991RS Review thread
09-25-2015 | 10:45 PM
#518
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 112
Likes: 5
09-26-2015 | 02:59 AM
#519
Thread Starter
Race Car
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 4,848
Likes: 419
From: Europe
09-27-2015 | 09:26 AM
#520
Racer
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 460
Likes: 8
Warning: This is not a professional review.
These are just my own thought after spending a couple of hours with the car, all below 4k-5k... But I thought it was worth sharing with all of you who have a GT3 and are waiting on an RS or looking for an allocation. Perhaps some of the 'converted' can chime in also.
Outside
The rear end and the front fenders, both widened from the 3 as you know, are impressive. It's not beautiful necessarily but it conveys a sense of sheer mass. Combined with the steamroller rubber, it leaves an impression of control and aggressiveness. I like it but the 3 is definitely more beautiful in that area, more fluid and balanced. (Heck, my folks called me after getting a few picks and those were the first words out of their mouths...) So it's purposeful and menacing but not exactly sexy IMO.
Interior
You will feel right at home. The straps in the doors work very well and I almost didn't notice them. I have the gray stitching w/ gray pulls and it works great as it is subtle. For those with the LWB, it will be business as usual. I had the 18-way adjustable seats and so far, I prefer the LWB. It's almost an instant perfect driving position. No fuss. What I appreciate the most is that, as with the steering adjustment, the mechanical slide of the seat is so much more effective than the motorized one, which is awfully slow.
My wife was 100% in agreement. The handle position is great, the adjustment is instant and there are far fewer buttons to mess with, buttons that take forever to impact your position. She also thought the fire extinguisher is much better positioned relative to the seat, i.e. she didn't realize its presence.
Sound
This is one of the most immediate and noticeable differences with the 3. The RS doesn't sound like a 3. From within, when you start the car, it actually sounds at first louder but then it settles on a more subdued idle. Perhaps because it's a few Hz lower, in a range your ears are less sensitive to. From the outside, it's different and simply sounds louder. Interestingly, the sport exhaust button doesn't seem to make as big a difference but I need to spend more time on this.
When you drive, it also sounds very different. The words that come to mind are less intrusive but louder. I know it may sound strange but the sound it crisper in a sense. It's really odd because I expected a bigger assault on the senses but it was subtle in many ways even though, once you start comparing to other noises, e.g. radio, it's clearly louder. One to analyze further but I suspect it has to do with the frequency range again. The best comparison I can think of is white noise vs. music, where the latter never feels as aggressive even if it's running at higher decibels.
The transmission also sounds very different, especially on upshifts. There is a definite 'clank' as the gears drop in that I never noticed on the 3. It's not quite like cut gears but that would be the closest approximation I could give. The 3 was mostly about engine and exhaust burbles and the blip while the RS leads with a significant, metallic clank, which I adore. The rest is similar though feels again more subtle.
Drive
What a different car! That's all I can say...
The first thing that jumped at me was the wider stance. You can feel it instantly. It makes for a much smoother ride and leaves you with the impression that you're navigating a platform. It's freakish. I can see this car slide very nicely at the limit. The 3 did it beautifully in turns on track but this is going to be beyond belief, I'm sure of that.
Back to the smoothness for a moment, I felt like the RS in sport mode, suspension-wise, rode like the 3 in comfort mode. My wife, who is definitely more 'sensitive' to these things, agreed. It is firm, don't get me wrong. In fact, it felt firmer than the 3, though I suspect it will change as I progress through the break-in. However, it wasn't as harsh as the 3. (Not that the 3 is harsh but in a relative sense, it was.) I can only attribute this to the fact that you are sitting a little more in the center of the car as you push the contact patches out. Perhaps Petervb can chime in...
The steering is better in every way. It feels lighter, quicker and more precise. A lot has to do with the radius of the steering wheel so that can be had on the 3. However, the front contact patches are also wider, giving you a sense of placement of the car that is clearly more intuitive. I love the steering, plain and simple.
