Qualified Pole

Sorry, but Flash is mistaken. While SRF *is* very expensive ($75 a liter), it is radically less hygroscopic than ATE. I have no first-hand experience with Motul. After years of using ATE super blue (and Typ 200--same thing but gold) in 2 996 track cars (one a GT3) and my BMW track and race cars, I got fed up with soft pedals and bleeding brakes. SRF is not a one-bleed-a-season miracle cure, but I have not had to bleed my brakes during a 3-day race or DE weekend since I went to SRF (I used to need to bleed daily with ATE). So far, SRF has lasted 5 to 1 to ATE in volume (waaaay less bleeding), and the time saved alone is worth its cost. I didn't believe it until I tried it.

The specifications referenced at this link and this link worked very well for me on my 996GT3, I was running that setup with Hoosier R6s. Front axle: Camber: -2.5º Max camber difference, left/right: 5' Toe total: +5' Toe difference at 20° lock: -1°20' +/- 30' Caster: 8° +/- 30' Max caster difference, left/right: 30' Front height: 115mm Swaybar – 1 from hard Rear axle: Toe total: 35’ +/- 2' Max toe difference, left/right: 5' Camber: -2.3° +/- 5' Max camber difference, left/right: 10' Rear height: 128mm Swaybar – 1 from hard

Welcome. What are you going to do to pick up a little power? Just kidding. ;)

Some notes on the Tequipment rollbar install in a GT3: Thanks to Rockitman, WolfgangK and the other posters above for very valuable information. These notes simply add detail and opinion to their instructions, read the foregoing instructions first. Bolts: believe the posts above and throw away the bolts (they are garbage) that come with the kit, get your own Grade 8 bolts (from McMasterCarr) or other source like a friend who fabricates roll cages. They are 7/16" fine thread; standard not metric because, I was told, all seat belt mounts are the same per DOT requirements. I doubted the statements that better bolts make the job easier, but ended up cross threading one of the original bolts (2nd of 4 bolts) and found out the statement was accurate, no matter how much more careful than everyone else I thought I could be. I removed the first very slightly crossthreaded bolt and put in four grade 8 bolts. They went in with no hassles, the good hardware were significantly easier to thread and install. I used 2.75" bolts for the front mounts and 2" bolts for the rear mount points. Buy some washers for fine spacing. 2 person job: even though the bar is not heavy, getting it into the car without scratching anything or breaking the windshield needs 2 people or a large amount of time. You don't need help removing the seats or getting the car ready (pulling out clothes hangers and belt height adjuster cover), but will need help to get the bar lined up and bolted in. Lining everything up and bolting in is the toughest part of the install--I didn't see the need for ratchet straps, but a reasonably strong helper to align and hold one side while you bolt in the other should be considered a requirement. I did not need to remove the rear view mirror, but it was a close fit. GT3 plugs: rather than cutting the carpeting to get to the plugs, I found it much easier to pull the carpet back; although you will still need a razor blade to cut the carpet later so that the rear bar mount bolt can be passed through the carpet. To expose the plugs, you need to just loosen the side panel (which you should already have done as part of the cutting of the rocker plastic under the carpet) and pull the carpet down from the corner of the rear compartment where the top of the seat back would be if the GT3 had rear seats. Then, it's relatively easy to unscrew the plugs (see the black circle below the very center of the photo). The plugs are friction plugs and can be ripped right out without damage to the car but they are easiest to get out by unscrewing. The carpet lays back down in its original place without any trace of disturbance. Seat belt height adjuster covers: use a plastic serving spoon or some other professional, non-marring lever between what the seat belt goes through and the plastic cover next to it and just pop the adjuster cover off, use a little force. Don't try to first remove the plastic cover because you don't think the whole thing will just pop off (it does). If you do end up doing that, don't worry the whole thing just takes a few minutes to figure out how it all goes back together. With Grade 8 bolts ready ahead of time, total time from start to end should have been around 2.5 hours (for a shade-tree mechanic taking his time). I would wager that a pro could do it in an hour or less.

