I've made my decision, I'm curious what others think.

I was at a clients house that has raced Porsche's for 20 years. I told him I was thinking of upgrading to a TT. He had a different opinion that I now agree with.

Mark does not understand why everyone is doing all these performance upgrades(except muffler for the sound), when 99% of 993/996 owners can't handle the power, handling and braking of their car, as is, let alone a TT. He said the real excitement is in not doing upgrades that you only use in a 1/4 mile, not day to day driving, but in really racing a car. Mark said you'll have more excitement in one serious track session/race, then in a lifetime of taking your $60-150,000 car on a track where your scared of getting your car hit or scratched.

I love the look of my car. In Denver, cars have almost stopped at intersections to look, and the stairs I get are unbelievable. I don't think a TT is any better looking. Sure a TT performs better, but in day to day driving, except for a short burst of speed before you have to brake, the power is not useable.

I've decided to save some money, spend $10-15,000 on a serious track/race car and find out about the feeling that Mark says almost all Porsche owners at one time or another really want to do. Race a car.


Ken

 

Ken,
I have gone through exactly what you have just decided on.. All though I was not going to move up to a TT because I love my Cab to much, I was considering the Supercharger for it. After running at Laguna Seca last year I caught the bug for being out on the track and decided that I don't want to wreck my beauty, the next best thing was to find a nice Race car to take to the track. I found a race ready 1969 911 full roll cage, fuel cell, freshly rebuilt 2.7 engine, and many extras to go along with it.
I must say it is definitely a lot of work taking care of it and hauling it to and from the track events, but its all worth it. There is not a better way to enjoy what these cars are capable of then out on the track. I have met a lot of great people in doing so, and they are all very helpful when it comes to troubleshooting problems. You made a great choice!!

Pics of my 69 RS Replica.. see link at the bottom for more pics..

 

I wish CO had the tracks like CA. There is a new one being built in CO as we speak. I'd love to follow in your footsteps - again. Your car is the reason I put a TT bumper on my 2001 C2. It looks awesome. I need to take the time to figure out how to have my pictures hosted and/or get them in my thread/replies. I was thinking of getting a Evo supercharger put in, until I made the decision to get a dedicated track/race car. You the man.

Ken

 

I've done some track days in previous cars, and even tried to build up a "street Miata" (quicker than my 996, suspension, rollbar, etc) for regular track duty. What I've found is that:
a) with very few exceptions (elise, s2000?), street cars aren't ideal track cars.
b) a good track car forces compromises on the street that I don't want to live with (suspension harshness, etc.)
c) you need to be willing to "throw away" your track car -- the risks are high
d) track days are ultimately kind of boring for me. I have more fun at the local 35mph gokart track than at a day-long trackday.

Because of the above, I've spent much less $$ modifying recent street cars, since just about every mod I've done away from stock (and there have been a lot of them) has made the car a poorer street car. As an example, the Miata I speak of above was much more fun at normal street speeds when returned to stock than it was at full tune (even though it was a 13sec car).

Net: I want to figure out a way to go racing on the cheap. My leading contender is actually karting (125cc rotax? shifter?)

Just another $.02

 

You're absolutely right, the vast majority of owners don't drive their cars anywhere near the max. A dedicated track car is the way to go if you have room for a trailer, tow vehicle etc.

 

I have gone with putting the TT on the track every time I can and trying to improve my performance with every trip. Having the TT increases the challenge - you're got an almost unlimited reserve of power coming out of the corners. I've raced my SC, 993 and 996 - none came close to the rush of the TT spooling up and the roar going down the long straights. If I wreck it, I'll walk home - the car is made for the track