Build: Track Based Porsche 911 GT3 (996)

Forged Performance is a tuner based in Atlanta, the US. The folks at Forged have been actively involved in track events for the past six years, competing in various time attack and track day events. With a proven track record of churning out many great racing machines across many platforms of vehicles, Forged decided to focus and renew its effort in the Porsche marketplace.

Sharif, owner and director of Forged Performance, has always loved Porsches and wanted to get into the market when the opportunity presented itself. And so it did and Forged managed to acquire a beautiful 2005 Porsche 996 GT3. It came with a few carefully selected modification from its previous owner:

• 4 Point Harness Bar
• Schroth 6 point harnesses
• European GT3 Seats
• Lightweight Clutch / Flywheel
• Cup Car Shifter / Linkage
• Cur Car Rear Toe Arms
• Second set of OEM wheels
• 1 year old used set of Hoosier R6s
• Pagid Yellow brake pads

Straight after taking ownership of the GT3, the folks at Forged Performance decided to give the car a shake down to see how it performs. The guys packed up the GT3 and headed to Carolina Motorsports Park, about 4 hours away from Forged Performance’s facility in metro Atlanta. They rolled it off the trailer and gave it a couple of sprints around the track to get used to the car. With regular Michelin PS2’s 235/295 tyres the car was nearly undrivable on the track as the alignment settings were tailored to the Hoosiers. The OEM street tyres simple couldn’t function properly.

“Turn in was non-existent, and the car was unstable throughout the corner. Any additions of fuel, steering, or brake would result in a violent chassis reaction. After a couple of laps, I just decided to parked it, as I wasn’t accomplishing anything other than drifting practice. I knew we had a lot of work to do to get the setup where it needed to be.“, said Sharif after a few laps in the GT3.

After the track day at CMP, Forged decided that the car was in need of some improvements to the suspension, braking and general setup. With the vibrant red colour on the GT3 the car is aesthetically beautiful, but it is begging for a better looking set of wheels. Tray from Forged Performance contacted HRE Performance Wheels and got a set of 18 inch HRE Comp 90 in gloss black with titanium fasteners. A Porsche Cup front splitter and a GT3 Cup wing were also sourced to give the car some much needed downforce at the high speed circuits.

The GT3 is a great handler straight from the factory. But Forged Performance felt that the handling could be improved even better with some nice suspension setup. So they decided to throw in a set of JRZ suspension for the GT3. Forged have been using JRZ suspension in many of their previous track cars and loved them to bits. For this car, they decided to go for the JRZ RS Pro coilovers with a spring rate of 17Kg front and 17Kg rear. Next they got a set of TPC racing Pro series adjustable sway bars and droplink kit.

“I really like the quality of these suspension components. They are made from very high quality materials, and the sway bars shipped with OEM bushing. The installation was a breeze and no modifications were required.“, said Tray.

Next up is the exhaust. It sounded a bit tame for a track car so Forged went to FabSpeed and got a set FabSpeed muffler bypass kit. Apart from being about 22 Kg lighter than the factory muffler, with the new exhaust fitted the GT3 just screams whenever it is under throttle.

With everything in place, balanced and aligned it is time to head to the track once again. But before that here is the complete rundown of all the new performance parts that have gone onto the car:

• JRZ RS Pro’s 17Kg front /17Kg rear
• TPC Racing Sway Bars
• TPC Drop Link
• Porsche Cup Car rear Toe Arms
• HRE Comp 90 18 inch rims
• Hoosier R6’s 245/315 18’s
• FabSpeed exhaust
• Porsche Cup front splitter
• GT3 Cup wing

This time the guys at Forged Performance head down to the Sebring 12 Hour Circuit. Sebring is a great track for testing suspension. There is a huge variety of corners, from smooth wide pen throttle high speed speeders, to very tight technical sections and of course the super bumpy and world renown turns 17 and 1.

According to Sharif, the handling improvement is literally a night and day experience. The chosen spring rate was bang on and the balance of the car was exactly how he wanted it to be. With a few adjustment to the shocks, the stability under braking was extremely confidence inspiring. The turn in was very precise and immediate.

“I was able to apply throttle fairly early, and just a few steering corrections on the bumpy surfaces of Sebring. The car was dead flat and planted, and the body roll of the stock suspension was completely gone. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better handling GT3 on this track.“, said Sharif.

Forged Performance’s next plan for the GT3 is to upgrade the limited slip differential on the car as they felt that the car still has some tire slip and spin on corner exit. We will give you the updates on this amazing Porsche GT3 when they become available. For now check out the video of the GT3 doing a time attack lap at Sebring 12 Hour Circuit below.

Special thanks to Forged Performance and myG37.com.