dcooper, keep waving, even some of the more the uptight P-car pilots around here wave back eventually when they see that you're moving around more than one finger. ;)

steve74, I, too, am a new owner of a GT3 and had bad twitchiness and some exaggerated power off behavior, similar to --but not as severe as--to what you describe. I had the alignment re-checked by the dealer even though it was supposedly done in the CPO check (which I question since the car felt funny when I drove it off the lot). The rear toe was out of whack by a few minutes (!) and caused the weirdness, so I can imagine what a really tweaked toe out would do to handling. clord gave me some suggestions for a street alignment in this post: 996 GT3 stumble or hesitation... My car was not aligned to those specs but will be shortly, but just bringing the alignment within the loosey-goosey service manual specs has been an amazing improvement. On one of the other recent posts someone also mentioned that a bad alignment leads to bad tire wear which is unsolveable by realigning (thus new tires AND a good alignment are necessary). Good luck with the fix and please let us know what works. Michael

What I have done is purchased take-offs or second-hand OEM wheels to use with my cars since you can put slightly larger width tires (MPSC or Hoosier) that give a huge advantage over street rubber. Spacers have taken care of any offset difference (like using my C4 wheels on my C4S). I don't know what the stock sizes/offsets are for the Boxster, but I imagine that they are not that different from 997 and 996 fitments. I have a set of wheels for sale off of my narrow body C4 996 (they were called Turbo-look when I ordered them, but now seem to be called Technology), that I used as my track wheels. The other ones ones I bought went when I traded the car. The wheels are straight but have been used as track wheels so there are some light scuffs from trailering, etc., but they still look great from 3+ feet. They have 1/2-used Michelin Pilot Sport Cups mounted on them that have much depth left, but the tires are over 2 years old so either test them first at an autocross or bring a backup set of tires to a track event just in case they will not soften up with some heat. I just bought a GT3 and will be looking for a set of wider take-offs, so if anyone is interested in these, PM me and I'll go look at the offsets and exact size (I'm pretty sure they are 18x8 and 18x10s). I can send pictures in the next day or two. Michael

The "stumble" disappeared. A couple of days before taking the GT3 in for service at the selling dealer, the stumble just wasn't there. I took it in anyway since they realigned it and they checked for faults but no codes were stored. I know I was not dreaming, but the only thing I can guess may be the problem is fuel. I'll post if it happens again in the future. Craig, the dealership realigned the car and what a difference! Unfortunately, I had to drop the car off and run so my carefully written list requesting items to take care of (including the alignment specs you gave me) were ignored. The end result was that they brought the care to within minimally acceptable factory specs (making as few adjustments as necessary). So, although the rear toe was the problem and the twitchiness has been significantly reduced with the changes, there is some room for improvement. I'm going to take the car to a decent shop to get it set right after the new year. Thanks again, Michael

Craig, thanks a lot for the info. Sorry, I was being lazy and did not grab the calculator to convert from mins. I'm going to try your setup. Michael :notworthy:

Craig, thanks for the info. I would also prefer multiple alignments to new tires. I am awaiting a service appointment shortly and will have them set up the car to the least negative/max toe in for the non-snowy days I go for rides before spring. From Loren's 1/24/05 post, it looks like that will be: F Toe (unpressed) +6' Camber -55' R Toe +11' Camber -1*45' leaving front caster at the 8* Does that sound right? Thank you again, Michael

Hi Craig, Yes, I guess a new handle is in order. Thanks for the tire point, although the tread depth appears almost full (they have been replaced) I'll double check those as well when it goes up on a lift this afternoon. A follow-up question on the alignment: is least aggressive (least neg. camber) within factory specs the way to go for street driving on the snowless days between now and my next track event in the spring, or is there a consensus on different specs? It's under initial warranty, and then CPO beyond that, so I will have them do that. It was my understanding that a DME dump and fix was part of the CPO process, I wonder what is going on. Thanks for the info and advice. I'll post the results. Michael

Hi all, I finally fulfilled a dream and just picked up a new-to-me 2004 GT3 today (Carrara White, 17k miles) and am absolutely amazed at how different (even more fun) it is than my two previous 996s. Now, after a long time of lurking, I have a question that (I hope) warrants the brains and experience amassed on this forum. One thing noticed from the passenger seat when friend of mine gave it a quick spin, other than the darty front end that pulls left under braking (due to a poor alignment I gather from the many posts here--which I will have the selling dealer check since apparently that tick mark on the CPO form was not attended to), is this: Under spirited acceleration, the motor seems to hesitate or stumble around 4000 rpm. Having recently had a C4S and an e46 M3 with all of the electronic nannies, I would liken this hesitation to stability control (in one of those cars) kicking in and lightening the throttle input. It is mild, but noticeable and repeatable. Has anyone else had this issue, and if so, could you point me in the direction of a post or troubleshooting method? Thank you very much!