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Warning- long post, so if you are born after the year 2000 and have the attention span of a goat, just skip to the pics
I haven’t been around in the FD community much for the last 7 years, and truthfully, my passion for cars had taken a backseat to work and family until recently. My 93 brilliant black R1 (that I got from Ramy/FDNewbie 10 years ago) that I had spent so much money and effort to keep running sat in the garage, with what seemed like an endless loop of repairs and work. The amount of poorly engineered car parts on the FD that I had replace over the ten years of ownership could be described as nothing less than irrational love for a dream car that had struck a nerve within me as a teenager growing up in the 90’s.
I am now in my early 30’s, and I am fortunate to be able to pick up my next dream car, the 991 GT3. Driving the GT3 has rekindled my love for the FD and cars again, motivating me to send my car (and another paycheck) over to Lucky7 (thanks Fris!) to get the car back on the road after being sidelined by a charge relief solenoid valve. Oddly enough, getting my jumpy tach repaired, only to have it break again after a few months had me finally throw in the towel in 2009 in a tough fight to keep this beautiful machine on the road after a storied life of 129k miles.
For those of you that haven’t had a chance to drive the GT3, I will say that it’s amazing how much cars have progressed over the past 23+ years. There is so much technology packed into the car- dual clutch transmission PDK, launch control, rear wheel steering, stability/traction control, adjustable dampers, dynamic engine mounts, blue tooth…and the list goes on. The suspension is stiff, without being punishing, and the ride is smooth but exciting when you want it to be. The 9K redline 475HP flat 6 engine is nothing short of otherworldly, delivering such a linear, emotional crescendo of power. The transmission shifts gears so perfectly and quickly that it snaps into the next gear. The interior quality is amazing too! No thin plastic rattling that the FD suffers so greatly from. All in all, the GT3 is truly a master-crafted tribute to engineering. The classic, curvy looks of the Porsche was an easy transition from the FD. Ferrari’s and Lambo’s are great cars too, but I find the curves of the 911 and FD so well-proportioned and much more alluring.
I truly do love the GT3, and it is everything that I hoped it might be, but it also really makes me appreciate what the FD stood for so many years ago. Despite all of the technology that the GT3 has, the FD feels so connected to the road through the viscerally linked steering and has an incredibly nimble and light chassis. The car just feels so well balanced, which is truly remarkable, considering it had no driver’s aids outside of power steering. The GT3 rear wheel steering at times, feels unnatural to me, even if it helps with high speed turn in stability. I suppose I’m just used to driving cars without all of the technology, so I’ll always have a soft spot for the great Japanese sports cars from the 90’s. All in all, it's amazing how HARD it is to drive the FD smoothly, and how effortless modern engineering has made it to drive a fast car like the GT3. It really makes me appreciate good footwork when driving the FD.
On the other hand, the GT3 engine is so fantastic, it makes me feel like the stock sequential turbos on the FD leave a lot to be desired. Like others have written, the motor sounds amazing at 9K and the power delivery is so smooth. There is so much non linearity in the stock FD engine setup- from the 3k hesitation to the 4k sequential handoff- that it makes me understand why so many people opt for a single turbo setup on the FD.
The transmission on the GT3 is also worth mention, and I understand why the 991 didn’t come optioned with a manual. The car is so quick, and shifts come so soon that you would spend too much time shifting with a manual. Driving the PDK still sometimes makes my left foot lonely without a clutch pedal to operate, but I quickly get over it as soon as I hear the satisfying snap of the lightning quick shift in the GT3.
I had fought hard against the urge to go single turbo on the FD, due to my desire to keep everything on the car mostly original (but with the aftermarket “reliability mods”)...down to the out of date 93 radio unit, but I’ll have to give the turbos some more thought.
Anyways, I wanted to share both of my dream cars to those that might appreciate it. Both cars are incredible machines from different eras, are unique, and both still feel very special.
Can't wait to see the list of repairs when the p car has 120k miles. Actually I don't think many p cars are driven 120k miles. However maybe you can revisit this when you're 50 and the car has 40k miles on it. I have a 996 GT3 with 22k miles and I'd estimate the previous owner had spent 30k on repairs and mods etc..... I hate to think what the over engineered 991 GT3 is going to cost to mod and maintain
I had an advanced student in a 991 GT3 last year and the sound of the engine is beyond good. IT'S ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!
