fc-racer

Had the opportunity to drive an F430 back to back with my GT3 at a track day yesterday. The owner gave permission for me to push it as hard as I’d like. My GT3 is setup for the track with an alignment, slight lowering and wheels/tires. Both cars were driven in their sportiest modes (Sport PASM/Sport/TC Off for the GT3 and Race mode for the F430).

Here are my impressions:

Engine

The F430’s engine feels more torquey and very powerful. It seems to have bigger lungs down low and screams in the top end. I never felt wanting for more power or torque anywhere on the track in the Ferrari. I think the difference in power may be due to the gearing, in that the gears felt shorter in the F430 than the GT3, which gave the impression of more power on tap by staying in the powerband longer.

I can’t not mention the exhaust noise from both of these cars. From the inside, the GT3 sounds better and more tuned, especially at the moment when you shift gears and go into the next gear, it almost feels like you can hear everything mesh together in a symphony of glorious noise.

The F430 on the other hand does not sound as tuned, but rather more angry from inside the car. It makes an F1-like crackle when you pull the paddle that makes people track-side wet. I think the Ferrari is louder outside as well, but I didn’t get the chance to hear them side-by-side on-track.

Suspension

Both cars handled the bumpy surface well, with the GT3’s front bouncing around a bit more than the F430. The F430 was better in the longer sweepers, but the GT3 was killer in the hairpins, especially when the back-end is brought into play to help rotate the car.

In stock form, both cars understeer a lot, but I was surprised at how much understeer the Ferrari has and how long it takes for the front-end to recover when pushed too hard. I could have had a cup of coffee before the car finally turned in.

It’s a bit unfair to compare the handling to the GT3 because my car has -2.3d camber front and rear and is on Toyo R888’s, whereas the Ferrari is on street rubber, but I was still surprised at how imprecise the F430 felt. To get the car to turn-in required 911 levels of trail-braking, certainly not what I expected in a mid-engine car. A stock Cayman trounces both of these cars in terms of handling.

Transmission

I loved the F1 transmission on the street, making the Ferrari a joy to drive in any traffic conditions and the exotic sound of perfectly blipped downshifts regardless of when you pulled the lever made it even better. To my surprise, I didn’t enjoy the paddle box that much on the track. In terms of laptimes, it’s certainly faster, but there was just something missing from the whole experience. It was nice however, to pull shifts in places I’d hold onto a gear if it were a manual box.

Upon getting back into the GT3, the gearbox felt a bit like going back in time and living it up with the Flintstones, but the feel of a gear meshing together at the control of my fingertips had never felt so good. The satisfaction of timing and measuring in just the right amount of throttle while braking on the downshift, made me feel like Walter, if even for a fleeting moment.

Brakes

I was expecting big things from the Ferrari, but it is now obvious to me why they’ve made the ceramic technology standard on their cars; the steel counterparts are just not up to the task of track driving. After five hard laps, the brakes were fading fast. Given how much trail-braking is needed to get the car to turn-in, there was no way to maintain the laptimes without giving the brakes a few laps to cool, and then attack again. Even the pedal feel was disappointing, making it difficult to measure in the required amount.

My GT3 is on Pagid Yellow's so it’s not a fair comparison, however, even with the stock pads, the GT3 stops much better, with rock solid consistency and with micrometre precision feel. Both cars are on steel rotors.

Steering

The F430 has wonderful, light steering that works very well on the street. Pushed hard on the track and it kicks back information that is irrelevant. You turn in harder, the tires dig in deeper, but the steering remains light and doesn’t speak to you. You determine how much front end grip there is from the sound of the tires and by the trajectory around the corner. This is odd because, on the street, the F430's steering feels wonderful feelsome.

The GT3 steering is direct, somewhat heavy and feelsome. The first comment from the F430 owner when he came out of the GT3 was that the car really talks to you, feels like an extension of your mind.

Interior

Even though this is a track review, I can’t not talk about the gorgeous interior of the Ferrari. The leather feels like they picked them off cows that descended from heaven. The attention to detail and beautiful stitching make you want to stare at the interior rather than sit in it, and not a piece of cheap plastic to be seen anywhere. Perhaps the only downside is that the seats appear to be made for big Italians, because I was bouncing around a bit between the bolsters of the sport seats.

After the Ferrari, the GT3 felt anti-climatic to be in. Germanic efficiency, everything there for a reason, nothing superfluous. The plastic center console never looked cheaper than it did at that moment. Sad.

