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I finally got to take my new to me 6.2 GT3 to the track yesterday after doing a major refresh on maintenance (water pipe, any/all rubber stuff, intake valve cleaning, injectors, etc) and some minor parts. She is running really damn well!! The Function First shifter bearings are great for a snappier and more precise shift. The lightweight RS flywheel/pulley is fantastic on track, although I still have a lot of room to improve for driving a manual on track. I've only tracked a 7.2 Turbo S on track (pretty extensively) before.
I had it aligned to the Powdrhound street/track specs (-2.5/+.02' front, -2/+0.15' rear), ride height at 115mm front 125mm rear. I wanted to shoot for 105mm front but it was just too low for the streets here.
I was very very conservative since it's my first time out with the car. In the back of my mind was no traction control, 4 year old Cup 2's, 996's reputation as a widowmaker, and the fact this FIA graded track has a lot of walls. It's not Buttonwillow where if you slide out you just slide into a bunch of dirt.
The balance of the car is just so different from the 7.2TS. I can control the nose/rear a lot more with the throttle mid corner. I played around with some trail braking which also helps a lot rotating the car. I don't get these sensations in the 7.2 TS. The 7.2TS you can feel the raw grip and you power through corners feeling this grip, while the 6.2 GT3 there is a lot more finesse. I feel I'm just at the tip of the iceberg with getting to know this car. I'm happy I can improve quite a lot as a driver with this car.
I do find the suspension very soft on track, and unsettling hitting the FIA rumble strips. The car is 20 years old with stock suspension and 98000km. I'll get to this in due time!
Last edited by changster123; 01-08-2024 at 07:57 AM.
Great to see another 6-3 on the track. Even with the Ohlins my car doesnt like the big aprons at Watkins, its the price we pay for the ability to also have good on road manners.
Concur with the above comments. Very rarely see them on the track anymore because of their value and I'll have to face the decision to retire my car from track duty. You are taking a good conservative approach to learning the capabilities of these cars and having someone in the right seat, who knows these cars, might be helpful as you progress on the track.
You can start with revalving shocks the shocks assuming you can find someone to do that service. My place used to always carry a spare and would switch. Next, you can get stiffer springs. Certainty, make sure your tires are non-cycled out. 4 years old for a track tire is pretty old.
I would stick with these changes until you get used to the car before upgrading the suspension or anything else.
You can start with revalving shocks the shocks assuming you can find someone to do that service. My place used to always carry a spare and would switch. Next, you can get stiffer springs. Certainty, make sure your tires are non-cycled out. 4 years old for a track tire is pretty old.
I would stick with these changes until you get used to the car before upgrading the suspension or anything else.
Nice, thanks for the suggestion. OEM shocks can handle stiffer springs? If yes what spring rates do you recommend? I'll have to weight the costs versus just upgrading to coilovers. Sometimes it makes sense to just upgrade to coilovers, given everything has to be imported here.
Yes I agree 4 year old Cup 2's are too old. However, given my current speeds it's fine for a couple more outings I think. I'll slap on RE71-RS's next as I've heard great things about them but have yet to try.
FYI my notes say that stock spring rates are 225 lb/in front and 550 lb/in (progressive) rear although I didn't bookmark a reference from where I found that.
Several folks had their street/track cars set up with rates in the 700/900 f/r range which have been reported to work well; I have a set of Moton Clubsports with those rates but not installed.
Serious track cars often have much higher rates; Powdrhound is a wealth of knowledge on setup for aggressive cars.
See for instance https://rennlist.com/forums/996-gt2-...uestion-2.html
FYI my notes say that stock spring rates are 225 lb/in front and 550 lb/in (progressive) rear although I didn't bookmark a reference from where I found that.
Several folks had their street/track cars set up with rates in the 700/900 f/r range which have been reported to work well; I have a set of Moton Clubsports with those rates but not installed.
Serious track cars often have much higher rates; Powdrhound is a wealth of knowledge on setup for aggressive cars.
See for instance https://rennlist.com/forums/996-gt2-...uestion-2.html
Yes thanks for this. I've searched extensively for his posts... haha.
