Once a while I'll share my so far never ending and boring story of 996TT driving and modding...

For any beginners, building a track friendly street car of the Turbo is unfortunately bit more than "coilovers and brakes"
But the crazy thing is there's so much potential within these cars on race tracks, proven by heavychevy and pwdrhound on this forum alone.

For myself great help has come from SamboTT@ByDesign and Willy077! If you ever do business with these gentlemen, you are in good hands!

For this season I decided to put the car to a small diet. Wanted to optimize, so I did some calculations based on "money spent vs. weight lost" type of ratio and considering where the weight is located.

Those calculations steered me to the right direction, having earlier done RWD, rear seat delete and excellent EarthX lithium battery (that battery is only like USD400 and much less weight than Voltphreaks, and only once I have been stuck at a detailer's place with doors open for longer period).

So, I decided next do the following parts
(these aren't 100% precise weights but realistic/conservative):

-18kg: Carbon roof instead of sunroof with alcantara headliner

-4kg: Same time with the roof conversion, plexi rear glass like GT3 RS and Cup cars

-16kg: Same time with roof conversion, got rid of rest of the rear interior carpet I had there, doesn't look bad at all with a black car and black paint

-10kg: Carbon hood (a lightweight 5kg version...many of these are 8kg+

-5kg: Radio and speaker delete (you get a very cool Porsche radio delete console, highly recommended)

And late this season I got BBS FI lightweight rims which are respectable -11kg or so compared to my OZ Ultraleggeras.

Total of -65kg this year alone!

About FI, some random pics from a guy who spotted the car when I was washing it in a small fuel station. Decided to put some bronze after always going black.





I have to admit I don't still know whether they are strong enough for serious track use.



But gotta love the look of those spokes!

Anyways, I started my season with mainly driving at the Nürburgring, too bad the track has just become too popular and too busy for fast cars unless you attend to some expensive days.

Pushing on the track with very fast Aventador SV750, so rare to see these guys pushing:



(Sorry for watermarks, people selling their pictures...)

In summer I went to a time attack event of street legal Porsches in another country in Estonia with a goal to win but lost it slightly and became second. A rim got broken there.



This autumn's main event was attending Manthey track day at Nürburgring for few laps, got a 7:15 BTG lap on video:




Compared to official record laps the difference with my BTG lap is approx:
+ 22 secs for not driving the main straight (this season it had speed limit)
- 3 secs due to start from the pits and not starting the timing at 300km/h
- 5 secs for driving the T13 straight, all officials laps don't drive the T13 straight as they operate from the old pits during test days.

So that 7:15 lap could be a sub 7:30 lap if measured similarly to professionals. Crazy what my kind of hobby guy can achieve. Drove the beginning of the lap quite easily, had to drive slowly to Fuchsröhre because tire was rubbing there (see my youtube comments) and then had cars in front in 2 very fast sections. For reference, testing by independent pros show the following:
- 997 GT3 RS 4.0 7:30 vs factory record claim of 7:27
- 997 GT2 RS 7:24 vs. factory record claim of 7:18
(Factories are able to optimize the cars/driving etc. vs. independent pro tests.)

My mod list is pretty basic, so I decided to highlight couple easy mods I like a lot that surprisingly few have on their cars on these forums, please take a my hint on these!

1) 996 Clubsport FULL cage
- Every track driven street legal 996 has this in Europe. Do it! Your car gets race car look and feeling, it brings safety, it is reasonably light and reasonably priced, plus the main point for a street car: It is according to old FIA regulations meaning the front section is not overly obtrusive like in new modern 997&991 full cages...those become bit dangerous on the street. And no cutting panels needed.

2) DCTMS Sport steering wheel
- OEM look but better grip! You enjoy it each time you drive the car.



3) Silver turn signal bulbs
- Forget the NASTY LED rear lights people are putting to these cars, just put some silver bulbs to your headlights and the lights in front get a small but distinct refresh, no more hint of orange/yellow whatever there.

