Nol, 95 993 C4

Five years ago I was only vaguely aware of the term Heel & Toe and in all honesty, hearing the phrase would not have given me an association with driving. I guess now that I must have stumbled on it in Classic & Sportscar magazine, but it never stuck. Then I started my search for a fun car, and in the process I read Porsche & 911 World and other mags where the term popped up regularly, but still didn't mean all that much to me. It did have some relation to track driving, that much I gathered by now. Subsequently I homed in my search to P-cars and started lurking on Rennlist. The term featured in many a thread then as now. But, I did not often seek out these threads, I was trying to find information about buying and owning P-cars you know, and (track) driving technique was not on the agenda.

Then 3 years ago I took the plunge and bought a way too nice way too new and beautiful 993 Coupe, whoohaaa. And so I became a very regular visitor to Rennlist, eventually signing up as a member in recognition of all that the list had "given". As a newby I did not post that much, contributing only where I felt comfortable (stereo springs to mind) and where none of the "resident" guru's had missed a call (very rare indeed). But I spent many an hour burning the midnight oil reading up on subjects and generally following the flow of topics on the 993 and 964 boards (964 is great bunch of P-car people). So not before long I knew all the theory about Heel 'n Toe, rev-matching and double de-clutching. Also by this time I was using my C4 as a daily driver and I quickly got confident in the car and in my driving it, but it is probably fair to say that the first year my foot didn't touch the accelerator during braking.

But towards the end of that first year of ownership I noticed my driving had changed. I wasn't driving the car any faster in kph (or mph), but the average revs indicated during my daily driving had slowly grown from say 3k to 4k revs. Heck I even hit the 6k mark on occasion in 2nd, (third would be illegal). I was starting to DRIVE the thing influenced by generous helpings of the "List" and by very short warming up times we have in 120+F summers (not a typo). And so starts my journey on the slippery slope that is so familiar to many of you: Innocently having a go at Heel'nToe downshifting in daily driving. Just what the list prescribed, and, if you have come this far in this thread I'm afraid it's to late for you too, GET HELP, or enjoy the ride .

It started with very occasional attempt at a specific 180 left-hand hairpin in my residential area where there's a downshift from 3rd to 2nd at the top of a steep descent. I had already figured out that my 993 could corner as on rails there and it gives this buzz hitting that turn at the right entry speed and balance and then flowing it round the bend. Added excitement is offered by the bumpy road surface and a concrete wall on the outside of the turn to protect you from going down the slopes I added to the Buzz by practicing a little Heel 'n Toe, but only when no traffic was about. slow at first and then building up to an even better "flow". I probably did that turn at least 4 times a day back then and shortly after I started to blip the throttle when downshifting for speedbumps, of which there are 10! between the hairpin and my home. So it wasn't before long that I was rev matching (with varying degrees of success) on every downshift in all states of traffic, simply enjoying driving my P-car.

Another year later and I am Heel 'n Toeing my Landcruiser, my Wrangler and anything with 4 wheels and 3 pedals. Who had thought that my 91 Jeep Wrangler with its quirky twin pedals is the perfect set-up for Heel 'n Toe? And a good thing too as the second gear syncro is way beyond it's "sell by" date. Happy endings for everyone or so it seems

But it doesn't stop there now does it? I have a friend that had owned and tracked a 964RS in years past. He now owns a 996 C4 and together we organised a "Porsche track day" with the local importer/dealer. It had to be at the only facility available locally: the Karting track. We first went carting proper with the participants on the same track and then did a time trial event with one P-car on the track at anyone time. An absolute blast!! and a success with all that participated. I started posting about my experience and reading up on the best way of "setting up" the car. I started a thread on the best shifting pattern for this very tight and slippery track: go to first or not. The topics I was seeking out on the List shifted in their focus from owning to driving. And we did yet another Kart track event and I improved my time by a second, YES. I had fettled the weight (full tank) played with the tire pressures and concentrated on slow in fast out, all primed by the List. And I also realised that the potential of my car was awesome and when the time for new shocks came I had to deal with THE temptation: suspension upgrades.

