carcommander

The F430 was designed around the F1 box. I wanted a manual one but the production slot I was offered was for an F1 car. I have to say the F1 box is a lot of fun in that car.

The SL65 is an animal, in a straight line.

tcsracing1

To further OT, i love Defenders and KTMs.... 97 white was a keeper!

what do you think of the new defender 90 concept that might be comming to market?

P.J.S.

Hair color makes no difference - all about weight
You already mountain bike, you should try an off road motorcycle off road

Yeah I bought the white 97 for $36k with 2000 miles on it... Then after wheeling the hell out of it and using it as a dd, I traded it in with 66k miles and got $36k on a trade in... Towards my first Porsche and then I left land rovers behind (95 classic swb, 97 d90 sw, modded disco) and put my toe in Porsche water in which I am now keeping my head above water... Barely :-)

Do not care for new defender concept
I was into off roading and truely if you are into it and live in the USA, then a modded jeep accomplishes the same task with much cheaper mods and parts etc. I have been checking out the hemi conversion AEV jeeps more frequently but I simply do not have the time to warrant purchasing one

D90s are simply wonderfully quirky and capable... The build quality and components are ok at best but the overall package is quite fun if you can overlook things like crappy wipers, crappy v8, leaks, etc

Very simple and fun though

Back on topic - sorry for the jack

utahrock

I bought my D90 new and put 80,000 miles on it, some of it around Moab at Arches and Canyonlands. It was great fun but was getting a bit worn and saw less use once I got the KTM's and I didn't have room to keep it. The worst thing about it was it was soooo slow on the road; it was difficult to ever pass anyone on the way to Moab. I was going to send it to a place specializing in putting bigger engines in them but they had a two year waiting list. I've thought about getting an LR4 at times. But if they ever brought out another Defender I'd probably get it.

Redheads are just fine, too, as are brunettes. I think a man should have one of each (must be the influence of the latent polygamy in Utah). Sadly, my wife disagrees...

frayed

I think this thread is great but I just confused myself more.

Now I want a scud. Or an RS 4.0. Or maybe a 458. Ha!

I wish it was easier to go flog each of these cars for a day. I have a 8 mile commute one way, and on crappy weather days i just assume drive my pickup, so I have a lot of flexibility with cars. Main thing is the AC has to be outstanding, which is why I'm not going to keep my 3.6.

The biggest attraction to the fiat (any flavor) is the pomp and circumstance that comes with it, but that's also the biggest downside.

I was chatting with a friend of mine (pro racer), who owns both the 4.0 RS and F430. He said the F430 collects a lot of dust now, and he loves the 4.0 on street and track. Completely enamored with the car. But at his level, he can extract pretty much every ounce of capability out of the RS. . . something that is unlikely for me. He also said that he'd not want to put the F430 on track. . . stating it wouldn't be very fun.

carcommander

All these choices make it tough.

66mustang

I think most of them will

MarkD

C. His modesty overpowers all

NJ-GT

D. His Fiat underpowers all

boolala

I would not buy a pre 08 F430. There were improvements in the F1 software in 08+ in addition to the new header design. The fact that the precats were integrated into the header made that an emission component and thus warranteed for 8 years under federal guidelines. The pre 08 headers should all have been replaced under warranty. Capristo also makes a flexible (spring loaded) exhaust bracket that they claim reduces stress on the exhaust headers.

If you want a track car get the Scud or, better yet, the F430 Challenge. If you want a bouluvard cruiser (like me) then get the 430 coupe. Plenty fast enough, more comfortable and less expensive. (Although the Scuds have depreciated to a far greater extent than the base 430 and the price difference isn't that great anymore).

I don't even fit in the carbon fiber racing seats of the Scud. Makes me feel claustrophobic.

rlips

Traded my .2 997 gt3. Bought it new, did 50 track days in one year. Got an f430 for the street, and a dedicated track car for the track. The f430 is a better street car than the gt3 was, the dedicated track car is a better track car than the gt3.

If I could only have one car, for both track and street, I would have kept the gt3. But there comes a point where you realize the compromises detract from your enjoyment. At 3300 lb center lock car with no cage is not the ideal trackday weapon.

mclaudio

Thanks for your post. I have been following this thread as I was looking to combine two of the following functionalities: comfy GT daily driver, nice weather weekend street driver, and race/track car. Hence, I was considering a GT3. Your post reminded me why I have a car for each function and not compromise.

scott40

I did the same recently. But I do think that the RS is a great DE car- hence why I've put a deposit down on the 991 variant. Is it too much to have a fun car for the street ie. Fiat, a dedicated track car for PCA club racing and the like, and a third for DE work