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Should I track it?

If the Op has a desire to track which seems to be the case, then he should use his GT3. Or at least drive the car and enjoy it. If you never intend to sell it what are you worried about? If you car gets stone chips then you can have it repaired or repainted when the time comes. Or why not get it covered with protective film?

If you have no intention of ever selling then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
 
Get the front of the GT3 wrapped and track it but beware it ain't cheap. I had trouble affording the running costs of my GT3 so decided to stop the track days which led to me selling the car in the end .
 
NXI20 said:
If you can afford the running costs of tracking a GT3, track it. It's what they were built to do & there's nothing as satisfying to drive on the limit on a trackday as a GT3 imho. They're just too fast & capable for the road so the track is where you can really exploit them.

There's absolutely no point in owning a GT3 & not driving it. If you're worried about stonechips you should probably re-examine the reasons why you bought it.

My 996 GT3 has done over 175 trackdays in the 7.5 years I've had it (bought as a 20K mile minter & now on 127K miles) and although it may have a few battle scars, there's nothing that compromises the enjoyment of the car for me.

Great post and sums up exactly what it's all about :worship:
The GT3 is such a capable and rewarding steer; it is such a shame that the majority don't follow NX120 inspirational lead.
 
isysman said:
Tracking cars is only a recent thing. When the 996 GT3 came out there was no such thing as track days.

:eh!: :?

I did track days in my Triumph Dolomite in 1982.
 
I think your missing a trick, track both and do twice as many track days as your were thinking about per year.

I've had a number of 'M' cars over the years. E92 is a very good car, although a touch heavy on the track, an E46 works better.

I've only had my GT3 a couple of months and have my first track day booked in it next Wednesday. Yes worth good money but that's where they were designed to be used. I'm going to take out some trackday Insurance.
 
Thank you for the replies so far lads. Just had a read over so a few points to think about when I'm in my bunk tonight.

Few quick points / questions:

Can I actually get comprehensive Insurance for track days including tourist days at Ring?
It is my intentions to do as many as possible days in the year - which may not be a lot sometimes.
I absolutely have no intentions of selling the car - she's a keeper.
Has anyone compared to a set up M3?


Keep the thoughts coming. Excellent comments / ideas so far and reminds me why this is the only forum I frequent nowadays.
 
Its what its for, do it. Get it out of your system. Just be aware and realistic about the costs. It will develop a slight patina, no getting away from it, all fixable though when you want to do it.

Ive reduced the euro trips in mine for a while, rising values means an additional £500 per day to insure it and a larger excess.

For a change of tack i am "developing " a ring toy in the shape of an e46 M3. I have set a limit of £15k (which is almost busted and still a bit more to do, it needs to be 18 really or over 20 with a supercharger :floor: ) does it give the out and out andenaline pump thrill of the Porsche? Not quite but not bad really. In fact in many ways its more fun trying to get it to go as quick. But then i am in the lucky position of having many many great ring drives in GT3's in my memory banks and if those weren't there there is no way i could leave the Porsche at home. Im surprised in your experience with the E90 though, yes they are a bit weighty but modded and lightened they are very very capable.

I would also add, and this is after a discussion with Nick W last week about what the fun part is. You do this for fun, theres no money or medals to win. After a while pounding about on your own it can get a bit well, samey, you need to have a play out there and thats only good when the machinery is relatively equal and you have some trust in those about you, those are the best and most enjoyable track days in my experience.
 
T8 said:
isysman said:
Tracking cars is only a recent thing. When the 996 GT3 came out there was no such thing as track days.

:eh!: :?

I did track days in my Triumph Dolomite in 1982.

What's your point? All the race tracks that do this now never used to offer it then like they do now. Maybe there was some exceptions but generally it's a recent thing.
 
The 92 is supposed to be fairly well set up with the suspension and geometry that I have. I just felt on the Ring trip I had in July that it wasn't quite feeling as good as I hoped it would. It feels heavy. It's rolls a lot through corners both in body and twisting. The steering isn't as precise as the GT3. I drove my friends CSL and that felt like the car should - light, precise, nimble, fun.
 
.[/quote]

What's your point? All the race tracks that do this now never used to offer it then like they do now. Maybe there was some exceptions but generally it's a recent thing.[/quote]

track days have been around for a long time but the more recent thing is the availability of the venues and the lower cost.

in the old days it was only the premium circuits and it was high costs. none of this 'kill the front of your car' airfield crap.

I first went on the nurburgring for tourist laps in 1998!! Deutsch marks back then. it was all bikes and german played 964 RS and 993 RS back then. GT3 mk1 appeared in 1999 and they were soon at the ring.

e92 M3 is not a good car from the start to take on track. its far to heavy to start with and you have prob spent 1000s on it to even get it someway useful on track. too heavy on consumables. CSLs and GT3s are expensive to run on track. go for sth smaller for track work or get a purpose built car and trailer it there.

a clio cup car or even a BMW kumho car would be far better as have the stiff shell, seam welded, full cage and other bits you need.

E92 BMWs are for cruising across Europe in. no more.
 
isysman said:
T8 said:
isysman said:
Tracking cars is only a recent thing. When the 996 GT3 came out there was no such thing as track days.

:eh!: :?

I did track days in my Triumph Dolomite in 1982.

