A SharkWerks USA Tuning Tour with a New, Zany-colored 2011 GT3 RS

Here at Shark Werks when we introduce a new member of the family we like to think that we go a 'bit' out there. It takes a special breed (usually of the GT3-kind) and certain flair before we are hooked...


We only recently started scouting for the “right” car and out of the blue (pardon the pun) our friends at Isringhausen had just the car for us. In response to, “Hey Geoff, got any crazy color RS’ for sale?” So without further ado please let us introduce the newest addition to the Shark Werks family:


Perhaps seeing those Gulf 917s at Rennsport Reunion IV or maybe due to Larry C. waving his magic Shark-a-fied Blue GT3 in our faces, we sort of got hooked on blue... Apparently as 1 of 4 gulf-themed blue/orange motif 2011 GT3RS, it’s pretty blooming-stacked with options which include, BDCLR 98 ad DZL orange graphics/paint, PCCBs, Noselift, Dynamic Cornering Lights, Full Leather, ZLR Light battery, 619 BlueSharkTeeth, 870 USB, CYW alcantara Sun Visors (what?!), XLG alcantara storage lid w/ logo, XSC Head crests, CMT painted belt passthru, EZD Extended carbon, XSY yellow belts and door pulls, CLA thick alcantara wheel, XYZ alu foot rest, XMJ carbon console, XUB painted head-light nipples and navigation (and other things I forget) so we don’t get lost.



She’s got 21 miles on her so do you really think we’re just going to have her shipped out to California? Heck no! It’s time for a Shark-cation and next Wednesday we will be flying out to Springfield, Illinois and driving the 2229 mile journey (ahem break-in…) all the way back to Northern California. Before we do that you know there’s no way on Earth we’re doing so without a stereo upgrade in the form of the Shark Werks exhaust which the guys at Isringhausen will install for us about 30 seconds after we accept delivery. Sorry, but the stock sound, whilst nice, needs an upgrade for a trip such as this and the folks out there have done this installation a few times before.

This road-trip means we’ll be driving through several states including, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and finally California. Since we’ll be attempting this trip at a “leisurely” pace (hey we’re doing this for SCIENCE and data collection), if anyone wants to meet up for a bite, or give us tips on what to see and where to eat and of course on some good roads or just want a demo along the way let us know and send us an Email to info@sharkwerks.com ! I’m sure we’ll be only to glad to give you a rev or two.

As you can see from the map above we’ll be making a routine pit-stop at our EVOMS chums in Arizona. Now why would we do such a thing? By the time we get there we will have logged 1500+ miles on the motor and be ready to take the stage with our EVOMSit tuning dance. Together with our chums Todd, John, Robert & Ian we'll eke out whatever we can with our exhaust(s) and 91 octane (and 93+). To round things off a few days later we'll rip through the desert back to Shark Werks HQ.



We will attempt to keep you updated along the way with random thoughts (or other drivel!) but there will still be folks at Shark Werks holding down the fort. Ready or not here we come middle America- two dudes and a bright Blue/Orange RS wish us luck!




Finally, we really must mention just how great the entire team at Isringhausen has been to work with. Especially for you guys on Teamspeed, they’ve always been active in the community and even given us Sharks their full support with exhausts and other fun track-aimed parts. What a great group of guys and we have to thank Geoff Jr and Geoff Sr. for making it such a fun, pleasant and exciting experience.

Captain's Log: Star Date 1/11/11
We are packing our gear for the trip out to Springfield to pick the car up and the good folks at Isringhausen (thanks to Geoff & crew) were kind enough to send me a few updates.

Now what is this, our no-named girl is up on a lift already?


What's going on. I see a bumper coming off? Maybe the guys at Isringhausen are just checking for rattles in the heat shields. That must be it...


Nope. The rattle seems to be deeper and coming from one of the side mufflers:


Aha... busted! That out to fix that "rattle"...


