At this point I have participated in two autocross events with the Spyder. A challenge with the car relates to settings for PASM, ESC, and ESC + TC. I found that on irregular surfaces it seems to be best to leave PASM in the normal mode. While on my earlier Porsches with PSM there were some courses where it was better to leave it engaged. On the Spyder it seemed to be quicker this past weekend to turn off the ESC and leave the TC engaged. Both courses had an irregular, not smooth surface. The surface this past weekend was a bit loose in that material would collect outside of the line which one needed to avoid. Any thoughts on the best settings for PASM, ESC and TC to obtain the fastest times. Also another thing I learned at the first event was to turn off the auto stop/start function prior to the start line. It is very distracting when the engine stops as you are about to go.

 

Just to be clear... PASM is the suspension stiffness setting. ESC + TC are the stability & traction controls. Two totally separate systems. You probably already know that, but your wording makes it sound like you are intertwining the two separate systems together.

 

I haven’t had an opportunity to autocross my Spyder yet. Hopefully soon. I typically turn off everything I can when I do because I want to feel how the car behaves with as few nannies as possible. As far as which is faster...I don’t know, but I’d guess that the computer between your ears would play a bigger part than the one controlling the car. When you disengage the nannies you are probably going to be a bit more cautious or deliberately smoother whether you intend to or not. Unless your skills are at the pro level, I think it’s a flawed experiment unless you do back to back runs in a double blind manner. Even then, I don’t think I’m consistent enough to really be able to tell. My guess would be that most of us would be faster with the nannies engaged. It is an interesting question though...

 

One of things I do to get an idea of how I am doing run to run is to reset the g-meter for each run. So far I have seen 1.2 g plus on my faster runs in the turns with 1.0 g plus for acceleration. Braking is a problem area as I don't tend to use the brakes as hard as I probably should which results in readings of around 0.9 g for braking. I too like to turn the nannies off but found at times with my earlier 987.2 Boxster that it resulted in quicker times if I left PSM on some courses. I do like the handling of the Spyder through a slalom. This past weekends event had a fairly high speed slalom which was fun and with the ESC on resulted in flashing of the PSM warning lights on the dash. Mostly these first two events were to get me familiar with the Spyder. My next event will be the first of the year with the local SCCA chapter and it will be very competitive in Super Street which is why I was asking the questions regarding setting the PASM and PSM (ESC Off and ESC + TC Off). Any suggestions as to how to take advantage of what the Spyder has to offer will be appreciated.

 

Were you by chance at the Sonoma Raceway autocross?

 

I haven't autocrossed the Spyder at Sonoma Raceway yet. PCA Redwood Region had an autocross there in late November which I attended to photograph but not run. Sacramento Chapter SCCA San Francisco Region is hosting autocrosses at Thunderhill on March 27th and 28th which I will be participating in the Spyder.

 

Oh gotcha. Was asking since I was at a track day there on Sunday and saw a Spyder auto-crossing so was curious if it was you. Can't wait for my car to come in July... perhaps we can link up for some NorCal cruises/track days at some point.

 

While I haven't yet received my Spyder... from experiences riding in other PASM cars (and a buddy's 21 Spyder) and comparing them to my own car... it seems like Porsche tends to go light on the spring rate but then heavy on the damping rate.

My current autocross/track car (a 987 Cayman) rides on 500# springs and JRZ RS2s. That spring rate is ~double what the stock GT4/Spyder spring rate is. Yet I know, my car feels much more compliant when going over rough surfaces. I feel the suspension squish and compress, vs. thump and move the whole car. I actually have my car set up pretty soft as the AX lots I run in here are pretty rough.

So, rough surface, I would not be surprised to hear that you had better luck leaving shocks in regular (not sport) mode. As I understand it, that's one thing that the DSC Sport box helps with - in "street" mode it pulls out a LOT of the compression damping to let the car soak up the bumps more. Might be something worth looking into.

 

I don't know you're level of autocross experience, but if you are turning off the ESC and TC then take that into account when you drive and build back up to the limits of the car. Most of the incidents I've seen occur when people turn them off, but drive like they're on!

Personally I leave it on. There's enough slip in the standard ESC to be agile and you can't disable TC without ESC.

 

Are you running in Sport or Sport+ mode. As I understand it either mode dumbs down PSM allowing your more "wiggle" before the nannies kick in.

 

It’s a Spyder, so no Sport or Sport+ modes.

You can dial back PSM with ESC or ESC+TC off.

 

I guess you would call me an experienced autocrosser at the local level. You are correct that incidents occur when those without the necessary skills turn off PSM and the like. My experience with Porsches has mostly occurred over the last 10 years. The Porsche systems are less intrusive than those from other manufactures that I have experience with but I still like to try it both ways. My interest is to learn what others have learned to make myself more competitive in the Spyder.

 

Not to change the subject, but since I see a few folks up in Nor Cal, is there autocross programs/trainers you recommend to somebody who is starting off brand new in the area?

 

Possibly at Sonoma Raceway there would be driver training for autocross. Other than that instructors were available for ride along at PCA autocrosses prior to the pandemic. I expect this will resume once things return to normal.

 

I am most likely coming for the 2nd Round on the 28th in my GT4. Running SS?