kgorman

I bought the 964 a week ago now, and then on Thurs/Fri took it out for the Audi Club event at Sears Point (Infineon Raceway). Oh, man what a hoot.

I have been driving an '04 S4 stock, except for brakes, and rubber. Boy what a difference the 964 is. Much better! The car is 100% stock, so I was worried about getting out there and hammering on it. But after the first few laps, I was very impressed. Overall the car does indeed understeer, but much much less than Audi's. In fact, I found that it felt a little tail happy at some points. A rear tire pressure adjustment fixed that, and the car felt very hooked up. Overall I was very happy with my speed, and the car felt very smooth and at home. There was ample power, and the brakes worked very well all day w/o fade, deposits or any trouble whatsoever. The Potenza RE730's where better than expected. The handling was extremely accurate, and easily put the car where I wanted it. Compared to the S4, the car felt very precise, and even allowed me to perform some trailing throttle oversteer on 7/7a that was quite fun. The S4 just seems like a big lump of lard in comparision.

The main purpose for purchasing this car was to have a car that can run economically at the track and still be a boatload of fun. The car came home 100% w/o any problems.

For future events, I am making some changes: namely suspension, seats/harness/bar, a minor weight diet, and new rubber. I think with those changes this car is quite fast, and a good platform for me to learn to take it to the next level.

What fun!

garrett376

Sounds like you had a lot of fun. I am sure you'll find the C4 is a total blast at the track. Have fun!!!

Jasko

I started mine at the track 4 months ago and can't quit! I finally upgraded the suspension, rear sway bar, MPSC tires, and strut brace and will try out that set up this weekend. I did my first 12 days with the car totally stock, and had a blast, per the advice of my mechanic. The car is a great drive in its stock setup with street tires.
You may have already found out, but the understeer can be "controlled" with some trail braking. It seems to turn much better with a touch of brake on up to the apex. I'm no expert, so I'm still finding it all out myself!

Dave
89 C4

kgorman

Yeah, the amazing thing about this car is that it's very obvious when you make a change to your driving (like trail braking) how it is very clear and apparent and controllable. It's hard to put into words other than the car responds very clearly to inputs vs my S4 that seemed 'muddy' or indiferent to many inputs. Balance, weight, AWD types I am sure all play a part. But I could not be happier!

garrett376

That's how I felt when I went from my 65 911 vintage race car to my 92 C4 race car.

Jasko

I was running Potenza RE as well. What did you find with tire pressures? I have kept mine for every session, and it seems that the front end "hooks up" much better at 34.5-35# hot on a hot sunny track. In my limited experience, the front end slides much more when the front tire pressures go above 36#. As for the back, I can't figure them out, but they seem to feel better between 37-39# hot.

Now my inexperience probably makes all my data worthless, as my "seat-o-the-pants" meter is not calibrated yet. But I keep track anyway!

There don't seem to be many 964 C4 out there on the track to campare data with, so I'm interested in what you have found, (or others who routinely track the C4).

Dave
89 C4

Marc Shaw

The C4 makes a great track car -- I've been out 6 times so far (this past summer) and I can't wait for next year.

Marc

kgorman

41# rear hot, #39 front hot. Little slippery, no rollover, so I will try a bit lower next time. Just getting used to it. At first my rear was 43# hot, and that was too much, it was really easy to get the back out.

Are all you guys going to PCA events or what? Are the PCA DE's fun?

Tom W

GGR/PCA time trials will be a bit different than the Audi club. They are a bit more regimented and the afternoon of the second day is a time trial (about 5 cars out at a time, well spaced to ensure no issues with the other cars timing). Other local clubs are the Lotus Club (huge amounts of track time as it's close to open track), NCRC/TracQuest a great group with lots of different cars, and CDS/PCA a different PCA group/region that's just DE, not time trials. There are more. but any of these will keep you happy. NCRC has a few dates coming up at Sears Point and Thunderhill. CDS has a date in Dec at Laguna Seca. GGR is done for the year.

I enjoy them all, they are all a little different flavor of a track event. Try them all and see who you like

garrett376

I'm a Porsche Owner's Club (POC) fan... I run in their Cup Racing series which is a really well run series, with top notch drivers who are very safe. It is mostly a So-Cal group, though... The next event for me is not for a while, so this coming weekend I think I'll blast around the parking lot at the local stadium in a PCA DE - it'll hold me over until CA Speedway in March!!

http://www.porscheownersclub.org/

kgorman

I might just hit NCRC at Thill. Love that track. Thanks for the info guys.

FamilyCar

Hey KG,
Nice to have another 964 pilot out there and nice to meet you. Although I'm a newer 964 driver too (4-5 events in mine), I've observed that the 964s appear outnumbered, even at p-car centric events. I understand the appeal of the prior G50/3.2s (right?) and the 993s. ...Always seems to be a hoard of them pesky 993s. 964s seem underappreciated as a track car. I smiled and shook my head when I saw your upgrade path b/c I thought to myself "Your gonna want some tunable antisway bars and a strut tower brace." I buy you a six pack if you don't end up with those! Cheers and see you at an event soon.

jlr

Hi
I just purchased a 93 RS America and I'm doing my first track day on Nov 26 at Barber Motorsports Park in B'ham, Alabama. I've done this before, but never in such pure sports car, without the help of electronic stability management. The car is bone stock. This should be a eye-opening experience. Details to come. Thanks.

kgorman

Have a good time, be safe. I am sure your new RSA will blow your mind. It's such a great little platform for hitting the track.

kgorman

Hey FamilyCar, I ended up with those adj sways like you said. I guess I owe you a beer?. Next event my friend.