Quote:
Originally Posted by Tanzif80
I had a 2001 996 turbo for about 7 years with probably about 20 track days over that time plus numerous autocrosses in between. I now have a 2018 M3 comp for a couple years now and probably have 6 track days on it and 3 autocross events.
As far as mods on the 996 I had a pss9 suspension different pads and rotors and a stage one reflash. The rest of the car was stock. It wasn’t a track beast like a Porsche GT car but it was good enough for me. The costs associated with running at the track like that was numerous brake pads and tires. I saw them as consumables and it cost a fair amount. I like to keep my cars in tip top shape so I did a trans flush every year I tracked it. I also did oil changes much more frequently, especially if the weather was warm. I did the brakes and fluid flushes myself but my Indy would do the rest. The rear tires on a 996 turbo would only last maybe 4 track days or about 3000 street miles depending on how hard I ran. The fronts would be replaced maybe every 3 rears. I also had the suspension and bushings refreshed a few years before I sold it. The turbo was a fantastic car to own and gave me no trouble whatsoever but the costs of keeping it that way, especially with the Porsche tax was much more than the M3 so far. The way I had it set up you couldn’t spin it on the track unless you really tried, like letting off the gas mid corner.
The M3 so far hasn’t cost me as much out of pocket aside from tires and brake pads. I just did a brake duct mod that will hopefully help with brake cooling. I have yet to test it this year. The 996 wasn’t nearly as bad at overheating with brakes as the M3 is. The M3 is also a drift machine if you aren’t careful with the throttle and can easily eat those rear tires. The M3 seems to eat front tires as well because of lack of camber.
Of course you can totally slide down the slope of money by chasing faster times and higher speeds but I prefer to keep my cars mostly as the manufacturer intended and my pockets aren’t that deep. I have a track buddy that modded his 996 so much it isn’t streetable anymore but damn he is at least 12 seconds faster per lap than me. Truly incredible but he has really deep pockets. Either way, you have to pay to play, just depends on what you wanna do. So far though, Porsche is much more expensive.
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+1 to everything you said.
I have an 03 996 turbo with a few more minor mods and the X factor for me is when something breaks. I sheared first gear off the main shaft (power adders + cup 2) and it was like $8k to fix (5th got damaged too), and of that, just the first gear and mainshaft was a $3k part.
I have had minor stuff like cam sensor go (and it was on the side of the engine that’s closer to the firewall, so need a lift, and couple of hours shop labor to take off a bunch of stuff to get to it.
I had an f80 before that, and it was an order of magnitude difference in cost to track a full warranty free maintenance f80 than an old turbo. Lol.
My $0.02 OP, if you want to just keep it stock and drive it hard, would be to try and find a 6gt3 or 7gt3 that has been well maintained and try your very best to keep it shiny side up. With a 7gt3 you will probably get back close to what you paid, but maintenance will be good amount because little things add up.
Lastly, consider getting a 7cup for $50k or renting time in one and doing arrive and drive if you are only doing 6 days a year.