Mac Sceptic in 600LT Purchase shocker
Discussion
So this just happened...
I came out of a 458 (a truly great car) and into a 991 GT3 RS which was I think the best description for that car was ....underwhelming..I was planning on holding tight and going back into a 458 over the winter try and grab a bargain. Life is however short and I thought I might slip in a cheap 570S over the summer do a few trackways in it and sell it in the late summer. Then I got a bit of budget creep and rewatched all the old launch videos of the 600LT when they came up off the back of 570 vides on YouTube. Not for the first time Youtubes algorithm had lead me to a car purchase!
I drove a Spider at McLeeds and had a good feeling about it. A deal couldn't be done in the end on that car but a wanted ad on the FB owners group resulted in a lead for this immaculate coupe which arrived with me this week.
Now full disclosure I fully admit to being one of those guys that has sat by the sidelines when all this anti Mac stuff has been going on and really wondered just what drugs people were on who bought them.. Now I know. Koolaid has been thoroughly swigged and wow what a machine this is!
No need in here to go on about the features of the car but hopefully it won't ruin me and will behave itself. First couple of drives have been interesting its a very very quick car but has great controls so doesn't just feel like a blunt instrument. It was a bit cheaper than my old GT3RS which I simply can't get my head around. Anyone spending 250k on a 991GT3 needs to give their head a wobble and go drive one of these things!
Edited by fridaypassion on Thursday 7th July 21:42
I would love a 620 R but they are double the price of the boggo 600!
Enjoying getting to know this anyway it. One thing I've picked up on pretty quickly is you need to build the confidence to drive it with the traction off as its very intrusive in terms of cutting throttle especially on rough roads. I was given the pointer of using the ESC down mode in Powertrain Sport which allows a tiny bit of slip but I think ESC off is the only way to go.
Enjoying getting to know this anyway it. One thing I've picked up on pretty quickly is you need to build the confidence to drive it with the traction off as its very intrusive in terms of cutting throttle especially on rough roads. I was given the pointer of using the ESC down mode in Powertrain Sport which allows a tiny bit of slip but I think ESC off is the only way to go.
Edited by fridaypassion on Wednesday 13th July 09:03
So settling into ownership now and what a machine the 600 is. I recall the 570 having a bit of turbo lag but the 600 they seem to have engineered most of it out. There's a sensation of it filling it's bellows but still had pace there. Actually has a quicker feeling off boost than the GT3 did off cam. That seemed to take forever to wind up.
One thing I have noticed is that it has a bit of bump steer. Bit odd on a totally standard car but bump steer it certainly does. I have it booked into the Suspension Secrets guys for a full geo and bump steer measurement in August so we'll perfect the handling and hopefully get rid of this. Also got Donington booked for next week. I'm going to refit the Trofeos as I don't really fancy mangling the PS4s really looking forward to getting it on track and really stretching its legs.
One thing I have noticed is that it has a bit of bump steer. Bit odd on a totally standard car but bump steer it certainly does. I have it booked into the Suspension Secrets guys for a full geo and bump steer measurement in August so we'll perfect the handling and hopefully get rid of this. Also got Donington booked for next week. I'm going to refit the Trofeos as I don't really fancy mangling the PS4s really looking forward to getting it on track and really stretching its legs.
Edited by fridaypassion on Thursday 21st July 22:42
Justin is in Scotland
Re the dampers I'm pretty sure they can be refurbished. Are the dampers not like most magrides some variant of the original audi magrides?
This company might be worth a shot
https://nagengast.pl/en/about/
There's certainly no way you should need to change a damper just for a spring. Spring swap will be a very very easy DIY job.
Re the dampers I'm pretty sure they can be refurbished. Are the dampers not like most magrides some variant of the original audi magrides?
This company might be worth a shot
https://nagengast.pl/en/about/
There's certainly no way you should need to change a damper just for a spring. Spring swap will be a very very easy DIY job.
