smackboy1

So last week I was driving around a track (for the 1st time) in a 997 C2. My impression in the corners is that the car understeers quite a bit under hard braking into the corners and accelerating smoothly out of the apex is a bit tricky. Close to the limit the back end gets a little twitchy. It was harder to drive well compared to an M3 and Cayman. They didn't have an AWD 997, so has anybody here driven a RWD 911 back to back with an AWD 911 on the track? What difference does the AWD drive make to the handling?

ElTorrente

AWD will understeer even more.

Benjamin Choi

AWD is completely awesome for the streets as I've come to appreciate, but for track duty, I still very much prefer the feel and controllability of RWD.

smackboy1

Thanks, I suspected it would. Where in the corner does it understeer more? My intuition (which has been known to lead me astray) is that trail braking into the corner, the AWD understeer will be about the same or maybe less (due to the extra front end weight). As the throttle is added through the apex to the track out I would imagine the power to the front wheels would cause the "extra" understeer. Am I about right? Is the AWD less twitchy at the limit than the RWD or is it about the same or more twitchy?

jumper5836

AWD in these cars make it neutral. It doesn't understeer or oversteer. That is why they say "Its like driving on rails!"

wrljet

"If you want rails, get a train."

slaaw

With regard to the 996s, Excellence magazine had an article in the 12/02 issue on the 9964S comparing it to the C2 and said the it was about 4 sec faster around Nurburgring. A similar distinction between the 997s should apply.

"[T]he Carrera 4S lapped the Nurburgring in less time than the faster-accelerating and more slippery standard Carrera could. Admittedly, the difference with the factory's test driver behind the wheel was just over four seconds over 14 miles, but there's more to the story. The C4S instills so much more confidence that we're certain the C4S would handily show its taillights to lesser Carreras in the hands of an average driver down the same stretch of road or track."

Benjamin Choi

And if you're driving like it's on rails, then you ain't driving fast enough.

wwest

Actually understear or just not overstear as much or as expected with RWD..??

caf

Remember, though, that in 2002 the C4S had bigger tires and brakes and a stiffer suspension than the C2. Most people think that was the main difference in the cars, not AWD. Unfortunately, there was no 996 C2S for comparison.

It'd be interesting to see a good comparison on the Ring with the 997, now that there are "S" versions of both.

hwk72

If AWD would make a car handle better for street driving, then why are most sports cars only RWD (beside to avoid the weight of the AWD system)? The 911tt are AWD to make the average driver handle the power better of the car but the GT2, GT3, ... are all RWD only. So I agree that average drivers might feel better/faster with AWD but this doesn't make the car faster.

rountreed

I bought a 996 C4 so that is proof it is the better car!

1999Porsche911

Racing is about the driver's skill and not the car. As mentioned above, if I ran around the track on rails faster than everyone else, would I be the better driver? Same applies to cars running training wheels (AWD). I faster driver is harder to find than is a faster car.

10 GT3

What is funny is if you look at the official Nurburgring times, the 996 3.4l C2 was 6 seconds faster (8:17 vs 8:23) than the 996 3.4l C4.

If the 4WD was better, why does Porsche makes it best sports cars RWD: the GT2 and GT3? Both are built on 4WD chassis without any of the front drive assembly. They take this weight penalty for the extra stiffness, but not the drivetrain. Are you aware a 02' C4S weighs 276 lbs more than a comparable 02' C2? Unfortunately, over 95% of the time the front drivetrain only adds weight which slows acceleration, reduces handling and increases braking distances. It only comes into play when the front end slips (Understeer).

From the factory with the base suspension, these cars do pronouncely understeer at the limit. With M030, ROW standard, ROW m030 or GT3 suspensions they are very neutral by comparison. Hence when the front already has traction, you aren't going to get the benefit from 4WD. Keep in mind that all those Nurburgring times are with ROW suspensions that are very neutral compared to the US standard suspension. There are obvious advantages to 4WD on a wet or snowy road, but none on a dry track with a properly setup car. Hence why the best handling Porsche 911's will ALWAYS be RWD.

wrljet

GT2 and GT3 are made for racing classes where AWD isn't allowed?