John, I have read in the, now famous, Panorama article on the M030 vs ROWM030 suspension that the RoWM030 significantly reduces understeer on the 996. And personally I don't find my 996 ROWM030 with 18" wheels tends to understeer much and is very neutral, but since I think you have tried quite a bit of standard suspension C2's and C4's to compare with, I would also be interested in your impresion if you ever try a ROWM030 996 (not US M030) on its steering tendenciescompared to a standard C2.

 

Why is the understeer considered a benefit...in any fashion? Being there for a reason? That's kinda puzzling as I've only had cars that understeer and once you go beyond a certain point, you DO only have prayer to rely upon.
Surely Porsche isn't just trying to get as far from oversteer as possible.

What do you guys think?

 

Its easier for the "average" driver to regain control from going into understeer than oversteer. So the trend in most car manufactures to designing their cars with an understeer setup is for safety reasons.

 

Kent,
It's a common misconception that more throttle erases understeer. It can in certain cases when there is enough power to break the rear tires loose, before the fronts have given up-eg. a very low speed entry with a sudden burst of throttle. Otherwise, Carlos has it right.
When you lift off the throttle in a fast corner, weight transfers forward, decreasing the grip of the rears. The car will transition toward oversteer. The more engine-braking, the more transfer, and the greater the effect. Thats why people say don't brake a Porsche in a corner. It exaggerates this effect very dramatically.
Rally drivers take advantage of this in a unique way by starting at the INSIDE of an upcoming corner, turning AWAY from the corner with engine AND foot braking (starting a tail-wag the wrong way), then turning into the corner which starts the tail sliding the other way, which is coincidently the desired tail-out attitude desired for the actual corner being taken. Then they control the oversteer by dialing IN understeer with MORE throttle. On snow, you can even make a 4wd truck oversteer with this technique. It was taught at the Ice racing School at Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Carlos, I couldn't make my 91C4 oversteer with just throttle in slow corners, but I can in my A6 Audi, and a low speeds on the road so will my tt. even with PSM on. AS

 

Tomsk,

Is it true that you can order a C4S now for March/April? I was looking for a targa in October and the wait then for a C4S was a year (more for a turbo). I bought a 3000 mile targa with a view to sitting on it for year while waiting.

Are you getting your choice of spec?

 

Alex, I have found the same thing, I could induce oversteer with throttle in my previous M3, but not in the 996C4. I think its a combination of understeer-neutral setup, tons of grip (18" & S03's) for the available power, an the transfer of available torque from the rears to the front by the viscous differential in the AWD 996. The only way I personally have been able to induce oversteer is by Trailing throttle oversteer. But with the TT's torque you can do anything... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Vic Elford describes the rally technique you mentioned in his book "Porsche High-Performance Driving" for gravel, snow and ice surfaces that he learnt from the Scandinavians back in the 60's in the Monte Carlo Rallyes. He mentioned that the 911 (of that time) was the best handling car in the world in slippery surfaces due to its fowarded pivot point due to the rear-engine, and RWD.

 

Gents
This board is amazingly active, thanks for all the responses...

Ian Mcg, re order date...

I went into the dealer in December and they quoted me a year for delivery of a C4S - I went for a test drive a week later and was told they had had a cancellation from someone with a March build date when they asked them to spec it out and up the deposit. I took the build date and specced it myself.

I have bought a couple of Boxsters from them in the last four years or so and they regard me as a 'good' customer but the showroom is as quiet as a morgue and they dont give the impression of being busy selling much at the moment - not sure i would have ordered it if Id had to wait the full year given the 997 is due ...(2005?)

Others re understeer...
Am i right to assume that if its understeering already and you put more power down to try and force oversteer to adjust for it, the transmission in C4 will sense slippage at the rear and transfer more power to the front so negating the oversteer at which point I guess things may get quite exciting with the little orange PSM light starting to light up?
(or am I just confusing things even further?)

Are 'sway-bars' the same as what we call 'anti roll bars' in the UK?

<img border="0" alt="[bigbye]" title="" src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" />

 

Carlos,
I once spent a day with Vic Elford (and Derek Bell)He's an amazingly nice guy, a genuine enthusiast, and a great driver. He had a few tricks that probably weren't in the book (like blipping the throttle while downshifting a tip under braking) AS

 

Really? with "Vic Elford"? <img border="0" alt="[king]" title="" src="graemlins/r.gif" /> ...ahh those were the good days of Porsche Motorsport... 911 at Morte Carlo, 917 at Le Mans...