Lemon Yellow 87 n/a

I think that 944 n/a brakes are extremely capable with soft compound tires on the street.

Story 1 (with z rated BFG comp t/a's)

I had my godsister in the car a few months after I bought it cause she wanted to see what my car was all about. So I'm booting it at about 45-50 mph in a lane of my own (rightmost lane, no intersections). Two lanes next to me are a bit slower. So, some dufus in a huge Ford f-150 decides to pull in front of me without signaling. Even worse, he decides to stop!! So here I am, touching 50mph, with a rapidly decelerating already slow moving heap of Ford about 20 meters in front of me. Ok, so I was ~10mph above the limit, a lapse in judgement. Anywho, I mash the brakes (no choice), and the car skids for the whole 20 meters and gives off an enourmous ploum of white tire smoke. It honestly felt like the tires were made of ABS plastic or something, absolutely horrible crap. So by some intervention, divine or mechanical, I stop just in time to ever so slightly kiss his bumper (bumper did not even compress). Damage? a cracked licence plate frame. I get out and am ready to ream this moron out. Turns out he WAS ON HIS CELL PHONE confirming a pizza delivery he was making. I got him out of the car and poured the **** on him for being such an irresponsible driver (I wasnt a saint either, but this could have easily happened at the speed limit). I threatened to call his boss and give him **** too. Luckily there was absolutely no damage to my accident free 944 (knock on wood). Prior to this I had locked up the brakes more than a couple times in lightly spirited braking. I flatspotted them crappy tires and had to buy new ones.

Story 2 (w/ kumho ECSTA supra 712s)

I was in the wet, going the speed limit in the righmost lane (2 more lanes beside me). I was half a block away from the next intersection when the light just turned green. My lane was free, and I saw the next lanes began to move slowly. Then, out of nowhere, a squeegie kid bum darts past the two lanes into mine. I immediately thought the brakes were gonna lock and I was gonna bounce him down the street. I pressed the pedal quite firmly, fully expecting lock-up soon as it was wet and this car "supposedly" locked up easily. What happened? The car slowed to an even stop, way before the bum, I even had time to honk my horn. Since then I have been able to experience the awesome braking capabilities of this car on many occasions (not accidents, was experimenting).

I am very pleased with my kumho 712s. Extremely competent in both the rain and the dry. The only time I ever heard a squak was when I first installed my konis and welt springs and was on my way to get an alignment. Oh yeah, they look absolutely awesome and are also very affordable. My only complaint is that the sidewall could be stiffer. Solution? Run max recomended air pressure. If you get 712s, try to get the lowest profile possible for the stiffer sidewall and sharper steering. European Car reviews these tires in this months issue, along with many brand new releases from other manufacturers.

ps; Thaddeus, I havent really heard too many good things about Pirellis on our cars. If you really want an expensive tire (Kumhos perform better for the money) I'd recomend Yokohamas or the new Michelin Pilots with three (thats right 3!) tread compounds on the same surface (read more in this months European Car)for traction in pretty much any condition.

adrial

My little analysis:
the reason your brakes didn't lock up that was because you didn't slow down THAT much...well you did but not slow enough to lock em up.

The reason I think this is because you said you downshifted to second and nailed it...you didn't mention any waiting for the turbo so I figure you were up there in the RPM's already...20mph is around 3k I think? so figure you slowed down to about 25mph..

Thankfully my cars awesomeness hasn't had a chance to save my *** yet. (10-11 months I've had the car)

turbopop

These cars do indeed give the defensive driver that extra edge, it's always good to hear when someone has a good experience.
But, regarding braking, you certainly can lockup the brakes at high speed. About 6 years ago my wife was running our 86 951 at a really big autocross that PCA was running on an unused military runway. At the end of a 1/4 mile straight she stabbed the brakes and locked up the fronts doing about 95 and slid through the cones, then when she lifted, she had turned her wheels so she spun it 270 degrees before coming to a stop. She couldn't stop laughing. She is a pretty darn good driver, but this time she just pressed the limit a little too far trying to beat my time. Luckily there was no damage except for the tremendous flat spot on both front tires, and a trashed cone or 2. That's the beauty of driving fast on a track. Had it happened on the street, I'm sure we wouldn't be laughing.

PrerYDoG

I concur, it is possible to lock 'em up at high speed. I was passing a car on a 2 lane road one day, accellerating to get around, was doing about 70 when the car just jumped into the other lane at me. I jammed the brakes HARD, locked 'em up at 70, slid off the road, back on the road, off the road, did a couple twirlies and came to a halt facing the other direction. I did a Uie, and drove off. Bastard who ran me off the road sped on ahead. Never stopped, nothing. I didn't try passing her again.

BRB_85.5_NA

The flipside is that I find myself taking more risks with this car now that I have a feel for what it's capable of. This may not be a good thing. Yesterday I was driving through the financial district in SF, had a big truck even with me on my left. A taxi suddenly hits his breaks and puts on his hazards in front of me. Had I been in my Land Cruiser I would have simply come to a stop and waited patiently. Instead I floored in (I was in first) and took it up to 5k rpm. Blew right by the truck and taxi. But, I have really no idea how much room I had--I just reacted. It's nice to become one with the machine, but I don't want to total it. At least not doing 20 mph in city traffic...

<img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" /> <img src="graemlins/oops.gif" border="0" alt="[oops]" /> <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" /> <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" /> <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" /> <img src="graemlins/icon501.gif" border="0" alt="[icon501]" />

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