I think the two best sports cars made are the FD and the 996 GT3. Both are fairly light, a serious challenge to drive FAST BUT easy to drive semi fast so there is a tremendous amount of driving enjoyment and knowledge to be gained if you persevere. Both cars when modded will still give a 991 trouble on track and that's absolutely crazy that a 93 FD with a little special sauce can still keep up with the best of today's modern sports cars. They both also have no nannies and are connected to the road at all times so you can feel every sensation and each counter move is made by you and felt by you which is what driving to me is all about.
That said there is no doubt that snapping off shifts with PDK both up and down is frikken AWESOME and the older and slower I get the more these nannies start to look appetizing LOL. You never know I may try the 991 at some point.
You sir have two wonderful sports cars that span the engineering spectrum for sure. ENJOY!!!!!
And i thought i was the only one who wants a 991 GT3 with my FD. I'm about to be 30, just purchased a house and maybe one day soon to have a 991 in the garage, until then i'll be sticking the rx8 next to the rx7, too bad it isn't as eye popping as a 991 though. Congrats on the 991, love the blue color and love the yellow one as well ed! Not going to lie, a little envious
One small detail-
Its not correct to say the FD doesn't have driver's aids to help inexperienced drivers have the car do what they mean it to do instead of what they commanded it to do.
The Yamaguchi FD book has 10 pages of text and diagrams on the FD toe control suspension and how it works to make the car easier to drive.
You can disable the system without compromising the FD's primary suspension geometry by replacing the front and rear upper arm bushings with Poly single axis bushings. Yay!
But this is what Mazda meant when they said they designed the RX-8 with a more pure suspension.
The RX-8 has just straightforward suspension and the electronic nanny of DSC to help inexperienced drivers.
The beauty of this was they designed in a way to put the DSC into "malfunction mode" by simply holding the DSC button too long and disable it and throw up the malfunction light/code.
Takes Mazda out of the liability chain while allowing a chassis without driver's aids.
For the FD sequential power band-
If you haven't already tried it, I highly recommend putting a Hallman Pro RX boost controller on both the turbo wastegate actuator and the turbo pre-control actuator.
It will take a bit of driving and dialing in the boost, but once you do the transition can be set to be very nearly seamless and consistent and it stays that way. You no longer have that Vtec feel when the 2ndary turbo comes on.
I raced my FD in stock class and hated the bad transition, so I put the boost controllers back on that the previous owner had put on and raced a class up.
Really cool post and comments. You are right, the 996 or maybe a Cayman S is the closest thing to a rx7 these days.
Curious... Why the 996 love and not the 997?
In general, I do like P cars, and we bought an A5 last year, but the company culture is one of disrespect for customers. The way P treated owners with the IMS issue, the crazy quality issues with the new 911 model, and did I mention diesels? I'm kinda done with them.
Having said that, when I head to a cars and coffee, nobody looks at the P cars. The FD gets a lot more love!
go price a 997 GT3 RS and get back to me! The prices on them are INSANE at the moment because they were the last GT3s with manual trans. I used to see them all the time at PCA track events and now they're ghosts all kept in garages as investments.
All of the GT3 buyers who want to drive/track their cars are either in 996 GT3s as they're the best buy per dollar, or 991s as they don't have as noticeably inflated prices (compared to MSRP) as 997s.
Edit: to the OP, awesome collection and thanks for posting the driving differences between the 2. I've had to hold myself back from buying a 996 GT3 recently, but all of the Porsche GT cars are amazing.
I get to drive my buddies '10 GT3 RS all the time and it sounds sooooo good. In stock form it handles insanely well and I can get into the groove on back roads really quickly. I can easily leave most sportbikes behind..... maybe they can't ride that well?
My LSx powered FD is awesome on faster tracks; however on tight tracks the Porsche would be better. 300ft/lbs+ torque at 2000rpm that the LSx offers is hard to touch with just about any other engine. The torque curve is eye opening. I think the lightweight of the FD and massive tires you can put under it really make for a great platform. I sold the LS7 and it is getting a built 441ci setup. 8000rpm redline, 800hp/650 ft/lbs tq @ flywheel all motor. Shedding 150lbs from the car with some lightweight parts and adding more aero to help put it down. The old engine ran low 10's on road race suspension... this new setup adds about 200hp/75 ft/lbs tq (flywheel). 315f/335r I would say the GT3 RS I drove has a great balance of power and handling. Very easy to drive.
