mqandil

I applaud a man who is not afraid to drive his car even in bad weather. Just make sure to get winter tires for the car and you will be pleased by how will she handles in winter conditions. Mark

markow

hi mark,
i own a 458 and only test-drove the speciale. my options now are: 1)buy the 458S, 2)buy the GT3, 3) buy the GT3RS, 4)buy the 458 successor (twin turbo).
i have heard that the RS will be very very hardcore and that might swing me back to ferrari.
p

CAlexio

Why is a 458T attractive? Have you heard the California T?... The vacuum cleaner is strong with that one

rsman

Those are difficult third world problems to resolve!!!!

Dan39

Indeed. And, isn't sound (drama, theater, whatever you want to call it) the biggest tangible benefit of driving a Ferrari? We all know it's not performance or value. The 458, of course, is slower and more expensive than both the GT3 and 12C...

CAlexio

We live through our senses right?, and we purchase a sports car to enlighten those senses to the max.. If sound is missing, and in a turbo it is.. Then you're taking away one of the main sensory enhancers.. And one of the few senses which can be appreciated also at low speeds.

Toasty

Damn you Engeljizzle, you're not helping me convince myself between 997.2 or 991

Congrats on the ride, it is seriously beautiful

markow

i do agree with this. actually, i did three test drives in the 991 TTS and it left me cold every time. however, the 458T (or M) will be exciting to look at - which the TTS is not - and it will have almost all the ferrari drama which the 458 has, except the sound. it will be as fast as the mclaren 650S, but look much better and altogether will be a much more rounded proposition. comfortable like the 458, super fast and much torque.
on the other side there is the 458Speciale, the GT3 and the RS, with all the obvious excitement of race car pedigree. a big downside for me is the lack of a rear view camera and of parking sensors on the porsches - i do park in tight spots often.
and please do not tell me about unnecessary soft-core stuff, given that you can get cruise control, comfort seats and bluetooth oh the porsche GT cars.
anyway, decision time is soon,
peter

Gravs

If you've got the money: 458S. And I'm a big porsche fan. GT3 RS won't be that much better than GT3 except for track.

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OldGuy

When a guy gets a new car with Steels vs PCCBs you are not going to notice the difference without going to the track. I dont think anyone here needs to be reminded that Porsches STEEL brakes are amongst the best in the world. I have had 3 cars with PCCBs (2 GT3's)and 2 with steels. You wont notice the PCCBs until the umteenth lap if ever. I had the gen I PCCBs on a 996 GT3
and I DID notice a earlier application of the ABS but thats it.
You are NEVER going to get a guy who got steels to say "Uh NO they are terrible and I should have bought PCCBs"
Ferrari vs a GT3? I dont know how many track days I have done. In SoCal we have a bunch of tracks to go to and I live 40 miles from Willow Springs. I have never seen a Ferrari on the track. I HAVE seen a Ferrari AT the track. They usually dont get driven and stuffed into a garage when the milage gets to 2,900 miles.

llstuey

Mark please remind me what winter tires you got? Did you get the turbo s rims or mount them on the original wheels?

Jimmy-D

I would not get overly concerned that a "turbos" does not sound good. You can buy upgraded sport exhaust systems that will remedy those issues. Plus, if the aftermarket can solve those issues do you not think Ferrari and others' will ?

CAlexio

After market exhaust just makes a turbo engine sound louder, but the mechanical definition which we enjoy in a NA engine is lost.. Have you heard the California T or watched a review.. All the testers say that the "Ferrari sound" is gone.

Engeljizzle

This is awesome. Made my day after reading this.

reidry

I have recently seen two F430s at local track days.

First was a red one driven by a lady. Her boyfriend bought the car and sent her to the event by herself. She was paired with a very nice and calm female instructor. She refused to let the instructor drive even on a 60mph sighting lap (with pace car, no helmet required). During sessions one and two she drove at 70mph or less, had difficulty with the line and with coordinating passing (point bys). She left after her second of four sessions.

Second was a silver one driven by a middle aged gentleman, he was already cleared for solo with this club. He drove faster than the red one on the straights, but very slow in the corners. On track he seemed safe and courteous. After his second session he stopped by my trailer and told one of my buddies that he felt a point by was warranted a few times during the session. We were very nice to him, but our spotters later revealed that he was never within 10 car lenghts.

I think the number of folks that buy Ferrari's AND track them hard is very few.

Ryan