cmchism

I'm on the fence as my lock date quickly approaches. In any other car I'd take free leather option without hesitation. However, with a big wing, wild color, and LWB, the race-tex feels more "fitting". My assumption around pros and cons are below...but would love any corrections or additional insights.....

Pros
-"Fits" - sportier, good contrast with the leather dash and ties in well with the rest of the car
-Resale - most people looking for a gt3 prefer the race-tex?
-Less temperature reflective (not as hot to touch in summer or cold in winter)


Cons
-Wear - My understanding is that Race-Tex will show wear more and quicker (will these be easily replaceable parts in the future or require recovering?)

LexVan

You lost me at "resale".

cmchism

I guess that's my question. It certainly isn't much of a factor to me, but are you saying there's no correlation to resale/desirability...or you just don't care?

LexVan

What I'm saying is, you haven't even finalized your build, let alone driven the new GT3, and you're already strategizing about selling.

If it helps, I spec'd the $0 option black leather wheel and boot. I don't care about what the next owner wants. I didn't buy the car for him/her/he/she.

Randy M

I don't like alcantara on the wheel or shifter. It feels good but I find myself trying not to touch the wheel or shifter too much for fear of soiling the fabric. I'll order the leather when or if I get the call.

PTS

That is one of the biggest misnomers about alcantara, it doesn't wear like many think, especially modern alcantara. You treat it the same as you would leather with normal cleaning/conditioning. I've had alcantara wheels across many brands for years and all of them looked brand new years into ownership. Leather can look like crap if you don't take care of it, same upkeep

ipse dixit

Get the leather steering wheel.

It just feels better.

cmchism

This is kinda what I was hoping to hear someone (with real experience) say. There's a bunch of garbage on the internet about how cheap it is and how bad it wears, but I haven't heard almost anything bad from actual experiences.

MaxLTV

I think the reason for this is many people see Alcantara only on cheap aftermarket wheels and/or do not know how to care for it. For example, Alcantara on my sim wheel looks like crap after just few hours of use (yes, hours). My GT3 wheel looked like new after 5 years of daily driving and track use, with just regular cleaning - damp cloth wipe once a month and Sonax with a brush about 2-3 times a year.

I did a 4-hour very spirited drive through the mountains in my Turbo with a leather wheel recently, and in some parts my hands got damp and the wheel got slippery right away. I did the same drive in the RS with the Alcantara wheel and it was not an issue. So I'm thinking about getting an Alcantara wheel even in the upcoming Turbo now.

Captain P

I went with RaceTex. I don’t have any major preference really, all the cars I’ve owned have been leather or some form of plastic wheel. I just think the RaceTex looks and feels nice and is different from what I’m used to. Pros/cons is irrelevant.

if I was to buy used, I am pretty sure I can swap the steering wheel or shifter.

DES GTS

Get what you like to look at and touch the most. If it ends up looking grungy years down the road, then just replace it.

raymort

Yep-with gloves, I don’t mind RT, but without, I hate the feel. Good gloves with leather work great for me.

CaptainOblivious

100% I will go with race tex, if chosen, preferably with a yellow TDC stripe (not in the configurator, btw, but dealer says can do. CXX?)

In my opinion, it enhances the "virtual race car experience" in both look and feel. I used to race karts and always loved the alcantara steering wheels, extra grippy especially with gloves. The alcantara on the karts would get matted down over time, in the areas your hands would go, but they never lost their "bite" on your gloves. I'm sure the Porsche race tex is of much higher quality than what is used on go karts, I would expect it to last a long time. Just have to get them to make a flat-bottom steering wheel to complete the fantasy... now you're Jackie Ickx, nailing the exit at Arnage and hurtling toward the Porsche curves at Le Mans. This is the power of faux suede.

docfink

I love the alcantara steering wheel on my now 5yo GT4. The yellow stripe at 12 o'clock shows wear, but could likely be cleaned up if I chose to do so. If I spec a GT3, I still might get the alcantara wheel as I just love the connection it brings to the drive.

diss7

Racetex is polarising. You either love it or hate it. I’m in the latter group.

I did opt racetex as the roof lining in my 992 C2 with the thinking it would feel premium. To me, it doesn’t. I will be going to fabric roof lining in my GT3T.