Any 4.0's for sale?
05-09-2012 | 04:34 AM
#226
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 15,358
Likes: 183
From: Tampa
See I told you all my car is just a "lowly" Carrera GTS...deemed to the Coffee Cup series of GT3DE Cup...now not even qualifies as a aero beetle and my car is called a wanna be by Rad. 
Heck I'm not even sure I am even in GT3DE Cup...
Heck I'm not even sure I am even in GT3DE Cup...Nick, the GTS does not qualify as an Aero Beetle. The Aero Beetles must have a Metzger engine inside and massive wings: GT2/GT3 both standard and RS are the only Aero Beetles.
Aero Beetles wannabe: GTS with aerokit, Cayman with aerokit, 996TT/997TT with wings, although the 996TT and 997.1TT satisfy the engine requirement, so with aerokit, they can be considered good replica Aero Beetles.
If you did not have a car from this list, then shame on you, you got an unreliable Fiat and you were reckless on your decision to track it.
Reliable Fiat track cars:
- F430 Challenge
- F458 Challenge
- 599 GTO
- Scuderia
- 16M
- 2012 and newer 458 Italia
Anything else not in this list, be prepared to leave the track day on a flat bed, and put $150,000 apart per season for repair bills.
Aero Beetles wannabe: GTS with aerokit, Cayman with aerokit, 996TT/997TT with wings, although the 996TT and 997.1TT satisfy the engine requirement, so with aerokit, they can be considered good replica Aero Beetles.
If you did not have a car from this list, then shame on you, you got an unreliable Fiat and you were reckless on your decision to track it.
Reliable Fiat track cars:
- F430 Challenge
- F458 Challenge
- 599 GTO
- Scuderia
- 16M
- 2012 and newer 458 Italia
Anything else not in this list, be prepared to leave the track day on a flat bed, and put $150,000 apart per season for repair bills.
05-09-2012 | 07:47 AM
#228
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
Nick, the GTS does not qualify as an Aero Beetle. The Aero Beetles must have a Metzger engine inside and massive wings: GT2/GT3 both standard and RS are the only Aero Beetles.
Aero Beetles wannabe: GTS with aerokit, Cayman with aerokit, 996TT/997TT with wings, although the 996TT and 997.1TT satisfy the engine requirement, so with aerokit, they can be considered good replica Aero Beetles.
If you did not have a car from this list, then shame on you, you got an unreliable Fiat and you were reckless on your decision to track it.
Reliable Fiat track cars:
- F430 Challenge
- F458 Challenge
- 599 GTO
- Scuderia
- 16M
- 2012 and newer 458 Italia
Anything else not in this list, be prepared to leave the track day on a flat bed, and put $150,000 apart per season for repair bills.
Aero Beetles wannabe: GTS with aerokit, Cayman with aerokit, 996TT/997TT with wings, although the 996TT and 997.1TT satisfy the engine requirement, so with aerokit, they can be considered good replica Aero Beetles.
If you did not have a car from this list, then shame on you, you got an unreliable Fiat and you were reckless on your decision to track it.
Reliable Fiat track cars:
- F430 Challenge
- F458 Challenge
- 599 GTO
- Scuderia
- 16M
- 2012 and newer 458 Italia
Anything else not in this list, be prepared to leave the track day on a flat bed, and put $150,000 apart per season for repair bills.
05-09-2012 | 08:31 AM
#229
Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
From: Norway
Challenge Stradale is probably just left out by mistake, but in real world situations the CS is just so damn expensive to run at a track that most owners stop doing so... The cost of brake replacement etc. is just immense.
F430s are "trackable", but just how good they are depends on the person giving the verdict. Many trackday nuts claim they're too softly set up for the track, while a lot of owners with little to no trackday experience claim they are just fantastic. It all comes down to your prior experience.
In the end, GT3 911s are by far better cars for the enthusiast who wants to take their street cars on the track... Even Ferrari owners acknowledge this fact...
F430s are "trackable", but just how good they are depends on the person giving the verdict. Many trackday nuts claim they're too softly set up for the track, while a lot of owners with little to no trackday experience claim they are just fantastic. It all comes down to your prior experience.
In the end, GT3 911s are by far better cars for the enthusiast who wants to take their street cars on the track... Even Ferrari owners acknowledge this fact...
05-09-2012 | 12:47 PM
#230
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 3,371
Likes: 1
From: Reno NV
If you did not have a car from this list, then shame on you, you got an unreliable Fiat and you were reckless on your decision to track it.
Reliable Fiat track cars:
- F430 Challenge
- F458 Challenge
- 599 GTO
- Scuderia
- 16M
- 2012 and newer 458 Italia
Anything else not in this list, be prepared to leave the track day on a flat bed, and put $150,000 apart per season for repair bills.
Reliable Fiat track cars:
- F430 Challenge
- F458 Challenge
- 599 GTO
- Scuderia
- 16M
- 2012 and newer 458 Italia
Anything else not in this list, be prepared to leave the track day on a flat bed, and put $150,000 apart per season for repair bills.