Perhaps the other thing that helps the steering is the weight of the car. It feels lighter and more agile. A word of caution here. Both my cars had the ceramics but the 3's seats were much heavier and the RS also has the lightweight battery so I may have a few extra pounds of difference between the two cars. Nevertheless, I suspect most of you will notice how 'light' the car feels relative to the 3. It probably also has to do with the incremental power, which is hard to detect if you think of it in sheer numbers but it makes the car easier to motivate. These are subtle differences that add-up I suspect.
Talking about motivation, I was able to give it a little push here and there while keeping it below 4k to 5k. The first impression, as suggested above, isn't that this car is faster, though it probably is, but rather that it has a better balance between weight and power. It breaks inertia with less effort. It gets up and goes almost by will. That's what I think leaves me with the impression of the car being lighter; the power isn't in your face but the car responds more promptly, more effortlessly.
Last but not least, visibility... 3/4 rear is poor. The LWB are wider and cut into the field of vision so you need to be attentive if you don't want to scrape a few bumpers... Or worse. I would advise against just jumping lanes on the highway. On the track, I don't see this being as big an issue unless you have clearly mismatched cars and drivers in the field but otherwise, position awareness should suffice. Anyway, just a word of caution if you are moving from a 3 with 'normal' seats.
I hope this helps.
These are just my own thought after spending a couple of hours with the car, all below 4k-5k... But I thought it was worth sharing with all of you who have a GT3 and are waiting on an RS or looking for an allocation. Perhaps some of the 'converted' can chime in also.
Outside
The rear end and the front fenders, both widened from the 3 as you know, are impressive. It's not beautiful necessarily but it conveys a sense of sheer mass. Combined with the steamroller rubber, it leaves an impression of control and aggressiveness. I like it but the 3 is definitely more beautiful in that area, more fluid and balanced. (Heck, my folks called me after getting a few picks and those were the first words out of their mouths...) So it's purposeful and menacing but not exactly sexy IMO.
Interior
You will feel right at home. The straps in the doors work very well and I almost didn't notice them. I have the gray stitching w/ gray pulls and it works great as it is subtle. For those with the LWB, it will be business as usual. I had the 18-way adjustable seats and so far, I prefer the LWB. It's almost an instant perfect driving position. No fuss. What I appreciate the most is that, as with the steering adjustment, the mechanical slide of the seat is so much more effective than the motorized one, which is awfully slow.
My wife was 100% in agreement. The handle position is great, the adjustment is instant and there are far fewer buttons to mess with, buttons that take forever to impact your position. She also thought the fire extinguisher is much better positioned relative to the seat, i.e. she didn't realize its presence.
Sound
This is one of the most immediate and noticeable differences with the 3. The RS doesn't sound like a 3. From within, when you start the car, it actually sounds at first louder but then it settles on a more subdued idle. Perhaps because it's a few Hz lower, in a range your ears are less sensitive to. From the outside, it's different and simply sounds louder. Interestingly, the sport exhaust button doesn't seem to make as big a difference but I need to spend more time on this.
When you drive, it also sounds very different. The words that come to mind are less intrusive but louder. I know it may sound strange but the sound it crisper in a sense. It's really odd because I expected a bigger assault on the senses but it was subtle in many ways even though, once you start comparing to other noises, e.g. radio, it's clearly louder. One to analyze further but I suspect it has to do with the frequency range again. The best comparison I can think of is white noise vs. music, where the latter never feels as aggressive even if it's running at higher decibels.
The transmission also sounds very different, especially on upshifts. There is a definite 'clank' as the gears drop in that I never noticed on the 3. It's not quite like cut gears but that would be the closest approximation I could give. The 3 was mostly about engine and exhaust burbles and the blip while the RS leads with a significant, metallic clank, which I adore. The rest is similar though feels again more subtle.
