Frank Sinatra

Your a lucky man Mr. Hart. Enjoy every minute with her. I recently saw a Silver GT2 at my local Barnes & Noble, oh so very beutiful. I like the sleeper quality the car has. Have fun.
Later

kwb

I own a Seal GT2 and last night I noticed in 6th gear at 3000 RPM the car was doing right at 90mph. I love the car and it definitely feels like "a race car". Going in and out of driveways one of the front wheels is always in the air due to the suspension. The rides rougher and is noisier than the TT - but these are the things that sold me on the car. It feels more exotic than any other Porsche I have owned. Good luck, you can't go wrong with a TT.

Steve Lavigne

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by billhart:
<strong>Without driving all of you crazy (since i am now hotly anticipating this car and, as you know, friends and spouses don't necessarily get the obsession), can anybody tell me what the mph range of each gear is, once the car is broken in?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica"><img src="http://stevelavigne.com/images/gt2ratios.jpg" alt=" - " />

The upper portion is with the stock ring and pinion. The lower portion is with a real short 4.25 ring and pinion. This is with a shift point of 6750 rpm and the calculated diameter of the stock rear 315/30-18 tire.

Altering the GT2 gearing was discussed in this thread:

<a href="http://forums.rennlist.com/cgi-bin/rennforums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=001889" target="_blank">http://forums.rennlist.com/cgi-bin/rennforums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=001889 </a>

Redlinerobert

Steve,

That is the coolest avatar I have seen. Good job!

billhart

Thanks, all.

MKW

Hey Bill - are you the guy who mugged it up trying to unfold the Barchetta top in Road and Track ? If you are , your black car ( on the cover ) was wicked , but then I am partial to that color. Welcome to Rennlist ! BTW, Al Burtoni makes some beautiful custom Ferrari exhausts - I wonder if he'd do a 996 Turbo system ?

billhart

Yep, that was me, MKW. When i got the car, the dealer spent a 1/2 hr. trying to erect it and we both gave up in frustration, being afraid of scratching the paint. I have had to plan every driving excursion around the weather, and even then, its hard to predict. I drove the car to the Reading F show a couple weeks ago; got caught in a torrential downpour in the Lehigh Valley. Thankfully, the interior wiped down easily. The black looks great, gives it a sinister look and does much to conceal the awkwardness of the tail.
Thanks for the welcome. I went to visit Al Burtoni a couple years ago, to look at an early restored periscope roof Countach. He had a very impressive facility, atop a hill in the middle of nowhere, about 40 minutes outside of San Jose.
He has fabrication, machine shop, etc. there, and while a little crusty, is a character in his own right.

MKW

Bill , I can't see how a Barchetta can work in the Midwest or East, where the summer humid weather can go from cloudless to sudden evaporative thunderstorm in 30 minutes . At least here in California , storms don't "pop up", but roll in off the Pacific with several days warning .
Agree about Al- guys like that are a vanishing breed in the exotic car world. Today's younger auto " mechanics " are just parts installers/replacers.

Jared W.

You can't go wrong with the GT2. The X50 TT will be much more comfortable, but if you are really looking for the light sports car feel the 2 wheel drive will win you over. The all wheel drive makes the front end heavier, and you can definately feel it (the whole car is of course heavier, too).

GT2 is perfect exactly how it is, with no need to spend time and money modifying it. It is livable as a daily driver, although you will scrape the bumper from time to time. It is much closer in feel to the 360 than the regular turbo is.

SPR

Given the style of your driving- offroad excursion. I would get a tt and modify it to your liking. It would be safer and easier to drive at the limit. An x50 option would bridge that gap nicely. NO offense but what was the estimate of stuffed gt2's something like over 50%??? Good luck post pics.-

Jared W.

I seriously doubt that 50% of the GT2s are crashed. I have never seen hard numbers to prove any of the 25% or 50% numbers that are being thrown around.

The vast majority of those who drive the GT2 and the TT prefer the GT2 as far as sports car feel, and don't think they are dangerous.

I recently drove the GT2 at Laguna Seca. One of the instructors there races GT3-Rs , and he said that the GT2 is by far the best car "out of the box" made right now. He mentioned that the chassis responds on the track almost exactly like the GT3-R. Anyway, the car didn't scare me; it commands respect, but isn't fear inspiring.

billhart

SPR: too late anyway. The GT 2 is on its way today to my dealer, should arrive by tomorrow night. After hearing all the talk about how unpredictable the car can be, you're actually making me a little excited. Sounds like the old porsches- don't lift off! But, once i get a feel for the car, we'll know. I don't plan on driving it like an idiot, at least at first. I will post some pics here once i take delivery, which will probably be this weekend.
Frankly, my biggest concern is the low spoiler; we are changing houses later this summer, and the first thing i'm having the contractor do is regrade the driveway. At least it leads to a 5 car garage, so that'll be happenin.'

offroadr35

Bill, we have a very steep driveway also. Our GT2 rubs occasionally if we don't take the angle just right. Porsche anticipated this however. The bottom piece is made of flexible rubber and only costs around $300 to replace. The one thing you'll notice though is that you'll lift a wheel coming out of places at an angle, it looks pretty cool

-Steve

AW

Bill, you'll love the car. I got mine yesterday and it is a blast. Compared to the TT, the chassis is very communicative, the clutch is very heavy and the tranny somewhat notchy. But the car feels a lot more agile.

I don't think it is a dangerous car but I can see how some clueless aggressive driver can go very wrong very fast.

I religiously respect the 1000 miles breakin and cannot talk about power yet...

ACW

billhart

I am picking the car up tomorrow and looking forward to it. The dealership is easily 150 miles from my house, which would make for a nice break-in drive. Unfortunately, it will be raining tomorrow here in the NE, so we'll see how good the traction control is (NOT). Just kidding. Sunday is supposed to be dry here, so i'll be able to get a better feel for the car then. I just ordered a fresh valentine 1 and plan to have ultrasmith install it in the rear view mirror. Any other tweaks, apart from racing seats?