Happy New Year to the Mondial Group! I just got back from a initially wet, on Saturday morning, then cloudy, and then sunny Sunday, but overall very cold weekend at Roebling Road near Savannah GA. I took my '97 E36 M3 and the T Coupe. The M3 has coil overs, race seats, 1/2 roll cage, and Hankook Ventus Race Slicks, but mechanically is all stock. The Ferrari had new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, suspension set to Hard mode, but otherwise as she arrived to me this past summer. I've been to Roebling many times and am very familiar with the track, especially when driving my M3. I had been driving the Mondial daily for almost two months and had become very familiar with it's nuances and general street feel. I was not prepared for how she felt on the track in wet or dry conditions. Turn ins were crisp, with slight under steer instantly corrected by applying power through out the turn, the rear end sets perfectly and it's incredibly easy feel the rotation or slide and when to apply a slight steering correction to keep her where you want. Braking was excellent and without fade. The car is simply the most predictable handling car I think I've ever driven on track. The one draw back was the stock seat belts. Just couldn't get or keep them snug enough. Otherwise the seats were snug enough to keep you from sloshing from side to side. With a better harness set, I'd just never drive anything else on the track. Absolutely amazing. I'm not sure I'll get the smile off my face for months. Now back to work and reality.
Thanks Cody for the great review. I agree with the amazing neutrality. You can get it to slide pretty easily without doing a 360. I think the key for me was the tires, I had some older all season tires initially and that was very scary. When to Advan Neova R8s - very fun experience. Agreed with the breaks too - very robust!!! My benchmark was a my old AP01 S2000 (SCCA Class A) - that was a way beyond my skill level - did a few unintended donuts with that track beast, the t' = much more forgiving. Agree 100% about the seat belts too!! Great Post.
Good that you drove it in the wet. The Mondial is a fun handling car in the dry and sliding it about is a delight. As you say understeer is corrected with power and power controls the ballance nicely, overall the car is predictable and fun in the dry. The only thing I don't like with the car is the lift off weight shift mid corner on the limit, which in the dry is very noticable and in the wet can result in an unplanned slide. My Lotus does not suffer from this and will even withstand hard braking on the corner limit. That said as long as all the moves are planned in the Ferrari all is well and the handling is pedictable and fun, IMHO. Regards Bell
Get one or two of these for now, I use them on street cars that occasionally see track use: CG-Lock Seat Belt Lock - Porsche Parts and Accessories Alden
I've used those before, but what I found was that they tend to fray the edge of the seat belt after extended use, which will lead to belt failure. I'd prefer a solution similar to the Schroth QuickFit like I use for my M3 which allows me to retain the stock belt for non-track driving.
Old trick that used to work was to turn the seat belt 360 degrees before inserting it into the buckle. On most cars, it will tend to lock up much quicker. Never tried it on the Mondial. Regards, Jerry
Good to hear your positive experience with it on track. I agree that the T is remarkably good straight out the box. The only things I did was fit a 4 point Sabelt Race Harness (bolts through the firewall with mounted plate) to stop me moving around, Pirelli P Zero C tyres, and a Tubi. It's manners and analogue handling means you can engage with it's progressive nature and there are no nasty surprises. Truly a great all round car. Enjoy !
Cody, You probably already know this, this is a video of your car when it was here in Colorado. I kept meaning to post this when you first bought the car. I juist ran across it on YouTube again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhC8tDO4UX4 Always thought this was a cool "t" John
I understand that the T engine layout solves the oil starvation that can occur with the 8 and QV and 3.2 transverse engines. I watched my oil pressure drop to zero in my 308 in the turn 2 sweeper at Willow Springs. What are the current day fixes for this in the non-T Mondials?
Memory is fuzzy, but I bought an oil baffle that were designed to mitigate the oil sloshing in the pan. Want to say this was addressed by the 3.2?? Sold my 308 before I installed it.
