over again, this one took some doing to move and import and ended up a bit more expensive than anticipated. But happy with it now.
Thanks JC, that is a great site, exactly what I was looking for!
Cheers,
Colin
haha, yep. Coming from front or mid platform, you realize GT3 murders everything on corner exits.
Man, what an awesome ride around Spa this morning. Thanks for sharing. Loved the downshift timing in Eau Rouge and hops across curbing at Raidillon.
2+ years in with my manual, lots of track time. It's so hard to beat as an overall package. Your read vs PDK is right on.
Didn't take you long to get into those flat upshifts. Between the shift action and unique sound, one of the most exhilarating experiences in motoring imo.
You might try our "puny" rear wing in the upper setting around Spa and any other high speed circuits, see what you think. (Pretty sure you'll be able to take Pouhon flat.)
Lightweighting is the only thing I'd do to mine, if anything. Alignment, pads/fluid, just doesn't need anything else. Looking forward to more updates.
I believe i was there the same day with RSR (impressed with them by the way) Grey gen 1 gt3. Your lap is very quick, I won’t mention how much faster than mine, but a lot ! Nice driving. mine has some track geo but not hard core. Pagid yellows and srf. I will be interested to follow your upgrades. My rear tyres are dated 2018 which i dont think is helpful and I got a soft pedal into the chicane before the pits which makes me wonder if I have crunched the brake cooling ducts. Always something to do !
I believe i was there the same day with RSR (impressed with them by the way) Grey gen 1 gt3. Your lap is very quick, I won’t mention how much faster than mine, but a lot ! Nice driving. mine has some track geo but not hard core. Pagid yellows and srf. I will be interested to follow your upgrades. My rear tyres are dated 2018 which i dont think is helpful and I got a soft pedal into the chicane before the pits which makes me wonder if I have crunched the brake cooling ducts. Always something to do !
Cheers!
I was a little dissapointed with RSR - loved the organization and hospitality area but IMO way too many cars on track and they had a whole bunch of novices in their many many rentals and some of the race cars were super slow... I was catching Merc AMG GT3 and 488 GT3 which is just absurd. I spent all day trying to find 1 clear lap... it was tough! Unfortunately hard to find a Spa track day that isn't crowded...
Wow, someone knows how to heel & toe properly. Nice!
Sorry, used the cheat button
I've always found the excessive length of my legs to be the main hindrance to h&t, I should probably use an extender on the steering column to help me out but I don't like the look of it...
I was a little dissapointed with RSR - loved the organization and hospitality area but IMO way too many cars on track and they had a whole bunch of novices in their many many rentals and some of the race cars were super slow... I was catching Merc AMG GT3 and 488 GT3 which is just absurd. I spent all day trying to find 1 clear lap... it was tough! Unfortunately hard to find a Spa track day that isn't crowded...
It immediately seemed that way to me, yes. Which is OK, you can have a track full of people in your rental cars if you want, but it was marketed (and priced! $900) as a premium trackday for optimal lapping yada yada yada... that it definitely was not.
It immediately seemed that way to me, yes. Which is OK, you can have a track full of people in your rental cars if you want, but it was marketed (and priced! $900) as a premium trackday for optimal lapping yada yada yada... that it definitely was not.
KACHING! - I think you misinterpret RSR's meaning of "premium" - its the premium for tracking with RSR - not the quality of the experience! (joke)
10-21-2022, 11:53 AM
My (new to me) stock 991.2 manual on track @ Spa Francorchamps
Between the shift action and unique sound, one of the most exhilarating experiences in motoring imo.
mine has some track geo but not hard core. Pagid yellows and srf. I will be interested to follow your upgrades. My rear tyres are dated 2018 which i dont think is helpful and I got a soft pedal into the chicane before the pits which makes me wonder if I have crunched the brake cooling ducts. Always something to do !