Drive
What a different car! That's all I can say...
The first thing that jumped at me was the wider stance. You can feel it instantly. It makes for a much smoother ride and leaves you with the impression that you're navigating a platform. It's freakish. I can see this car slide very nicely at the limit. The 3 did it beautifully in turns on track but this is going to be beyond belief, I'm sure of that.
Back to the smoothness for a moment, I felt like the RS in sport mode, suspension-wise, rode like the 3 in comfort mode. My wife, who is definitely more 'sensitive' to these things, agreed. It is firm, don't get me wrong. In fact, it felt firmer than the 3, though I suspect it will change as I progress through the break-in. However, it wasn't as harsh as the 3. (Not that the 3 is harsh but in a relative sense, it was.) I can only attribute this to the fact that you are sitting a little more in the center of the car as you push the contact patches out. Perhaps Petervb can chime in...
The steering is better in every way. It feels lighter, quicker and more precise. A lot has to do with the radius of the steering wheel so that can be had on the 3. However, the front contact patches are also wider, giving you a sense of placement of the car that is clearly more intuitive. I love the steering, plain and simple.
Perhaps the other thing that helps the steering is the weight of the car. It feels lighter and more agile. A word of caution here. Both my cars had the ceramics but the 3's seats were much heavier and the RS also has the lightweight battery so I may have a few extra pounds of difference between the two cars. Nevertheless, I suspect most of you will notice how 'light' the car feels relative to the 3. It probably also has to do with the incremental power, which is hard to detect if you think of it in sheer numbers but it makes the car easier to motivate. These are subtle differences that add-up I suspect.
Talking about motivation, I was able to give it a little push here and there while keeping it below 4k to 5k. The first impression, as suggested above, isn't that this car is faster, though it probably is, but rather that it has a better balance between weight and power. It breaks inertia with less effort. It gets up and goes almost by will. That's what I think leaves me with the impression of the car being lighter; the power isn't in your face but the car responds more promptly, more effortlessly.
Last but not least, visibility... 3/4 rear is poor. The LWB are wider and cut into the field of vision so you need to be attentive if you don't want to scrape a few bumpers... Or worse. I would advise against just jumping lanes on the highway. On the track, I don't see this being as big an issue unless you have clearly mismatched cars and drivers in the field but otherwise, position awareness should suffice. Anyway, just a word of caution if you are moving from a 3 with 'normal' seats.
I hope this helps.
09-27-2015 | 09:42 AM
#521
Nordschleife Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 5,622
Likes: 14
From: Austin, Texas
thanks great review. some points expected, some points unexpected
surprised to hear that the sound is less/muffled than the GT3 or that the transmission shifts differently because I would think in the case of both its basically the same running gear
looks are obviously a very subjective thing, but when I see pics of RS next to GT3 now, the GT3 looks diminutive/slab sided. My favorite view of the RS is of the front, where I think the little bit of wideness looks really killer and better to my eyes. I could live without the size/drama of the wing, but obviously that is functional. I do think the regular 3 looks better in the back.
surprised to hear that the sound is less/muffled than the GT3 or that the transmission shifts differently because I would think in the case of both its basically the same running gear
looks are obviously a very subjective thing, but when I see pics of RS next to GT3 now, the GT3 looks diminutive/slab sided. My favorite view of the RS is of the front, where I think the little bit of wideness looks really killer and better to my eyes. I could live without the size/drama of the wing, but obviously that is functional. I do think the regular 3 looks better in the back.
09-27-2015 | 10:01 AM
#523
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
From: New Mexico
Thank you for such a clear description of the 'subtle qualities that make the RS a more satisfying car to drive and probably faster around a track for most, than the non RS version. It is reassuring to know that a non-professional can feel enough of the differences to justify the price delta and the less elegant aesthetics. It is also good to know that your wife also found the car more comfortable. Enjoy your new car!
