Mongo

I would track the 964 and it looks like you already did from the pics above. The trailing throttle oversteer presents a great challenge and I feel that driving rear engine cars fairly hard is a great experience to hone your motor skills in adapting human response to the behavior of the car.

Ed Hughes

I'd only respond that my guess is that there are thousands of 911 drivers, myself included, that first ventured onto a track in the 911. I think it was a very rewarding process, and even more so by not having any electronic driver's aids. One doesn't need to apply heel and toe or trailbraking, etc, at their first DE.

That basic quirky design still excels in the Motorsports world.

Lizard928

My only comment on this is that we don't know this fellows skill level.

There are some drivers that I would agree to sticking in a 911 for their first track experience. There are others that should be limited to something like a corolla. There are others that shouldnt even be driving, let alone on the track.

svp928

Haha, Colin- too right! I am saying if you have a choice, a 911 would not be my first pick for track novice... but, I have seen vipers, Z06s, GT3,s show up with new guys driving... instructors are terrified...most make it home OK, but not all..

LI Steve

Thank you to everyone who contributed some constructive input (& the comedians too)! I'm not sure that the decision is any easier really, other than now I definitely want to have each of them on the track at some point this year. Originally I was thinking "one or the other"... which is not the way to go.

Here are my thoughts on a few of the comments:

Good point - although I have had a lot of seat time in a 996 (i.e., rear engine), I am still learning the 964, and do not think I will be anywhere near as comfortable with it as I am with the 928, in the next 4 weeks.

Ed - this is 100% true. Even on the street it is 10X more fun to drive a stick, plus I think you are right about the balancing piece too...

First hand experience - really what I was hoping for. Thanks for this info. I do feel the same way about the inputs and 'driving feel'. Also, really good point about the instructors - I do not think there are many 928s at the NYMetro DEs.

mj1pate - I think this is hitting home the hardest with me right now. Really good point. As I said earlier, I am not yet comfortable with the 964, so a DE would certainly be a faster, safer way to better 'discover its behavior'. Thanks.

Lizard - My skill level is Novice. This will be my first DE, though I have been on the track at Skip Barber Racing School. I don't anticipate that I am going to be pushing my (or the car's) limits (or that the instructor would want me to) on my first DE. I am really just hoping to learn as much as possible and have some fun.

Again - thanks everyone for the input so far.
I am still up in the air, but perhaps leaning towards the 964 at this point.

Ed Hughes

Wise man!

KLVA

My point exactly...Cheers

James Bailey

Having ridden with many students over the years the first few days of running on a track is total overstimulation...... Like the guy with the Audi V-8 coupe S-5 six speed ..neat car tooling down the hill onto the front straight wound it out in 4 th gear then shifted into 3 rd let out the clutch mechanical over rev.....next lap did it again ! We stopped and talked about it. Another guy had his new to him 911 it was painfully obvious that he had little experience driving a manual trans car and on track is a very bad place to learn with 15-20 other cars out there. The POC requires a minimum of three track days with an instructor in the car plus a school before we turn loose a student and some need more than that just to be safe. My first Porsche car was a sub 2,000 lb 911 RSR look with a full race 2.6 liter engine had to shift it at 6,500 ......into a LOWER GEAR it spun up to 8,500 Rpm That was interesting learning to drive ! My instructor rode with me through three turns of one lap reached over and spun me off track got out and said he would teach from the sidelines....something about the sound of 8,500 RPM into megaphones scared the crap out of him , he though he was going to die.

Lizard928

My first time on the track the instructor got out after a couple sessions and said I didnt need him.

Next time was a different track with different company, 2 instructors required to sign off. I got invited to run in any of their next track days and told I was allowed in any run group. The next time out, they had me teaching a fellow in a cobra how to take a proper line through the track....

So again, it all depends on the drivers level

Vlocity

Since I have both a 928 and 964 (89-93 911) I would say that the 928 is easier to start off with. Much more forgiving. Now that my 928 has been "progressed" the 911 would be the easier car to drive.
Both cars are more than capable for a beginning to intermediate driver.

Ken

911tracker85

Vlocity.
glad you qualified your answer. I have seen your car run. it would be a beast for a novice.

my first DE was at a 'friendly track' (Putnam Park in Indina). lots of grass run off. at the time my 911 was still in stock condition on street tires. got loose a couple times but not off the track.

my first DE at MidOhio, I was very intimidated by the track. my instructor commented I was driving cautiously. NO $#!+, I was still a novice.

just finshed all the work on my 911. bolted in the front cage section, reinstall harnesses, etc. getting new tires (Nitto NT-01) and fresh alignment today.

let the games begin.

Gary Knox

Not to be overly dramatic, but the 928 is a safer car in case of a driver error. It may be the safest car that Porsche (or perhaps any other mfg) has built as a supercar. I have a friend who is physics prof at a major university who's driven his 928 on various tracks (is a DE instructor) for 8-10 years. Never had a roll bar, as he's convinced the 928 shell is every bit as strong as any other car on the track with a roll bar.

Also, considering safety - I've driven my 928's (one automatic, two manuals) for erll over 100 Driver Ed days on tracks in the eastern US with anywhere from 25 to 65 cars in the run group. Never seen a 2 car incident, but a fair number of one car incidents where the driver made an error and didn't correct quickly enough (or correctly).

Drive the car you are most comfortable with. THEN concentrate on driving the line, and doing so smoothly. Speed will come with a combination of smooth driving and seat time. Remember, you probably aren't going to replace Louis Hamilton (or even Danica Patrick), so "enjoy the ride" and be safe. And, if you drive the 928, request a 944 driver as an instructor. They do know the difference between a front engine and a rear engine car's track line.

Gary Knox

Ed Hughes

Using that logic, it is probably safer then to just stay home.

The Porsche rear-engined platform would not have the success its had for decades if it was such an evil beast.

F451

Don't lift!

hacker-pschorr

The 930 wasn't nicknamed "doctor killer" by the Porsche marketing department.