RonCT

Couple of follow up notes. Last comment first: There are no rear seats in my car. You have to take them out to put in a roll bar. Also, the bar is nowhere near the head (with seat all the way back, bar is still almost a foot further back) and there's a hard-back seat between my head and the bar. Take a look at the photos... This is a Porsche designed and TUV approved roll bar for this car.

Techquipment is no longer sold here, but there are PLENTY to be found from fellow Porsche enthusiasts, right here at the forum. I had 3 offered to me when I was looking, bought the newer 997 version from a guy in Florida. A buddy that just bought a 2010 GT3 got one in a day of looking nearby and picked it up in his station wagon the next day. If you end up going this route, you won't have a problem finding one.

Rotors have been discussed for years. Yes, the stock ones end up cracking over time, but the alternatives are extremely expensive. I looked into Porsche solid rotors and none of them lined up properly. The closest was the Cayenne rotors and there's a guy here at the forum that tried them, but I haven't heard how they worked out long-term. Something like $4000 for a full set of aftermarket vs. $600 for stock. I just get my replacement stock rotors from Suncoast and run through 3 sets of fronts for every set of rears. So, I spend $320, $320, $320+$280 in a 3 year cycle.

mobonic

PM me!

I have made 2 - 997S's for track duty.

1. Still can be DD

2. Is a track only fully gutted

I have done/tried every mod available for these cars and I know what works and what does not.

PM me and I can help save you a lot of time and money!

mdrums

Tons of great answers here! Congrat's on getting the DE bug and enjoying these type of events in your car.

Since you only have 4 DE's under your belt and depending on you money situation I would do nothing until you go solo. When you get to solo I would do the following:

Mod #1 package
race brake pads..( either Performance Friction PF97 or Pagid RS29 Yellow)
R compound Toyo R888 or RA1 245-40-18 & 305-35-18
CCW 9x18 and 12x18 or Volk Wheels
GT3 Cup Lower Control Arms
Proper Alignment
Motul RBF 660 fluid

Mod#2 package
6 point harness seats
harness bar or rear roll bar
Hans device

RonCT

Hey Mike, that sounds like our patented packages What he said and if you search on our names you'll find detailed write ups of our experience with them on the track. The only thing I'd add is that right up front I'd make sure I had a good alignment and fluid. $200-250 for a proper alignment with maxed camber.

I've become a real believer in Castrol SRF because it holds up so well over a long period of time. So if you only do 4 in a season you'll just need to do SRF in the spring and not worry about it for your fall events. I don't know Motul well enough to know it's wet properties and suspect it might be just fine if you will be flushing every few events.

TrackDays247.com

Yeah, eventually you will tire of the soft OEM pads that wear *snap* like that -- Pagid Yellows.

mdrums

+1 very true! Your car is simply AWESOME! I'd have the same seats ect if I fit in them. I am slowly looking at other after market seats but I do not like that the side impact airbag is not in these seats. I just wish there was a way to get the Porsche Sport Buckets to mount lower. Also my short Italian wife drives the car too so she wants the seat to raise up. I wish these seats would mount on the stock manual sliders.

Anyway, I have not used SRF. Around here most of the racers and fatser DE guys use the new Motul RBF660. That is what I am using. All last year I used Pagid RS29 Yellows...bought from Viper Bob and Craig @ Rennstore here on these forums. However I "think" I might want to try Performance Friction PF97's.

Flying Finn

WITH roll bar or better yet, a cage.

Personally I'd look into a 996 GT3 instead of doing anything serious to a 997 S.

Chaos

Dedicated track wheels and tires with brake pads would be my first choice.

Azikara

I wouldn't put a cage/roll bar in a street car. The car is designed for safety on the road without a cage. In other words: you are putting something else inside the car which was not taken into consideration during the design. If you had an accident without a helmet on then a lot could go wrong that the Porsche engineers never anticipated.

Best upgrade is safety as others have said. I would definitely do pads and stick with your ATE Blue (people race on it). As you go faster you will use less brake (In my opinion this is one major key to speed - controling your entry speed with finesse braking). Stick to street tires for now...R compound tires will have things happening at much higher speeds. Harnesses are a good addition.

Just go out and have fun and feel blessed to have such a beautiful car. It has an extreme amount of potential.

RonCT

I'd never run a car with a cage in it on the street I suppose unless I had a helmet on and used the 6 point belts. Too much risk of hitting the metal, even if it has proper foam padding. However, I'm comfortable using a Porsche designed TUV approved "roll over bar", which Porsche dealerships in the US sold and installed in street cars for a very long time. The same bars that you could buy from the factory in your street car in the rest of the world (Club Sport). I have confidence that Porsche wouldn't let a street car be delivered if they weren't confident that the "roll-over bar" wasn't safe for the occupants.

Gary R.

So Ron, have you finished turning the 997S into the GT3 you sold your 997S to get yet?

RonCT

The current 997.2 C2S is more than the GT3 was. This is now the blended car I was looking for in the first place. The 997.1 C2S just wasn't there, thus my buying the GT3. But the new DFI engine and sport suspension in the 09 is just what I was after. I'm now done, that is until I drive Gene's new 2010 GT3 that Dan's putting roll bar and harnesses into (came w/ Sport Bucket seats)...

Gary R.

So what color GT3 will you be getting next year, I like the blue..

I think your son should step up to a track car so you may as well buy him mine!

RonCT

Haha... Yes, the Aqua blue does suit me, as did my 07 Cobalt. Hmm, I have 3 in the family now with my daughter running her first DEs last season...

Gary R.

Perfect car for them to share!