Exterior

The Ferrari is pure sex on wheels. The car looks so beautiful in your rearview mirror that you can’t help but raise your heart rate when it appears for fleeting moments. I spent more time looking in my rear view mirror than out front just to see this beautiful car over and over again. What’s surprising is how wide this car is. The front and especially the rear are massive. It dwarfs the GT3 when parked side-by-side.

In terms of looks, what can be said about the 911 that already hasn’t? I think the GT3 will weather the ravages of time better than the Ferrari, but there is no denying the F430 is a stunner and makes me weak at the knees. Perhaps the most beautiful modern day Ferrari to me, is the 360, but the F430 has that something special too.

Conclusion

With enough setup, I’m sure the Ferrari would be a track monster, but I was surprised that it wasn’t better than it was. I think it would make the most amazing weekend, mountain, go-for-a-drive car. For track use, I think I’m still in the Porsche camp.

A dream would be to have a GT3 for the track and an F430 for the road. I would love to go through a tunnel with the F430 at full-chat and pull an up-shift…oh man, that’s what dreams are made of.

MikeBat

Great write up!

I smiled when you said that the Ferrari seats "appear to be made for big Italians". It was my impression that Italians were generally considered small, and German's large.

At least that is the case in my families.... I am a half breed Italian/Belgian

jenk12m

nice write up, i've always dreamed of owning a ferrari one day.

allegretto

Having owned both I can agree with many of your observations

However I don't believe that anything short of a Money Howitzer can render the 430 nearly as track-worthy as the RS.

I found the 430 almost pedestrian to drive on the street except for the near-incessant buzz it stirred from observers. Definitely not the car for someone who wishes to simply travel from A to B.

Ferrari hides are lovely. Ferrari brakes (steel anyway) suck on the track. And while the Ferrari interior materials are great, the overall ergonomics are nowhere near as intuitive and functional as the Porsche.

In the 430, I rode "on" it. In the GT3 RS I rode "in" it. Hard to say it any other way and YMMV...

After looking at it in my garage for several months, I think the 430 borders on ugly. Not nearly as seductive as the 360. The 360 is a beautiful, if voluptuous woman. The 430 is a marine creature.

silverboy

FC-Racer - thanks for the elaborate write up. Very relevant to me having a F430 is my mid term goal! All the best!

997gt3north

Farz,

If it is the same 430 that does the Apex days at Mosport then I fully agree.
Got a ride in the car and was very surprised at the floating front end / sitting on top of the car as oppose to in the car feeling.

Compare and contrast and I got a ride in a 360cs / fully race prepped/caged car at WG running slicks and can tell you the car was amazing

tmario

Thanks for the writeup!

I can second that the CS is quite capable on the track and in my hands at least equal to my RS as I had written in a previous post of mine. I'm sure the Scuderia would be a more apples to apples comparison, but then there's that niggling price differential to think about As I concluded in my case, the GT3/RS is ultimately the way to go on the track when all is said and done. I agree that the standard 430 is more of a a street beast.

I'm curious about the brakes. Anyone posit a theory as to while steel to steel the Ferrari would be weaker?

M

gmchin

TMario, was told by a friend of mine who's a tech at Ferrari the reason the brakes fade so fast in Ferraris (at least 360) is because the rotors are thin. so they heat up faster than they can dissipate the heat.

lone wolf

there is no comparison between a 430 Scud and any GT 3 variant on the track. The Scud is simply in another league. Probably quicker than a Carrera Gt too.especially in the hands of an amateur driver.

allegretto

Yeah probably so. The Carerra GT is two handfuls on the track unless you're very special indeed.

But the Scud is no match for a proper racer either.

carcommander

I hate to say it but my F430 makes my 997TT look like a camry inside and out. I still love my turbo but the Ferrari is lust.

allegretto

You must have had a different F430 and 997TT than I did.

lone wolf

all i can tell you guys is that the Scud is special on the track. they did a good job with it. driving the Scud after my 997 gt2 on the track it felt like i was on another planet....but agreed, both are lame compared to a real race car on the track.....

Carrera GT

That's a great read. Thanks for taking the time to capture the comparison in words. I'm staring down the barrel of an F430 to sit around in the garage and share dust-gather duties with a GT3 and a 993. I think the GT3 will feel the Ferrari threat and the 993 will laugh it off. : )

Carrera GT

Then the Ferrari tech doesn't understand brakes.