---

The mod list:

Suspension:
KW Clubsport 2-way coilovers (Manthey-Racing spec)
KW race springs, rates currently 70/150 N/mm (have different spring rates to use, these quite soft but grippy)
KW uniball top mounts
996 GT3 Cup lower control arms (front and rear)
997 RSR uniball rear toe links
Tarett Engineering adjustable caster bushings for lower control arms (front and rear)
Tarett Engineering uniball ends for lower control arms (front and rear)
Elephant Racing uniball subframe bushings

Brakes:
Brembo GT brake kit for 997 Turbo (380mm 6-pot front, 380mm 4-pot rear)
997 Turbo brake master cylinder + custom brake line for brake pedal stiffness
997 Turbo vacuum pump for brake pedal force
Brembo Race Technologies RA70 or Performance Friction 08 pads
Stainless steel brake lines
Techart front brake cooling channels
996 GT3 Cup front brake cooling ducts
997 Turbo rear brake cooling ducts
Castrol SRF brake fluid
Disconnected Porsche Stability Management

Engine:
K24/18G turbochargers (Protomotive)
Bosch Motorsport fuel injectors
EVOMS turbo inlet pipes
Forge Motorsport boost hoses (to selected places)
Bailey Motorsport diverter valves
Speedtech X-Flow 76mm (3.0") exhaust, pipes turned downwards due to noise limits (did not help much, have a 2.5" from John as well waiting for install)
FVD Sport headers
997 GT2 RS intercoolers
996 GT3 RS engine mounts
EarthX lithium battery
VGS Motorsport (Manthey-Racing) ECU tune at around "600hp/800Nm" (figures where lower than those in actual dyno but have improved the exhaust after that...)
Castrol Edge RS 10W-60 oil

Drivetrain:
RWD with removed FWD parts
997 Turbo gearbox (strengthened internals & better gear ratios for taller 19" tires vs. 996 Turbo gearbox)
997 Turbo gearbox mount
996 GT3 Cup (Manthey-Racing) LSD 40/60
996 GT3 RS lightweight flywheel
Sachs (Manthey-Racing) sports clutch kit rated 890Nm
Porsche OEM Short Shifter
Mobil Delvac gearbox oil

Wheels:
OZ Ultraleggera 8.5x19" ET53 & 12x19" ET51 wheels
5mm front spacers, 15mm rear spacers
235/35/19 & 305/30/19 Pirelli Trofeo R or Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires
[UPDATED for Autumn 2015: BBS FI 8.75x19" ET50 & 12x19" ET50 wheels]

Exterior:
Techart GT Street authentic body kit (bumpers, side skirts, decklid and wing)
Extended rear wing uprights
Carbon fiber front hood (4.8kg version, with small Porsche crest)
Carbon fiber roof (sunroof deleted)
Carbon fiber mirrors (original 996 GT3 RS)
Carbon fiber front bumper canards (Zimspeed)
Plastics4Performance lexan rear glass
Silver turn signal bulbs
Removed rear wiper
Painted solid black with a Glasurit color

Interior:
996 GT2/GT3 Clubsport full FIA cage
996 GT2/GT3 Clubsport seats
996 GT3 RS front center console delete
996 GT3 RS radio delete
996 GT3 alcantara roof carpet (for sunroof delete)
Middle center console painted in exterior color
Schroth 6-point seat belts
Rear seats and rear interior delete
DCT Motorsports T96 thicker and smaller airbag steering wheel
Rennline Rev3 strengthened adjustable gas pedal & alu pedal set

---

So that's my own 'poor man's GT2 RS'

I've had lots of fine tuning of the setup, shocks, spring rates, rake, alignment, you name it. A distinct next stage would be 3-way or 4-way race suspension for the bumpy tracks I visit, obviously less weight, wider fenders&tires, more aero, more power...but I am planning to keep it as it is and try to enjoy the thrill.

Only thing now under review is an engine refresh during winter time: Car has been driven 83'000 km with all of them with mods and spirited driving on tracks or Autobahns...Perhaps it's enough of hours? Long live the Mezger though!