If you were to post you want to tune the 993 engine at least there's a modicum of sense/balance on the board with sound advice given. This ranges from "fix the nut behind the wheel first" to the "gain over $$" trap for 993's. But boy if you need new shocks... there is no escape. Relentlessly the List keeps hitting the innocent reader with thread after thread pointing out the weaknesses of the stock set-up and heralding the wonders of BilsteinH&REibachRufMoton and the likes. "RESISTANCE IS FUTILE" is the term that springs to mind. Admittedly I did find my ROW 993 soft compared to the ur-quatto I drove before it, and the fresh, Bilstein equiped 996 of my mate felt more composed generally. Also riding suspension Mountainbikes for 10 years I value the spring rate and rebound/compression adjustments on those rigs: dial your ride according to preference and/or the terrain, right? So I debated it for a long time but another track day was in the making and Gert (temptation in the flesh) had a special on PSS-9s. Needless to say, I succumbed, I went for it. I was "over the edge" and on the slippery slope proper, facing straight down and enjoying the ride, yeaahh....

But rest assured, there is hope. Contrary to steering a Mountainbike down a slope like that, somehow I managed to stay in control. Take the RS sway bars for example. For a 99% street daily driver that never sees a proper track I couldn't see myself tweaking it with effect. I could not and did not justify the extra $$ so I did the Turbo rear bar only. And so it appears not all is lost, as in the moment of ultimate weakness I already had "the Force" on my side. And I am happy to report that I seem to have regained more self control since. I have recently installed a new clutch and successfully resisted the LWF mantra. That one is not nearly as bad as the suspension one, though it pops up as frequent. But the RS LWF/clutch set is cheaper than a new standard set-up with DMF: a mod that SAVES money, see the slope at work?! Many thanks to one of the guru's that explicitly reports the /21 gears (my car has them) is what delivers the punch and the LWF is a nice boon, but no more than that, I hope he is right. I might have to sell the car in a year or so and simply cannot afford the possible downsides of the LWF.

On the bright side, my car handles tighter and pulls stronger than ever before, new tires are a week away, and on 16 January we have the next track event, possibly the first of a proper series, really. There's word of a new racing track in Dubai that we probably will gain some sort of access to also. And the PSS-9s? I have hardly needed to adjust them from the 5 all around setting yet, but the car handles an absolute treat and come Dubai track or selling time I can bump it from 1 to 9 as required on the day. End of rant, thanks, and most importantly

Enjoy !!

Nol

GrantG

Very nice post!

DJF1

WIth the new track in Dubai your slippery slope will become a freefall
You will need monoball suspension pieces, track tires and rims, RS Reds, an RSCS spoiler package for downforce, a roll bar, a lap timer, you will end up needing the RS LWF and clutch package, some supercup exchausts, seats, harnesses, RS pulley for the track come to think of it there is a nice modified and ready TT for sale. That will be your ticket

Nice post by the way Send an email to Kim and he will let you know what you need to do including a 3.8RS mod

MikeF

Welcome to the fall! I recently put a 97 993 V-ram engine in my Carrera...and the original 3.2 was in perfect condition!

Youcef

My wife bought me a parachute lat month!!

Youcef

Nol, 95 993 C4

Thanks Grant,

Danny, no time to call Kim, I'm too busy upgrading my mountan bike to disc brakes

MikeF, what did you do to fit the exhaust? and the V-ram under your deck for hat matter too.

Youcef, it's good you have a "supportive" wife, or is she trying to tell you something? BTW I spoke with the Michelin tech advisor today and I see possibilities for Porsche, Michelin and Herr Schneider of Mercedes to come up with a corner balance solution. Oooopppps I'm slipping....

Enjoy

Nol

MikeF

Vram fits fine under the decklid (removed AC condensor). Remember, this is an 89 Carrera...AC is a losing battle anyway.

Used stock heat exchangers and had a muffler custom made using a Magnaflow stainless performance muffler and two resonators with stock 993 tips (no cat). It's scary fast....and sounds like it too!