That has not been my experience. Down an uphill straight from about 40mph to about 140mph, with an extra about 350lbs in my car vs two C5Z06s, dead even. Similar result with non X50 Turbos and F360CSs.

A good time for a STOCK 3.2L NSX is high 12s. Alot changes when you add 100HP!

You bet! Ive never experienced anything like those brakes, in ANY car.

It is the mid engine and the design of the chassis that makes the NSX a standout. Unlimited rear tire grip because of the chassis.

No doubt the GT3 is the reigning king. Absolutely it is the king. If I was to do it over again a smarter choice would be to get a GT3 and mod it very lightly. That said, there is something wickedly cool about owning a really nice NSX (IMO). I am having a very tough time imagining my next car to be anything other than a GT3 though. What an awesome machine.

 

Back in LA,in mid 1990's era, I drive my friends NSX's (yes I have several friends that own different NSX but all similiar modification).It handle nice,and quite fast.His mod is exhaust,K&N Filter,lower the car with springs only,and AVS 5 spoke wheel (the most beatiful wheel at that time for Japanese car) or the Enkei (I forgot the model name)white color thin five spoke lightweight wheel.NSX also sits lower to the ground ala Ferrari compare to Porsche.

I also drive my friends 993 Carreras (from several friends also),those 993s handles about the same as NSX (perhaps NSX a little bit more stable),but 993 is faster response from standing still,much better brakes,and better feeling/connected to the road.

I also drive my friend's Ferrari 355 Coupe,Handles much better then NSX and 993 Carrera,and also much better handling than my car,engine note that is very very sweet,and Drop dead gorgeous(best looking car at that time).And the feeling that I am very rich and succeful when I drove this car.Funny this feeling is gone again as soon as I have to return the key to the owner

Drive also some friends Supra Turbo,300ZX,RX7,Lotus Espirit S4,some M3,M5,Testarossa,but nothing special about those cars.

I my self drive a 1994 Turbo 3.6 (964 style) after I sold my 94 E500,
and although I have to admit the handling of my car is not as good as the 355 and 993,I still think it has more "feel" then NSX.But the most important point is, I race all my friends car above and never loose a battle (at least not after 2nd gear due to turbo lag).

So If my memory is correct,the NSX is a very practical,easy to drive,very good handling,and quite fast car and it do all of them well on average.But if what you are loooking is that race feeling,the feel of connected to the road,and race car response,I am very sure (even though I never drove a GT3) that the GT3 is much much better.
Even a 993 Carrera have better feel then NSX.It is not just about the numbers,but about that feel in you when you start engange first gear and then when you accelerated hard,the noise,the way it take corner,the braking.
So I support you all the way,if you decide to move to a GT3.

The only think that NSX beat all the car above (including the 355 on east LA where lots of Asian population leave) are when it come to chicks (young one) magnet, girls always looks at me and smile when I drive my friend's NSX (especially the red ones).

And none of the girls give me any look when I drive my 1994 3.6 Turbo,with the shiny 3pc Speedlines Porsche wheel,Gembala Lowered Suspension,Tech Art Brake cooling ducts painted red,Tech Art very loud exhaust,Tech Art front Turbo S lips etc.

One girls (a friend of mine) even ask why I am driving such an old car !!! She thinks my car is old.(remember that time is 1995,and my car is barely 2 years old).I should take her to the movie to see how Will Smith in Bad Boys save the girl with a 1994 Turbo 3.6,hopefully she change her mind about Porsche.

I do not know if young girls in LA still love NSX like before,but during my time it is

 

Not true. The 360 is MUCH more reliable than the 355 (ask any independent Ferrari mech) and on a par with Porsche. I've got several friends with a lot of miles on their 360s and no issues. If you prefer the 355, go right ahead, but it makes no sense to claim the 360 is not reliable.

Gary

 

Not to start a full blown argument here but it is more expensive to service an F car then a P car, end of story. Parts and labor are higher, even at my local independent shops.

I want to make it very clear that am not saying the 360 is a bad car by any means, it is an excellent car. However, I have many friends with 360s and all have spent more keeping their cars on the road then most GT3 owners I know of. It is not that the 360 is unreliable, it is just that the GT3 has proven to be flat out bomb proof. Time may take its toll on these but for now, the only issues that I am aware of are front rotors that last about 5 minutes.

