GT3 Sport chrono

I do not think you need sport chrono for launch control. With PDK, launch control is built into the system. For launch control, pull back on both right and left paddles which puts transmission in neutral. Depress gas peddle to get desired RPM. Release paddles and off you go.

 

When speccing my GT3 I was also looking to check off sport chrono. Like you, I had it in previous cars.

As I understand it, sport chrono on the GT3 is a clock and track app only....nothing more....so I passed on it.
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I did the same.

 

You get the launch-control with the 991 GT3's PDK-S transmission, regardless.

The correct launch procedure is detailed on page 126 of the owner's manual (below).

It says:
Preconditions:
– Launch Control should only be used when the engine has reached operating temperature.
1. Press the brake with your left foot.
2. Quickly press down the accelerator fully and hold it down.
The engine speed will level off at around 6,500 rpm.
"Launch Control active" is displayed on the on-board computer.
3. Release the brake within a few seconds.
Remaining stationary for a long time with LAUNCH CONTROL can lead to overloading of the transmission....
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From real-world point of view its a pretty brutal experience.

That said, PDK-S is a fantastic transmission, up-shifts are phenomenal, but I absolutely adore the way in Drive (auto) with sport mode deployed it shifts down through the gears as you brake hard.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMLndk9jw7g]Porsche 911 GT3: launch control - YouTube[/ame]

 

I am freaking out as of last night being my build is locked and I did NOT order sport chrono. I assumed it was included in the GT3 standard spec. When I had my 997 Turbo the sport chrono was a must have but on the GT3 its just a clock and some useless app I will never use. I wanted to make sure resale would not be hurt by not having the sport chrono in the GT3. My understanding is the clock alone on the 14's was only $400. Now, they add the app and the clock together is now $1850. Wow, thats a big jump Porsche for some silly gizmo app. If I can squeeze sport chrono in I may being I like the clock look on the dash but the $1850 I am not happy about. Am I over thinking this, should I leave the option off? Please advise. I wonder how many GT3's out there have it and don't have it…..Just thinking resale and I have a heavily priced spec already at 162K, PCCB's LED's,Full leather/Alacantara, Lifter etc etc.. Ryan

 

Useless on a GT3
I just locked my '15 without Chrono
My '07 GT3 did NOT have Chrono
My '11GT3RS DOES have Chrono, have never used it
Save your $1850 and put it toward sport buckets
FYI, LACK of Chrono is considered a plus in the GT3 resale market
Bill

 

My thoughts on the seat subject are: GT3 RS = Racing (lightweight) seats. GT3 = Adaptive seats.

I can speak dispassionately and in an unbiased manner on this subject because I have both racing seats (in the RS) and adaptive seats (in the GT3).

IMO Racing seats will relegate the GT3 to being a weekend or occasional driver, and severely limit is usage. Even though I am (relatively!) fit and in shape for my age, I still consider getting in and out of the racing seats to be quite a task, a ceremony where you have to take your time getting in & out, unless you want to injure yourself or scar the seat. If you make several stops when you drive the car with racing seats in, the reality is that entry & egress becomes an absolute chore (read: PITA, literally). Passengers, especially significant others, will not be pleased! Lets not lose sight of the fact that racing seats are designed for ... racing. Unless the car is dedicated to that function, then racing seats are impractical.

Regarding the GT3, I would absolutely pay more for a car with 18-way adaptive seats, or, pass on one with racing seats, and that's exactly what I did. The opposite is true with the GT3 RS, in which I expect to have racing seats.

This has been discussed earlier in case anyone missed it:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/143418136-post56.html

Response:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/143418637-post60.html

 

Agree with Bill. I hate the wart and insisted upon a nice clean dash when I picked up my last 2 preowned GT3.

 

I passed on Sport Chrono, but my spec is pretty Spartan and under $140K. The frills are for the Turbo. My best read on the current consensus is also that PCCB is a mistake for the track.

What I really want to know: is there a good 19" wheel as the 20s are stupid poseur crap that limits tire choices. Will Cup car wheels fit?

 

Keith,

I'll post here because this is the latest of 5 (or is it 6?) threads about the 991 GT3!! 991 GT3 threads are springing up like toxic mushrooms

I'd like to share thoughts that ultimately help people who are interested in these cars. Although Ferraris are my business, I am a long-time Porschephile having bought my first 911 27 years ago, and I'm lucky to have a resource or two direct from Stuttgart.

