Cerb steering feel
Discussion
Long time lurker around the Cerb forum so I've soaked up a reasonable amount of knowledge about Cerbs but to put into context I'm after a fun car for weekends and occasional use and prior to buying our current (project!) house had planned to get an IB 911 once the house was finished. Now some 5 years down the line with the house finished and a nice empty garage the ship has sailed in respect of classic 911 values - I had the budget for a decent one 5 years ago and despite budget increasing I can now only just about scrape onto the bottom end and TBH have not been impressed with the 2 examples I have viewed over the past year or so.
Anyway, one of the major attractions to me of the older 911's is the fantastic steering feel. Having driven an 'RS spec' IB some time ago I can only liken the steering feel to having 'brail at your fingertips' - abslutely everything was communicated, changes in camber, road surface, even a painted line in the road. Only other car that has got close to this for me is a Caterham R400 that I did a track day in. Elises/Exiges are v.good as in that they're very talkative as to bumps/camber changes but I didn't find they communicated the subtle changes in surface such as white lines etc. to the same extent that the older 911's do. I am being critical though and an Elise/Exige would most certainly be more than good enough. For me the whole raw/feel/communication thing is a big draw and something I'm actively seeking out in a fun 2nd car. How do the Cerb's compare?
Due to the prices of classic 911's I did start to look at 996's but the first one I test drove just felt dull to me, steering over assisted and relatively numb at 'sensible speeds'. I would say my e46 330i Msport daily had more communicative steering with better weight, if not as direct. This surprised me. I know from experience how much difference a good geo makes but was assured that the 996 was professionally set up/KSW3's etc.
Really I'm ideally trying to find something with rear seats as the kids are 6 and 3 and hence anything with 2 seats such as an Elise is going to get very limited use, but struggling to find anything that fits the criteria. In addition I also need something that's not too wide as I have a garage width limitation. Garage is a decent length at 24 feet but is only around 7ft 5" at it's narrowest point (around where the drivers door would open) so although a Cerb would technically 'fit' I'm wondering if I would be able to get the door open enough - I am slim and I have carpet on the walls but still...
Obviously I realise Cerbs have an abundance of power and straight line pace but that is not too important to me these days, for me it's more about the feel, rawness, fun, sound, sense of occasion etc. So how does a Cerb stack up in terms of steering feedback (and steering weight) and how wide is a Cerb including with the door open 'just' engough to squeeze out (window down)?
Are any of you taking your Cerbs to the Supercar event at Dunsfold this weekend? If so will come and say hello and have a good look around the cars - Enjoyed it last year, passengered round the track in a SC Atom
Anyway, one of the major attractions to me of the older 911's is the fantastic steering feel. Having driven an 'RS spec' IB some time ago I can only liken the steering feel to having 'brail at your fingertips' - abslutely everything was communicated, changes in camber, road surface, even a painted line in the road. Only other car that has got close to this for me is a Caterham R400 that I did a track day in. Elises/Exiges are v.good as in that they're very talkative as to bumps/camber changes but I didn't find they communicated the subtle changes in surface such as white lines etc. to the same extent that the older 911's do. I am being critical though and an Elise/Exige would most certainly be more than good enough. For me the whole raw/feel/communication thing is a big draw and something I'm actively seeking out in a fun 2nd car. How do the Cerb's compare?
Due to the prices of classic 911's I did start to look at 996's but the first one I test drove just felt dull to me, steering over assisted and relatively numb at 'sensible speeds'. I would say my e46 330i Msport daily had more communicative steering with better weight, if not as direct. This surprised me. I know from experience how much difference a good geo makes but was assured that the 996 was professionally set up/KSW3's etc.
Really I'm ideally trying to find something with rear seats as the kids are 6 and 3 and hence anything with 2 seats such as an Elise is going to get very limited use, but struggling to find anything that fits the criteria. In addition I also need something that's not too wide as I have a garage width limitation. Garage is a decent length at 24 feet but is only around 7ft 5" at it's narrowest point (around where the drivers door would open) so although a Cerb would technically 'fit' I'm wondering if I would be able to get the door open enough - I am slim and I have carpet on the walls but still...
Obviously I realise Cerbs have an abundance of power and straight line pace but that is not too important to me these days, for me it's more about the feel, rawness, fun, sound, sense of occasion etc. So how does a Cerb stack up in terms of steering feedback (and steering weight) and how wide is a Cerb including with the door open 'just' engough to squeeze out (window down)?
Are any of you taking your Cerbs to the Supercar event at Dunsfold this weekend? If so will come and say hello and have a good look around the cars - Enjoyed it last year, passengered round the track in a SC Atom
Thanks for all the comments guys, sounds like I need to start looking seriously and maybe get to a specialist to have a test drive 
So anyone else got a slim garage around 7ft 5" width? do you manage to get in /out of the car in the garage? BTW - pushing the car in/out is not an option for me due to sloped drive.
So anyone else got a slim garage around 7ft 5" width? do you manage to get in /out of the car in the garage? BTW - pushing the car in/out is not an option for me due to sloped drive.
Jabbah said:
Just measured the garage and it is 7'8". Makes it easier with the windows open as already said.
Ok, thanks for that - I had a quick measure in the garage on Saturday and placing the 1800 width approx where I think I would be able to position it leaves around 40-45 cm to the wall on the drivers side.(and yes, carpets on wall both sides!)
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