Although she does have a fancy ipod connection (hey Porsche did finally discover the ipod in 2009!) the only tunes we'll be playing are from this Sharkwerks exhaust thingemejig:


And don't worry the factory Titanium tips work just fine with our exhaust too. Although no titanium was harmed in the process our part is still about 8 pounds lighter than what came off anyways:


There she is waiting to be gulped up by a pair of West Coast Sharks first thing in the morning. That red GTS doesn't look half-bad either!? Gary you take the RS and Wyatt you take GTS (sort of Weird Science reference in Kelly LeBrock's accent):

Day 1 Update

Update from the end of day 1 and 400 miles later...
First of all I can really confirm that the way the suspension has been re-done clearly it's a more compliant road car. Less movement, nervousness and feedback. A 400 mile drive in this car is certainly "easier" and more comfortable than in our Mk1. You can see why not only with better aero but revised suspension Porsche was able to get a few more seconds at the ring. Less fighting with the wheel I guess. We hit some heavy rain coming into Joplin and the reduction in nervousness certainly made it "easier" to deal with the rain too.

The 3.8 has a bit more tq than the 3.6 indeed but it doesn't rev quite as snappily as the Mk1. Our RS is heavily optioned so it's actually a very comfy, easy to use road car with all the mod cons. We all know the rear visibility is useless with that wing but hey mine is big and has orange bits on it so who cares

Overall I'm stoked thus far. The car feels very familiar and I'm at home.....

Got to Isringhausen's dealership at 9:30 and took a tour. Really nice dealership with much more of a focus on 911s than what I'm used to in California.


Sorry for the iphone (in some case) pix but someday we'll capture what the color really looks like. In the mean-time I'm super-happy with Geoff Sr. & Jr, owners of the dealership:


Dan made some name tags:


Taking a peak at their 06 Cayman race car:


And their newer 09 DFI one also running in the Cayman series:


Walking around I saw this 4.0 was sold as well:


And so was this nifty red 997 GTS with the aerokit:


Despite being a super-quick Turbo S I still am having trouble loving that rear end:


Our first stop was at a certain store you'll find in any state Some racer's tape:


This seemed like a good place to stop and stretch our legs before officially heading out west:



And here's that wicked structure sans the car:


Not only did we pass through Cuba...


But we took a few hits by the looks of our "home-made" racer's tape wrap job through Lebanon:


Interesting factoid we noticed when going from Illinois to Missouri. The penalty "hitting" a road safety worker in a construction zone is $14000 and a possible 15 year sentence. Do the same thing in Missouri and it's only a ten year stretch! Road safety signs in Missouri:


Got to love the 93 octane vs the crap-tastic 91 we get in California:


Back on the road and on the way to Joplin. Our stop for the night. Pretty sad to see the state of the city. Some areas just have "holes" where structures stood before the Tornados hit earlier in the year:

Day Two: 800 miles & four states later…
If there are two things that stand out for me today:
1) Who needs European Delivery when you have Route 66?
2) Covering some 800+ miles, four states, many different quality of roads this MK2 RS is one helluva road car. There can’t be many cars capable of so much yet are able to do so with such ease and comfort. It’s no caddy but she glides along…

The heavy rain shower from the night before took its toll on our stunning SharkWerks Satin Blue Paint Protection Film Wrap Technology TM. Here’s Sharky making a few take-two style adjustments and corrections.


No words necessary.


Off we go and in the middle of an Oklahoman Porsche meet!


Oklahoma this time of year had trees galore of all different colors. The North American Amazon! We stopped at a Cherokee Trading post. It had Indians. Real ones!


There was a big sign warning us that this was the last Mickey D’s in the entire State!


There are a few issues with this type of paint protection. The marquee is no longer visible. Another wardrobe malfunction. No Porsche dealership for miles so we did what we could:


There’s no way 5’9-Dan is this tall in real life. The car isn’t this short either.


You don’t see these factory-blue seat pass throughs every day. Neither do we sitting and facing forwards. They kind of sort of work. They just do.


Another rest stop and another old school Le Mans-style driver change:


Next up was Texas.


We wouldn’t have it any other way:


We decided to pull over and get ourselves kitted out properly with a hood ornament to help make some friends. It was getting dark so we tested the day-time running lights.