My buddy Ali has the same GT3 in that color. He is in the South Bay and I'm sure you guys will cross paths someday if you haven't already.
Love the addition but I decided to go a slightly different route as I need a manual and don't really like the 991 platform all that much. 997TT for the street and Viper TA for the track.
I've had a bunch of Porsche's over the years but none newer than the 997 model and, unfortunately, no GT3's. I sold my 996 GT2 last year which was damn fun but my Viper lays waste to everything. Truly that is the most underrated car in existence.
Wow, the new GT3 is ugly as sin. The wheels and bumpers are unforgivable.
Red seatbelts?
The 997 looked way better. I think you made the right call.
I bet it screams, tho.
I like the seats better than the 997 carbon buckets but lets be honest those are pretty bad as well and uncomfortable as hell with a helmet and hans on
The front and rear bumpers are pretty much the same as the 997. The biggest gripe I have with all modern cars is they are just too damn BIG and TALL at the shoulder or the tops of the doors and bumper heights suck and then they add those huge wheel wells and massive wheels to keep them from looking like mini vans. It's like all the hot wheel cars we had as kids grew up and became the cars we drive.
Bottomline: Just not a huge fan of any modern car at this time.
If you could just slightly shrink the 997 it would be brilliant.
The 991 looks like the more aggressive car which is cool but at some point the hips, the door heights, the wheels etc.. just become too much or too big.
That sleek streamlined look of the 991 is also a plus.
Like all 911s I'm sure both will stand the test of time but I just have a problem with these big sports car with BIG cough cough HOT WHEELS!!!!
I really like the Porsche exterior design pretty much across the board and the 997 exterior is no exception to me.
The Porsche interiors are horrible and have always been. I understand they are trying not to stray too far from the original on the interior (as on the exterior), but the difference is they had the interior wrong from the start.
The 991 GT3 is an absolute joy to drive. I am fortunate enough to be able to track a variety of cars almost every weekend, the GT3 is always at or extremely close to the top of my list to drive. I also have to maintain those cars and I will say that when excessively driven, the 991 GT3 engine have a tough time keeping up. In the last year, and with 5 different cars, 3 of those needed new engines due to internal failures leading to heavy oil burning. Porsche was great about replacing them under warranty as the cars all only had between 6-10,000 miles. The oil consumption isn't anything new though as i have owned an FD for close to 14 years. Another car had an ignition coil melt. Long term, I agree they will be extremely costly to maintain after the warranty period is up.
Next on the list, the 991 GT3 RS! Gives the GT3 that little bit of extra power that car needs for the straights. https://postimg.org/image/hz0889q7b
I am also doing my part to ensure...the young-ins growing up find a passion for cars by getting up close in personal with some of the most exclusive cars being made today. https://postimg.org/image/92pg4bzl3
Last edited by GoodfellaFD3S; 07-20-16 at 04:02 PM.
It's amazing how many differing opinions of "which generation 911 is best looking or the purest" there are.
From my perspective, the 991 generation is the best looking in regards to overall shape, wide hips, nice streamlined tail lights and I think the front bumper looks nice too. I do agree with others on the overall size of the car, I would prefer it to be slightly smaller. I suspect it partly has to do with crash ratings and safety which is hard to get around with modern cars (for good reason).
As for the interior, I think it has great fit and finish and have no complaints.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions though, which is the beauty of cars and differing tastes, otherwise we'd all drive the same car and that'd be lame.
Porsche while making the 991 larger than the predecessors has still managed to make it lighter...that took a lot of effort and should appeal to the FD crowd that they clearly had that as a priority.
They seem to be the only manufacturer still making that a priority while others just use more power to cover up the weight gain with their sports cars.
TpCpLaYa, edited your post so that the picture links are viable, homeboy
Thank you kind sir. Not sure why I struggled so hard to get those to show properly.
Just picked up our latest GT3 (the white one), which has a Fi Exhaust installed. Can't wait to drive this baby and hear it scream...the 991 GT3 exhaust note at 9K rpms is pure sex
07-09-16, 01:21 AM
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