Originally Posted by riverflyer

Lets get together for a drive sometime. I think you would really appreciate the Bob Holcombe built 3.8 in my old school TT.

But you can't have the cs

Originally Posted by watt

i don't remember the details but my Euro Strad pal, ChalStrad, or Peter Mann on fchat, has driven euro and US back to back, and has detailed the signif. performance diff/s for me. but i can;t find his summary, sorry.

one issue i haven't addressed is the clutching, stabbing unavoidable emotion of the strad. here is my gt3 write up for autoweek. regardless of what i say, i am buying a guy's black strad this weekend. the only answer is to own both.

to Autofile, re the 997 GT3

The best sports car made. I have about 1500 miles and just got back from a day at Willow Springs Raceway. The car rocks- it is truly the best-- better than Challange Stradale and even better than 996 GT2, the two best sportscars ever produced, of which i owned 2 and 3 respectively for about 20,000 miles each. The balance, handling, grip, power and braking evident at Big Willow, a fast track, is a huge step up from 996 GT2 and 3. Mech. grip and mid range torque is much better than Stradale. The cup tyres have been improved enough for street use in S CA, but care is required in standing water. Once equipped with the lightweight flywheel/clutch standard in RS, a Cupcar lower Ring & Pinion, Euro GT3 seats and Champion RS98 wheels, you've saved 130 pounds and enlivened the car, it becomes almost perfect, except for the sunroof. If Porsche had delivered the car at 3000 lbs. with proper gearing like that in a Stradale, Euro GT3 seats and no sunroof, it would have been perfect, but this is close enough. I have been looking at buying another Stradale, but why bother?

Watt Webb, Malibu, CA

Others Considered

• Another Challenge Stradale. I owned 2 strad.s before this and loved them. The GT3 is better all around, its only relative defect the high gearing. Stradale's gearing is perfect, as are the factory seats.
• Gallardo. Too bling and too small inside and too heavy
• Porsche TT. Had one for a month while waiting for the GT3. Too fat, too heavy, too ugly. Absolutely useless as a sports car. Better to get a SL65.

Likes

• Superbly balanced total sports car: superb power/handling/braking [i have the new, improved PCCB], sport button, and sport shock setting for track
• Looks better than 996 GT3
• More mid-range torque [blows Stradale away in this regard]
• Improved mid-corner bump handling vs. 996, Stradale still better.
• The US factory seat is actually decent, for the first time in memory. Still Euro-GT3 seats will be better.

Dislikes

• F.g 45 pound sun roof in a sports car, we should have been allowed to delete it - complete Factory disregard for the customer
• Gearing while lower is still too high [never got out of 4th at Willow Springs, a fast track]. I will install the Cupcar R&P at 4.00 which will make it more useful for American tracks and canyon slamming.
• Porsche refused to install lightweight flywheel and clutch at factory, I had to do it myself, it enlivens the car.
• Harsh bump handling on free way straights

Originally Posted by kevin1244

BTW, I agree with the post from the other guy that 360CS can be driven daily. Ferrari's are much more reliable than before. The reasons I said Porsche is a better daily driver are
1) you can park it anywhere with no worry, would you do the same with your CS? I would not.
2) Porsche is cheaper to maintain. The CS as a daily driver will accumulate miles and service will be expensive. If you can afford it, then no worries, the car is reliable.
3) Any Ferrari with high miles will lose value. So, don't count on appreciation if you drive it daily.

I am telling you the CS will be a garaged car, used only for weekends. Again, if you can afford it, go for it.
BTW, don't just go based on advertised values for 360CS. The dealer was asking for $209,000 but I negotiated down to $189,000. The car had only 1,200 miles when I bought it.

Originally Posted by jvmax

Yes, it's a given to take at least $10k-$15k off of asking price on any Ferrari

Originally Posted by TUUNER

Watt, give the RS a drive and let me know what you think of it relative to the non-RS version. Just curious.