[bensf]

Originally Posted by MoreSpeed

Yes. You will definitely feel the weight in the ZL1 or ZL1 1LE verses the GT3. There is just more mass to deal with. Still, the ZL1 drives lighter than it is and in my opinion, the low-end torque is much more entertaining than high revving GT3. You could sometimes be out of your power band in the GT3 depending on the course and the gear needed. Not so with the ZL1.

I liked having more meat on the front end with the 285's. I would have to go in slower to a turn with the GT3 to avoid washing out and understeering or trail brake or both. You can drive the ZL1 differently. (don't get me wrong, the GT3 was very fast and neutral driven correctly).

I think the rear end biased launch is better in the GT3. All that weight sitting on those fat tires always seemed to be magic.

The GT3 felt more like a scalpel than the ZL1's sledgehammer but both are fun in different ways.

The ZL1 is fun trying to get the power delivery right. The car is much faster with all aids off... but you have to control slip.

Now, bottom line, I didn't have the 991, but with the 997, I find I am running faster times with the ZL1, having more fun and doing all of this at a fraction of the price point.

Thanks for the information. Your assessment puts my mind at ease as all the points you mentioned is what I've experienced in my 991.1 GT3 other than being out of the power band mainly because it's a PDK. A friend of mine has 991.1 GT3RS that I drove at Laguna Seca. Front end grip is much better but as a result the rears feel looser.

I will know soon enough how it does on track since the first track day is tomorrow. Hoping I can adapt to it as quickly as I did in the GT3. Having more fun at a fraction of the cost sounds like a winner to me.

[MoreSpeed]

Originally Posted by bensf

Thanks for the information. Your assessment puts my mind at ease as all the points you mentioned is what I've experienced in my 991.1 GT3 other than being out of the power band mainly because it's a PDK. A friend of mine has 991.1 GT3RS that I drove at Laguna Seca. Front end grip is much better but as a result the rears feel looser.

I will know soon enough how it does on track since the first track day is tomorrow. Hoping I can adapt to it as quickly as I did in the GT3. Having more fun at a fraction of the cost sounds like a winner to me.

Please let us know what you think once you get it out on the track.

PS.. I feel the nannies intervene too much and sometimes delay power delivery when you want to go fast. As I said above, after experimentation, I like everything off. I was at first concerned that the car would have too much power so I started with Track and used PTM modes from Dry, Sport 1, Sport 2 to Race. Race was not bad. I felt the others took too much away even with cold tires. I also found that the car handles quite well. It took a very little time to trust the car.

[bensf]

Originally Posted by MoreSpeed

Please let us know what you think once you get it out on the track.

PS.. I feel the nannies intervene too much and sometimes delay power delivery when you want to go fast. As I said above, after experimentation, I like everything off. I was at first concerned that the car would have too much power so I started with Track and used PTM modes from Dry, Sport 1, Sport 2 to Race. Race was not bad. I felt the others took too much away even with cold tires. I also found that the car handles quite well. It took a very little time to trust the car.

Had a fun day at Thunderhill Raceway Park yesterday. It was a private track day so an ideal venue for the maiden voyage. The car got a lot of attention since there aren't too many or maybe it's any showing up to the track right now in my neck of the woods. Your assessment was spot on. I went out in Track mode for the first session but the car felt very odd and unpredictable. For the second session I went out in Race mode and it was much better. You can definitely feel the mass and it needs to be managed like you said. The brakes and grip on Zl1 1LE are really impressive.

The best I could do was a 2:02. Contrast that with a 1:57 in the 991.1 GT3 the first day out on the same track under similar conditions a couple of years back. Either the GT3 is an easier car to drive or I'm just not used to the dynamics of a relatively heavy, high horse power, front engine car. I need to trust the car more and get closer to it's limits. In either case, the ZL1 1LE should be theoretically a faster car based on the Laguna Seca times achieved by Randy Pobst. I'm really excited to improve and get better times. I'm still very happy with the purchase.

How many track days are you getting out of the tires? This is what mine looks like after 106 hours of track time and 77 track miles. I'm hoping I'll be able to get 3 track days out of them.

Thanks again for your insight.

[RUQWIKR]

My fronts were trashed after 14 heat cycles / 3 track days on a SS 1LE with the ZL1 1LE wheels & tires (G3R's). The rears will be done after the next track day. Running proper negative camber and alignment. I would think your power level would kill the tires off even more quickly.

[bensf]

Originally Posted by RUQWIKR

My fronts were trashed after 14 heat cycles / 3 track days on a SS 1LE with the ZL1 1LE wheels & tires (G3R's). The rears will be done after the next track day. Running proper negative camber and alignment. I would think your power level would kill the tires off even more quickly.

Man I hope not but you're probably right lol

[bensf]

Here are the videos from one of the sessions. The first is how I generally put together track videos unless I get ambitious and overlay the Solo DL data. The second is taken with the PDR. I definitely left a lot on the table. The car has huge potential.

https://youtu.be/RERKl-MeA6Y

https://youtu.be/QB6hMiRYjK8


How do you embed a video?