Just one of many rest stops in Texas:


She’s a looker:


We also hit 1000 miles on the Odometer and hence began to give her some real welly (see video). As fun as this was, I know we have some work ahead of us with the throttle settings. There’s room on the table. It was neat to hear our exhaust again on the 3.8 engine with a LWF. You also really notice the intake howl more than on cars with the 996GT3 style intake (997.1GT3, RS and 997.2GT3). The 4.0 and the conical intakes likely make even more.

All those high revs meant we needed gas. We thought we’d go off the reservation a bit and find something better than 91 octane but clearly we came by a few years too late. Skynet and the Terminators had already taken over the world and “Judgement Day” had come and gone. At least someone left a couch for us to rest on.


Finally we did find a station with premium fuel. I have no comment on the 86 octane. That’s not even fit for adding to a protein shake. Great timing also as we had a driver change and Dan was lucky enough to drive the properly broken-in RS with said 90-octane. He was forced to baby it on his stint and will complain about it for many years to come. This is the first and I guarantee will be the last time that Pische-for-gas sees the inside of this car.


Texas lasts forever and being a navigator you get to play with the Sporty Chrono and XM radio:


At least he was treated tot a Texas-style sunset.


In a desert devoid of civilization there was a sign and Texas decided to help cheer up Dan once again. This seems like a good place to visit from dusk till dawn.


Near the Texas and New Mexico border we had to stop for bathroom break. Good thing we did too. Take your boots off before entering:


Don’t forget to wash your hands either. Our thicker optioned alcantara wheel appreciates it:


New Mexico was next. We wanted to try and blend in here as well:


Not that New Mexico is boring but if we could teleport ourselves and this car anywhere it would be here:


Still on Route 66 we couldn’t find a place to settle down for the night. This one seemed ok but the parking was sketchy.


Tomorrow we’re hoping to continue through New Mexico and Arizona and catch the odd UFO or two.

THIS MESSAGE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY OUR LATEST SPONSOR:
Blue Tape! It's Great!

Day 3: New Mexico & Arizona
The next stretch took us from Albuquerque to Tempe, Arizona and EVOMS' HQ. There are some super-smooth, curvy and mountainous roads. The colors are something else...

Outside Albuquerque we saw plenty of red rocks:


Nobody at this Laguna complained about our Shark Werks exhaust in Sport mode.


A Navajo village in New Mexico:



There was no drinking and driving but we had to check it out.


On second thought, we decided to park further away to avoid door dings from all the other customers:


This train needs a little blue don't you think?


New Mexico was now behind us:


Finally we reached Arizona. The PCM 3.0 GPS did a great job getting us here. We only had one slip-up where it sent us on a 10 mile loop around Albuquerque to reach a hotel that was a block away (but it was a nice drive).

Look, a map, and only about 1200 miles too late:


A closer look at our route, which happened to be at another exceptional location for relieving oneself of urine (no pictures this time):


We were getting hit by a sand storm so we stopped for fuel and snacks. The local delicacy:


We love dinosaurs, which still live in these parts of the desert.


It's a diplodocus not a brontosaurus!


The baby t-rex is entertained by Dan's blue tape origami:


You can see for miles out here.


About 150 miles away from the Grand Canyon. It's not as grand, but it's just a baby canyon. A few million years from now, you never know.


Damn California tourists (at the Arizona border).


This trading post was out of stock of the RS 4.0 Carbon Fiber intakes.


We try to make you happy, but some wives are not thrilled with Shark Werks.


Tip of the day.
Once again the RS proved it's a great road-trip car. Sand/dust storms have nothing on dynamic cornering lights! They might weigh more than the standard xenons but in low light situations and curvy mountain roads they truly are trick.

Day Four: Tuning in Arizona
Today our journey ground to a halt in Tempe, Arizona. It rained heavily during the night but there was still a lot of driving to be done. Only this time; all in the aid of tuning on the Evolution Motorsports AWD Mustang Dyno. The 3.8 GT3RS motor in this car is deceptively strong. She baselined at a very solid 424whp (when converted comes out at around Porsche's claimed 450hp) and 301tq although with some changes we were able to get a few more ponies and torx and then some.