On my 7.2 TS street/track I run 110N/mm front 150N/mm rear (around 700/900) on Tractive dampers and it's great. I've seen Powdrhound (John) post with JRZ RS Pro 3 ways you can run 1000/1200 or more no problem for street/rack. The key is definitely the damper I think for their ability to control the high frequency oscillations with stiff springs.
In due time I'll upgrade I'm sure.
In the meantime... I need a lot more seat time... and at the same time I'll be trying to understand suspension kinematics a bit better. To be honest I think suspension kinematics is going to be way over my head as just an enthusiast. Kinematics should done with 3D software modeling and that is just out of my league. I was tempted to just duplicate Powdrhound's setup on changing to 996 GT3 RS wheel carriers and all sorts of RS/RSR kinematics but if I'm honest with myself I know I won't ever really understand what all that is doing to the car under heave/pitch/roll and whether it's good or bad (and under what situation is it good and under what situation is it bad). Performance suspension is all about compromise and I just don't really understand what changing kinematics is specifically doing.
I think I'll stick with a good coilover upgrade, Guard LSD, and the 7.2 RS rack and pinion. I can sense the R&P will help a lot for this track as I can keep many corners in 3rd instead of having to shift into 2nd. Aggressive braking while heel toeing is easy 4th to 3rd but harder 3rd to 2nd for me.
Nice, thanks for the suggestion. OEM shocks can handle stiffer springs? If yes what spring rates do you recommend? I'll have to weight the costs versus just upgrading to coilovers. Sometimes it makes sense to just upgrade to coilovers, given everything has to be imported here.
Yes I agree 4 year old Cup 2's are too old. However, given my current speeds it's fine for a couple more outings I think. I'll slap on RE71-RS's next as I've heard great things about them but have yet to try.
Yes, the shocks can handle the stiffer springs. I have been tracking my car since 2006 and have over 150+ track days on the OEM shocks. I did upgrade to stiffer springs and will have to look up the rating. Another key is the alignment. The car is very sensitive to having the correct alignment which seems like you got that covered
Yes, the shocks can handle the stiffer springs. I have been tracking my car since 2006 and have over 150+ track days on the OEM shocks. I did upgrade to stiffer springs and will have to look up the rating.
I have been reading a bit lately about RS wheel carrier upgrades for the 996 GT3. I’m sure there’s some benefit there however I think that’s looking for the last half a tenth, maybe even 100th. The 996 cup geometry is so wrong, and the ride height is much, much lower than what anyone would ever run in their street/track 996 GT3, yet they are a beautiful car to drive on the limit when the set up is dialed in. Call me skeptical, or maybe even ignorant, but I just don’t buy the (expensive) need for RS wheel carriers in 9.9/10 cases of people tracking their 996 based cars. This was an upgrade done by Porsche for the purpose of extended front tyre life in endurance racing, at least as Andy Prueninger put it anyway.
I have been reading a bit lately about RS wheel carrier upgrades for the 996 GT3. I’m sure there’s some benefit there however I think that’s looking for the last half a tenth, maybe even 100th. The 996 cup geometry is so wrong, and the ride height is much, much lower than what anyone would ever run in their street/track 996 GT3, yet they are a beautiful car to drive on the limit when the set up is dialed in. Call me skeptical, or maybe even ignorant, but I just don’t buy the (expensive) need for RS wheel carriers in 9.9/10 cases of people tracking their 996 based cars. This was an upgrade done by Porsche for the purpose of extended front tyre life in endurance racing, at least as Andy Prueninger put it anyway.
OP as you said seat time is key.
I agree 100%. The real difference / savings is the light-weight fly wheel and upgraded clutch. 99% of the drivers including myself probably can't translate most of the upgraded components to faster lap times especially for the RS pully. Keep it simple. Pagid Endurance pads, SRF brake fluid, good tires and a good alignment. The alignment will make the biggest difference especially since the car is very sensitive to the alignment.
01-08-2024, 07:56 AM
First track outing