I greatly love the 458, so good on track. But I have seen several leave on flatbeds due to mechanical issues which made me sad 
Last year I had the opportunity to drive 599GTO on track. It seemed like a HUGE car on track. It is a powerful car. It felt like it was made from a solid block of steel. And I freely admit it scared me
05-09-2012 | 08:49 PM
#235
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,300
Likes: 3
From: QC, CA / Abaco BS
then he say's this......."i don't think there is a better car, probably ever made"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ_dfB2HrNw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ_dfB2HrNw
05-09-2012 | 08:53 PM
#236
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,583
Likes: 10
From: Los Everglades
nope.
360 Challenge Stradale and F430 have transmission and clutch issues (when tracked). Stradale has the old engine from the late 1970s that has no power on the mid range, and requires its rubber belts replaced every 10 track days or every year with the engine out and recalibration of the cams ($$$).
Brakes on the F430 with steel rotors cannot handle track use, the whole system has to be upgraded. Brakes on the F430 with CCB (same as the Stradale) require a shape of front brake pad that only offers 2 compounds world wide: stock (not track worthy) and Pagid RS19 ( about right, but only option for brake pads).
Headers in F430 will crack guaranteed with track use, and replacing them is a $2,500 job on labor, it is labor intensive, I replaced mine in the Scuderia, although they don't have the cracking failures found in the F430, and it is the most intensive work I have done on any car ever.
Both F430 and Stradale enter limp mode, due to lack of a bigger cooler for the oil in the F1 and e-diff system, so your track session is over when you get the famous SLOW-DOWN warning.
Stradale and F430 are good for show, I prefer the Stradale due to the 5-valve engine heads and the sound it produces, but stay away from the racetrack.
You can make the F430 track reliable by adding 2 types of coolers, upgrading the brakes to Scuderia brakes, replacing the exhaust system, and the soft springs must be replaced and shocks revalved. The car is 250-280 lbs heavier than the Scuderia, so when all the work is done, you could have been better off buying the Scuderia and saving money on modifications.
360 Challenge Stradale and F430 have transmission and clutch issues (when tracked). Stradale has the old engine from the late 1970s that has no power on the mid range, and requires its rubber belts replaced every 10 track days or every year with the engine out and recalibration of the cams ($$$).
Brakes on the F430 with steel rotors cannot handle track use, the whole system has to be upgraded. Brakes on the F430 with CCB (same as the Stradale) require a shape of front brake pad that only offers 2 compounds world wide: stock (not track worthy) and Pagid RS19 ( about right, but only option for brake pads).
Headers in F430 will crack guaranteed with track use, and replacing them is a $2,500 job on labor, it is labor intensive, I replaced mine in the Scuderia, although they don't have the cracking failures found in the F430, and it is the most intensive work I have done on any car ever.
Both F430 and Stradale enter limp mode, due to lack of a bigger cooler for the oil in the F1 and e-diff system, so your track session is over when you get the famous SLOW-DOWN warning.
Stradale and F430 are good for show, I prefer the Stradale due to the 5-valve engine heads and the sound it produces, but stay away from the racetrack.
You can make the F430 track reliable by adding 2 types of coolers, upgrading the brakes to Scuderia brakes, replacing the exhaust system, and the soft springs must be replaced and shocks revalved. The car is 250-280 lbs heavier than the Scuderia, so when all the work is done, you could have been better off buying the Scuderia and saving money on modifications.
05-09-2012 | 08:58 PM
#237
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,583
Likes: 10
From: Los Everglades
Just to throw in my 2 cents, a local 430 owner participated in 5 time trial events last year, drove to and from and didn't have any problems I am aware of. Fast too I greatly love the 458, so good on track. But I have seen several leave on flatbeds due to mechanical issues which made me sad
Last year I had the opportunity to drive 599GTO on track. It seemed like a HUGE car on track. It is a powerful car. It felt like it was made from a solid block of steel. And I freely admit it scared me
I greatly love the 458, so good on track. But I have seen several leave on flatbeds due to mechanical issues which made me sad Last year I had the opportunity to drive 599GTO on track. It seemed like a HUGE car on track. It is a powerful car. It felt like it was made from a solid block of steel. And I freely admit it scared me
Correct on the 458 Italia, that's why I say 2012+ Italia, avoid 2010 and 2011.
599 GTO has a lot of mechanical parts from the 599 XX (the track only super weapon), it also has the last iteration of the Enzo engine. Tranny got the same stuff improved in the Scuderia/16M. The GTO comes with massive brake ducts like a race car, cool stuff. You lucky boy given the opportunity to drive a Fiat Goat. The 599 GTO is heavy, but at around 3,600 lbs with plenty of room for weight reduction, it can be made a 3,400 lbs car easily, just 200 lbs heavier than a 2007 Aero Beetle.
05-09-2012 | 11:12 PM
#240
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 3,371
Likes: 1
From: Reno NV