Ferrari F430 F1 vs ESS VT2 650 DCT M3

[e92livin]

I have to own a 911 Turbo one day .. Congrats and Nice choice!

[Lalit@autocouture]

Do I even have to say it? congrats bro

[Jive]

Congrats on an awesome car! Feel free to let me know when you're in need of a chauffeur, free of charge.

I'm surprised you weren't considering a GT3/RS? I would consider it the perfect middle ground between the 997.2tS and a 430. Much more tuning potential with the turboS though, win-win either way.

I think you went with the right choice though. Can't beat the daily livability and reliability of a Porsche with downright serious performance.

[Black Gold]

Originally Posted by speedaddictM3

Not really. The 997.2 Turbo S is just as much a Playstation computer on wheels as a GT-R is. It just has a more "prestigious" badge and nicer interior.

I owned and tracked a 997.1 turbo, it absolutely has oversteer on lift while turning

And I don't agree with your play station comments. You still have to be a good driver to take full advantage of a turbo. It has a ton of pace in the track and requires skill to drive well.

[checkmate]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

I've always wanted a Ferrari but never really thought about owning one as I like to think I make good financial decisions. No way an F-car could be a good financial decision...right? Well...through the beauty of pre-owned leasing and some favorable tax rules for business owners, I'm looking at F430's right now and flying to Houston to look at one this weekend. Nothing flashy: silver coupe with black interior with yellow fender emblems and yellow calipers (probably want to upgrade to carbon ceramic at some point) with Scuderia wheels.

On paper my M3 would hand the F430 it's ass on the straights. The F430 F1 coupe is only maybe a 12.0/122 1/4 mile car where the M3 is capable of 130+ traps so no contest there. The F1 transmission is also much slower at shifting than the DCT. It's raw and hits you in the back. Shifting speed is maybe 160ms vs the M3 DCT's of something crazy like 20ms which as you all know is seemless (particularly with the DCT GTS software I have). Looking for some feedback for those that have driven the F1 vs DCT.

Chances are the F430 would have the upper edge on the track, but I'll stick with the M3 for that mostly. Maybe take the F430 on a private track day with a limited exotic run group...at tracks like Laguna Seca or Auto Club Speedway that aren't as brutal as Willow Springs or Buttonwillow. I'd be pretty paranoid though.

Furthermore, the F430 will sit in the garage. Maybe I'll take it to work a couple times a month. My drive is cool. I live in Monarch Beach and work in Newport Beach and my commute takes me through Laguna Beach on Pacific Coast Highway. Maybe I'll take it to some of the roll-racing events and get smoked by stock turbo e85 335's. But I won't care. I'll drive there and back in a Ferrari.

In the end, I'm trying to justify to myself that it's not all about performance. Anyone that's driven one knows that it's truly a harmony of integrated precision that elicits emotion/feeling that could never be experienced by anything other than a high revving, screaming NA V8 that sits right behind your ears. If it was only about performance, I'd be reviving my previous thread about getting an R8 v10 with an aftermarket twin turbo system or a 911T with upgraded turbos. I've concluded that I'd rather have a stock F430.

The M3 will be relegated to daily driving duties (selling my STi) and will live outside the garage. Will have to throw on a larger pulley for less boost to run 91 octane so that will suck. But I can deal with that for the pleasure of seeing the F-car under a cover in the garage.

Curious as to the perspectives of those who've got both...or at least who have driven the F430 and the DCT S/C M3.

Cheers.

You lost me at.....

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by KennyPowers

IN to see your thoughts on the turbo on the track

lift-oversteer is real haha, rear engine cars are a bear on the track to drive really fast IMO, AWD or not. the back end will come around on you really quick unless you know what you are doing.

but it rips out there that's for sure!

I'm actually a bit worried about lift-oversteer on the real fast tracks here like Big Willow. There are 100+ MPH corners - no walls - but an infield/outfield is a graveyard of sand/rocks/boulders and car parts. A minor mistake there could be catastropic. So I'll initially take it easy. The Turbo S doesn't track very fast there, however. I think it did a 1:33 where a stock M3 can do 1:36. A stock ZR1 did 1:29. All figures are with factory tires from what I remember.

Originally Posted by e92livin

I have to own a 911 Turbo one day .. Congrats and Nice choice!

Thanks Ryan!

Originally Posted by Lalit@AUTOcouture

Do I even have to say it? congrats bro

+1

Originally Posted by Jive

Congrats on an awesome car! Feel free to let me know when you're in need of a chauffeur, free of charge.

I'm surprised you weren't considering a GT3/RS? I would consider it the perfect middle ground between the 997.2tS and a 430. Much more tuning potential with the turboS though, win-win either way.

I think you went with the right choice though. Can't beat the daily livability and reliability of a Porsche with downright serious performance.

I think I need to get better at teh track before I jump to a GT3 (I wasn't planning on tracking the Ferrari much anyway). My M3 is actually what I'm using to learn on and I will keep it for at least 2 more years (remaining term of my lease) so I will likely track that more than the Turbo S.

Probably don't need a chauffer but as people on the forum known I'm down to give rides anytime!

Originally Posted by checkmate

You lost me at.....

[elim11]

Congrats and awesome car! I'm sure you will turn this car into more of a beast that it already is.

[MSteve5036]

damn i was hoping for ferrari

[whats77inaname]

Shouldn't you be updating your garage list?

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by elim11

Congrats and awesome car! I'm sure you will turn this car into more of a beast that it already is.

haha yup have a tune on order

Originally Posted by MSteve5036

damn i was hoping for ferrari

Me too. But the F430 was a compromise. I really wanted a 458 but $250K no way that's just insane on any one car. I'll let someone else take the depreciation hit and I'll pick one up in a while. I have a broker on the lookout for me already

Originally Posted by whats77inaname

Shouldn't you be updating your garage list?

Good idea! But I don't even have the car yet to take pics. I left it at the dealer because I had no way of getting both that and my M3 home. So I'm driving up Saturday with my wife to pick it up.

So in the mean time I'm guessing the dealership employees are going on some joyrides with it

[sensi09]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Thanks! I don't think there was a manual option on the 997.2 (2011-2013) Turbo S.

Congrats!

BTW the non S is available in a manual and with a tune the turbo S and regular turbo will be at the same power point.

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by sensi09

Congrats!

BTW the non S is available in a manual and with a tune the turbo S and regular turbo will be at the same power point.

True but the standard features on the S are awesome! PDK, Ceramic brakes, dynamic motor mounts, mono-lug wheels, etc etc etc. It just takes the car to an entirely different level on the track.

[F1Venom]

OP, have you gotten the TTS yet? Any thoughts/review?

[lsmkr01]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Thanks for the comments guys.

I've got a flight plan today to head to Houston to see a 2005 F430 in Silver/Black and then Pittsburgh to see a 2005 F430 in Grey/Tan.

I just moved from Pittsburgh. I wonder if its the same one I saw all the time in Franklin Park (Pittsburgh North Hills) on my way into the office. Sharp looking F430 and not loud with the grigio paint.

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by F1Venom

OP, have you gotten the TTS yet? Any thoughts/review?

Yup

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...=861280&page=3

Originally Posted by lsmkr01

I just moved from Pittsburgh. I wonder if its the same one I saw all the time in Franklin Park (Pittsburgh North Hills) on my way into the office. Sharp looking F430 and not loud with the grigio paint.

Could be!

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...54970022&Log=0

[lsmkr01]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Could be!

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...54970022&Log=0

I bet it is. Auto Palace was a few blocks from where I lived! They have some sick sick cars there so lucky you didn't go. With the money to spend i'm pretty sure you would have left with a Spyker or Carrera GT haha

Congrats on the TTS... Working hard and living the dream

[NiktheShiek]

Originally Posted by lsmkr01

I bet it is. Auto Palace was a few blocks from where I lived! They have some sick sick cars there so lucky you didn't go. With the money to spend i'm pretty sure you would have left with a Spyker or Carrera GT haha

Congrats on the TTS... Working hard and living the dream

ahhhhh ......Auto Palace brings back memories

and CONGRATS Adam I hope you enjoy the Porsche, maybe we can go head to head at the next airstrip attack?

[Sandye90m3]

I always believed that if you don't drive you car to much, you will end up having more problems compared to a car that had miles put on regularly. Has that been proven? Or am I completely wrong?

[TurboBimmer]

Originally Posted by Sandye90m3

I always believed that if you don't drive you car to much, you will end up having more problems compared to a car that had miles put on regularly. Has that been proven? Or am I completely wrong?

Depends on the car. With a Ferrari, you'll end up with problems both ways

For "normal" cars, no need to worry unless you plan to garage it for months without driving it at all. Then special precautions should be taken.

Such garage queens may for example suffer from rubber joints which become too dry and leak.

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by lsmkr01

I bet it is. Auto Palace was a few blocks from where I lived! They have some sick sick cars there so lucky you didn't go. With the money to spend i'm pretty sure you would have left with a Spyker or Carrera GT haha

Congrats on the TTS... Working hard and living the dream

In the end yeah I'm glad I decided for the TTS as I have plans for turning it into a monster. But a Ferrari F430 would have been awesome. Like a museum piece, I would have just parked it in the garage and stared at it. Totally different with the TTS, I'm just utterly beating the snot out of this car and it loves is. Every stoplight I'm doing launch control 0-60 in 2.7 seconds

Originally Posted by NiktheShiek

ahhhhh ......Auto Palace brings back memories

and CONGRATS Adam I hope you enjoy the Porsche, maybe we can go head to head at the next airstrip attack?

Thx but you still owe me an M3 to M3 run! Now that I ditched the Snow Performance water/meth system it's running a lot better now

And I'm brining the Porsche to the NoFlyZone Airstrip Event in less than 2 weeks. Are you signed up? Google OmegaMotorsports and NoFlyZone and it should bring you to the registration website. There's a bunch of us from bimmerpost going. If you haven't already, you should sign up and join us!

[NiktheShiek]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Thx but you still owe me an M3 to M3 run! Now that I ditched the Snow Performance water/meth system it's running a lot better now

And I'm brining the Porsche to the NoFlyZone Airstrip Event in less than 2 weeks. Are you signed up? Google OmegaMotorsports and NoFlyZone and it should bring you to the registration website. There's a bunch of us from bimmerpost going. If you haven't already, you should sign up and join us!

Just signed up last night haha I'll see you there

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by NiktheShiek

Just signed up last night haha I'll see you there

Awesome so glad to hear Nik! I think Raphael (bubu) is signed up with his ESS 625 and you guys should be a very close run. Don't forget that 100 octane, your helmet and some GoPros!