Review of a 991.2S on a Track - PEC Atlanta

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06-30-2016, 08:25 PM

subshooter

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Review of a 991.2S on a Track - PEC Atlanta

I took a 991.2S on the track at PEC-Atlanta today and wanted to share my thoughts. I’m planning on getting a 991.2 next year so I decided to test drive one in its element instead of taking one from a dealership on a public road. I learned a lot.

For context, I will share my Porsche background: I don’t have a lot of track experience at all. I’ve been to PEC-Atlanta four times and now have driven a Cayman GTS, Boxster GTS, 991.1S and 991.2S on their circuit. I have put 25k miles on my 2014 Boxster S which has PSE, SC and PASM. I have also driven a 991.1 GTS and 993 (long time ago) at dealerships. I have zero relationships with Porsche or any dealership or journalist. However, my opinions are TOTALLY biased. I am an everyday Flat-Six fanatic!

My 991.2S was lightly optioned surprisingly (and different compared to my last visits). It had PSE and SC. No PDCC, SPASM, or 4WS. It did have other interior bling such as painted interior(blah), full leather, Bose etc. Who cares about that stuff for this post. It did have the GT sport steering wheel. Of course, I always request the best option available…..a Manual…..and it’s free.

First, I wanted to address the hype up front. From all the commentary on this forum and through other reviews, I came into my forth PEC visit with some preconceived opinions about the new 911: It has someTurbo lag, it sounds terrible, and the low end torque was awesome. All are over exaggerated in my opinion butlet me address each one separately.

Sound: This was my biggest concern with the dot 2. At startup and at idle, it is great. No real difference. It is all Porsche and all 911. On the track and at power, it sounded fantastic from the cockpit. I was surprised. I was very skeptical because my reference point is my NA 981 Boxster S which is always driven with PSE on, top down, in sport + and of course the engine is right behind me. I love my 981 especially the Zuffenhausen symphony. With a coup 911, new turbos, and the engine farther away, I was expecting much worse. It was fine. The 991.2 was quieter but still sounded fantastic. Porsche must have done a great job with the symposer tubes. However, I stayed for the next PEC session that started later so that I could watch, listen and compare cars from the huge overlook porch next to the track. On the track at the time was a GT3, 991.2 Turbo, Cayman S (981), two Spyders, a 991.2 Targa and a couple of other 991.2s so I had a lot to compare regarding speed, acceleration and sound from an observers point of view. Wow….this is where you can tell the difference in sound. Holy cow the 991.2 was quiet….especially compared to the Spyders. The Spyders sounded really impressive – rightup there with the GT3 (IMHO). The 991.2s were very quiet and I was very disappointed. Oh well. Hmmmm…..

Turbo lag: I didn’t detect any. None at higher rpm, lower rpm, on the low friction circuit or on the track. None. End of story.

Power/Torque: I immediately noticed it on acceleration. It was nice. Seriously felt faster than the 991.1 and much faster than my 981S. On the track, no real difference. The NA engines are always in the power band on the track anyway so I didn’t think the low end torque advantage of the 991.2 really mattered at all in this environment. It helped a little on the low friction circuit for some fun but that was about it. It will be NICE as a dailydriver.

As far as the handling and steering feel of the car, well to me, it felt just like a 991.1. I know there are minor differences in the suspension and steering between the two but I could not detect them. I did notice the rear weight bias compared to my 981. It’s very noticeable especially on the “S” turns etc. I didn’t have PDCC so the handling and roll was definitely noticeable….but same with the 991.1.

I learned something new: I took the car on the “Dynamics” section of the course. (Slalom and acceleration/braking). Since I had the manual, they let you drop the clutch instead of launch control with the pdk. I have a Mechanical Engineering background so doing this just makes me cringe. It wasn’t my car so I did it. The car will not let you rev above 4500 rpm. That is interesting. It is electronically controlled because it knows what you are about to do. I launched and got .8 gs on the G force meter. Did this twice. I only got up to 1.19 gs on the slalom though. I don’tknow how guys are getting up to 1.6 gs unless they are running slicks. The rev matching is also available in sport mode unlike the 991.1 – I think I read that somewhere though.

A couple of other random thoughts.

I don’t like the manual transmission in the 991.1 or 991.2. It just feels flimsy to me. I love my 981 transmission. I also don’t like 7 speeds either. I never got out of third anyway on the track.Most of the time I was in second. PEC Atlanta is a short technical track. The fastest you can get up to in a Carrera is about 90 mph without the instructor yelling at you to brake (ask me how I know). J

I learned that Porsche developed the first Hybrid. I didn’t believe it so I googled it and sure enough it is true – in 1900. Porsche marketing is going to have a field day with that when their 911s become hybrid and eventually electric. L

The instructor (coach): He was good but not great. He knew the course well and the lines etc…very well. He helped me get betterand is a full time, 5 day a week guy. I asked him about turbo lag and when he stated that the 991.2S had variable vane geometry, I lost faith….uh….I think he got his 718S mixed up with a 991.2. He also didn’t know anything about European Delivery at all or even where the cars could be picked up at. Also, the PEC reservation line guy didn’t know what PDCC was…..hmmmm. Are they developing Porsche fanatics or just hiring people to do jobs. I know I am being overly critical here…but it was noteworthy in my mind….their employees are stove piped. So are mine.
The “Other drivers” on the track: Oh my! Joes off the street….grandpa and grandma being pace cars in their dream retirement car. I’m not kidding. LMAO. Even a GT3 driver holding me up….ughhh. I had to ask my coach to radio to the “pace car” in front to pull over and let us pass. Seriously though…there are a lot of different drivers that you will find at PEC. That’s cool – this is for everyone not just track junkies.
The wait time (dynamic circuit and low frictioncircuit) was fairly long compared to my last visits. Not too bad but sitting there waiting and burning up time was a little irritating. There were 12 cars on the course total. 5 minutes for your turn.

I got 1.5 hours of track time in a 911 for about 400 bucks. Compare that to track costs, tire wear, brake wear (pads and rotors), insurance costs and engine wear, your time and convenience etc. It’s a good deal. I travel to Atlanta a couple times a year and hopping in a Porsche for 1.5 hours before I catch my flight back home is just nice. I think Porsche is losing money on me. My caris resting comfortably at home knowing what it can do.

The 356 Restaurant: This is the restaurant that is one floor up from the Porch/Deck that overlooks the PEC track. They advertise that they are a Fine Dining restaurant but I think this is a stretch. It’s still good. After my forth trip here, I decided to try itout and moved my flight back home to the right another 1.5 hours. It’s expensive for what you get. I had two glasses of Malbec ($14 each), Tuna Tar Tar ($16) and Weiner Schnitzel ($24?). It was all good but not sure it was worth the price. The best part was the view. It sits right above the track. I walked in without reservations and all the tables right next to the front windows were reserved so I got a small table on the side and still had a reasonable view of the track and cars. It was fun but if you want the better view, get reservations. It opens at 1130 and my “experience” ended at 10:35 so I had to find something else to do in the mean time….. JThe cars on display throughout the building and the Porsche shop kept me busy.

Finally, after my lunch, I went back on the deck to watchthe cars. By this time, the 11:00 time slot was finishing up and I got to observe what the Porsche coaches do on their lunch break……watch for that post. It’s awesome….with video….and they have a preference for the GT cars! J

Thanks for reading- I know it was long. I’m going to bed now to dream about driving Porsches. J

Last edited by subshooter; 06-30-2016 at 08:51 PM.