DonE

I rode in some real rags this weekend at RA.

I checked out a driver in his new 08 Carrera S, 6sp- 2000 miles on the clock. Really an impressive car from a handling point of view and very nice power delivery, bone stock.

I then checked out another driver in his new (new to him) 07 GT3 - 1500 miles on the clock. Even though I was sitting in the right seat, this car was completely different from the Carrera S in turns, braking and power delivery. Although I didn't notice too big a difference in overall power between the two, braking into and going around corners was night and day.

And the car I spent most of the weekend instructing in was an 08 turbo cab (TIP) with 5100 miles on it. This car is a monster - instant power and pulls hard all the way from dead stop to red line. Add 4wd and tiptronic, and this is a point and shoot car. As soon as he stopped braking, regardless of where he was in the turn, I had him accelerate out. It was if the tires had claws moving through the apex. If he was a little loose in the turn and we were pointed in the general direction down the track, I asked him floor it and it felt like we were sling-shot down the track. High speed maneuvers, the car was a little squirrelly which I attributed to being a cab, but it could have been the driver. In any event, what an impressive car.

Before the DE, I would have said, give me a GT3 anytime - period. Now, I would say, I'll take a turbo - coupe. The tiptronic was really cool and kicked ***, but I would still choose the 6sp.

DeanM

Nice write up Don. Thanks for the post.

Turbos rule

Dean

Olli

+1

DonE

This past weekend at the Peachstate DE at Road Atlanta, I signed off 4 drivers for solo or to move up in group (4 to 5 run group) and had a student who had never been in a 911, never been on a track, and was borrowing the 2000 C2 he was driving. The first day was a bit difficult, but he made it with no problems.

In addition, the owner of the 2008 turbo cab (from the above June DE) caught up to me and asked me to go for a ride with him as he wanted to experiment with the PSM off. I asked why he wants to do that and he said that others encouraged him to learn how to drive the car without the electronics. OK - lets go for a ride. The first couple of laps were warm up laps and I enjoyed being in this car again. Down the front straight, he asked me to turn the PSM off and confirm the indicator light. I did. After a couple of laps, I asked him how the car felt and did he notice anything different. He said he did not notice anything different, so we went on and caught up to some traffic. Not wanting to let "them" get away, the owner presses the pedal to the floor coming out of the 90 degree turn 7 which opens to the back straight. Before you knew it, we were starting a slide with both turbos screaming. The owner then lifts off the throttle and all hell brakes loose - including the ***-end of the 4 wheel drive car. As the car gets sideways, he nails the brake and all four wheels lock up. Now the driver's side rear wheel is leading the car down and across the track, left to right, and at an acute angle towards to the wall. As we exit the track, the driver's side front wheel hits the grass, loses grip (relative to the rear wheels still on the asphalt) and spins the car so we are now square to the wall. We hit barrier nearly head-on probably around 50 mph, while sliding 45 degrees to it. When the airbags deflated, we were looking in the opposite direction when the car came to a stop. The skid marks were approximately 150 ft long and told the entire sickening story.

Needless to say, the car had to be put on a flatbed. When we got back to the paddock where we could inspect the car, we found that the damage appeared to be mostly cosmetic - the front bumper facia was badly damaged, both headlights were damaged because of scraping (rubber belting around the tire barrier), the right front fender had a dent and both turn signals were trashed. Otherwise the car was in good shape. Even the hood opened and closed as it should, except the gap between the hood and right front fender was a bit larger. As for the driver and me, we were fine. The passenger side restraint system was amazing - between the seat belt and the airbag, I didn't move (although my sunglasses nearly came off through the opening in my helmet).

Personally, I learned two things: the car could take a hell of hit (even if it was at an angle) relatively well; and leave the PSM on.

I feel bad for the owner, but hopefully his car will be back together soon.

A930Rocket

Glad your OK and another good write up. Thanks.

I suppose if you want to get a feel for the car through the seat, turning off the PSM would do it, but for any relatively new guy (?) on the track, leaving it on is always a good idea.

notthd

Don- great write up as usual. I feel for your student. Its is never fun hitting the wall in anything. I guess alot of us 930 drivers know about lifting and planting at the right times, and what the gap between full boost and lift will do to the direction you are pointing. Glad you both are OK. Cars can be replaced.

I had a similar experience with a very differnt outcome a couple weeks back concerning shutting off the PSM. I was at Rockingham for a PDX event and took a tip. I noticed similar feel to the shifting but found myself manuly shifting so it would not be up shifting at a point on the track that I immediately needed to be in a lower gear. I also found that upon exiting the infield the PSM was holding the car back as we exited the apron onto the banking. So I shut it off and the car became a monster. You had to gas it when everything in your body said not to, and the exit off the banking onto the flats at high speed unsettled the car tremendiously with it off and required alot (more than I liked to) trail braking to get the car to slow down enough to turn in...or of course I could of just slowed down, but who does that.

Harry fun ride but not for the faint of heart. I almost pushed it into the gravels twice but the old 911 instincts took over-

I am working in Cleamson Sc for a month an hour or so from the track. I wish I knew this was going on I would of come down and said hi... Anything else in the next month? Love to come visit..

Cheers, Mike

nathanUK '81 930 G50

Glad you're both OK.

I was in a new BMW 3 series 5 years ago on the road. The chap started to turn in and the car understeered (went tight), he slammed on the brakes! I though to myself at the time, if that had been in my 911 it woulda been expensive