The Smoking Tire Podcast

Episode: GTD vs GT3; Lambo Temerario Drive; Lemons Buttonwillow; More

Hosts: Matt Farah, Zack Klapman
Date: October 2, 2025

Brief Overview

In this episode, Matt reports in remotely from Thunderhill Raceway during the Performance Car of the Year (PCOTY) test, while Zack joins from home after a weekend at the Lemons Buttonwillow race. The show dives into cheap racing tales, in-depth impressions of the latest high-performance cars (including the Lamborghini Temerario, Mustang GTD, Corvette ZR1, M5 Touring, AMG GT Pro, Porsche GT3, and more), and the value of evaluating vehicles back-to-back for real context. The tone is lively, candid, and technical—the usual mix of camaraderie and sharp analysis for which TST is known.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Lemons Buttonwillow Recap (01:38 – 25:06)

Zack’s Team (Huevos Rancheros):

• Cars: Ranchero and a V8-swapped MGB GT
• The MGB GT had a Buick-sourced 215ci V8, original to some UK models—light and torquey but only 160 hp.
  • “It sounds like a 400 cubic inch destruction machine... then you open the door, and it makes like 160 horsepower. It’s torky.” — Zack (02:26)
• Vehicle quirks:
  • V8 weighs 50 lbs less than iron-block inline-4, making for a lighter, quicker, good-momentum car.
  • Looks and sounds fast, but still gets walked by, say, a VW Jetta in the chaos of Lemons.

Battle with Reliability:

• Jeff Glucker’s Montero: Oil leak (front main seal) after an hour on the road, requiring AAA tow back home.
  • “Jeff’s car sacrificed itself to the maintenance gods... so maybe the other cars will run well all weekend.” — Zack (06:45)
• MGB GT:
  • Double-tap brakes: Needed to pump the brake twice each time to actuate the fronts due to old/dodgy setup.
    • “[On track]... you have to double tap the brake pedal… that was insane.” — Zack (09:07)
  • Open diff—complaints about throttle gentleness out of tight corners.

Track Antics & Mishaps:

• Overheating led to a head gasket replacement mid-race.
  • “We did all those diagnostic checks, and wouldn’t you know it, the doctor says—it’s a head gasket.” — Zack (15:37)
• Suspension failure (rear shock): multiple fixes, eventually resulted in unpredictable handling, but the team pressed on.
  • “Now half the shock is gone... So we had half a shot. So we didn’t retire the car—just gonna be weird out there.” — Zack (16:46)
• Ranchero stint: Long sessions, third in class, very loud (tinnitus-inducing), went through tires rapidly; “Like a dyno room in a mailbox.” — Zack (18:07)

Lemons Lessons:

• On slow cars being in the way:
  • Praise for older, predictable drivers; criticism for line-hogging noobies ignoring traffic etiquette (24:08)
• “Cheap racing is very fun—if your car works properly.” — Matt (24:50)

2. Seaside to Sierra: Matt’s PCOTY Experience & Deep-Dive (25:41 – 67:50)

The Road Trip & Audi RS3 Impressions:

• 1000-mile journey from SF to Sonoma, Grass Valley, ending in Tahoe.
• RS3 (US-spec) with Performance Pack:
  • Pros: Fast, brakes, “does it all” package—great for track, canyon, daily, and (eventually) cross-country.
  • Cons: Lacks Euro-spec seats, dislike for square/haptic-button steering wheel, unpredictable slide behavior (“doesn’t respond the same way to the same inputs each time”), harsh ride.
    • “[Torque rear mode]... it’ll do it, but it doesn’t do it predictably.” — Matt (28:24)
  • “It really executes at a very high level…for $75-80k, it's a lot of car.” — Matt (33:16)

Value of Group Testing (Context Is Everything):

• Back-to-back laps in everything from Mini JCW to Corvette ZR1 to GT3—context revealed strengths and weaknesses not obvious in isolation.
  • “When I drove a car in isolation versus back-to-back… maybe things that I thought about the car originally... were not really complete thoughts.” — Matt (34:53)
• Mustang GTD “rides beautifully”… until compared with ZR1.
  • “What I thought was a beautiful riding car in isolation, compared… not actually.” — Matt (35:25)
• “Doing laps in the GT3 then in the GTD—you feel every pound [of Mustang’s weight].” — Matt (37:10)

Rapid Impressions: Main Contenders

(All impressions ~41:55 – 67:23)

