frayed

The press has a few blurbs mentioned increased grip from the RS. Here's one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih3yqL63wXU

A review or two here talks about how different the RS drives. Quite a few have noted how jumpy the azz end of the 3 is on bumpy corners.

One explanation is that these reviews are the result of a placebo effect of reviewers wanting to believe what PAG wrote in its marketing literature, and that the jumpiness reported anecdotally here is due to lack proper setup.

The other is that the RS really does drive that much differently.

I ask b/c I'm next in line for the RS, and what matters most to me isn't the rarity of the car, or the widebody, but how much better it drives.

Thoughts appreciated.

Carrera GT

The RS has the "homologation" spec -- especially the rear suspension with I believe front caster as well as two-piece (shim) lower control arm. Would this be night and day? Well, just a good alignment on the GT3 has such a stark contrast from stock. Of course there's the non-scientific nature of driving the big-wing, $17K+ more expensive car and not being willing to get out and say "nope, can't feel it ... um ... maybe a better driver could?"
That, plus you can swap the handful of RS bits onto the GT3 and still snug it all under the "narrow" (hardly!) rump.

I'm curious to know what they "lightened" in the transmission or engine. At first I thought they meant the flywheel, but then they implied changes to the engine.

I found the "roll ... over-bar" reading of the narrator worth a chuckle.
At one point he says 44mm (that's the body) but then says 34mm (which I guess is the actual increase in rear track ... I guess I could read the specs, but that's hard. : )

"trimming down the weight of the gearbox"

then

"lighter engine"

... so is that two ways of saying lightweight flywheel? Is there anything at all different in the RS pertaining to the engine other than removing the a/c compressor?

grussell

Remember The Emperor’s New Clothes?

Carrera GT

Well, I've been politely asking for someone to come race in their RS. So far, is there an RS in the Bay Area with more that 300 miles on it? : )

Eric Ondoy

Thanks for sharing!! Excellent video!!

frayed

LOL. Point well taken.

Jack

You already know what I think based upon my back to back drives of both GT3 iterations.....and I had never read any "PAG marketing literature" on the subject.

Funny how several people who had never driven either version of the 997 GT3 were quick to tell me that I was full of ****e or must be trying to rationalize a purchase decision. Hey, what do I know? Since I can get either one at MSRP, I think that I'll stick with the RS.

grussell

Jack,

If you drove them both at the track on the same day, both with the same circuit alignment and LWFW I would give your comparison much more credit.

I value you opinion, but until you get your pumpkin to the track and we can trade off for a few laps, I can only put those down that are lucky enough to have an RS.

frayed

Jack,

I reread your post on the subject. You noted two big differences, the ltw fly and the rear end stability. The ltw fly is easily added to the 3. So, from a driving perspective, rear end grip is the distinguishing factor.

You wrote

" don't know if it's the different suspension components or the wider track or re-configured suspension computer settings or all of the above..... but the RS just felt more stable."

I'm guessing here but the PASM calibration is said by PAG to be a slightly more aggressive mapping than that on the 3. The extra rear track inproves overall rear grip a bit, but by itself does not improve suspension action at all. . . that is, the camber curve and toe control isn't so much a function of rear track.

That leaves the new components. I've read vague references (see European Car e.g.) to improved camber control with the RS. That seemingly would be associated with the revised homologation components. If that's at the core of the differnce in terms of dynamic stability, I wonder if the associated goodies can be retrofitted onto the 3?

If its that simple, I'm not terribly motivated to go through the financial pain of a car swap.

iLLM3

Interesting info fella's!!!

yellowmz3

I drove an RS this weekend. I presently own a GT3. Personally, I didn't notice that much of a difference between the 2. As a matter of fact, after having read what some RS owners said, I was surprised as to how similiar they were. In my opinion, if you don't care about rarity, and all you want to do is have a great time at the track, get the GT3. If you want people to take notice, and you like exclusivity, than the RS is your ticket. I fall into the latter, and don't mind the difference in cost.

frayed

Good input, thanks mz3.

Carrera GT

Would have been a lot more useful had they taken a known driver and run laps with the same tire/pressure/camber/toe/ride-height with both cars at the same weight with the same driver setup (seat, belts etc.) then reported the times, published data logger information and segment times through different sections of the road.

And if they explained what they meant (gearbox and engine comments) instead of regurgitating factory information, that would help. The RS has been around for a while -- surely there's a "quantitative" assessment out there somewhere.

Carrera GT

Allow me to be the first to offer to rid you of that pain ... now ... what colour is my new RS again ... ? : )

ps. Seriously though, I'm not in the "RS or die" camp

frayed

LOL. Honestly, I like this new 3 a LOT. Gawd knows I've had enough high end sports cars over the last 3 years, and this one is brilliant. Not terribly interested in the swap unless the RS drives demonstrably better.

Not so much quantitatively, but rather, the more subjective 'feel'.

It's great to hear reports such as Jacks and MZ3s. . . probably reports on forums like these are more valid than the stuff the press regurgitates from PAG.