Sport Chrono check, Valentine 1 check, Big Bull horns check. Let's get started:


Once again we've been upgraded in the horn department. Not everything is bigger in Texas. This round goes to AZ.


There was no danger of being peppered with rocks and other debris on the dyno so off came our wrap. She looks good underneath:


Strapping her on to the dyno. EVOMS John to James, "Keep doin' what you're doing. You're doing a great job..."


Measuring the Lambda's- EGTs, AFRs etc:


Reading out the factory file:


Looks like there's a line to get on this dyno. A Grand Am race car?


Indeed Andy Lee's EVOMSit tuned bitchin' Camaro


Work, work, work and plenty of files got created:


It's rude to point except when you have just added an addition 20hp to a 2011 GT3RS:


How much timing do you want? The factory file already calls for 30 degrees!


There you go in stock form, with our SharkWerks exhaust (6whp) and with the Software and Tuning (20whp). Peak horsepower numbers went from 424whp to 440whp and 301tq to 313tq. Very nice gains indeed and as you can tell from the dyno below the curve around 7000-8000rpms has been smoothened. What you can't tell from the dyno is the much improved throttle mapping and responsiveness. Revs much freer. Left-foot braking has also been coded into our 91 octane performance file.


Street driving, testing and logging:


OK now there's four of us here but only two seats. Which one of you is flying home on the remaining journey?


A prickly Cactus. We're still in Arizona but the car runs flawlessly:


On the road again and some 300 miles later at the Arizona / California border. We were hungry and it seemed like a good idea at the time. We came, we saw but we left hungry.


Our t-shirts don't look half-bad from the rear...




Tomorrow we're doing the final stretch from Palm Springs to the Bay Area...

Day 5 California
The additional power and responsiveness after the serious work was completed at EVOMS was put to good use- in the rain. Nothing like a welcome home rain shower upon entering California. Who says a GT3RS on Pilot Sport Cups doesn't work well in the rain?


One thing is for sure California has its fair share of good roads and beautiful scenery too:



Once we got to LA I had trouble finding a good welcome sign but I figured a Panamera Turbo would suffice and show that Hollywood was near by...


Before getting to the grapevine we couldn't resist a bit of Roller Coaster action:


We didn't start the fire:


Toilet break. Was it "The Bomb" burrito from last night?


Another hour another beautiful mountain. James can't help but look in awe:


James is a fit lad and any chance he gets to stretch he does just that:


His iphone getting a work-out as well:


This right here along the I-5 freeway probably isn't the nicest site of our journey. It's pretty much the smelliest too:


Almost home now...


What a trip, what a country, what a car! I still cannot think of a more fun way to break-in one of these Metzger GT3 engines. The entire package was comfortable, reliable and just downright fun to drive across a good portion of America. We even managed to get our Stage 1 Performance (Exhaust and EVOMSit) kit completed along the way so it wasn't all "play".

And the aftermath:




And for the local media in Illinois!

Now that we're back home it's time to start playing around with her some more. Weight savings on these MK2 RS' is pretty tough, ours came with the lightweight battery, PCCB's, the Titanium center exhaust and tips. Installing our exhaust and tips gave us better sound and about 7 pounds off the rear (not willing to do the track exhaust just yet!). The stock wheels are extremely hard to knock weight off compared to the heavier MK1 stock wheels but we're going to give it a shot (and look good doing it) with some new shoes courtesy of the folks at HRE (thanks for the color match and turnaround as always!).

First off here's our stock rear wheel coming in at 30.2 pounds:


Now our 19 inch rear replacement P43S Monoblok Center Lock rear tipping the scales at 25.78 pounds (4.42 pounds per side):


Back-side has holes machined out for weight savings and so do the spokes on these orange-slice version of their wheels:


Back to the stock one at 23.96 pounds:


The front HRE replacement comes in at 22.22 pounds (1.7 pounds per side lighter)


And now mounted on (with a slightly more aggressive offset):


What we have here is a set of HRE's forged wheels that give our car a neat but subtle change vs the stock wheels and saves a few pounds (12.24 pounds total) in the process: