Got to flog a Gallardo on a road course yesterday..

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
05/04/2014 at 16:09 • Filed to: reviews

And still have that stupid grin today..

This was the 3rd Circuit One event I’ve been to, and one of the instructors took me for a 3-lap hell ride in a modded 600hp GT-R. If I can figure out how to compress the 360Mb video file of the ride, I’ll post it. But here’s the car.

DISCUSSION (27)

Brian Silvestro > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 16:10

Kinja'd!!!

Fucking badass right here

(lucky bastard too)

190e30-Now with COSWORTH > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 16:14

Kinja'd!!!

Not sure if I prefer this, or prefer stock. It looks boxier this way. I can't tell if that's a good thing.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Brian Silvestro
05/04/2014 at 16:15

Can't afford to own one, but with the Groupon the 7 laps cost less than $200

Manuél Ferrari > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 16:16

Awesome! What are the stats on the Gallardo? Stock or modded? E-Gear or 6MT?

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > 190e30-Now with COSWORTH
05/04/2014 at 16:17

The lowered ride height looks a bit off to me too. But that car was *stupid* fast, and its brakes would suck the eyeballs outta your head..

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Manuél Ferrari
05/04/2014 at 16:18

Both Lambos and 430s are stock, and have paddle shifters

Brian Silvestro > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 16:25

Damn that just makes me angry that I don't use Groupon.

Manuél Ferrari > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 16:25

Cool!

I've driven a stock F430 F1 spider but not on track. I can only imagine how fun an F430 coupe would be on track.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Manuél Ferrari
05/04/2014 at 16:26

Probably (a little?) more fun than the 360 I drove at this track last year? :)

Manuél Ferrari > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 16:29

I heard the 360 is a tricky little son of a bitch at the limit. Did you push it pretty hard?

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Manuél Ferrari
05/04/2014 at 16:31

Flat out on the dogleg/straight. At the braking point you're on the binders hard for a 180deg right hander. I got the Gallardo up to 90 before hitting the braking point and felt the back end get a little loose (with AWD no less). IIRC the 360 felt a little more composed.

Manuél Ferrari > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 16:34

Wow that's interesting. I would have thought that the Gallardo would feel more composed than the 360.

Have you read about the AWD system in the Gallardo's replacement? It's supposedly brand new. It uses a lot of new tech to decide how to distribute the power to the wheels.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Manuél Ferrari
05/04/2014 at 16:37

Yeah, that came as a big surprise to me also. It took a good 4 laps to get comfortable with the track before I really put my foot into it. The GT-R spanks both of them, though. That is one sick car. The accel and braking can only be called violent. (this car was modded to 600hp)

Manuél Ferrari > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 16:38

Now you need to drive the 458 Speciale on track to compare to the modded GTR!

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Manuél Ferrari
05/04/2014 at 16:43

That would be a great back-to-back drive. I'd think the awd GT-R would still have the edge. Maybe some day I'll find out..

Manuél Ferrari > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 16:47

I've been reading FChat all day. The 458 replacement might be turbo charged. Still RWD, but very possibly could be turbo charged.

Eventually all cars will be turbo and more and more will become AWD. They might all end up feeling the same and just looking different. Which would be sad...

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Manuél Ferrari
05/04/2014 at 17:24

Maybe, but the performance of those cars will be staggering (as if today's cars aren't impressive already) We might reach a point where the car's performance will exceed the capability of a driver - kinda like the 6th-gen fighters that might or might not be unmanned. The pilot becomes the weak link in that system.

Manuél Ferrari > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 19:37

I think we've already reached that point! The average "gentleman driver" can't use the full capabilities of his car.

And what's really crazy is that cars will soon get to the point where the professionals can't fully utilize their capabilities either. The cars will be able to corner so hard that the G forces will be more than even pros can handle, just like the fighter jet analogy you brought up.

Slow4o > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 20:09

Was this one of those super car experiences where they put a pace car out in front of you?

nafsucof > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 21:29

I autocrossed at Thompson motor speedway today!

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Slow4o
05/04/2014 at 22:34

Nope, you're out on the course by yourself with the driving instructor in the right seat.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > nafsucof
05/04/2014 at 22:35

What part of the track was the course set up on?

Slow4o > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/04/2014 at 22:55

God that is sooooo much better than what I did. I was in a Gallardo on my home track, but had a god damn pace car in front of me with an "instructor" in the car too. The instructor knew way less about the track than I did, because he was just flown down from their headquarters for the event. He definitely hadn't had as many laps around as I did. It was a waste of money and frustrating to drive a Gallardo at maybe a third of what it is capable of.

nafsucof > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/05/2014 at 08:41

that new small parking lot by the big dirt pile the direction you are looking. It was at the other end of the access road that ran along the front straightaway

Rico > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/05/2014 at 12:54

This is awesome. I have a Circuit One recent ticket for July in Long Island New York with a choice between a Ferrari, Lamborghini Gallardo and GTR which did you prefer between the GTR and Gallardo? How was the process (this is my first event) and how scary is it overall to flog these things?

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Rico
05/05/2014 at 12:59

That must be at Nassau Coliseum; I was there last September. Hard to say - both are crazy fast & awd but that GT-R is modded to 600hp (no, they won't let you shut off the TC) The only drawback is the parking lot pavement at Nassau is not even so you're speed limited somewhat. Worst case if you overcook it in a turn you punt some cones so not really scary. I flew right seat in the Nissan which always feels faster than if you're driving. I'd say there's no bad choice here :)

Rico > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
05/05/2014 at 13:09

Cool thanks it is in fact the Nassau Coliseum, I'm looking forward to it. I only bought 1 3 lap ticket so it's a hard choice between the 3. Looking forward to it!