Porsche 911 GT3 (992) Suspension Tuning Guide

The 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 is one of the best handling cars on the road today. It’s a tough, focused, machine that is ready to tackle the world’s most challenging roads and race tracks

The key chassis updates for the 992 GT3 are a wider front and rear track width for increased mid-corner grip, and a new double-wishbone style front suspension system. Optimising the suspension geometry of a double-wishbone suspension system is more straightforward compared to a MacPherson strut design as all of the suspension arms are fixed in position, which makes their movements more predictable and easier to improve. A double-wishbone system also has improved dynamic camber gain versus a MacPherson strut design. This means the more a car turns, the more camber it gains, boosting cornering grip

In addition to these changes, the chassis of the 992 GT3 remains as adjustable as ever with camber angles, toe angles, anti-roll bars and ride heights all being fully adjustable. This allows owners to tweak their GT3’s handling to suit their driving style.

For owners looking to improve the cornering performance of their 992 GT3s, we’ve created this handling guide. We’ll be exploring how best to improve road and track handling and the upgrades you can install if you are looking to take your GT3’s handling to the next level.

A quick note on alignment

One of the most important and easiest upgrades you can make to your 992 GT3 is to get it properly set up and aligned. This can be achieved on a completely standard car, using the standard points of adjustment. With a good setup, you’ll experience greatly improved cornering grip and agility, with improved stability and reduced tyre wear.

Porsche 992 GT3 Handling Pack 1

Handling Pack 1 is designed to further optimise the 992 GT3’s chassis for track driving.

Suspension Secrets Porsche 992 GT3 Handling Pack 1 contains:

Suspension Secrets Camber Kit

Suspension Secrets Camber Kit

Despite the 992 GT3 having fully-adjustable front and rear camber, this range of adjustment is limited, meaning more aggressive track setups are not achievable without modifications.

With the OEM camber blocks set to maximum negative you’ll only have approximately -2.2 to -2.4 degrees of camber depending on ride height. This camber is decent for fast road or street driving, but not nearly enough for track driving.

We designed the Suspension Secrets Camber Kit to offer 992 GT3 drivers a way of increasing negative camber beyond what is achievable as standard. The Camber Kit features redesigned front camber blocks and rear camber shims.

The Camber Blocks feature increased negative camber adjustment compared to the OEM camber blocks. This allows for a much more aggressive geometry setup on the front axle, and the increased negative camber increases cornering grip, steering feel whilst also reducing understeer.

The Rear Camber Shims give a good front-to-rear camber balance is essential for making a car fast on track, and increasing negative rear camber greatly improves mid-corner grip and grip in high speed corners.

The shims slot in the rear camber arm and allow you to increase negative rear camber well past what is achievable using the standard rear camber adjustment.

Increased rear negative camber helps your 992 GT3 to stay more stable in high-speed corners and during fast direction changes out on track.

Porsche 992 GT3 Handling Pack 2

Handling Pack 2 introduces upgrades that allow you to exploit aggressive track-oriented geometry settings and specialised track tyres.

Suspension Secrets Porsche 992 GT3 Handling Pack 2 contains:

Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Track Pack
Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Track Spring Kit

Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Track Pack

Includes:
- Suspension Secrets Camber Kit
- Suspension Secrets Bump-Steer Tie Rod Ends

The 992 GT3 benefits massively from having a very low front ride height. A lower front ride height improves braking stability as it prevents nosediving during heavy braking A lower front ride height also improves turn-in as initial body roll when entering a corner is reduced.

This may make you wonder: why not run as low a front ride height as possible if there are so many benefits? The answer to that is bump-steer. A very low front ride height changes the arc patterns of the front suspension arms and the steering rack which results in bump-steer. Bump-steer occurs when a car is cornering; the loaded outer suspension enters compression and unloaded inner suspension enters droop. For a Porsche, the outer tyres toe-out as a result of this compression and the inner tyres toe-in when unloaded. This physically causes the car to steer away from the apex and for the steering to feel vague and disconnected.

To offset this, the Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Track Pack includes fully-adjustable bump-steer tie rod ends that allow you to entirely eliminate the bump-steer from the suspension of your GT3. This allows you to enjoy the benefits from running a very low front ride height without any of the downsides.

