Ownership Verified: The "RS" stands for "Really Slow"

Light weight, wide hips, sexy wheels, big wing, engine block that traces back to the 962?

ooOOOooh. Excuse me, I'll be right back.
 
bumping for an awesome car and because i couldnt help noticing the flight aware logo on the doors.....such an awesome tool, both FBOs ive worked at relied on flight aware for tracking inbound and outbound aircraft and i have used it for years along with liveatc as a hobby.

anyway, back on topic....really loving the black and orange!
 
Best. License Plate. Ever.

Nice car too :D
 
Holy crap that is a serious ride. Congrats and enjoy it in good health. More pics plz? :)
 
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I feel really poor now...
 
It's not the man who has little, but the man who craves more, that is truly poor. . .

Nope, doesn't help does it. It'd be easier to make fun of him if he had bought the Superleggera.
 
Bought some stuff for the car over the holidays... On the ricey/cosmetic side I installed a painted trim piece to bring some of the exterior orange into the interior:



And more functionally I bought some 18" wheels with Hoosier R6s for the track:



First track day of the season is in just two weeks...
 
:drool:

That's all thank you.
 
ahpadt said:
Are you gonna get buckets?
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I'd like to, along with the factory roll bar and some harnesses. But right now I rely on the rear storage to get my track wheels to events so it's not practical. I either need a tow vehicle or a hitch before I can give up the space behind the seats.
 
God your car handles T5 and T10 so much better than mine it isn't even funny. So jealous.

But I will say i enjoy Harris Hill a lot. Though my only track to compare it to with personal experience is TWS.
 
Very nice. I have a suggestion, though. Try leaving your car in the higher gear (4th?) for the entire lap. Focus on two things: 1) getting back to the power earlier and getting your foot down, and 2) hitting the apex.

I know being a couple of feet off doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot as you pick up speed. The massive amount of grip that you have is covering it up, but still, you want to get into the habit of hitting the apex every single time. I also suspect that by being in a taller gear than strictly will make the exits a bit smoother and more comfortable as you get on the power, and the entire car will feel more planted with more weight on the tail.

Steve
 
Steve Levin said:
Very nice. I have a suggestion, though. Try leaving your car in the higher gear (4th?) for the entire lap. Focus on two things: 1) getting back to the power earlier and getting your foot down, and 2) hitting the apex.
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This is very good advice, Steve, thanks. I always value your insight into track racing and you've clearly got a lot more experience than I do. This was my first event ever in the "red" most advanced run group and I've got a lot of learning to do still.

I'm pretty happy with my line, though, which is dictated not just from a pure "hit the apex" approach but also in response to some significant camber challenges as well as surface irregularities at Harris Hill Road which aren't apparent from the video. Video, particularly with my low-mount up front really flattens the elevation changes and there's no way for you to know, for example, that the surface in turn 1 falls away dramatically at track out and makes it slower to take a more typical line.

Also in many of the turns (4, 7, and 10 in particular) what might sound like me being unsteady about getting back on the throttle is actually my modulating the throttle to control oversteer to tighten the turn-in. The GT3 really responds well to that approach. There's even a little bit of that in the sweeper turn 2-3. The apex in 8 is really bumpy and I found that my faster line was to miss the apex and stay on the smoother part of the track that allowed full throttle into turn 9. I experimented with both lines over the weekend but haven't looked at the traqmate data to see for sure yet. There are also some camber challenges that make tracking fully out of 9 unsettling for the car and much riskier.

Harris Hill Road is a very tricky and challenging track due to the camber oddities and (sadly) the surface bumps that have developed over the past year or so. I'd be surprised if they don't re-grade and re-surface turn 8 next year.

That said, there are plenty of places where my line is too loose. For certain turns 1, 6, 9 which are all high speed sweepers that I'm still pretty scared of. My fear causes me to avoid the track edge and take a sharper line than I really should. Equiraptor carries 5-10mph more speed through turn 6 than I can and it results from her combination of her fearlessness and more consistent line.

TBoneUs said:
But I will say i enjoy Harris Hill a lot. Though my only track to compare it to with personal experience is TWS.
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It's a fantastic track, I like a a zillion times more than TWS which is exhilarating from speed but less engaging. If you enjoy H2R I'd definitely encourage you to make it up to MSR Cresson to run the 3.1 there. It's a similar thrill.
 
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Great choice on the wheels!
 
Nugget said:
Also in many of the turns (4, 7, and 10 in particular) what might sound like me being unsteady about getting back on the throttle is actually my modulating the throttle to control oversteer to tighten the turn-in. The GT3 really responds well to that approach.
Click to expand...

One thing to think about is cutting your entry speed slightly so you can get the car turned in without rotating it on the throttle. While both techniques will get you around the corner, slower early, then staying on the power will yield a better exit speed. Now, sometimes you have to adjust the throttle slightly, but ideally you want to find the right speed, turn, and be on the power and stay on the power.

Steve
 
I never realised these things make such a nice rasp at the bottom of the revband.
 
I've done a complete 180

I've done a complete 180

180 days, that is.

It was exactly six months ago that equiraptor and I hopped a flight to Nashville and picked up the car. For the past six months I've been daily-driving and monthly-tracking my GT3 RS and I guess now's as good a time as any to pause and reflect on what I've learned from the experience.


By the numbers, it looks something like this:

I've put 6,091 miles on the car (1,218/month).
Of those, 1,149 miles have been on the track (19%).
2 spins (one with me at the wheel. one with, uh, not me at the wheel)
It took me 3,378 miles to decide that I hate PS2 Cups and that I think RE11s are much nicer.
At least 6 random people have taken pictures of me driving and posted them to Flickr.
13 corvettes have tried to goad me into a race on the highway.
I just ordered my second set of R6s and am studiously avoiding calculating my per-lap cost for track tires. :)

But, as all of us here know, numbers can't tell the whole story. Heck, if it were just about numbers I'd probably be driving a Z06 or a GTR.

The GT3 RS has been, overall, great to own. It was sort of an impulsive purchase that could have ended in regret, but so far it's working out just great.

On the street it's been acceptable here in central Houston. I really do daily drive this car. It's actually surviving the crappy roads better than the flexy convertible's chassis. It's a little more brutal for the people inside, but less damaging for the car. Ground clearance is worse, and I've had to refine my skills entering and exiting steep-sloped parking lots. Even with kung-fu-master car control skills there are parking lots I just can't park in now with the GT3 that were navigable with my stock ride height C2S. I'd give the RS a solid C+ for daily drivability. Totally reasonable for enthusiasts, but if you disagree I wouldn't feel compelled to argue the point.

On the track it's everything I could have hoped for and more. Sublime, rewarding, indestructible, and it attracts a lot of fun attention. The lighter weight and stiffer chassis have translated directly to more confidence-inspiring handling, I love being able to dial in a lot more negative camber in the front and with zero toe the car is just right kind of darty and nimble. The lightweight flywheel makes off-throttle oversteer as easy as thinking. It's just a dream.

Bottom line, these are simply fantastic machines. Even at twice the money I honestly have no idea what I'd want to buy if I couldn't have a GT3. It ticks all my checkboxes, tickles all my exuberance, and rewards the passion I have for cars and driving. The heritage, performance, and practicality are an unmatched package that just isn't something you can find with another marque. Full stop.
 
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