Front Axle Lift System - If you are concerned about reliability, remember that its a Porsche Ag installed system on a new car with a full warranty! Anyone who has taken the time to measure the distance from the front wheel center-bolt to the tip of he front splitter knows that the 991 GT3 has prodigious overhang, and whereas in some cars it's merely a nice feature, in this new GT3 its ESSENTIAL. Trust me on this, I drive mine everyday, and if I did not have the FALS, the car would be rendered inoperable as far as I'm concerned. I daresay for most people its only a matter of time before you rip the entire nose off your formerly-pristine GT3! Also, nobody posting here can tell me that it makes one iota of difference that a registered road-car fitted with license plates weighs 28ks more, no matter what times you think you can post at the PCA track day!

Seats - Yes, the new lightweight seats are adjustable, but, it is the entry & egress that will make the choice of racing seats impractical. If one must have racing seats, it sounds to me like what is really needed is a GT3 RS! By way of comparison, I went from the GT3 at a lunch meeting today, to the RS with racing seats later in the day for a photo-shoot. During the shoot I had to move the RS numerous times and get out so the photographer could shot the car with nobody in it. Lots of entry & egress. What a PITA this would be if I used the RS regularly! Fortunately, the car I use regularly is the new GT3 and it has 18-way adaptive seats, and to me its still a well-bolstered sports seat. FWIW.

Brakes - I think PCCBs were meant for the track as Porsche Ag intended, and the so-called "consensus" that they are not comes from the Racing-on-a-Shoestring-Budget crowd. Don't have any of it.

Wheels & tires - I was pleased to see your comment here http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/143440206-post94.html that "On Joe's advice, I think I will go with standard wheel finish instead of black.". Kudos. But then, a few posts later, as above, you say: "What I really want to know: is there a good 19" wheel as the 20s are stupid poseur crap that limits tire choices. Will Cup car wheels fit?". WTH. The award-winning wheels that Porsche Ag design-engineered and supplied with the car that you decided to get are now suddenly "stupid poseur crap"?? Then why are you buying this car? Its part of the car's essential design. I have to think that post was a mistake because I know you don't normally make unnecessarily derogatory remarks like, and the point of these threads & posts is to share useful & helpful information, so lets keep things positive! On the subject of wheels & tires, Porsche Ag has some information they would like to share with you, as released in a dedicated supplementary manual entitled: "991 GT3 - Driving on the Race Circuit" (below). In the manual, the manufacturer not only suggests that these are the wheels that are optimum equipment for tracking the car, they go on to prohibit the changing of wheels to those of different dimensions, or slick tires, for the same purpose. As far as I know, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires are readily available so there really is no wheel/tire dilemma to consider.

Sport Chrono - I have it in the GT3 and think it looks super-cool, but, my RS doesn't have it. Either way.

Having said all this, I think you made a wonderful choice to get your first Porsche 911 the right way by getting a car that embodies all that Porsche has succeeded in doing with the 911. Whatever your choices are, enjoy it in good health, I can personally assure you they are great cars.
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I am a racing-on-a-shoestring guy. I have read that a competent driver can go through PCCBs both pads and rotors in about 3 DE weekends. So cost of consumables is a very real issue for me. I will be bleeding my own brakes and changing my own pads. I have a 3/4 inch impact and torque wrench to get wheels off and on. Frankly it is more convenient to DIY at my trackside shop than go to a dealer for track prep and maintenance.

Now let's look at the Cup car. The 991 wears 18" wheels. Runs iron brakes. I think that is right. Seems to me that speaks volumes about what to use on track.

I stand by my comment that the 20" wheels are poseur-driven by those who simply must have the big wheel. It is heavier than a 18" wheel and limits tire choices. It looks cool and sells cars to those for whom form may not necessarily follow function,but otherwise it is time to go "minus" on wheel sizes for use on track. I have examined the caliper to wheel clearance and there is plenty of room to go minus on diameter and I would like to know if anyone has fitted Cup car wheels to a street GT3. I plan to find out and will advise but it will be some time before I have a car.

If there is a prohibition against different wheel and tire choices that may present me with a dilemma. I like to have a dedicated set of track wheels and tires and I cannot imagine 20s are better than 18s. Now rolling diameter maybe important for the ABS and other electronics, but careful tire choice can hopefully prevent any significant change to diameters. I'd have to have someone explain to me why, other than caliper/rotor clearance, one would want any bigger wheel diameter than actually necessary. I have read many tests where increases to wheel diameter increases lap times, and it is indisputable that a bigger dia wheel and tire assembly is heavier. Perhaps there is an engineering reason otherwise of which I am ignorant, but I'd have to hear more than Porsche says so to understand and believe that 20" wheels are the best choice for the track on this car.

