Terry L

Interesting comparo in the new issue by Johannes Van Overbeek. It turns out we're not nuts after all - he finds on-throttle understeer out of quick but not terribly tight corners, and "pitch problems," as well as issues with the OEM Sport Cups vs the real ones. He says part of the tire problems may have been due to overinflation but I doubt that is the whole thing. Amazingly, there is a 17 second lap time difference between the cars; the RSR laps at 1:45 versus the GT3 RS at 2:02.

Jager

17 seconds? What, was the RS carrying a piano?

NJ-GT

17 seconds is a huge difference on a 2:00 course.

The difference between the SuperCar Carrera GT and a 996 GT3 RSR was 9 seconds on the following test. Short 1.5 miles racetrack:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=3377

Nordschleife

That difference is entirely what I would expect. The RSR has slicks, more horsepower, more efficient gearbox, less weight, and is much better set up to get through the corners, wheelbase widened, fat tyres, better suspension location, better springs and shocks, better brakes......

Perhaps somebody would care to put up a GT3, GT3RS, GT3 Cup and GT3 RS on control slicks on the same day, in the hands of a good driver who is of the low intervention persuasion. (people who use power excessively to sort out handling shortcomings tend to skew the results). Now, where are we going to find all these cars - this weekend......


R+C

leif997

...just need a 7 GT3 cup to complete the equation and an open track day ....already have 3 drivers...996RSR will have to do

Nordschleife

aren't they all at Daytona?

R+C

Frino

I found Pete Stout's comments at the end of the comparo very elightening about the GT3 RS. He noted the lack of "sweetness" associated with a car you wanted to drive forever. He also stated he had a very difficult time getting comfortable with the RS on the track...a point even a C2S driver could relate to...

930man

not even a comparison between the two/..... tha is the same as comparing apples to oranges ... i need to read the article .... but my guess the rsr would several seconds faster then the gt3cup

zicoramone

I think there is no doubt about it. The RSR engine is 3,795 cc, 435 Nm torque, 485 bhp, rpm till 9,000. The cup engine it's not so powerful (3,598 cc, 400 Nm, 400 bhp, 8,200 rpm). Even the 18 2008 cup cars Weissach M. D. launch for GB Cup with significant power increase will be slower than the RSR.

iLLM3

There is no doubt about it that the GT3 RS is an outstanding street car with tremendous capability on the track as well.. BUT as mentioned, doesn't surprise me one bit, the RSR is JUST for track duty and they just can't be compared!

XSpeedFreakX

Not a suprising result at all. The RS sacrifices performance for usability. Not to long ago Tiff Needle tested the 997 GT3 RS against a 997 Cup. The Cup car was 5 seconds faster a lap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5FQTCrl6g0

Terry L

Sure, I expected that the RSR would be faster, but 17%? That is amazing. As to the lack of "sweetness", I'm not sure what he means, but the inputs and responses are, for me, as pleasurable as my Lotus Elise, which is supposed to be as sweet as they come. Granted, the GT3 rolls, bobs and jinks more, but it's sweet to get on the power too.

TT Gasman

Apples and oranges, can't compare street cars to race cars, case in point the street legal 250hp 911 spec racer is faster than the RS . I found Stout's comments interesting, he seems to prefer the 996 to the 997 GT3. Do RL owners of both cars agree?

Snowboarder54

70 more HP 400# less weight and set up for track use only!!!=17 seconds.

mooty

one cannot compared fully decked out, factory built, well set up race car with a stock, poorly set up, street car. RSR should be faster, but i doubt 17 seconds. here is my short report:

P stout in 2nd opinion said car oversteering at some turns and pushes
at others. I'm sure the car was not set up and tires are worn. When I
had OEM MPSC with trk Alignment per manual, the car only pushed. I can't
get it to over steer short of full lift.

Oh, I'm 100% certain J VoB was just puttering around in the RS but
pushed more in RSR and that the RSR was properly set up and RS was poorly
alighned. Why? Thunderhill is one of my home trk. I run 15 days there a
year. I drove behind JVoB at one DE. Both in RS. He dropped me after
one lap (by front straight, he's 1/2straight ahead of me, so that means
no way in hell I can make up the time).

Now I have RA1 and seat/harness, all else stock. I had that when i
drove behind him as well. He only had stock seat and belt. I can do 204
consistently without pushing; talking to my passenger. I can do some 203
and once in a while (3-4 lap a day) I do 202. So with that in mind, even
with a box stock car, JVoB has to be faster than a hack like me. The
fact that he only did 202 tells me he's doing a Sunday drive to
church or something is wrong with car.

Thus my guess is that the lap time delta b/n RSR & RS is SLIGHTLY
smaller than the article suggested.

Another data point:
A friend in stock 6 GT3 with mpsc and safety gear. Oh, he does have cup
4.0 RP. He runs consistant 200. So a well set up RS driven by JvOB HAS
to be faster than 202 as the article suggested.