Suspension Secrets Porsche 992 GT3 Bump-Steer Tie Rod Ends as included in the Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Track Pack

Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Track Spring Kit

The second component in Handling Pack 2 is the Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Track Spring Kit which enables more effective use of grippy tyres, resulting in improved cornering grip and fast lap times.

Grippy tyres are a must for fast lap times, but using a very grippy track tyre such as the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R, Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo RS or any semi-slick tyre can lead to handling issues. A very grippy tyre prevents efficient use of suspension geometry as the additional grip forces generated cause the chassis to twist inside its wheelbase. This twisting force is then managed by the springs instead of being transferred to the tyres.

To solve this, stiffer springs are required. A stiffer spring will allow both the tyre and the suspension geometry to work more efficiently, leaning the car onto its tyres when cornering more effectively which results in more cornering grip. With this improved efficiency, the suspension geometry can then be made more aggressive as the car is able to generate and use the additional grip effectively.

The Suspension Secrets Track Spring Kit features stiffer front and rear springs for your GT3, which enable you to maximise the performance of your tyres and suspension geometry on track.

Porsche 992 GT3 Handling Pack 3

Handling Pack 3 introduces the Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Solid Rear Monoball Kit for greater chassis stability and predictability on track.

Suspension Secrets Porsche 992 GT3 Handling Pack 3 includes:

Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Track Pack
Suspension Secrets Track Spring Kit
Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Rear Upper Control Arm Monoball Kit

Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Rear Upper Control Arm Monoball Kit

Handling Pack 3 introduces Suspension Secrets Rear Solid Monoballs that replace the standard rubber OEM Porsche control arm bushes.

The Suspension Secrets 992 GT3 Rear Upper Control Arm Monoball Kit replaces the flexible rubber bushes used in the 992 GT3’s rear suspension arms. The OEM rubber bushes flex as g-forces from cornering and braking are exerted upon them which causes the rear suspension geometry to change dynamically, which leads to instability and a reduced sense of connection to the rear axle. These flexible bushes can even cause the rear camber to change throughout a corner, leading to uneven levels of grip.

Our Suspension Secrets Rear Solid Monoballs do not flex like the rubber bushes, ensuring the rear axle geometry of your 992 GT3 remains fixed at all times. By fitting solid rear bushes, you will also gain an increased sense of connection to the rear axle of your GT3. When you accelerate or enter a corner, the car will respond immediately whereas before there was a momentary delay before the car responded. This allows you to drive with more confidence and to push the limits even further.

Further Improvements

How can all of these upgrades be made even better?

Take all the upgrades from our previous handling packs and add 4-Way independently adjustable KW V5 Clubsport coilovers.

To this point, the Sachs dampers and Bilstein springs that are standard fitment on the 992 GT3 have done an admirable job, but at this point we need more performance. Enter the KW V5 Clubsport, a 4-way independently adjustable coilover kit that gives you full control over how your 992 GT3 handles.

The low-speed compression and rebound settings can be used to tune the car’s more natural characteristics. For example, low-speed compression is used to control body roll and how the car enters a corner. Low-speed rebound is used to influence how a car exits a corner and as the car rolls back to centre as lateral loads reduce. Both of these can be fine-tuned to alter the driving characteristics of the car, or to help to reduce understeer or oversteer.

Ideally with a track car, you want the low-speed compression and low-speed rebound to be set to quite stiff as to limit body roll and to increase cornering grip. However, if you use settings that are overly stiff your Porsche can be deflected by bumps or kerbs on track. This is where the high-speed compression and rebound settings offered by the KW V5 Clubsport come into play.

Having independent high and low speed compression and rebound allows you to have two different compression and rebound settings for any given situation. Ideally the high-speed compression and high-speed rebound should be set to quite soft, so as to ensure your 992 GT3 is not deflected by bumps at high speed such as when hitting kerbs or mid-corner bumps. This allows your GT3 to remain stiff and razor-sharp when cornering, and more stable when attacking uneven stretches of tarmac or kerbs on the circuit.

This gives you the utmost confidence in your car in any given situation, allowing you to push harder and harder, knowing your GT3 will match you every step of the way.