So I'll try and be semi diplomatic as the Porsche boys might send the ninja death squad round but I would urge you NOT to buy a 991 RS or any GT3. They are over priced and over rated IMHO. As for servicing and running costs the hidden costs in the Porsche are in the servicing. The service I had on the 911 was £1600 (previous equivalent service on a 458 was £1000) and it was only a basic service as far as I could tell. Not even plugs going in. Yes the overall costs are less than the 600 but what you have to drive is half of what you get in a 600. The 911 is a sportscar not a supercar even though the ridiculous pricing doesn't reflect it. I have come to the conclusion that Porsches are like Rolex the manufacturers put a decent product out nothing amazing but then they are masters of marketing and hype and that's what you have with a 911 RS its the Rolex Daytona of the automotive world. Oddly enough I'm more of an Omega man. They put ore into the actual watches so your spend is on the watch rather than the marketing and that's reflected in cars for me too.
I wouldn't say Was disappointed with the RS as such it was more that it just didn't reflect a 160k spend which for me is a huge amount of money. I think the RS would make sense at about 120 and the normal GT3s about 80. The GT4 is better on the road but again not a true great really. Its a 50 to 60k car really.
So 600 V 991 RS the Mclaren is a true supercar. Its far, far quicker. You get a carbon tub for gawds sake! The interior is better, It looks better (and I do still love Porsche looks!) This is the one that P guys will find hard to understand but he 600 exhaust sounds better! Bear with me here the 991 sounds awesome outside the car but its way too quiet inside. No pops and bangs or anything its just there. The 600 is loud MEGA bangs on the downshift and sounds great when you get up the revs. The gearbox is also better on the Mac as you get the throttle cut upshifts which is almost completely absent on the 991. Not needed as such but it just adds character.
On the Porsche positive list oddly the steering. Far better even though its electric. The rear steer helps turn in. I think that's really about it. Oh I suppose the other thing with a Porsche is there are more people to come along and buy it when you are done as there's always someone in the pipeline that's been dreaming about owning one and believes the hype. At the price point the 991s are just buy a 600 and save 25k for 5 year running costs. I think the 600 is probably more of a match for the GT2 but even then still has more character. In time I really think the 600 will be highly sought after. If a 675 is a pipe dream the 600 has to be most of one of those and because they made so many of them for now they are crazily underpriced.
I wouldn't say Was disappointed with the RS as such it was more that it just didn't reflect a 160k spend which for me is a huge amount of money. I think the RS would make sense at about 120 and the normal GT3s about 80. The GT4 is better on the road but again not a true great really. Its a 50 to 60k car really.
So 600 V 991 RS the Mclaren is a true supercar. Its far, far quicker. You get a carbon tub for gawds sake! The interior is better, It looks better (and I do still love Porsche looks!) This is the one that P guys will find hard to understand but he 600 exhaust sounds better! Bear with me here the 991 sounds awesome outside the car but its way too quiet inside. No pops and bangs or anything its just there. The 600 is loud MEGA bangs on the downshift and sounds great when you get up the revs. The gearbox is also better on the Mac as you get the throttle cut upshifts which is almost completely absent on the 991. Not needed as such but it just adds character.
On the Porsche positive list oddly the steering. Far better even though its electric. The rear steer helps turn in. I think that's really about it. Oh I suppose the other thing with a Porsche is there are more people to come along and buy it when you are done as there's always someone in the pipeline that's been dreaming about owning one and believes the hype. At the price point the 991s are just buy a 600 and save 25k for 5 year running costs. I think the 600 is probably more of a match for the GT2 but even then still has more character. In time I really think the 600 will be highly sought after. If a 675 is a pipe dream the 600 has to be most of one of those and because they made so many of them for now they are crazily underpriced.
Edited by fridaypassion on Saturday 6th August 09:02
Rocketreid said:
lack of sound deadening, lighter steering rack etc, bit more power, aurally and the exhaust noise.
