about to drive a 360CH for the first time. what can i expect & any tips??
stay off all curbs. I used to bounce around off them in Formula cars...try that in a 360 Challenge and you will spin. Try the car with ASR on and then go for it off..
ASR on a 360CH won't be on for long...I would imagine after the first or second turn, you'll switch it off....it's quite invasive, but you'll figure that out fairly quickly! Which track are you driving it on?
I would like to hear some more about how a 360CH handles. I have never driven one, but you never know! What I have heard is the rear gets really light under heavy braking. Is this true? Is this why people started adding wings? And as one more data point, I was told by a Ferrari of Ontario mechanic that Ferrari "softened" the rear suspension in the F430CH to counter this tendency to load up. Any truth to that? Dale
from what i've read a rear wing & modified splitter make a big improvement to the handling. Will post my impressions..
The 360CH is a seriously awesome machine. i was really surprsied how easy it was to drive. I think i was expecting it to be a pig unless you can drive it at 10/10ths. Not so. I started pretty tentatively & just kept progressing & pushing all day & the car just felt great. Was very easy to just build up slowly & I never had any 'moments' all day although i did one little spin on cold tires. The guys were saying it's like driving on ice for the first lap until the tires warm, possibly because the throttles are drive-by-wire so there's a little disconnect between throttle / engine / tires. First 3 sessions was in dry & on used slicks. Then it started raining & was pretty wet for the rest of the day so we put Michelin wets on which had a phenomenal amount of grip. By the end of the day i was about 3 seconds faster on a wet track on the Michelin's than the Pirelli's on dry. Slicks take some getting used to as the car moves around a fair bit especially under braking. The car is damn amazing to drive. The ABS brakes have unbelievable stopping power & it seemed like you can just punish it all day & suffer no brake fade. Gearbox is fantastic with F1 shift. Was a little slower on upshift than i was expecting although you don't notice it on downshift. Power's great & it's got some good grunt across the range. Handling is superbly balanced & neutral. I had traction control on all day & wasn't game to take it off with the track being so wet. All up a very different driving experience than a road car but one that was significantly more rewarding. A fair step up from my 328 that's for sure!
Probably the most exciting car I've driven at Phillip Island. Certainly kept me on my toes. Where to from here?
