Hi all.

We're currently in the process of speccing out an RT12 w/ Ruf in Germany. They have been incredibly accomodating and helpful, and needless to say, we're so excited for when the car will be complete (June-July estimate).

The spec as it stands now includes carbon fiber doors (painted to match the body of course,) as well as more aggressive 355 section rear tires, with 255 section fronts. These would be mounted on 3-pc Ruf 19" wheels, 12 inches wide in the back.

Questions then are: would the CF doors make the car feel "cheap"? obviously they would be a lot lighter than regular doors (close to 20 lbs per door to be exact). so Ruf have warned that you lose a bit of that solid Porsche feel. my gut feel is that i wouldn't mind this, and knowing that the car has the CF doors simply adds to the exclusivity of the thing. i have friends that own 993 GT2's, and those doors, while not CF are incredibly light. i love them! but i have never tried CF doors yet on a 911... any feedback?

second, on the tires, i know 355 is rather extreme to go at the rear, but Ruf themselves spec out some cars like this. the car will be AWD, so there's the added safety net of that. however, the extra width at the back will still provide that final extra margin? not to mention it would look badass my question then is: how badly would it tramline? anyone have rears in that size? feedback truly appreciated.

many thanks in advance for any inputs. cheers.

 

carbon doors will be extremely light for sure but will Ruf put the full cage in it including the reinforcement cross members for the side? i think mainly u need to worry about is the safety in case u got T-boned.

 

Hey man, although i am one of the least to know everything about the RT12 on this forum, i can help out somewhat.. Basically a 40 lb weight savings on a car of that caliber, i dont think it will be that noticeable performance wise (as in the car having 40lbs off) and would think it would have more road noise and more impact in case of an accident, but hey i could be wrong! I know for my M3 it wasnt worth to do for all of those reasons considering i had all of the major weight reduction done really and safety was a BIG concern!

Also if your getting it with the AWD option the 355's in the rear will only provide looks and will add weight and more bogging off the line if you were to spin but again i dont know how much it could actually affect the car, i really think its unnecessary though!

Last, congrats and goodluck on possibly getting one of the sickest cars EVER.

Martin

 

thanks for the comments.

i agree saving a couple pounds here and there isn't really going to make a world of difference on a 1,500+ kg car that won't see any track time.

the CF parts are more for psychological value. we want the car to be as personalized as possible, and having all those nice bits obviously adds a bit of wow factor to the car. AFAIK, the CF doors are just the outer skins and frame, but all the internal bits like window and door mechanisms, plus any side impact bars SHOULD remain intact. i'll check this of course.

as for the 355's... i'm starting to think these may be a bit overkill. even the enzo and saleen S7, both of which have more power than the RT12, AND are only RWD, make do with 345 section tires.

i seem to remember at least one 6speeder that had 355's on a widebody 996 C2? anyone here? curious to know how the car rides on such extreme rubber...

thanks all

 

Yea Vince the owner of iForged had 355's on his widebody C2 coupe.. It was for show purpose and he never tracked it to my knowledge.

BTW if the CF door's are just the outerlayer skin there is no way its saving that much, that's why it leads me to believe safety might be an issue so definitely check that out. And while it might be personalized, it might affect resale even being so rare, but i would doubt that

 

I'd only go for the wider rubber is I spec'ed it out as a RWD. I'd forget about the carbon doors and invest that money in the optional Ohlins suspension package.

Congratulations on ordering an RT12.

 

actually the RT12 is being specced out very aggressively. the thinking being, "if you're going to do something so crazy as buy a really sick car instead of a house (and in our case this is really not far from the truth,) then you might as well throw in the kitchen sink and the bathtub along with it!".

so yes, the car will have the Ohlins suspension, along with the 3.8L motor, 380mm 8-pots and optional AWD and longer gearing.

you really only live once!!!

 

Congrats with the purchase ! I would forego the CF doors AND the AWD personally. Why not het the RWD version you will save alot of weight with that option. And dont worry about exclusivity just having a RUF car is VERY exclusive. Def. go with the Ohlins adjustable suspension.
Just my .02 cents.

Bajo

 

agree on the weight savings, and from my experience driving 997 C2's and C4's, there's still a purity in the steering feel of the RWD car that the AWD car can't match.

having said that, i'm no walter rohrl, and would not trust my meager skills with being able to handle all that power going only to the rear wheels. so i'd rather have the safety net there, as well as the peace of mind...

yes, i'm a wuss!!!

 

Unless you plan on regularly exceeding 210mph, I would avoid getting the extra long gearing, it will blunt the 6th gear acceleration slightly and is a needless extra expense (albeit small) unless you live on the autobahn and find hitting the rev-limiter at 210-215mph annoying.........

 

Forget the top gear option for sure. AWD with IRC (stiff chassis) is a dynamite combination.I see no advantage going to CF door panels. The factory Ruf vin and badge are all the bling you will ever need.
The Ruf experience is awesome!Enjoy and be safe.


Cheers

R

 

hahaha!

oh man, we're gonna be driving the poor guys at Ruf nuts changing our minds at this rate...

but thanks so much for the feedback on the long gearing. yes, i think we will opt for the standard set-up instead. the savings will help pay for the CF doors (sorry, i admit it, i have a CF fetish) and 6-pt harness.

Guy, you own the black Ruf GT2 that edged out Adam's car at Bruntingthorpe, am i right? I love the idea of a RWD Ruf monster, but as i mentioned, simply don't think I have the skill to avoid getting in trouble with such a set-up.

Ruf-Racer, if you don't mind my asking, what is your car's spec?

thanks again for the insightful comments. we may make a trip to visit the car in progress at the factory come springtime.

 

Yes, thats mine (I have the 590 engine as they were not making the 650 when I upgraded last) and frankly it scares the hell out of me sometimes on wet roads. If it had traction control though I would be less concerned about getting the 4wd, as the t/c will help in unexpected moments.

I was speaking to Ruf at the Essen show (Marc and Florian) and they have built RT12s with c/f doors. Any weight reduction is good if the budget is unlimited, but don't forget that the cheapest weight deductions are things like lightweight batteries, no sunroof, losing the a/c etc. Also get the GT3 seats if you want lower weight and get lighter wheels ie not the stock Ruf style wheels or Ruf Modular which are also heavy. Also bigger tyres/wheels = much more rolling mass.

Don't forget that the RT12 is at heart an awesome roadcar not a trackcar, so spec accordingly, it will be plenty fast enough whatever you get.

Guy

 

Guy, you are right of course about weight reduction, but deleting the A/C is impossible, as I live in a tropical country, and i don't enjoy the thought of expiring from heatstroke in the car!

we have indeed specified the GT3 seats, and no sunroof. the only remaining item to be decided is the wheels. i would love to get the Manthey forged magnesium BBS ones, but I think they do not come in 19's? also, it doesn't seem right to fit Manthey wheels on a Ruf car, even if Manthey is every bit as prestigious as Ruf.

BBS LM's would be tasty too...

finally, i recognize that Rufs are streetcars, not track cars. if it was a track car we wanted, then we would have gotten a Manthey M400 or something similar from his stable!

have you got pics of your car online? i love it!!!

 

Congrats! Details, please! What is the total cost for the car? When will you get it? Keep us informed, that is a really awesome car! Little pricey but very Awesome!