I've been seriously thinking of a 997 GT2 for a few months now, and I'm wondering if there are any major deficiences when taking the car to local PCA DE events, etc. I've been tracking a succession of fast cars for about 17 years now, and am, at least in my opinion, a very smooth driver. Also, I'm not out to win any DE 'trophies', and have no issue with pulling over to let faster drivers and cars past. I'm just out there to have fun.

With that in mind are there major issues that I need to be aware of when 'tracking' the car?

I read on Rennlist.com a horror story of a 997 GT2 owner ruining two sets of rear PCCB calipers, rotors and pads within 2500 miles during two DE weekends!! There were many comments wondering if there was a problem with the brakes themselves, (dragging?) since the OP mentioned he always drove with TC/SC off. This post ended in '09 without any resolution unfortunately, so I'm wondering if anyone else has had big issues with the rear brakes on track with the GT2? BTW, I know about bedding in the rotors/pads; warm up/cool down laps; installation of rear brake ducts, etc.

Also, does the 997 GT2 suffer from the same LSD issues as other GT variants in that the LSD appears to cease functioning properly after a couple of days on track?

Anything else?

Any thoughts/advice appreciated. I know many people would say just get the GT3 RS, but I only intend to track the car about 4 weekends a year, and it will be about 80% a DD during my ownership; so the extra torque would suite me better on the street.

Bish

 

I am not a GT2 owner or expert, but it seems like many/most of the PCCB owners who track their cars opt to swap out the PCCB for steel rotors/pads ( OEM, Girodisc, or Brembo ) for track useage and hold the PCCB in their garage until resale. I will say that I have Girodisc and Padgid RS29 pads and track my car pretty hard and am very happy with performance and longivity. Good luck with your GT2 and I'm sure you'll be more than happy with your car and no need for the GT3.

 

Bish the GT2 is very fast right out of the box on the track. The only thing I would consider would be running something like a R6 or A6 Hoosier over the faux Pilot Cup Sports, in 18" sizes if you can find a compatible wheel (CCW). That and maybe a couple gallons of 100+ octane unleaded to give the engine some safety margin.

Smooth drivers are less likely to experience the rear brake wear issues IMHO. I to this day believe Porsche is FOS when saying that TC is fully disabled on these GTx cars. Too many tales of cooked rear brakes and "green fade" amongst drivers for me to believe that TC/stability/xxx whatever can be shut off.

One thing that I would caution is that the car is so fast that it is easy to lose your driving skills - point and shoot every straight rather than carry every mph of momentum possible thru the turns. I stopped tracking my 997 turbo when I discovered how rusty/sloppy I had become when I jumped into a momentum car.

 

...although a fast 911 does cut through traffic very nicely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuQSl...ature=youtu.be

 

Bish, if you're a smooth driver you shouldn't have an issue at all with the GT2 at a DE. Just be cautious of the Hoosiers, those things are like crack!

 

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

 

thebishman-I think i can provide you with some help as i own a 997 gt2 and its my track car.

Its great on the track and you can drive it as much as you want then drive it back home without any problems, but there is some issues as with other porsche gt cars.

The lsd failed on me and im in the process of getting a guards lsd, as there is unstability under braking and sometimes at corner exit.

Regarding Pccb brakes i had no issues at all with them, im running on stock pads and brake fluid. But im changing the brake fluid soon as it heats up and the end of a track session ( 30 min ).

I dont have rear brake ducts but im considering them for the next track season. i usually drive the car for 10 mins and then a cool lap after that, so two cool down laps per session, but this me being extra cautious and that the weather here is very hot.

I used to DD drive the car with no issues but i just got another car so its primarily my track car, you'll have no issues either on the track nor on the street.

If you have any other questions please do ask, regards.

 

+1 on changing the brake fluid, other than that go have fun!

 

The only issue will be getting thru the traffic!

 

The real issue is the stock pads; they are definitely not up to being driven past a certain point. Depending on how fast you are and how hard you brake, the stock PCCB pads that come from the factory are going to chunk and then score the rotors. You need to go with the correct Porsche motorsports pads. I am running them with my PCCB's on my 996 GT2 and have over 40+ plus trackdays on my gen II PCCB rotors (replaced the gen I rotors with the gen II's).. The real expert on what you should use is Craig at Rennsport.. I think it's rennsportsystems.com.

The PCCB's when they are correct are utterly amazing and I love them.. I am running 1:36's at Laguna Seca in traffic.. That's a pretty decent pace and the PCCB brakes are consistent, powerful and completely fade free if you run a top-shelf brake fluid with them.. I also run stainless steel brake lines....

The steel brakes might be more cost effective over the long haul, but if you want to keep the benefits of PCCB, make sure you do your due diligence in getting everything sorted out in terms of your pads and brake fluids..

Cheers...

 

Sorry... Here's Craig's Website:

http://rennstore.com/

call him and discuss your needs...

 

All I can say is be careful! I saw two GT2's go into the wall last year on DE days...one of them had less then 500 miles on it. Also, go back in excellence and watch/read about JVO besting his lap time in a ZR1 over a GT2 on the same day back to back laps...keep in mind JVO didn't drive for Chevy or Ferrari at that time, he drove for Porsche.

 

Can anyone post the article VID997 refers to? Cheers.

 

Excellence Feb 2010 #180...careful reading it...you might want a ZR1 for a track /DE toy. Half the entry price and faster.

 

Thanks for the info.

Am I reading you correctly: are you bleeding the brakes after every 30 minute run session, or at the end of each day or weekend?

If I get the car, changing out the OEM LSD would be one of the first things I'd have done.

Great to hear that you've had no issues. It's another reason I'm considering getting a GT2; the reliability and lack of drama re: constantly wondering what I'd have to replace next! lol

I'll PM you if I get the car for more info.

Bish