Porsches and BBS have a history together like no other. And personally, we’re big fans of both companies.

The two just tend to look “right” together. And none more right than a GT3 on E88s.

Therein lies the problem. The 991 GT3 runs center lock hubs and BBS Motorsport does not (or did not at the time) offer an E88 that works with the road-going center lock. That’s where we come in.

It started in early last summer with a call to Eric at BBS Motorsport – “What’s it going to take to make E88s available for the 991 GT3?”

As it would happen, it just took a bit of perseverance and patience. Eric was instrumental in making the center lock E88 happen for us, he went to bat with BBS Europe to convince them to produce the wheels.

The business case was there, as these wheels would also fit 997 center lock-equipped 911s, so it seemed Eric more or less had to find a way to fit these into their current development schedule.

E88 fans all over the world we have the solution. The wheels are available immediately and we’re happy to assist you in acquiring a set for your 911. We’re available during the week between 8a-8p EST at (612) 547-9311 or  info@311RS.com.

We’ve completed our first season with the 991 GT3 platform.

The car has covered 5,600 miles, of which ~3,100 miles have been spent terrorizing PCA track days across the midwest.

The car has seen four chassis setup changes, three sets of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s, and two sets of OEM brake pads.

The biggest challenge for us was learning just how to manage these new Michelin PSC2s. Grip came easy enough, but managing the wear pattern and the speed in which they wore initially proved difficult.

Our Phase One chassis setup, combined with listening to the car’s feedback over the course of a session, proved to be the ticket. A street car provides a unique challenge in that we cannot be too aggressive with the chassis setup. The goal is to find a balance.

We aren’t building all out racing cars here. Not at the moment. These cars are to be enjoyed on their way to work as well as at the track.

Articulating that balance is not a straight forward task, but getting it right is ultimately rewarding.

Simple yet effective.

What’s next for the platform? We’ll be adding more safety for the driver and adding more grip to the platform. I think it would be good to remove some weight as well. Bring on winter!

We brought three cars out to this year’s Rennsport Reunion – 991 GT3, 996 GT3, and 1987 930. What an experience.

Instead of just visiting the event at Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA, we decided it would be best do take a road trip!

Just prior to Rennsport, Magnus Walker was in town to party at the Grand Opening of Porsche of Minneapolis. He mentioned to us a little gathering he was hosting at his place in LA – Road To Rennsport. The idea? Gather a few Porsches and road trip to the event of the year. How could we decline the offer to attend?

The cars were unloaded at Magnus Walker’s place in LA early before most everyone had arrived.

Unfortunately, one of them was a bit tired from the long haul to CA from MN. It took about an hour to jump start the mini battery in Luis’ 996 GT3.

After that, we were all smiles and on the way to Rennsport.

 75+ Porsches made the trek from LA to Willow Springs and onto Laguna Seca.

In total it took us about 6hrs. The weather was perfect as were the cars. The trip of a lifetime!

The perks of great partnership – we had all three cars parked front and center at Michelin’s Rennsport Reunioun V booth.

Mid-summer heat and that flat six Koolaid. A good mix.

We brought three of our 311RS Porsche units up to BIR for a mid-summer evaluation. We’d been driving them for a few months now, it’s time to see how much they’d improved since we were last here in April.

For our 981 Cayman S development unit, this would be the first true test for it. The first few months of the program were spent refining it’s road manners and bringing everything together, making it whole, rather than just a modified car.

For the 991 GT3 development unit, this was it’s fourth track day but the first in a modified state. The car is now running our Phase One setup: 991 GT3 Cup bushings & caliper studs, adjustable thrust arms/bearings, a focused performance alignment (still a street car), and finally a titanium Akrapovic Evolution Race exhaust system combined with an EvoMS tune.

Akrapovic claims ~25hp which is great, but our main reason for choosing their system was to reduce weight. The complete Akrapovic system is 49lbs. lighter than the OEM system. That’s huge.

The combination proved lethal. If you remember from our post about PCA First Fling, we had a baseline of 1:45 on the car. That was the first time we had it out, but even so it gave us a good idea of what the car had in it.

Ryan Gates ran a 1:37.7 lap time with our Phase One setup. “I figured the car would come alive with a proper setup, but shaving nearly 8 seconds off a lap time is huge. No doubt I’m more confident with the platform, but even so the improvements were clear.”, Ryan said of the 991 GT3.

With the 991 GT3 running smoothly, focus shifted to exploring the 981 Cayman S dev car. It’s running a well-balanced component set that includes suspension, brakes, wheels & tires, and engine upgrades.

The setup was a success. We were proud of how the car performed during it’s first real test.

The car is fast. Like quicker that GT4 fast. A good start, but we found some areas that can be improved moving forward.

Speaking of, until next time we’ll be out driving.

Three track days complete, baselines logged, it’s time we get to dialing this thing in.

The essentials – caliper studs and solid suspension bushings to keep things tight.

A 50lb. weight reduction comes by way of a titanium Akrapovic Evolution Race exhaust system. Manufacturer claims ~25hp gain 

Akrapovic titanium tip powder coated black. They’ll never know.. The setup is finished off with an aggressive street alignment and corner balancing.

Our transition to Porsche cannot be limited to the 991 GT3. As special as it is, Porsche’s 981 Cayman is in some ways equally special.

As special as a 991 GT3? Not literally. But it’s mid-engine platform, stiff chassis, and low cost of entry makes a case for a special Porsche.

The 981 platform has all the ingredients of a fun sports car. Which for us means it was at least worth a look as we being to establish our company in the heavily populated Porsche community.

The fact that most of our technical partners saw value in developing the platform with us certainly made the decision easier.

More on this puppy as we get some miles on the preliminary setup. Check out the update here.