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Choice of track car

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Our familiy owns a 997 C2s. I say our family as its getting to the point where my wife drives the car harder than I do and doesn't think the sports mode should ever be turned off ! In fact, driving back through the windy roads the other day she suggested it was time to get a track car as we just would never be able to get the full 997 fun on public roads. Good, great, fantastic.

So, what to get? I can't afford to track the 997 as if we bin it, that's just going to hurt too much. I think we want a rear engined Porsche but on the other hand have always been charmed by the 968 CS. Do members have any suggestions on the best combination of a) initial capital outlay b) availability of parts/repairs c) tyre costs and d) easy cost efficient upgrades?

I'm thinking 993 C2 (purist) or 996 C2 (closest to 997) or 964 (cost) or 968 (soft spot).

What's the winning combination here? I don't want to be too precious with whatever we buy but I also don't want to throw my money away.
 
Sorry but I dont agree that you cant afford to use your 997C2S on track. Provided you do not drive like a lunatic and have sensible insurance you are unlikely to "bin it". My car will do 6 track days this year and I challenge anyone to say its been trashed or thrashed. In my view my car looks a darn sight better than many "road only" cars I see. Of course you are going to use consumable items on the track such as brakes or tyres but if you drive near but not over the limit the cost is not that great and will be almost the same with a cheaper car.

PCGB track days are well run and you can drive as fast or as slow as you like. In my view PCGB days are as safe as the road these days provided you are sensible so once again again you are unlikley to bin it.

Try the 997 on a track at a PCGB day and you will love it
 
I can understand not wanting to do regular track days in your main car. Although, occasionally, it makes sense so that you and your wife can fully extend the car and learn more about its abilities and limits in a safe environment.

However, it's also nice to have a cheap, fun, road legal track day car, and there are plenty of options besides Porsches. Start with something cheap and easy to run such as an Elise or, my favourite, the brilliant little Caterham - nothing is more fun on a circuit (unless the heavens open[&:]). Try www.blatchat.com
 
A 968 would make a superb track day car but dare I suggest a better option - a 944S2 or a 944 Turbo. A hell of alot cheaper and are 95% the same car - in fact the later turbos had bigger front brakes, strengthened gearboxes with LSD, strengthened gearbox with oil coolers and the M030 suspension option is far more common. You can pick up a tip top S2 for about £3500 - £4k and a decent turbo from anywhere from £6k upwards. Compared to the cost of a 968 you can buy a decent 944 and spend the change on a set of track tyres, some track orientated mods and have plenty left over to fund quite a few track days. I've had mine on the track a couple of times now and it is superb - a great track car and if you do have an off-track excursion you're not going to be considering suicide.
 
I agree with Bob, but Scott's argument does make a lot of sense. The cost of binning it need not be that severe, the excess on my insurance for track day losses is only £1300 (A. Manning) not the often common 10% of value.
 
Thanks, this is all useful feedback. Maybe it's just a psychological issue on the 997. Until we get some track time under our belt I just don't think we'll have the confidence to take the 997 out and drive it hard and so I do like Scott's 994 Turbo suggestion as an alternative. The nagging problem with that is that I won't get to experience the rear engined car effect which seems to be a big part of the whole 911 deal. If the 994T or 968 is the way to go for say £10k to 15k all in for front engine, what is the best 911 alternative? Are 964's or 993's easiest to repair / maintain / tyre?
 
ORIGINAL: bobfair
PCGB track days are well run and you can drive as fast or as slow as you like. In my view PCGB days are as safe as the road these days provided you are sensible so once again again you are unlikley to bin it.

Try the 997 on a track at a PCGB day and you will love it
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Go for it.

And ... get the experience in your "proper" car.
 
I disagree, you should do your track days in your own car and invest in a decent insurance policy, this will make your everyday driving more involved.
Invest in a seperate set of wheels and tyres and any other basics like a strut brace that fellow 997 owners recommend
 
If it helps you at all , I have been running a 964RS as a track car for last 4 years , plus a 996C2 and now a 997C2S as everyday road car.
The RS cost 27500 in Aug 2001 and is probably worth the same now . The only driver aid is ABS , no power assist or computer control , very stiff suspension and so direct feedback. All the 911 handling quirks can be exploited , and you can run race pads and road legal sticky tyres.
I would not have tracked the 996 on a regular basis , too much compromise of a comfy road car..I did track it a few times however and it was very composed. The 997C2S is a different animal altogether - have not tracked mine yet but it would probably perform well . Have been passengered round Bedford in a well driven example , not much slower than my 964RS thanks to the extra grunt and closer gear ratios.
If I was limited to one car for road and track it would be the 997C2S with 2 sets wheels /tyres ....but having 2 sporting 911s is best of both worlds[:D]
 
The problem with running your road car on the track is that tracks are so smooth and grippy even the hardest road car suspension seems too soft and the car will wallow and roll more than you'll ever notice on the road. I'm not sure how stiff PASM is in sports mode but i'd guess it's still too soft to get maximum fun on a track. This is what I noticed with my car and I find myself now contemplating installing mods to make the car more track orientated, although I don't want an out and out track car. Track day's are competitive and to say things like "as long as you don't push it too hard" is easier said than done. I ended up pushing harder than I intended to - especially if you get some tuition and discover a few techniques that make everyting feel much smoother and less on the edge.

Also if you are not around the average speed of everyone else on the track you spend all your time pulling over and giving way to faster traffic coming up behind you. This really ruins your track day experiance becasue you feel you are looking in your rear view mirror all the time rather than looking ahead and concentrating on improving your own driving skills. Therefore you will feel pressure to push it a bit faster.
 
By the way, when I say track days are competitive I meant within yourself and not against other cars. You naturally want the next lap to be better and faster than the previous therefore you're always raising the bar. Afterall the main reason for doing them is to improve your driving.
 
Yep ! That will do it every time! I may have to bid. Now, both 968 and 911 track cars hmmmmm.... I better get a bigger garage.

I also think Scott has a good point on his last posting. We do tend to compete with ourselves.
 
Saw this at Oulton Park last week. Lovely car. Shifts a bit too with the supercharger conversion.

I believe it is owned by Marc at 9M. Think they are looking for 21-22 for it.

Ian.
 
I drove the Nurburgring in my 997S and did nothing to it other than switch the PASM to sports mode. I thought it was fantastic! I agree it's not good on poor surfaces though. Whilst the Nurburging asphalt is smooth, the actual road is quite bumpy in sections (if that makes sense) so a couple of times I felt myself backing off a little, although that could be down to my inexperience.

I genuinely felt that I made a step change in understanding the dynamics of the car better and loved keeping the car balanced and steering on the throttle.

I'd personally say that if you have the right insurance cover, a 997S is the best of both worlds!
 
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