[David993S]

My 996 track car at Mid-Ohio:



and one from inside the "other" car:

[linderpat]

Ooohh missed this thread. I love Mid-O - madness! Nice pics, any vids?

[David993S]

Ooohh missed this thread. I love Mid-O - madness! Nice pics, any vids?

I have tons of HPDE in-car video but for the life of me I just cannot figure out how to upload one. I've tried several times.
I'm a computer incompetent.
I have a fantastic video of an SCCA race at M-O taken from the car that was behind me all race. It's fun watching him trying all race to get by me for 1st.
Wish I had in-car video of my FF, FC or FA days.

[fpena944]

My 996 track car at Mid-Ohio:



and one from inside the "other" car:

Which handles the track better, the P-car or the "other" one?

[David993S]

^^

Short answer: The 996. But the comparison is not apples to apples.

They both handle the track well, you just have to drive them very differently, i.e. rear engine vs. mid-engine. The 360 handles like a big, heavy formula car whereas the 996 handles like, well.....a good-handling 911. You can't throw the 360 around, you to be much more precise. Handling like a formula car means it is very neutral. A little low-speed understeer and some high-speed oversteer. It will, however, let go without giving much notice (like a formula car) whereas the 996 gives plenty of warning and is quite "toss-able". And as an FYI - the 996 is a TIP . I have no trouble keeping up with and usually passing manual 996's 993's etc. (GT3's.........not so much).

I turned faster laps in the 996 vs. the 360, for a couple of reasons: 996 has a track suspension and sticky tires, roll bar, 6-pt harness, some engine tune, etc. It can really be thrown around and throttle steered....... to a limited extent, but 996's are "momentum" cars on track. I would really push the 996 to its (and my) limits. The other reason is I only drove the 360 at about 8-9/10ths. I only took it to a DE once just because I couldn't resist. How could you own a Ferrari and not take it to the track at least once? If I destroyed (or seriously damaged) the 360 I would be very upset. Don't take this wrong you 996 guys, but if I rolled the 996 into a little ball, I could live with it. The reason I bought the 996 was to specifically use as a street car/track toy. But remember the first rule of track driving..........Don't take anything out on the track you aren't willing to write off.

The neat thing is they are both very easy and fun to drive on the street. One would think the 996 would be too harsh, but it isn't. I think 996's are the best bang-for-the-buck 911 today. They really are good cars despite the infamous IMSB (which was replaced during the engine rebuild).

I'm probably going to sell the 996 in the Spring. Time to let someone else have fun with it (and I'd really like to buy a Radical ).

[fpena944]

^^

Short answer: The 996. But the comparison is not apples to apples.

They both handle the track well, you just have to drive them very differently, i.e. rear engine vs. mid-engine. The 360 handles like a big, heavy formula car whereas the 996 handles like, well.....a good-handling 911. You can't throw the 360 around, you to be much more precise. Handling like a formula car means it is very neutral. A little low-speed understeer and some high-speed oversteer. It will, however, let go without giving much notice (like a formula car) whereas the 996 gives plenty of warning and is quite "toss-able". And as an FYI - the 996 is a TIP . I have no trouble keeping up with and usually passing manual 996's 993's etc. (GT3's.........not so much).

I turned faster laps in the 996 vs. the 360, for a couple of reasons: 996 has a track suspension and sticky tires, roll bar, 6-pt harness, some engine tune, etc. It can really be thrown around and throttle steered....... to a limited extent, but 996's are "momentum" cars on track. I would really push the 996 to its (and my) limits. The other reason is I only drove the 360 at about 8-9/10ths. I only took it to a DE once just because I couldn't resist. How could you own a Ferrari and not take it to the track at least once? If I destroyed (or seriously damaged) the 360 I would be very upset. Don't take this wrong you 996 guys, but if I rolled the 996 into a little ball, I could live with it. The reason I bought the 996 was to specifically use as a street car/track toy. But remember the first rule of track driving..........Don't take anything out on the track you aren't willing to write off.

The neat thing is they are both very easy and fun to drive on the street. One would think the 996 would be too harsh, but it isn't. I think 996's are the best bang-for-the-buck 911 today. They really are good cars despite the infamous IMSB (which was replaced during the engine rebuild).

I'm probably going to sell the 996 in the Spring. Time to let someone else have fun with it (and I'd really like to buy a Radical ).

I know what you're saying about the differences between rear vs mid as I encountered that when I tracked my Cayman.

Do you think if the 360 were track prepped it would be as far behind the 996 in terms of handling and feel?

And yeah I completely agree on the rarity of the 360 compared to the 996. I'm a huge fan of the 996 though for all the reasons you mentioned. I mean I would love to have a newer 911 but having driven them there is still something that feels so right about my 996 and why it is a keeper. I wish I had more garage space as I would take that one off your hands when you're ready to get rid of it - I would love to have a track prepped vehicle with all of the safety gear in place so I could focus on getting better and not holding back as much for fear of either ruining the car or myself.

[David993S]

Fernando,
If the 360 was track prepped, to the same level as my 996 and I pushed it as hard, I think it would be noticeably faster than the 996. The degree of preparation makes all the difference.

[XR4Tim]

I'm probably going to sell the 996 in the Spring. Time to let someone else have fun with it (and I'd really like to buy a Radical ).

Speaking of Radicals and Mid-Ohio, here's one that I saw there a while back. Crazy car.

[911Königin]

That meant a lot