Ill take my chances on the lift. I can't imagine the overhang is any worse than a F40 on the low suspension pivot points and I drove it around fine and treated the mammoth front splitter as a wear item. I can see this is a close call though, but I also wonder why a street car would be designed with overhang such that routine dips in driveways and such present a problem. as you say, the RS should be the car optimized for the track at the expense of some utility on the street and it seems odd that on the street-friendly GT3 an "option" is a must have in order to prevent otherwise unavoidable and catastrophic front end damage.

Joe, Porsche is great, but they are not gods. They need to make compromises to sell cars. So I disagree with some of your praise on Porsche. But I am open to being educated , as I have only had a Cup Car in the past.

 

Keith,

Describing the wheels as poseur-driven is an understandable and acceptable downgrade from "stupid poseur crap", which was both unnecessary and untrue.

My main point was, lets have polite, intelligent, constructive discussion that benefits everyone from a standpoint of being useful and aimed at enjoying the cars safely.

You make some good points, and I understand them all.

I stand by my comment that if you don't like the wheels, don't buy the car, because I think you may have a dilemma as Porsche Ag is a lot more stringent in making sure that the car's handling is not compromised by any modifications. In fact, from what I am reading, someone such as yourself is better off buying a Cup Car and using that as a dedicated track car. Trying to turn the road-going GT3 into a racing car will not be a happy experience, IMO.

On the subject of the Front Axle Lift System, the notion that an extra 28kg caused by the addition of the system matters on a road car equipped with airbags, air-conditioning and Sat Nav is both misguided and highly ironic!

A word on the long-range fuel tank: my factory source tells me, yes, it does affect luggage space, although imperceptibly. The way I see it, there isn't much luggage space to begin with, and I didn't want what was there reduced. That said, I don't do long-range trips by car, and I don't do track days often, so I figured it was unnecessary for me. In actually using the car, I find that I am rarely at the pump, so fuel capacity works out well.

 

I didn't want it either but dealer talked me into it / insisted ( on his "nickel" )... said it worked with the suspension programing, was more than a timer/clock and worth it... is that the "sport plus button" or does the programing go deeper in suspension settings... car has been locked for 8 weeks now, about 5-6 weeks to go now

 

Fair enough - my offhand remark was more offensive than intended. I pose all the time, but know the difference between posing in town and driving on track. I do think 20" wheels are driven almost entirely by appearance, not performance. More weight is the big concern, but they also transmit more road harshness and even increase the risk of bending a wheel on bad pavement. There is just a knee-jerk belief that bigger is better on wheels and that is simply not true, so long as you can clear the brake components.

I am not "turning it into a race car" by getting dedicated track wheels. And the Cup car is not that good a choice for dedicated track car for me - I have a Radical SR8 that is substantially faster and cheaper on tire and brake costs (remains to be seen on engine refreshes, though).

It seems perfectly logical to me to consider Cup car wheels for the track, if they fit properly. In any event, I like to have dedicated track wheels because there are more frequent tire changes and the attendant risk of marring rims, and I love to drive in the rain and the hot brake dust with water tends to ruin the finish of a wheel. I always try to get a wheel that is as small as possible for this, not only because they are lighter, but because they open up tire choices. The spectrum of tires in 18" is greater than 20".

As for the lift, in case my pathological cheapness is not coming through, I just did not want to spend the $3K or whatever it is on a feature I have never had in any car but my Gallardo, when I generally avoid scrapes by avoiding dips or approaching them at low speed or angles. Even with the lift in my G, I STILL scraped on those occasions at night in unfamiliar territory where there was an unexpected big dip in the road. The lift system only works if you know the dip is coming and I assume it is like the G in that it must be used at low speed.

Bottom line for me is that an underside scrape is inevitable if you drive much at all, and I accept that. It also looked like the front plastic spoiler would take most of the heat and could be replaced if it bothered you enough.

No car is perfect and I don't expect to love everything about the GT3 and I inevitably like to make changes to every car I own. A different set of wheels seems pretty modest in this case.

 

My dealer told me it had absolutely no effect on performance. I'd like to know for sure, as I omitted it.

 

For once I have to say I haven't a clue, never asked, have never heard a definitive answer, but I got it and it looks good!

 

I just confirmed my order about 5 minutes ago and the Dealer could not give me a definitive answer on the Sport Chrono, so I went with it just in case. I figured better than finding out later. I also had the option of the Racing Seat, but in the end decided on the 18 way Seats as Joe stated as I plan on using the car as a DD.

 

Tony,

What color? CCBs?

Cheers,
Don

 

White with Steel Brakes, late Dec build and should be here by end of January, can't wait.