I don't intend to "compete" in races, but I'm at the point were I don't feel I can advance unless my car is setup better. Hence my desire to mod it somewhat, while still keeping it streetable.

 

My suggestion would be to do a race school in a formula car and get some seat time in a true purpose built race car before investing a lot in track mods for your 996tt. Ultimately any production based car is a set of compromises. The more track friendly mods you make, the less enjoyable the car is to drive for any length of time on the street. Stiff springs, stiff sway bars, marked lowering, agressive camber, race seat, etc all decrease streetability. The 996tt is just to heavy to make a great track car. I wound up buying a formula mazda for track duty and kept the 996tt minimally modified. The formula car is 11 seconds faster aound the local 1.8 mile circuit than my turbo. There is clearly a satisfaction in driving a Porsche around the track, but I find the handling of the formula car far more satisfying. There is nothing in my experience quite like sliding around a corner at 1.8 g's nose to tail with another car.
My $.02 would be to get a radical, formula mazda, Stohr, Toyota world sport racer, etc. as a track car. Substantially higher smile/dollar ratio IMHO.

 

Ray, you are going down the same path that many of us have tread . This is what I did to make my car more track friendly and in the process, I believe that I made it a better performing and more comfortable street ride! I won't get into HP mods, but they will help you as well. This is some of what I did to achieve those goals:

--Buy a harness bar with 6 point harnesses. You can take the bar out when you aren't tracking the car. It will amaze you how much faster you can be when you aren't sliding around in the seats!
--Change your brake fluid to Racing Blue (higher boiling point) and use a more suitable brake pad when tracking such as Pagid Orange (better performance and life).
--Buy an extra set of wheels and put track tires on them. I like the Michelin Sport Cups.
--Install a better suspension system (adjustable) with adjustable sway bars. I use the Bilstein PSSS9's with H&R sway bars.
--Lower the car ride height; have a shop experienced with this setup, corner balance and align it. The car will look much better too!
--Install a B&M shifter (much more positive shifting feel)

There are many other mods that you could do to your TT to make it track better, but these are the basics that would get you headed in the right direction.

As has been said by others, improving your own skill level will go far in improvng your track times. You can speed up the learning curve by going to a good driving school.

As others have also said, the TT is a heavy car and not really the best choice if you are choosing to build a ttrack car, but I can atttest to the fact that it is a blast to drive and that you can indeed opost some very fast lap times. At my local PCA track event last year, a slightly modded TT driven by a very talented driver posted the 3rd fastest time of the day behind two dedicated race cars, driven by very experienced drivers. I managed the 5th FTD behind a highly modded, 993TT. Long story short, yes you can have your cake and eat it too!

Good luck and most importantly have fun!!

 

Bob, that is what I wanted to hear! Those are the types of mods I was planning (already have the short shift). It sounds like I am thinking along the same lines as you.

I am not going to abuse myself at the track again without a race seat and harness. I spent most of my time muscling the steering wheel trying to stay put -- making it very hard to be smooth. That alone has got to make a huge difference!

 

The TT is a great track car with some minor mods that have been specified. It is funny to me how people think just b/c they have a TT they should be the fastest car on the track. Or even funnier is the notion that a heavily modified _________ with a great driver can't beat someone in a TT. Those of us with an understanding of track set up as it pertains to a particular track and have reasonable seat time aren't asking the question of which car to use on the track b/c no one is passing us (TT) AT ALL except cup cars. GT-2 and GT-3 (if you can find one to run against) are so rare, it comes down in a specific case of who the driver is. There is a nice review in excellence by Pete Stout about GT-2 used vs. Gt-3 new. Who would have thought that the NA car would need to keep the revs high while the GT-2 turbos kick in very quick and strong. Anyway, the point amongst my ramblings is that the TT is a great track car that is street legal unlike just about every other track car including PCA club racers that aren't street legal. The real question is when and which model to choose for a pure track car. It is then that you realize your entire investment cannot be driven to the weekend getaway or a quaint dinner for two. When you really think about enjoyment of a car and the use you can get out of them, there is no greater joy on the track and street combo in my estimation than the TT. Yes the Gt-3 is lighter but doesn't pack the punch. Yes the GT-2 is faster but add $ to the TT and you quickly get AWD quicker than the GT-2 for less than $180,000. For those of you who have(n't) aggressively tracked a TT, and haven't reached the point of wanting PSM switched off, then might I politely suggest you don't have enough seat time in the TT yet. Remember the phrase about you can't drive your house but you can live in your car, well, you can't street your track car but you can track your TT.

 

I just thought this might read well next to the thread Mod TT vs GT-2/3

 

James -

Excellent response

 

Well, I guess that, no matter how long we discuss it, we won't get any closer to the core of this question than the statement above.

If you go for a TT, you prefer a car that is "a street car that you can have fun on the track with". If you got for a GT2 or GT3, then you prefer a car which is a track car. You can mod the GT2 to become more of a street car (does that make sense?) or you can mod the TT to become more of a track car... but the general philosophy of each model will stay the same. I guess this is what we all can agree on...

 

What are the weights of the three cars under discussion, the TT, the GT2 and the GT3?

 

Marx,

I have done alot of experimenting. The turbo can be made almost as light as a GT2 or GT3. The suspensions/brakes can also be made very equal. If you like the feeling of understeer then you can't beat the GT2 or GT3. A GT2 or GT3 can't deliver the hp to the ground that a turbo can. On fast tracks or tracks with medium or long turns a turbo with the throttle body shutdown disabled will walk away from a GT2 or GT3. On very short tracks with very tight turns a GT2 or GT2 has the advantage with understeer.

 

Am I missing something. Understeer=push=plough=AWD TT with PSM, oversteer is what RWD GT-2/3 can do (controlled fish tail or drift in a turn), right? Does CJV have it backwards or do I? Other than those semantics, I agree wholeheartedly.