JBH

More times than I can remember.

The first time was in White Plains, NY where I had this great looking blond in the car and I was trying to impress her with handling of the car. An animal popped out on the road through a high speed sweeping curve. I lifted and I started pirouetting down the road - after three 360s I came to a stop right in front of a wide-eyed women in her Toyota Camry. That was sort of scary and needless to say very embarassing.

I did spin once at Watkins Glen - that resulted in a small light blue mark on the front fender

HVR-PCA had access to an old WWII airfield out in the country. Most of the time we used access to run AutoX events, but a few times we set up a course on the runway and taxiways. Here was a wide open area where you could push the car to the edge and beyond. I chewed up lots of old tires trying to take each turn a little faster than the last one, usually ending by spinning on concrete into the grass - what fun!

DGaunt

They say the first short wheelbase cars were evil, but having not driven one, I can only comment on later cars.

TTO is fun and useful when planned for, and helps rotate the car in certain situations. however, I agree you have to get on top of a rear end slide in a 911 fast as once that pendulum starts to swing, it takes quite a lot of input to stop it. If it goes a bit too far out, you become a spectator.

I vote for easily manageable for average drivers who are aware of the physics, and FUN!

joeblow

I have experience in front, mid and rear engined street and track cars and they will all drop throttle overstear if you try hard enough. Likely the most 'diabolical' for the inexerienced was the early 930. There you are the happy new owner of the first true wide body street car thinking, 'this thing had more tire than can ever lose traction'. You are planted on the gas but not much is hapening as you enter that long sweeper on that secluded country road when all of a sudden the VERY laggy turbo starts to come alive and you go from 100 ish HP to 300 ish HP and things start hapening like the car starts to push a bit or wag it's tail. 'Whoah, I better slow down before I get in trouble!', you think...... Off the gas you go, 300 ish HP goes to -100 ish HP as compression braking takes over and then you realize the tail is coming around!! 'Oh Sh--!!!' you say and jump on the brakes which tightens and accelerates the rotation as you clear the road into the trees!! Lots of fun! The hardest to drive on the track VERY fast was the mid engine cars. They spin like a well balanced spinnning top when they let go. A 911 with some HP is really not to hard to drive when she gets out of sourts since a nice application of gas and some counter steer usually bring them back from all but the worst offences! The front engine big HP cars are a real pain if they let go since they usually push off or require tons of HP and driver aggressiveness to rotate the hinnie when needed. All's fun in love and war I guess. No vote for me since none apply.

ebsalem

This is why 911's when driven to take advantage of this feature are kick-*** AutoX cars. Just know it's coming and counter steer.

There should be a poll choice for: ' Yes All the Time and it's fun -- once you learn to control it',

DanS911

Yes I have "gone around" a few times in my '76. Including the first time when I started drifting (on a street), lifted, corrected it and it snapped back so fast that I went around the other way! Took me a few months to figure what the h*ll happened that time!

paradisenb

I spun out on a tight switch back in the Big Bear mountains of S. CA. I had just bought my first 911. It had less than 500 miles on it at the time. I had not yet really learned to drive with the throttle. The turn was very sharp, I was going way to fast, showing off for the blonde babe riding shotgun. I haired out and let up on the throttle, fortunately I instictively turned the wheel and jump back on the gas. Damn thing whipped right back to where I started. The girl thought I was a hero, I knew I was lucky not to get hit by an oncoming car. It was an AWESOME feeling.
I highly recommend autocrossing for any owner of a 911. You will learn, in a controlled and reasonable safe environment, what the limits of your car are. This will make anyone a much better street driver. Oh, its a hell of alot of fun too.

TonyG

I think gerry100 mirrored the typical learning curve.....

If you let off... you're in trouble at the limit.

TonyG

Nixter

I do it all the time, on purpose! Ok, once in the rain it caught me off gaurd but it was slippery. Just today though I was coming up to an intersection to make a left hand turn when the light went yellow a good ways a head of me. I decided to catch it and punched it in the corner to make the light. My tail end did a little wag just after the apex but it simply puts a grin on my face as I hit the throttle and the car rights it's self and I pull away!

Nix

Alan Herod

Agree with Grant, Regular Joe, e and Nix - no category to vote. TTO is useful tool for going faster. Anyone who has attended our High Performance Driving Clinic, has had the opportunity to experience it on the wet skid pad; Unfortunately, some diabolical handling cars will not rotate with any amount of coercion. Other cars like the later C4s and Boxsters with PSM require serious experimenting to get them to rotate on the skid pad. I am not suggesting that they will not rotate, just that it may require more work to make it happen.

rzepko6194

I experienced it while late braking off the highway, into a tight exit ramp, while driving my 912E about 20 years ago. Fortunatley, I only did a 180 degree spin harmlessly off onto the grass. I believe, the slightly lighter and less powerful 4 cylinder engine in the 912E was less prone to this than a 911.

No issues so far with my 87 Carrera.

JP

1987 Carrera Targa - 17K miles

Paul Conquest

Ah, the joys of driving a sports car with the weight distribution of a lollipop.

Its my experience that you can't expect to drive at the limit of adhesion without a bit of experimentation to find where that limit is. You really do have to exceed the limit of adhesion in order to know where that limit really is, to learn what your car will do as at approaches (and exceeds) the limit, and to learn how to avoid (or use to your advantage) its particular characteristics at the edge. And the experimentation is worth it -- nothing beats the adrenaline rush as the back end starts to go combined with the satisfaction of correcting early and making the corner.

If you are going to experiment, and I think everyone should, autocross is the place ... no oncoming traffic and no curbs! DE is OK too, but things tend to happen a bit quicker and, as someone mentioned earlier, gravel traps at 60 can sting a bit.


P.S.: Don't use this logic to find the limit of the fan blade with your fingers ... it hurts.

petebrown

It's very difficult to find the limits of adhesion of a 911 on the street with modern sticky tires. The only times I've experienced drop throttle oversteer is on the track at a DE. A couple times it was clearly my fault for entering a turn at a new track too hot and trying to brake and turn at the same time - doesn't work. Other times it was the result of something such as a broken piece of pavement or a car ahead of me going off road that forced me to lift during a turn. A little counter steer and throttle settles her down.

In tight corners such as 13 at Nelson Ledges or the Carousel at Mid-Ohio it's actually beneficial and fun to get the rear to dance and then mash the gas once the car is pointed in the right direction.

kach22i

Oh, oh.......I was thinking of doing that. Only because this is the best handeling car I have ever driven. I have pushed it many times, never in danger of swaping the tail. Of course I have not been on a track taking it to the limit, and drive only in good weather.

I got a little airborn once flying up a hill that ends with a sharp turn at the top. The sign said "limited sight 20mph", guess 60mph was a bit much. Landed on two or three wheels and needed to be pointing 10 more degrees to the right to stay in my lane. I did it but could feel it pushing a bit.

Typicaly I get uncomfortable at anything much over double the posted speed limit. This includes turns, for example a 35 mph turn at 70mph? No problem. Push it to 75 mph, and it's not a joy ride anymore.

Time to vote.

PS: 1977 with fat tires, not enough HP to get you into trouble, but also none of the early cars problems either.

Nixter

Well I might have to add to that saying that it's tough with modern tires AND a modern Porsche. I have an '80 911 SC w/widebody plus new rubber and I can let the back end out more or less any time I wish. Does take some persuasion but it's far from "very difficult"

Nix

K Smithson

Try driving on some snow.............hard NOT to oversteer with any input on a corner! Lots of fun!

Kirk

82 911SC