FWIW, I am far more of an F car guy then a P car guy. Frankly, I do not even like the way the GT3 looks or the fact that the engine dangles behind the rear wheels. For me, it was all about the way it drove as I buy my cars to use them at the limit. It dodn't take me more then 5 minutes behnd the wheel of the GT3 to figure out what it was(it was a fast and hard 5 minutes) and was capable of. Not to mention that I have been watching Cup cars run the local region for many years and they always do well with few failures.

 

Prosper, not sure what NSX's you are driving but no regular 993 will deliver the driving experience of a NSX. I owned a 993 with coil overs, exhaust GT2 wing etc and it didn't come close to the NSX which was flatter, more communicative steering and better exhaust/engine note.

I just came from a ride ride on the Aprilia with some of the local guys. One of the guys came with an Elise. There's a toy I forgot about. Should have Evo-like steering with the looks of a mini exotic.

The Lotus driver says he outbrakes GT3's due to weighing 1000 pounds less and this keeps him from getting beaten by giants (GT3, Z06, NSX, 360's etc) well at least to him they are giants.

 

But if this discussion comes back down to NSX or GT3, for the track, the GT3 is going to whop the NSX 10 times out of 10 times, same driver.

Mod the NSX, a lot, and you can come up with something that is probably as capable as a GT3, as reliable, more unique, and all in less cost. But that is not what we're talking about. Yes an NSX is a great car (which is why I have one), but co'mon people, it's no GT3 out of the box.

 

If that is the case, then those other drivers aren't very good. We have a very experienced Lotus Elise driver in our club, and even at the "non hp tracks" he regularly gets his clock cleaned by the top 993/996turbo/GT3 drivers. 195 hp with no torque just doesn't cut it, no matter how well it handles or brakes. He gets eaten alive coming off of the corners. He's looking for a GT3 if anyone wants his Elise.

 

My Elise is 190 hp, Larry, not 195, and it's not for sale. I can do OK at Jefferson and Shenandoah but the bigger tracks are a problem comparatively. Who wants to have a dirty clock? But I do want a GT3!

 

No argument. I was only addressing reliablity, which I believe is similar between the GT3 and the 360. When and if you do have to do something major, the 360 is going to be more expensive, no question.

Gary

 

Great thread guys. I have a 05 Gt3 that I drive daily and beat up on over the weekends. Mad respect to the NSX, I have driven a very nice one but the GT3 won me over.

 

If I didn't have a GT3, a properly equipped Elise or Exige would be at the top of my list for a track toy. When dialed up to about 240HP and put on the right suspension, they really go and are pretty affordable!

Sorry to get off topic here!

 

The problem is that, at least to date, there is no reliable and proved way to get to that power or even close. There are many turbo kits but there are horror stories as well. Lotus made 50 track only 240 HP supercharged Exiges and is coming out with a limited production 220 HP Exige, but it isn't cheap. Ideally, you would mount a factory SC to the Elise but there may not be a way to route the plumbing or install the intercooler.

 

Come on guys, lets be real about all of this. The GT3 is THE car for the track of all those discussed here, period. Don't even consider a 360 unless it is a CS at twice the cost (GT3 will walk from a non- CS 360 at the track). But as others have said, maintainance will be very costly on any F-car and they are NOT as reliable as a GT3, no way. Yes a blown Exige will hang close to a GT3's rear end but at what cost? You are driving around in a glued together car for God's sake! All at a price that approaches a lightly used GT3.

As for an NSX? Are you kidding me? Sorry , but I cant even say those three letters in the same sentence as GT3 without laughing. Dont even get me started on that thing. The interior alone is just horrendous. There is no way that an NSX motor and trans will stand up to track abuse the way a GT3's will.

Just get the used GT3 with roll bar and seats, do the RS clutch/flywheel, proper alignment and MPSC, front floating rotors if you like, go out and flog regularly. No contest! Short of over-revving or shunting it, you will not have a problem.

 

I think a better comparison would be GT3 vs NSX-R (Japan and UK only model). However I'll say this based on my experience (have owned both), while the NSX is superb handling and well balanced car, so is the GT3, no question the brakes and engine output are better in the GT3.

I've driven them both out on the track back to back and while the NSX was easier to drive fast, the GT3 was faster and consequently more rewarding. Also the GT3 can sustain it's peak performance for much longer.

PS
IMHO most Ferrari's, other than the 360CS make crappy track cars.

 

That hasn't really been my experience and there are a lot of them in the UK. An Elise with a honda k20a engine in, especially when supercharged, are quick however. Fastest Elise derivative I've seen was a mk1 Exige with an Audi TT engine in it making >300 BHP. That left my GT3 like I was stationary. Then it caught fire (and no I'm not kidding).