ajcjr

Yes I know the car is meant to be driven but I love my gts4.0 but also want to put it through its paces. Curious if the car gets trashed in autox. I do have ppf in some places and ceramic coating.
thanks
AC

Grantsfo

The newer cars certainly don’t hold up as well as past models. GT cars have little more protection . My 991.2 Carrera has dents from cone hits I installed side skirts to protect sides better. PPF where cones hit will save paint. I had some wires ripped out by come in rear wheel area.

Auto_Werks 3.6

yes there is some small amount of permanent wear on the exterior, some sand blasting in high wear areas, and I have one spot on the rocker of my GT3 that needs paint less dent removal. The pictures below are after 3 hard seasons of autocross on the GT3 and 2 hard seasons on the cayman, and then a few hours of clean up / wax. For me they still look more than good enough to be proud of, but someone who is obsessive about perfection would not be happy. I think it’s worth it to experience the car, but respect that others might not. Give it a try and see if you like it. The likelihood of permanent damage after only one or two events is pretty low, and you’ll have a better idea of what your interest level is.

Cyclman

Ppf on front bumper and sills will avoid most damage, but to me more important to enjoy your car…you can’t fully appreciate a Pcar on the street, imo.

cmorales954

Never gotten any dents from cones or any pieces damaged; just rubber that easily rubs off, or light surface scratches that you deal with on any yearly polish schedule. PPF highly recommend.

ajcjr

Thanks i do have ppf in certain locations for hpde. Appreciate the advice

Earlydays

I autocrosssed my 964 for 20 years and had no ill effects, either cosmetic or mechanical......just drive and enjoy!

Abt12

Have only experienced minor scuffs or scratches. 99% is just come marks that come off easily with Mother's R3. Some rock chip/sand blasting on exposed edges but that's as much the sticky rubber as anything.

Note that cone marks come off very easily from ceramic coated/waxed paint but can be a pain to get off of PPF.

strider996

Always good to ask about that! In my 40 years of autocrossing, I've only had to deal with some cone marks, which as the others pointed out polish right out, even with a light polish. Fortunately, I was taught a bit about polishes, and the wisdom of having some mild polish on hand, rather than going with something like a gritty compound. Beyond that, these cars are designed to do that sort of performance driving all day. Also, not that you asked, but a couple tips I've found extremely useful: (1) Look way ahead, at specific cones- you'll probably only need to look directly at 8-12 cones for an entire course, ignoring the rest; (2) be very smooth with all the inputs- smooth looks slow but can actually be very fast; (3) nothing stops quicker than a Porsche, and braking seems to be the last skill that many autocrossers master- so USE those brakes (in a straight line)! Two last recommendations- (A) ride with as many people as you can (instructors, competitors), and have an instructor in your vehicle whenever you can, when you are starting out; (B) don't bother modifying your vehicle yet- once your skills ramp up you might consider some changes. Porsche spends millions of dollars tuning the factory suspension on every one of its vehicles; it will work just fine for now.

Have fun at your events!

chriswd62

I'm certainly not trying to discourage anyone, but I've been autocrossing for many years, and although I generally have not seen much damage, this season I cracked the rocker panel of my GT4 hitting a cone. If you're driving for a win, you'll be placing the car very close to the cones, so inevitably you'll hit them. Sometime harder and more direct then others. I've hit a lot of cones over the years and 99.9% of the time, it just leaves a scuff that is easily cleaned off; this time I wasn't so lucky. In addition, you can expect minor rock chips along the side and lower rear bumper.

vitaminC

I got a cone wedged in the front wheel well and cracked a fender liner. Granted the car, a 996, was nearly 20 years old at that point so the plastic was a bit brittle. Easy DIY fix. Otherwise, scuffs will be the biggest issue, especially if your club has old cones that already have a lot of rash on them.

Patstat

Can you really put a price on this ?

stellman

Yeah, these are worth it.



Sorry, I had to!

Abt12

Those are fun. I just get medals and mugs!

Marv

I want to know how you managed to hit that?