What's your point? All the race tracks that do this now never used to offer it then like they do now. Maybe there was some exceptions but generally it's a recent thing.

You're wrong. Both RMA & Goldtrack have run trackdays continuously for over 20 years, BookaTrack is 15 years old and there were others back then that are no more. I did my first trackday at Silverstone in 1978 & yes, way back then they were a very rare event.

Circuits offering their own trackdays are a relatively new thing that's happened over the last few years; they saw how much demand there was via the bookings they took from regular trackday organisers & wanted a slice of that pie, frequently undercutting the very organisers who had painstakingly built the market up over many years.
 
I am not sure that you can compare a CSL to any great big barge like an e92. I have never driven a e92 although would not mind giving one a go. I have driven something probably not a long way away from it though, the e39 M5. Also a V8 and at +1750kg a lovely motor but ..... (not on track). In fact I even had a loan car e46 328i recently and I thought there was something wrong with it after driving my CSL (1350kg).

I would definitely track the GT3 and all the more reason if it is a keeper. All that rubbish about "never tracked". It is a joke. Unless you have had it since new most track orientated cars have been on track. You still see it on CSL adverts, if you can find one.

I track my car two or three times a year and only ever on the Nordschleife and it does not have to be that expensive. Tyres, brakes, servicing and the ferry/hotel/petrol and then only if you have a crash or wish to modify your car will it become expensive.

What weight have you lost on the e92? I am sure someone can recommend some coilovers to stop so much body roll. The Nordschleife Schrick e92 always seem to pile around the track alright although these are clearly heavily modified.

Track the GT3 and see if the worry of stone chips et cetera outweighs the enjoyment.

Pip :thumb:
 
NXI20 said:
isysman said:
T8 said:
isysman said:
Tracking cars is only a recent thing. When the 996 GT3 came out there was no such thing as track days.

:eh!: :?

I did track days in my Triumph Dolomite in 1982.

What's your point? All the race tracks that do this now never used to offer it then like they do now. Maybe there was some exceptions but generally it's a recent thing.

You're wrong. Both RMA & Goldtrack have run trackdays continuously for over 20 years, BookaTrack is 15 years old and there were others back then that are no more. I did my first trackday at Silverstone in 1978 & yes, way back then they were a very rare event.

Circuits offering their own trackdays are a relatively new thing that's happened over the last few years; they saw how much demand there was via the bookings they took from regular trackday organisers & wanted a slice of that pie, frequently undercutting the very organisers who had painstakingly built the market up over many years.

I'm not wrong. The way track days are sold now is quite new. OK so there were companies offering and high priced 'high profile' venues but you know it's not the same as what is available now. Regardless of which examples people come up with, it's not like it was back then, track days were not available like now.

My point being the amount of people that do track days has changed to the way it was back then. And the reason for bringing it up is that you don't have to go to a track to own a Porsche or any fast car, which is what some people say.

The OP seems to want to track cars, so it makes sense to have the car that is track focused to use it there. But if he's worried about damage he should at least drive it on the road.
 
This E92 isn't too modified & still makes a good fist of it with a 7:36 BTG :wink:

 
isysman said:
NXI20 said:
isysman said:
T8 said:
isysman said:
Tracking cars is only a recent thing. When the 996 GT3 came out there was no such thing as track days.

:eh!: :?

I did track days in my Triumph Dolomite in 1982.

What's your point? All the race tracks that do this now never used to offer it then like they do now. Maybe there was some exceptions but generally it's a recent thing.

You're wrong. Both RMA & Goldtrack have run trackdays continuously for over 20 years, BookaTrack is 15 years old and there were others back then that are no more. I did my first trackday at Silverstone in 1978 & yes, way back then they were a very rare event.

Circuits offering their own trackdays are a relatively new thing that's happened over the last few years; they saw how much demand there was via the bookings they took from regular trackday organisers & wanted a slice of that pie, frequently undercutting the very organisers who had painstakingly built the market up over many years.

I'm not wrong. The way track days are sold now is quite new. OK so there were companies offering and high priced 'high profile' venues but you know it's not the same as what is available now. Regardless of which examples people come up with, it's not like it was back then, track days were not available like now.

My point being the amount of people that do track days has changed to the way it was back then. And the reason for bringing it up is that you don't have to go to a track to own a Porsche or any fast car, which is what some people say.

The OP seems to want to track cars, so it makes sense to have the car that is track focused to use it there. But if he's worried about damage he should at least drive it on the road.

I point you to your original statement:

"Tracking cars is only a recent thing. When the 996 GT3 came out there was no such thing as track days."

This is incorrect & I have given you examples of trackday companies that pre-date the launch of the GT3.

By just focusing on circuit-run trackdays, you are discounting the work that all the TDOs who have been around & very actively promoting trackdays for many years have put in. I've already explained how the circuits only recently became involved in organising their own days, but it didn't come from nowhere. I can't understand why you think the trackday scene has fundamentally changed because some circuit owners have started to run their own days. That doesn't mean they previously didn't exist or were some rarified activity that required membership of a secret club to indulge in. Trackdays were available 20 years+ ago, you just had to be motivated to find them. Circuit-organised trackdays are still only a tiny proportion of the total number of trackdays run in this country.

I have seen nobody claim that you have to go to a track to own a fast car - care to point to where anyone has said that?
 

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