guys, would it make sense to purchase the 997 gt3 brake ducts and just rivet your own black abs plastic to make them the same as the gt2/gt3 ducts or to your own configuration or liking. from what i understand the added riveted plastic is softer to enable flexing over road hazards or driveways (like mudflap material or plastic floor mats for example) not sure if the extra hundred bucks a pair is worth it. it seems like a really simple mod, am i missing something here??

first attachement is the 997 gt3 duct # 997 341 483 92 for $16
second is the gt2 duct # 996 341 117 90 for $135

$32 plus some time and materials, as opposed to $275. i am sure someone out there has tried this, would love to hear some feedback.

both are easy to install and somewhat of a direct replacement.

let me know what you think.

 

I try modding anything that does not do what I feel it should. How ever the "like mudflap material or plastic floor mats for example" may be too weak. In the second pic the part that is riveted is "molded" and has some angles that help it keep its shape. not saying it not doable so keep us posted.

 

i run the 997 gt3 ducts they do not fit in perfectly. you kind of have to jam them into the fender liner and then try to attach them with the clips.. for the money they work fine.. but if you want them to fit properly get the 996 gt2 ones.

i also had to cut them down in the corners as they were rubbing the inside of the rear wheels.

they do the job and are yet to fall out of place but like i said takes a little diy magic

mike

 

I bought the eBay specials (cheap) and seem, to add just enough. Kept things a bit cooler at my last event until I had a tire issue that ended my day.

 

I modified mine but it did take a little work. What I used was a sheet of "kydex" which is a pretty hard plastic. I actually found some thin sheets of suitable material at Target (in multiple colors no less, but unfortunately NOT in black). What I bought was actually a package of cutting sheets for kitchen use found in the housewares section of Target. I think there were 4 cutting sheets in the package, each about 18" x 24," each sheet being about 1/16" thick. You need material that is thick enough to hold its shape, but not so thick as to be unworkable.

I made a rough template out of thick card stock material for the addition to my ducts. The difficult part is formulating the bends and curves. I basically made a 2D template and tried to minimize any 3D curves. When I had a shape that I was reasonably sure would work, I cut out a rough pattern, leaving excess material on the edges, and then used a pop rivet gun to attach it to the plastic brake duct, using a rivet about every 2" all along the outside edge of the duct. What gets tricky from there is bending the material. In my case, I wanted some 90 degree bends at the bottom to help capture and route the air. I first tried to use an industrial type heat gun to heat and bend the material. It would eventually get the material hot enough to be able to bend and shape it, but it took a long time and I had to work too small of a section at at time. I then experiment a little with a small butane torch, and found that method to work quite well. Too much heat of course will melt the material. Working carefully, i was able to bend a nice 90 degree bend at the bottom of my duct attachment to make a channel to help capture the airflow. I then used a Dremel cutting wheel to carefully trim and cut off the excess remaining material. Constructing the other duct took much less time after I figured out how to do the first one.

You'll need to take a close look at the clearance from any extension you make in terms of contacting the ground, as well as contacting the rotor when you turn the wheel. I had to make several trial fitments and carefully trim off material from the ends of my ducts, as they were contacting the inside face of the rotors at full wheel lock. Also, as a previous post stated, you may have some contact with the inside edge of your wheels as you approach full steering input. Again, lots of trial and error as you proceed, but once you get the first one made, the second one is easy.

As my modified ducts hang down about 3/4" below the stock ones, I was worried about having them ripped off the car (and the car is lowered to GT2 ride height). What I did was drill a couple of holes above and below where they clip to the arm, and then used some pretty hefty zip ties to zip tie them in place as well. Thus far however, they are still in tact and have not yet been damaged.

 

ill see if i can sneak them out of the house. thanks for the replies guys. +1 rep to everyone.
mike

 

This seems like a real "niche" area for the aftermarket companies. Do any of our illustrious and innovative board sponsors fabricate special versions of these ducts?

These days you can get sunglasses and wallets made of carbon fiber....why not custom, hi-flow ducting for the brakes?