Front Bumper
#1
Front Bumper
Hey everyone. Well after an unfortunate commute this morning, my front bumper will need to be replaced. I have an 02 996tt. I was considering trying to do a GT2 upgrade since I was going to be getting a new bumper, but after some research I see that it is a 6-8k deal, and I don't see my insurance co forking over nearly enough, and I don't want to spend that much. So before I get a stock replacement any suggestions from anyone on other options? I love the GT2 front end, but not enough to spend 8 grand on it.
#2
sorry to hear of your loss. i am only replacing the front lip tomorrow. a day in the life of these cars. if i were in your situation, and wasn't particularly concerned about the missing ducting the aftermarket gt2 bumpers don't accomodate, then i'd go that route. i suppose it depends on how you run your car. i'm sure for primarily street use it will be fine, that's what i would do. if you track a lot, i'd want all the proper bits working. but i wouldn't replace a ruined OEM with another OEM bumper either.
a couple grand. paint.. but then you'll want the rear decklid and wing too. lol
a couple grand. paint.. but then you'll want the rear decklid and wing too. lol
#3
A genuine RUF front bumper is about 3k. Cheaper than the GT2 conversion and it properly routes the airflow without modifications to the radiators, etc. And it pairs with the OEM decklid and wing. Something to consider.
#5
Subscribed.... Sorry to hear about your car. I'm thinking about changing my front and rear decklid to GT2 because my rear spoiler rams are starting to shows signs of failure. I'm not interested in spending $2500 to replace something that will just fail again at some point.
OEM bumper cover from Sonnen is about $750 last I checked, plus shipping. I would reach out to Dan at Vivid as he carries a few GT2 copies. I can't say which ones are better than others as I've actually posed that question to him. Both of the higher end copies seem to run about $2K for the front setup.
Chris.
OEM bumper cover from Sonnen is about $750 last I checked, plus shipping. I would reach out to Dan at Vivid as he carries a few GT2 copies. I can't say which ones are better than others as I've actually posed that question to him. Both of the higher end copies seem to run about $2K for the front setup.
Chris.
#6
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#10
I was thinking about replacing my front end, but never pulled the trigger. Below is a little comparison I put together, that you might find interesting. I believe I would have went with the 997 GT2 replica for price and updating the looks.
A few companies offer it for sale, but you can see one at this link.
http://nrauto.com/productsdetails.ph...i=Mg==&mn=OTk2
Here is the picture.
Later, Steve
A few companies offer it for sale, but you can see one at this link.
http://nrauto.com/productsdetails.ph...i=Mg==&mn=OTk2
Here is the picture.
Later, Steve
#11
Well I guess if you ever planned on doing the swap at any point, now would be the perfect time. But if you wanted to stay stock then don't force yourself to get something you don't want. Precision Porsche does have some nice options if you do want to switch it up. Since your car will be at the shop you should also consider paint all the black plastic skirting around the car to body color, maybe the rear bumper guards. It really updates the car and makes it look a little more complete.
#13
The MA Shaw GT2 bumper is very good quality and a lot cheaper than OEM. I bought my front bumper from them directly and they gave me a significant discount off what the price posted on their website was. It was a few years ago and their prices have gone up a bit, but I paid $1300 for the bumper plus $225 for the first carbon fiber lip, and they threw in an extra lip for $150 plus no shipping charges since it fit in the same box. From everything I've heard, I got a ridiculously cheap price, but you're still looking at under $3k to replace your front bumper and lip including paint and labor.
Their bumper is poly with a lot of fiberglass reinforcing in critical areas. I've had mine for over 4 years and it's taken some good hits when I've had limited (or no) clearance, and the bumper has stood up perfectly with no issues. I've scratched up the carbon fiber lip pretty well and broken the center mounting point for it, but that was easily repaired by just putting a larger washer on the mounting screw to get a larger bite area.
Technically for high speed stability you're supposed to replace the rear wing with a GT2 type at the same time to match with the extra downforce you get from the front bumper and lip, but in many high speed runs and track days in my Turbo, I've never noticed any change in stability with the different front bumper. That's not to say the car wouldn't feel more planted with more rear downforce, but it's just fine as-is.
Here are some pictures of the car with the new front bumper. Some people aren't fans of putting the screens in, but I really like how they look. They are also very functional and protect your radiators. I have some nasty dents in them from road debris, including a couple that would pretty definitely have punctured my radiator(s) if it weren't for the screens being there!
Their bumper is poly with a lot of fiberglass reinforcing in critical areas. I've had mine for over 4 years and it's taken some good hits when I've had limited (or no) clearance, and the bumper has stood up perfectly with no issues. I've scratched up the carbon fiber lip pretty well and broken the center mounting point for it, but that was easily repaired by just putting a larger washer on the mounting screw to get a larger bite area.
Technically for high speed stability you're supposed to replace the rear wing with a GT2 type at the same time to match with the extra downforce you get from the front bumper and lip, but in many high speed runs and track days in my Turbo, I've never noticed any change in stability with the different front bumper. That's not to say the car wouldn't feel more planted with more rear downforce, but it's just fine as-is.
Here are some pictures of the car with the new front bumper. Some people aren't fans of putting the screens in, but I really like how they look. They are also very functional and protect your radiators. I have some nasty dents in them from road debris, including a couple that would pretty definitely have punctured my radiator(s) if it weren't for the screens being there!
Last edited by teflon_jones; 09-20-2012 at 01:16 PM.
#14
That looks pretty dang good! Did you do any of the duct-work behind it?
#15
The easiest thing to do with the ductwork is to just trim the OEM pieces to fit. The best thing you can do is buy the GT2/3 ducts and install them to get the advantages of the cooling from those cars, but of course that involves additional money for the ducts and time and/or labor costs to do it.