Previous 997 GT3 or Cayman GT4 owners?

[PeterSweden]

I have driven

993 rs

996 gt3 mk1

996 gt3 mk2 incl RS

997 gt3 mk1 incl RS

997 gt3 mk2 incl RS

AND

996 gt2

997 gt2

Of all these cars my favourite (on a ractrack (Nurburgring)) is 997 gt3 rs mk2 .

And as we all know that Porsche quality is a hoax and bullshit, the owner of that RS had to replace both enginge and gear box within a couple of thousand miles. And then should we not even talk about what happenend to the 991 engines....

[The Pits]

They're nice when they're working though! 

Toyota V6 is fantastically reliable in my experience, I haven't heard of any failures. This is exactly what Lotus needed. As much as I would have loved an 8500rpm na screamer would not have helped Lotus if it wasn't durable. Just ask TVR. Lovely, bespoke, high-revving, race designed straight six with issues undid much of the success they achieved with that trusty old Buick V8.

[DK7]

997 gt3 3.6, 

3.6 RS,

mk2 3.8 are reliable. 

mk2 3.8 RS, 4.0 RS more issues known 

[Tim Raven]

As a Lotus and a Porsche enthusiast driver and owner , I'd be far more worried about what Alpine are likely to do to future Lotus sales than worrying about Porsche and constantly condemning them !

Interstingly my track day pal with the Exige V6 Automatic is now slower than the GT4 in a straight line, and it's all to do with the ambient weather conditions , now it's hot the straight line performance has flipped in my favor !

[Cypriot]

I can't comment on the lotus vs porsche debate, but regarding the GT3 vs GT4 debate, I personally found the GT3 (991) easier to drive, and safer.  I found that the GT3 was more forgiving at the limit of traction, and that you could catch oversteer when it came.  With the GT4, I found it to be very snappy at the limit, and once the rear went, I found it much more difficult to catch.  Of course this could just be my terrible driving!!

[The Pits]

Well that's something you don't read every day!

[SFO]

3 hours ago, Cypriot said:

I can't comment on the lotus vs porsche debate, but regarding the GT3 vs GT4 debate, I personally found the GT3 (991) easier to drive, and safer.  I found that the GT3 was more forgiving at the limit of traction, and that you could catch oversteer when it came.  With the GT4, I found it to be very snappy at the limit, and once the rear went, I found it much more difficult to catch.  Of course this could just be my terrible driving!!

Mid engined cars always more snappy beyond the limit due to where the weight is 

[The Pits]

Well imagine what happens when that weight is behind the rear axle! It ain't going to improve the handling! 

Is the 911 really easier to drive fast or does it just have higher limits?

Surely not even @Tim Raven would agree that the Cayman is more challenging to drive hard than a 911?

[DanR]

Porsche GT3 tries but can't humiliate MX5 at Nurburgring.

https://www.topmiata.com/160927-what-a-good-driver-can-do-mx-5-killing-a-porsche-gt3-rs/

 

[MartynB]

Only half the story, Jonny. With the engine way out the back, you end up with a car that is more unstable as it decelerates while turning, but it does have a larger moment of inertia than a mid engined car. This tends to make it slightly more catchable, so long as the driver is paying attention.

[Jokke Vlo]

997 GT3RS MKI, what a car ! Still in love. 

[Wilbert Camshaft]

I owned and raced a 997 GT3 MK2 (Porsche Sports Cup 2012 and 2013) and owned and tracked a GT4 for a few month in 2016.  After a visit and testdrive with a Lotus Exige at KomoTec in Mendig (Germany) I impulsivly decided to get myself an Exige Sport 350 and subsequently sold the GT4 - in retrospect one of the best decisions I ever made!

Although various rattles and creaks of my Lotus initially almost reduced me to dispair I love and enjoy my Lotus like I never enjoyed any other car before.

To drive a Lotus Exige 350 Sport is an unrivaled exiting experience and aside from build quality issues (rattles and creaks from the roof, the dashboard, and the sidemirrors etc.) the best thing that could happen to me carwise ever....

Actually there's nothing offered by Porsche or any other manufacturer of sports cars that could compete with what my Lotus provides every meter I drive it, to cut a long story short: I simply love that car...

Following you find Videos from Trackdays with my Lotus in Zandvoort an Spa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL4n0dLU3ZE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWEp05CerYA

Technical data:

Lotus Exige Sport 350

Kobra 4 Brakes, KomoTec Öhlins 46 Chassis, PFC08 Brake pads, Pirelli Trofeo R - everything else stock

Peter

[The Pits]

No Cayman ever looked that good either!  Very nice.

[NANO]

@Peter:   

What program ... what you use for lap time / speed etc. what do we see in the video ?

[Wilbert Camshaft]

AIM Smartycam HD, a HD camera with data-overlay, acceleration-sensor and CAN bus, and SoloDL, a GPS dash logger with ECU interface

http://www.me-mo-tec.com/en/Products/AIM/SmartyCam

[MartynB]

Wilbert, is that the Öhlins Road or Track variant? I see Komotec offer two setups. Enjoyable onboard, thanks

[LF1]

4 hours ago, Wilbert Camshaft said:

AIM Smartycam HD, a HD camera with data-overlay, acceleration-sensor and CAN bus, and SoloDL, a GPS dash logger with ECU interface

http://www.me-mo-tec.com/en/Products/AIM/SmartyCam

Although I used a VBox HD2 for serious lap data and prodictive timing I've recently bought a Garmin VIRB 360 to play around with VR. It's full 360 4k real time rendering, it uses the built in GPS for all sorts of lap timing information and overlays plus it supports BT and ANT sensors for anything including ODB. Worth considering for a fraction of the price of the AIM stuff - all that's missing is a real time predictive display, which will cause you issues if you are caught with it on a track day anyway. Just food for thought.

[NANO]

OK ... Vielen Dank Peter !