drdonger

Thanks for the review! McLaren still has a long way to go in the reliability department. Hopefully one day they get their act together.

WernerE

More paragraphs, please.

docjohnM

Haha!

The reason it came out like that is that it is a Word Document that I copy/pasted to RL. The formatting did not translate. The article was not written for RL, but rather a private car enthusiast club. You'll note that I referred to "diagrams", but there were none in the post. They also did not make it over due to formatting. I only added a few blurbs for this forum, and you'll notice them because they don't really fit in. (the PPF blurb for example)

I rushed it out because another member of RL requested it asap and I posted it here as a favor. The final edit was finished and published yesterday on our blog.
Cheers!

stpatsday

docjohn
i like your write up thanks
was at mclaren dealer last week for few minutes and couldnt help notice all the preowned low mile 570s on the lot. a bit sad. but i guess not a bad price now with the warranty for someone else. enjoy your gt3

docjohnM

Mclaren of Philly was great.

The tough thing is that there are lots of those 570s sitting around, and there are some great ones, that probably will run trouble free for a long time. But if you don't get one.....

If you decide to pull the trigger, just negotiate the 2 year warranty extension into the deal. If you get a 2017 in the $150K range, the depreciation is not bad at all.

I'm going to get back to a Mclaren in about 2 years, pick up either a depreciated 600, or maybe the last model year of the 570. (but I'll be keeping my GT3!)

I'm still amazed at how easy the GT3 is to live with. Already had 2 extended road trips and I keep looking for excuses to drive the car more.

mrmojom3

Doc - can you compare / contrast the Gen1 R8 vs. GT3 suspension and ride quality. I had a 991.1 C4S SPASM and it was slightly aggressive for me daily (felt lowered) since it was my only car (I've moved to 2 cars now so can tolerate a more aggressive sports car). I had a 991.1 GTS PASM only and it felt great, however didn't have the handling of the SPASM. I have a 2014 R8 w Mag Ride. Its a "luxury" sport suspension, then when I turn on sport it does tighten up pretty good.

When I drove a 991.2 manual C2S I was amazed and how much more composed the suspension was vs. my 991.1's. So I'm assuming the 991.2 GT3 ride quality is improved over the 991.1 GT3?

Anyways, share you comments on the ride of the Gen1 R8 vs. .2 GT3. Specifically as it relates to day to day, and backroad driving. I know its awesome on the track.

Thanks.

docjohnM

No problem! I loved my time with the R8.

As for suspension comfort, the initial damping of the R8 and GT3 are very close when in "street" mode. The GT3 will allow the wheels to move faster when they compress tho. So, occasionally, my R8 would skip or bounce for an instant, where the GT just takes it. BUT...after the first inch of travel, the GT3 lets you know there is only another .75 inches left. Whereas the R8 can take a much larger bump.

So R8>GT3 on larger bumps and GT3>R8 on smaller ones!

Overall, during daily duties the R8 would provide more of a comfortable, controlled ride....but something that the GT3 does in that initial hit is magic.

On my R8 I pretty much never put the shocks in firm mode. The car already cornered flat as a pancake. I also have a long-winded review of my R8 VS the 991.1C2S. I really can't post it here, but I will try to find the link to the R8 forum.
The magic in the R8 is that it does amazing stuff, but with an incredible stability. On autocross, it was 5 sec faster on a 50 sec course than my old E92 M3...but did not feel any faster. The R8 has a wonderful "organic" feel that is very endearing. I'll post some more info when I get out of work today

bli8

My 570S has a few minor issues - comfort entry doesn't always work so I just don't use it; rear view camera comes on slow so I put car in reverse sooner and compensate for lag, the axle lift takes 3 times as long as Porsche's to go up so I hit it sooner and go slower before driveway approaches. Other than that, car has been trouble free for over a year. Car does feel lighter and more nimble than both the GT3 and GT3RS, and faster too as I have a tune on the car. There's no squeak/rattle in the car and the carbon tub feels very very stiff so maybe I lucked out and got a pretty much trouble free car.
I took the 570S and the .2 GT3 to an autox one time and ran both cars back to back and both cars ran within half a second of each other. I think the GT3's Cup2 tires are better than the P Zero Corsa's (225 fronts??) on the Mac so the Mac would be faster w/ 245 Cup2/Trofeo R/R888 R's in the front. I like the Mac's steering better, ride of the GT3 better, sound of GT3's engine note better, I feel more at ease in the GT3 but sometimes you don't want to feel too at ease in a supercar. In conclusion, I need to have both. Both great cars. BTW I'm not going to talk about resale value as we all know which car depreciates slower.

mrmojom3

Thanks Doc.

docjohnM

I'm with you on that....I would have liked to have both in the driveway!

I was just looking at a Lava Orange 2017 they have at MacPhilly with a tinge of jealousy.

The CF tub really was amazingly solid. The creaks and rattles I had were all from parts adrift in minor assembly. For example, the seatback always creaked. As did the leather strap that held the seatbelt. My Rt side A pillar popped out about an inch whenever the weather changed. Turning the steering wheel made a creak at parking speeds. Even with all of that, there was a feeling of "strong bones". And coming from the unbelievably rigid R8, it is saying something! The interior of the 570, to me, was the most esthetic thing I've seen in a vehicle. Gorgeous stitching, racy cockpit, and a wonderful balance of materials, The thought i had concerning the rattles, was that perhaps the previous owner hardwired a radar detector or camera into the car. It seemed to me that some of the loose panels followed the path of such wiring. Possible broken clips and so forth.

I had opposite results with Autocrossing. The car simply had too much lag. We run the Evolution challenge school every year and have the likes of Mark Daddio/Jinx Jordan/Pat Salerno and so on run our cars against us. They were able to get the 570 to do some nice times, but could not eclipse the Z06/GT3s that were there. They had a lot of fun with it tho. I suspect that your tune removed much of the lag they build in to the engine. To me it felt that there was too much thrust & too late. The only oddity (meaning somethng that none of us expected) was that not a single one of us spun the 570! And I spun the R8 fer' chrissakes! The other issue was that the damn thing would not hold second gear. There were times where you were just about to let off the throttle and grab some engine-braking and you'd hear it shift to third....ugh ....cone-salad. If Mclaren tamed the lag and put the right size tires on it, it could have been a beast. The power-to-weight is insane. And the braking is superb.

BrntRubber

“The GT3 has a “tight” and solid feel. It reminds me of when you are boxing and a punch comes in, and you tense your body and hunker down, waiting for the blow. That feeling of rigid muscles, planted to the ground, is much like the GT3’s feel.”

I totally relate to this and find it to be an excellent description of the feel of the GT3!

Your review was superb and I along with many other appreciate the details you have included.

Thank you and believe me, upgrade the exhaust on the GT3 and she will elevate to another level! I suggest a full Dundon system.