Did my first DE this weekend with the Sonnenschein Region (MS, AL, FL Gulf Coast) it was a bit hard on the new tires but a whole lot of fun. The "track" is an old navy base runway system. Nothing spectacular like Barber in B-ham, but it is cheap ($60 for two days) and there was only 12 cars so we had plenty of track time for all. 6 Turns, no elevation changes, ****ty surface (in fact the first hour of day 1 we had to take it easy due to the grass that had grown through the cracks in the runways! once all the grass was scrubbed of we could push it harder) good instruction with lots of 911 experience and best of all no walls what so ever. 3 993's, Boxster S, 5-6 older 911's, a mint green 964 (beautiful surprisingly), a brand new 996, Audi quatro, and a Miata all participated

Really different driving experience from my Previous Boxster S and the first time I have really been able to push the 993. Some random thoughts:

1) A little surprised by how light the rear gets during very heavy braking. The Boxster seemed to squat down on all four, whereas the 993 seemed to want to lift the rear off the ground. I imagine that the difference is due to engine placement to a degree. The 993 forces me, an under experienced 911 driver, to have a lot more discipline in braking than the 986. I feeel like the 986 masked my bad habits better but the 993 will make me a better driver

2) Fun in the corners! That feel of the backend hunkering down with just a blip of the throttle and giving extra grip in a corner is amazing! Nothing like that in the boxster. If I felt the car wanting to slide a little more throttle and I felt glued to the ground. I could not get the backend out at all (and I tried, but not too hard, brand new tires )

3) Sound. With the Motorsound option, even wearing a helmet and having the windows down I never had to look at the Tach. In the 986 I constintly wasa hitting the Rev limeter on the track due to the lack of noise.

4) Suspension - I need pss9's one of the other guys had a GR 95 with pss9's just installed. I have to do this soon. I did experience a lot of Body roll. Not too much but enough. My car is solid stock, though not original, previous owner put new oem shocks in about 15k miles ago I believe. Too bad he did not upgrade, I will probably wear these out and upgrade then.

5) Tires, Got rid of the Pirelli P-Zeros lst week and went with a new, really cheap tire, Fuzion Zri (flamesuit on) . 3 reasons to do this, one I am cheap and this car eats rear tires. 2, always curious to try new stuff and 3, I knew the condition of this track and new I would destroy whatever I put on. Fwiw I like these tires a lot. For those who do not know they are a new brand from Bridgestone, made in japan to compete with the kumho/sumitomo, etc cheapy tires. The grip never gave up on me. They seemed to wear fairly well, actually I would say exceptionally well considering the heat (upper 90's) and the track surface. Did I mention they were cheap? $412 Mounted and Hunter Roadforce Balanced (on 16's) I can pnly really compare them to the P-zeros, that I hated, so far I woulds say they compare favorably

6) Brakes again. Fwiw I experience no brake fade at all even under really hot conditions with stock C2 brakes and OEM pads. Very impressive brakes just as a porsche should have.

7) Acceleration was great. I was being passed alot, mostly due to my timidity and not carrying enough speed through the corners, but by the end of the weekend I was holding my own. Do I want more power? Hell yes, who doesn't. Do I need it? No

Overall, this was a great experience and I can not wait to do it again. It was a lot less scary to drive on this track, due to its lack of walls, then my first DE at Road Atlanta in the Boxster. In fact I think this was a great way to really experience the 993 without a lot of fear, especially since this is my daily driver

Jon

 

Congratulations, Jon! Have you been completely, utterly, incontrovertibly converted yet?

 

What Mark said

Congrats on your DE experience. Nothing like it huh?

 

indeed, a very addictive experience

Jon

 

I have GOT to do this! I have noisy front tires that need to be replaced anyway. Not to mention the orig. shocks.
Does one have to be a PCA member to participate in a sponsored DE?
I'm not keen to join, due to the feeling of being looked down upon by club members at a meeting I went to years ago, when I had a 914-6. Seemed to be a "cliquey", country club set. Not like Rennlisters.
I know all PCA-ers are not like that. Some of my buds are members, but they don't participate in local meetings. I'm not much of a socialite, anyway.
Bully for you, Jon. Glad you had fun.

 

I would bet your shocks are pretty well gone. 993's don't exhibit that behaviour when things are working, but with worn shocks, any car will transfer too much weight.

 

I don't know. I have heard they go quick (an would love an excuse to replace them ) but my instructer is a Posche Certified Master Tech and I asked. He took a few laps and thought they were in great shape. maybe I am just describing the feeling poorly

thanks for your input

Jon

 

I know what you mean. When I was a 986 owner I felt the same as you in some of the Atlanta (Peachstate) group. What I found was that, for the most part, the cliquey groups are not the track people. Sure there were a few that I just wanted to slap at Peachstate (not here though) but most of the people who run DE's are very similar to the group that hangs here. Stay away from the meetings and Rally's, the people like us are at the DE's and AutoX's

You do not have to join PCA to drive in most regions, I have no idea about yours. But in many regions being a memeber does get you a priority slot. That does not matter here as DE's never fill up but in regions like Atlanta (and probably yours I would guess) that priority does help you get in. Fwiw the $42 membership to PCA is worth it for the magazine alone, the 10% off at the dealer parts counter is a nice addition though.

Jon

 

Hey Jon. Sorry I missed that one, I'll bet it was great. Sure hope to make the next one. As for snobby club members, I have only been to one Sonnenshein Region event and they treated my wife and I like one of the family. Good old Southern Hospitality! Anyway, great report!

 

Had a fabulous experience last week.

Know how you feel. My instructor races a 993 and he was always commenting about how good the handling was; guess the "race" setup at Manthey Racing (near the Ring) was worth it.

Car will remain with splayed out wheels

 

I already heard him say PSS-9...

Congrats on your first DE and starting point of an downhill!

 

Hey Monique - isn't Manthey Racing fabulous??

We should hook up a load of european Rennlisters for a Ring trip sometime soon - that would be great!!

 

Agree with your comments about Manthey. They are prob the most experienced Porker race shop in the WWW. The Ring could be a treat too...

 

Hey Monique,

More photos please...

 

it'll happen it's only a matter of when.

now if I could just stay off the boards and sell something I may actually be able to afford it

Jon