DrJupeman

Are you sure the GT3s aren't simply turning in SC times?

mooty

ah... your car is NOT a 78SC, remember!?

Tim

My 39 y/o 911 get around the track just fine. 1:05 at LRP etc. (old configuration, havent droven the new yet). My car weighs #1850 and is like a go cart. The newer cars are impressively fast, but very easy to drive. Though a good driver in a newer car will be off in the sunset while I work like a madman to get my old dinosaur around the track.

2003 GT3RS, and 1969 911T at the Glen... mine is on the right.

hailwood

i run a 1986 911 turbo and just came back from tremblant. out of 13 gt3's in my run group (white because i signed up late i run black) only one of the gt3's was faster than me. so i like sharing the track with them because it is fun to drive a 22 yr old car and out run the new hardware.

it is really all about how you drive and how comfortable you feel. as long as you are consistent with your line and give early pass signals then you wont be in the way and no one will care.

Streak

While your Lotus is a great track toy, you can still have loads of fun in an oldie.

Since you've been at this a while your awareness level is really going to determine how comfortable you are on the track with the horsepower jockeys.

I've passed a lot of newer cars and a lot of newer cars have passed me so keeping your eyes up and moving so they can get by without interrupting your momentum will keep the sessions enjoyable.

You will be amazed at what kind of hardware you can keep up with as well.

Not to mention, this may not be true for the Alfa, but if budget is an issue then an older can be less expensive for routine wear items like brake pads, tires, rotors and such.

Then again, Miatas are even cheaper

Joe L

IMHO - learning to drive an older car quickly is a great way to go for developing your go fast abilities. Jumping straight into something 'new' with lots of horsepower and all of the modern conveniences like stability control, etc.. will only mask any bad habits that you may pick up along the way until you are way in over your head and well past the point of your abilities…

Plus - it is great fun to chase down those beasts through the twisty bits, even if they can pull away from you on the straights…

pcar928fan

In a lot of ways the older cars can be more fun... They are probably not going as fast at top speed and are likely to step out on you if you are not careful and you really have to hustle them to make good time. As so many have said...THAT IS THE FUN OF IT!

Also as noted if you give a nice early passing signal as you exit a turn or even better some sort of REALLY early signal (if you drive w/ the same folks often you can do this) then it is no big deal at all...the following car will adjust his/her line on corner entry because they know where you are going and they will just blitz right past no big deal.

Keep in mind he asked about DE's... Many/most of the guys here on this thread are racers, and some with a great deal of experience and they are (again as noted) be faster than most of the DE guys even in great new cars...

I love the old cars because you can really hang them out w/o going to fast so if you loose it you probably won't go far off track or hurt anything (at least at the tracks I drive on...TWS, MSR-C, H2R, TMS, etc. etc)

MUSSBERGER

Are you sure we're not being Paolo'd?

Hank Cohn

Zinhead,

I have an older slow car and a newer fast car both of which are a joy to drive. There is no doubt that driving the older slower car teaches some good lessons about momentum driving but you asked about the enjoyment of driving the slower car.

I get tremendous enjoyment out of driving the slow car with other similar slow cars but not so much when mixed with cars with twice the HP, modern suspension and aerodynamics. I consider myself a decent driver but my E30 M3 cannot possibly keep up with a modern car like a GT3 with an average driver.

It sounds like you are fortunate enough to have a choice. You’ve got two great cars and it’s always difficult to go backwards. I’d keep what you got and enjoy both!

Hank

race911

"Old cars"............you guys crack me up. Your old cars were the spanking new examples of "rich dude with too much money and HP (200!)" not so long ago. Sad we don't have many 90-100HP 356's and 914's anymore going unbelievably quick. But time marches on.

DanR

Has anyone seen Paulo, not heard much from him since hes was flamed by most on here? Hopefully he will be back soon!

shiners780

HEY!

Just stay beyond the blast zone when parts of my car go "boom" and you'll be just fine.

early_grayce

I'm not worried...

sechsgang

Ya, with all due respect, I would like to see some of you guys in your wonderful older cars (no sarcasm...they are seriously wonderful to watch) against someone who can actually drive a 996 gt3...like LvDell...let me tell you guys...the fun is still there..haha

C.J. Ichiban

careful, no racing talk in a DE thread lol

seriously though to the OP- shouldn't DE be fun anyways? no matter which of my cars (from 200ish to 600ish horsies)I've got on the track I'm having a great time. There's always going to be something faster than whatever else is fast, even the veyron will be officially trumped eventually. I'm toying with the notion of making a track car out of a used Acura NSX to have fun in a very balanced, high-revving mid-engine car (with less than 300 hp).