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997.1 GT3 & GT3 RS Suspension Lift?

jotaking

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Joined
1 Jun 2012
Messages
651
I know on the newer GT3 & RS variants you can option a front suspension lift to get you over speed bumps and the like.

Was this an option with the 997.1 range?

Are these cars problematic to drive on normal roads due to ride height?

Do they "bottom out" a lot?

Do you need to factor in a new splitter every 1k?
 
I don't believe lift was an option on 997.1. Experience definitely helps, when I first got mine it seemed that every trip involved a touch on the bottom of the splitter, speed humps and steep cambers on some roads when turning into driveways and some driveways themselves. Also when parking front on to a kerb, you sometime forget to keep back a little so as not to touch.

Over time you learn to be proactive and either avoid these or mitigate them with technique. Speed humps are far better negotiated by taking them diagonally as the wheel going over the hump earlier will raise the front earlier, so in a road you can end up driving down it as if you were in a slalom.

Also, the ride height is adjustable, at a recent GEO, mine was raised 10mm (still within OEM range) and that has made things better too.

In a nutshell when I first got mine I thought suburbia was going to be a very hostile place for the GT3, but now it's really not, unless you spend too long stuck in traffic, the old left leg can ache a bit then :grin:
 
MJA911 said:
I don't believe lift was an option on 997.1. Experience definitely helps, when I first got mine it seemed that every trip involved a touch on the bottom of the splitter, speed humps and steep cambers on some roads when turning into driveways and some driveways themselves. Also when parking front on to a kerb, you sometime forget to keep back a little so as not to touch.

Over time you learn to be proactive and either avoid these or mitigate them with technique. Speed humps are far better negotiated by taking them diagonally as the wheel going over the hump earlier will raise the front earlier, so in a road you can end up driving down it as if you were in a slalom.

Also, the ride height is adjustable, at a recent GEO, mine was raised 10mm (still within OEM range) and that has made things better too.

In a nutshell when I first got mine I thought suburbia was going to be a very hostile place for the GT3, but now it's really not, unless you spend too long stuck in traffic, the old left leg can ache a bit then :grin:

Good info...thanks for that.

When you say adjusted....is this tools out, big spanner time? (Keep it clean)i.e something that can be done at home or is it a trip to an expert like CoG?

Also...is 10mm the full range of adjustment (is this 10mm from the top of the tyre to the underside of the wheel arch?
 
The front axle lift was introduced as an option on the 997.2 GT3. To be honest - you are usually better to have a car without as there have been many cases of it failing, and when that happens it is absurdly expensive to rectify if you are not in warranty.

If not in warranty there are aftermarket versions that can be retrofitted to the gen 1 as well as the gen 2 (IIRC KW and possibly also Bilstein have offerings). However - I'd say only go down that route if where you park your car makes it mandatory. At stock ride height the 997 GT3 is just about viable for general day to day use (you will occasionally here the splitter ground on ramp angles and the front brake ducts ground on speed humps, but as long as the former isn't painted that is a non-issue as they are a fairly soft plastic and priced at a level which for Porsche is pretty reasonable). You won't want it dropped to hard core track levels though (mine has a hybrid geo with stock ride height and track cambers/toes/etc and it is a decent compromise. Centre Gravity set it up - just tell them what you need and watch them work their magic).
 
Thanks Gents.

Does the ride height differ from 997.1 GT3 to GT3RS?
 
The doc that was in the rennlist thread suggests they are the same.
 
Both my gen 1 and gen2 have GT kits and are lowered to GT hight or a fraction lower and to be honest most of the time the contact is only the small plastic trim pieces infront of the front wheels and they are only about £20 each to replace when they get really badly worn. Sometimes the front plastic lip scrapes but again these are only £180/200 to replace when so badly worn you cant stand to look at them anymore
. to keep them looking nice and to help cover the odd scuff mark I use Gtechniq C4 Permanant trim restorer

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/1421106558...1006722&device=c&campaignid=1340839195&crdt=0

its also the best thing to use on the scuttle panel.
 
I opted to fit a Techart lift system to 997.1 C4S after it was out of the 2 year warranty. I have to negoiate a ferry before going on a trip so wanted extra front end lift. Was not cheap as had to replace all 4 corners. There are cheaper air lift systems available. Do use mine quite a bit as not keen on digging the front lip in, as always sounds as your about to pull the front end out of the car.
 
When I first got my car I was paranoid about scraping the splitter everywhere - driveway ramps, speed humps, kerb edges, etc. But not long after (say a few thousand miles), i had got used to the grunching scraping noises. As other posters have mentioned, you also develop a technique for driving lower cars to avoid certain situations or deal with tough situations more effectively. I replaced the first splitter after the first year or so, and have changed it once more since then (in 7 years of ownership). I have a pristine new splitter which I bought a couple of years back and which I've never unwrapped. I'll put that on when the present one gets too scruffy, but I'll probably have a go sanding down the one on the car to max it's life at some point
 

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