• Mini JCW:
  • “Fully transitioned into a luxury car... as a real sports car, I don’t think that’s it.”
• Golf R (Euro Style Package):
  • Slick top, lighter, cloth seats, real diff—“After driving the Mini, the Golf feels like a McLaren.”
  • “Very impressed... offers a lot of what the RS3 offers for a much cheaper price.”
• M5 Touring:
  • Massive grip, a literal tire-smoke machine on track, but “so much tech and so many modes,” less exciting on the road.
  • “For a big, heavy car, it slides incredibly easily—1–5% throttle required, anything more is insta-spin.”
    • “If you want to drift with more throttle than that, leave it in four-wheel drive.” — Matt (45:05)
• Lamborghini Temerario:
  • Lighter, smaller Revuelto, 907 hp, V8 revs to 10k—“It’s a monster.”
  • “Picks up where Ferrari left off in the V8 department. The exhaust sounds fabulous inside.”
  • Front end looks busier and less tidy in person; sticker price $568K—“I literally yelped.”
• AMG GT Pro:
  • “Much more driver focused... super light forged wheels, tuned suspension, better brakes.”
  • “But doesn’t like being driven beyond the limit; very difficult to fully disable traction.”
  • “As a track car: lovely. For overdriving: not so much.”
• Porsche 911 GT3 (manual):
  • “Just the most joyous thing to use... does everything right.”
  • “Compared to cars with 900 or 1,000hp, it over-performs. This is the car you keep for 20 years.”
  • “You just drive it and you go: I know why everyone wants one and no one can get one.” — Matt (60:59)
• Corvette ZR1:
  • “Frighteningly fast, fabulous engine, but on a short track vs Z06 difference is hard to feel.”
  • “It’s over 1,000 horsepower but, with all the PTM (Performance Traction Management) stuff, you only get that on big straights—otherwise it's not much different from the Z06.”
  • “It offers crazy performance value—a Chevy you can just use as a car.”

Notable Quote on Porsche GT3’s Lasting Appeal:

“It is the kind of car where you buy one today and you drive it for 20 years, and you don't have the urge to upgrade to the next thing. It's a real, real treat to get to lap one of those around a track.”
— Matt Farah (60:05)

The Value Proposition:

• “As it says, it’s in the long line of Corvettes that over-perform for their price tag.” — Matt (65:00)
• “There’s no such thing as a Chevy that isn’t a Chevy. You can just use it as a car, which is kind of awesome.” — Matt (66:16)

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On Lemons Quirks:

  • “The brake system gets more upset under high-speed left-handers. Double tap is not sufficient—it needs a triple tap.” — Zack (13:00)
  • “Staring out your passenger window at a pack of race cars coming toward you is a unique view.” — Zack (13:33)

• On Contextual Testing:

  • “Compared to an actually light car like a GT3… it’s really obvious how heavy [the GTD] is... doesn't mean it's not awesome, but it is enormous.” — Matt (37:10)

• On Limit Handling in Modern Hybrids:

  • “Temerario… is a 5% throttle position in order to slide. You’re just getting a ton of electric torque at low input—just makes it hard.” — Zack & Matt (46:03)
  • “I mean, the Bentley drifts awesome, very effortlessly… this [AMG] won't do it—no one has considered that somebody might want to drive it beyond the limit. And they're probably right.” — Matt (55:08)

• On the Porsche GT3:

  • “The only naturally aspirated engine, the only stick shift… And it’s just the most joyous thing to use.” — Matt (57:59)
  • “Porsche has to innovate just to stay the same.” — Matt (58:45)

Important Timestamps

• 01:38: Start of Lemons Buttonwillow discussion
• 02:26: V8 MG sound/feel
• 06:45: Glucker sacrifices Montero to “maintenance gods”
• 09:07: The legendary “brake double-tap” quirk
• 15:37: Diagnosing the MGB’s head gasket failure
• 17:56: Stint in the Ranchero; racing with tinnitus
• 25:41: Matt’s PCOTY/road trip recap
• 28:24: RS3 unpredictability on track
• 33:16: RS3 as “a lot of car for the money”
• 35:25: Mustang GTD “beautiful ride” versus ZR1 in context
• 41:55: Quick takes on all PCOTY contenders
• 45:05: Modulating throttle for M5 Touring and Temerario slides
• 49:25: Temerario's front-end design in reality
• 60:05: Matt’s Porsche GT3 moment
• 65:00: Corvette ZR1 context and value

Final Notes & Takeaways

• Lemons continues to be a master class in acceptance, patience, and improvisation, with laughter and mechanical failures in equal measure.
• Real car understanding comes from context—testing cars back to back can flip your opinions from “amazing” to “maybe not so much,” and vice versa.
• The leap in power and complexity in the latest performance cars brings more ultra-fast, tech-laden monsters, but also magnifies the appeal of analog, simply joyful machines like the Porsche GT3.
• Lamborghini’s Temerario is a technical and emotional standout (albeit with an astronomical price tag).
• The Corvette ZR1 and M5 Touring prove, each in their way, that you can get massive capability—or just plain mischief—for a comparative value, even as cars hit eye-watering power and price figures.

This summary covers all core discussions, major vehicle impressions, and the episode’s entertaining, insightful highlights for listeners seeking the essence of this TST installment.