The big difference is to the 720’s / 765 LT
Yeah that's the big differences The big difference is to the 720’s / 765 LT
I drove 570s a few times on road and track and never quite got that James May "Fizz". The 600 was immediate. To each their own. I did actually start out looking at 570s but the 600 was worth the jump for me however the 570 is extraordinary value for money at 80 to 90k I put offers in on a couple but owners being perhaps a bit deluded over attainable prices.....Theres never going to be a big queue of people when you come to sell a Mac sadly!
I'm pretty hardcore I think in terms of road cars. The 991 RS every single review of that car says its way too stiff for the road but I felt it was ok. The 600 is pretty tame in terms of suspension setup it leans like a good un on track as soon as you push it but I find it very comfortable on the road. I see some people are getting the dampers swapped out the spring rates are probably a bit light for serious track use. I have a dedicated track car so the 600 will ultimately be a road car for me but its always good to do a bit of track and really stretch the old girl's legs a bit. I do think a 570 with some real track focussed mods would also be a very good option.
So about 6 weeks in now and settling in nicely. Have done 2 trckdays one at Donington soon after I got it and one half day yesterday up at Blyton Park. The Big Mac was surprisingly agile around the smaller track and even being pretty 8/9 10ths with it turned in a 103.5 which is about 4 seconds quicker than my proper track car (400BHP VX220)
First problem well 2 problems actually! Bit of trim coming off the drivers door where the door goes up a bit of plastic has come unstuck. Also we have a but of play in something under the front which seems to be getting worse. Booked in to McLeeds later this week so hopefully something straight forward they can locate and resolve quickly.
I have a booking after the front suspension issue is fixed with Suspension Secrets they are going to measure the bump steer and do a proper alignment on the car. Not looking for any crazy settings just make sure everything is to spec and eliminate the annoying bump steer.
First problem well 2 problems actually! Bit of trim coming off the drivers door where the door goes up a bit of plastic has come unstuck. Also we have a but of play in something under the front which seems to be getting worse. Booked in to McLeeds later this week so hopefully something straight forward they can locate and resolve quickly.
I have a booking after the front suspension issue is fixed with Suspension Secrets they are going to measure the bump steer and do a proper alignment on the car. Not looking for any crazy settings just make sure everything is to spec and eliminate the annoying bump steer.
Gibbo205 said:
Good to hear your feedback been both a 458 and GT3 owner, I am now in the exact same place and planning a 600LT purchase as you know.
One thing I wanted to ask, something the 458 excels at is how playful the car is in CT off mode allowing some quite nice sideways action with decent angles meaning the traction hardly ever cuts in unless you get it way beyond slip limits. No slip control on the 458 by the way just the CT OFF seems very playful.
My question is does the 600LT have a similar setting that allows such a level of playfulness in the chassis but with some added safety net or is the traction control just one stage, track mode with it either on or off?
CT off moments were amazing in the 458 its like big Caterham! So this is something I'm working towards at the moment in the 600. At Blyton now I'm a bit more confident in it and the weather was good I started to lean on it a bit and found perhaps unsurprisingly that the TC "on" was really extremely intrusive. I remembered the dynamic setting that you have available in the top two powertrain modes and used it on track for the first time. This really allows you to get the power down without the constant and quite abrupt throttle cutting and braking that the TC does. Felt pretty controllable its a car that REALLY moves around under you even someone who was spectating commented that they could see the car squirming under heavy braking. I got some mid corner and exit oversteer in this mode. One thing I wanted to ask, something the 458 excels at is how playful the car is in CT off mode allowing some quite nice sideways action with decent angles meaning the traction hardly ever cuts in unless you get it way beyond slip limits. No slip control on the 458 by the way just the CT OFF seems very playful.
My question is does the 600LT have a similar setting that allows such a level of playfulness in the chassis but with some added safety net or is the traction control just one stage, track mode with it either on or off?
I'm yet to drive it with the TC fully off. It feels like more of a beast than the 458 so slowly getting more confident in it!
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