[Electron Mike]

Originally Posted by bensf

Here are the videos from one of the sessions. The first is how I generally put together track videos unless I get ambitious and overlay the Solo DL data. The second is taken with the PDR. I definitely left a lot on the table. The car has huge potential.

https://youtu.be/RERKl-MeA6Y

https://youtu.be/QB6hMiRYjK8


How do you embed a video?

Nice driving! I'm a former GT4 track rat looking forward to my first track outing in my 2018 ZL1 next month. Any issues with brake fade or oil/transmission/coolant temps?

[MoreSpeed]

Originally Posted by bensf

Had a fun day at Thunderhill Raceway Park yesterday. It was a private track day so an ideal venue for the maiden voyage. The car got a lot of attention since there aren't too many or maybe it's any showing up to the track right now in my neck of the woods. Your assessment was spot on. I went out in Track mode for the first session but the car felt very odd and unpredictable. For the second session I went out in Race mode and it was much better. You can definitely feel the mass and it needs to be managed like you said. The brakes and grip on Zl1 1LE are really impressive.

The best I could do was a 2:02. Contrast that with a 1:57 in the 991.1 GT3 the first day out on the same track under similar conditions a couple of years back. Either the GT3 is an easier car to drive or I'm just not used to the dynamics of a relatively heavy, high horse power, front engine car. I need to trust the car more and get closer to it's limits. In either case, the ZL1 1LE should be theoretically a faster car based on the Laguna Seca times achieved by Randy Pobst. I'm really excited to improve and get better times. I'm still very happy with the purchase.

How many track days are you getting out of the tires? This is what mine looks like after 106 hours of track time and 77 track miles. I'm hoping I'll be able to get 3 track days out of them.

Thanks again for your insight.

While 5 seconds is a pretty big difference, that seems pretty good for your first outing with a completely different architecture car. You are adding almost 900 lbs, going from rear engine to front engine, to no rear wheel steering, high revving to high torque, different tires and very different dynamics. That is a lot to manage for your first outing. It took me a few events to really trust how well the ZL1 sticks in a corner. Your 5 seconds should be eliminated with trust and familiarity.

[Race Car]

Love that track... Great videos and looks like you had a blast.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Wow!! Looks familiar!! Great choice, and congratulations!!

[bensf]

Originally Posted by Electron Mike

Nice driving! I'm a former GT4 track rat looking forward to my first track outing in my 2018 ZL1 next month. Any issues with brake fade or oil/transmission/coolant temps?

Thanks. No issue whatsoever. Brake travel got a little longer after the first session but I think it was due to not bedding the brakes prior to the event. The brakes are really phenomenal even with the stock pads and I didn't experience any fade. I do have a set of Ferodo DS1.11 brake pads on order and will give them a try next. Ambient temps were in the mid to high 60's. Great day to be out on track but not a good day to test if the car will overheat or not.

Originally Posted by MoreSpeed

While 5 seconds is a pretty big difference, that seems pretty good for your first outing with a completely different architecture car. You are adding almost 900 lbs, going from rear engine to front engine, to no rear wheel steering, high revving to high torque, different tires and very different dynamics. That is a lot to manage for your first outing. It took me a few events to really trust how well the ZL1 sticks in a corner. Your 5 seconds should be eliminated with trust and familiarity.

I appreciate your comments. I'm sure it will play out just like you say. You've been spot on about everything else.

Originally Posted by Race Car

Love that track... Great videos and looks like you had a blast.

Thanks. It was a lot of fun. I haven't been this excited about a car in a while. I had a GT350 and GT350R lined up for purchase last year. I'm so glad I didn't pull the trigger.

Originally Posted by Mr. Wyndham

Wow!! Looks familiar!! Great choice, and congratulations!!

Yes, twins haha. Thanks!

[bensf]

Looks like a lot of Porsche people here. Some of you may know Orthojoe from Rennlist. He has a GT3 which I co-own with him and he also has a GT4. This is a video he put together of me in the GT3 on it's first day on track if you're interested. We spent that day beating each other's lap times back and forth throughout the day. It was great fun.

https://youtu.be/SRm0TbdFSYE

This is him in my car a few days ago. I basically handed the car over to him and our buddy Mike without much instruction and comedy ensued lol.

https://youtu.be/6mezOQExTYE

[Provoste]

Originally Posted by bensf

Looks like a lot of Porsche people here. Some of you may know Orthojoe from Rennlist. He has a GT3 which I co-own with him and he also has a GT4. This is a video he put together of me in the GT3 on it's first day on track if you're interested. We spent that day beating each other's lap times throughout the day. It was great fun.

https://youtu.be/SRm0TbdFSYE

This is him in my car a few days ago. I basically handed the car over to him and our buddy Mike without much instruction and comedy ensued lol.

https://youtu.be/6mezOQExTYE

Very cool. Yep, longtime Rennlister myself. I sold my Boxster S to get a ‘17 SS 1LE, and my dad just sold his GT4 and is taking delivery of a ZL1 1LE later this week. I’m familiar with Orthojoe from the GT4 board. Though two Porsche’s are now gone in favor of Camaros... the forever car the 964 C2 (seriously Track prepped).

[17CamaroZL1]

Funny video of your friends! Thanks for posting!