Btw. Not always only good fun with these cars. 10 seasons of track stuff is a lot. Below is my list of issues I remember with the car:

- Numerous times PSM problems with even crashing the car due to that (I had some brake problem thread from 2008 or so here). That was a long and stressful project to go through the components and do testing on track days, then finally understood fault is in the PSM even though driving with "PSM OFF", so please disconnect your PSM cable!

- 3 times destroyed 3rd gear, now hoping better luck with the 997TT box, don't hear much problems from 997TT guys. Still no gearbox cooler but I hear people destroying the 3rd gear even with a cooler.

- 2 times destroyed clutch: First original, then the upgraded Sachs clutch lasted for many many years on track, but not forever. Car still has the Sachs.

- 2 times gas pedal broke: Now Rennline product there.

- 2 times headers have cracked. Currently have 'downgraded' to OEM.

- 2 times race cats melted.

- Numerous times MAF blew (because of V-Flow intake in the car back then...)

- Steering rack leak

- Coils, plugs, boost hoses, the usual Turbo problems

- Driver side's big fat rear tire rubbed a boost hose off

- Rim and tire failures. Current issue is with Pirelli Trofeo R's slipping on rims even though using tire glue.

- Sometimes too much decibels on track (seems it's the deep Turbo noise, funny how many car with 'screamer' engines don't have the same issue)

So, in my experience I have to admit many of the above problems could have been avoided with a GT3!

Otherwise all good, don't remember any other faults with this 15-year old car, one of the first Turbos, was registered already early June 2000.





Let me know if any questions! You can google bitte ein bit if wondering what's that!

 

Cool post Kai. Love the pics and video. Glad you got most of your issues solved. I notice you installed the 997 vacuum pump. Thumps up! Wonder If you noticed a difference if feel with the pump? It was substantial for me at my 5200' altitude. I had 130+ track hours and 40K miles on my gearbox without any issues but I have always run a cooler. They make a difference for sure. I've been telling people for a long time that if you're seriously tracking the car you need to completely rip out PSM and once they finally do, they always say "man I wish I would have done it a long time ago". As far as the tire slippage goes, forget all the glues and hairspray techniques out there. None of them work, they slightly reduce the problem at best. I've tried it all and them finally bought wheels that have the bead knurled. This solves tire slippage permanently. No more out of balance wheels at 150mph+. Would love to run the rink with you guys one day. Still kind of hard to believe you wear an open face helmet at those speeds. You rarely see that this side of the pond. Be safe.

 

Amazing car and build!! Love the Bronze rims Any pics from these during stillstand? Which bulbs for the sidemarkers do you mean?

 

Awesome car in every way. Love the mods and it looks beautiful!!!! The bronze color of the wheels works perfectly with the black car. You should be very very proud of her What a machine...long live the Mezger indeed!

Btw...You mentioned that you painted it solid black..what color was it before? Did you spray the complete car? Inside as well?

 

That is great! Nice lap!

 

wonderful write up Kaizu. Need a "bitte" sticker for my car! Running the ring is on my bucket list. I can relate to the PSM frustration too!
The silvered turn indicator bulbs are readily available on eBay. They do change the front end look dramatically.

{(
)}

 

This is impressive!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

 

That video made my morning.
Great post... Thanks for sharing.

 

great post and awesome car and results! always looking forward to more posts and video
Cheers,
Rob

 

That was awesome! Love your car and kudos to your driving. Hustling around the ring like that takes some *****.

 

unbelievable!!!! sounds like a normaily aspirated car!!!!! AWESOME!

 

Kaizu, that wing looks awesome!!! And so does the whole car! You are making me want to take my mexico'ish blue wrap off. I'm actually glad to be back in a street car now because it was just not fair in my old car anymore unless a cup car showed up. I rarely had anyone to play with. But it won't be long before this car is faster than the old one, and still street friendly. I'm going with a cage similar to yours but it's made by safety devices (also from Europe).


We need much more content like this here in this section. Keep posting and keep us updated on what events, and post more videos! I have to live vicariously until my car gets on track.

 

Nice Kai! I am enjoying this little by little as I have time. Like Netflix haha! Great work and dedication not to mention some serious driving!

 

very impressive !

 

Nice lap time, and great video! Thanks for sharing.