The 996 GT3 - the Last of the Breed
04-27-2006 | 11:36 PM
#76
Rennlist Member
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 9,170
Likes: 10
From: New Jersey
Originally Posted by pcar964
I went through a few sets of them (tirerack @ $129 each 
), from my experience tire life was surprisingly good. I used them for street driving between trackdays, and unless there was standing water or hard rain, they're fine for the street.
With the first set, I had some rear wear issues because my kinematic toe was off, chewed the insides very quickly. But once that was corrected I would say wear wasn't too bad, you could probably get 6000 miles on the street with RS spec alignment. Fronts last about 1.5x rears. They like negative camber especially in the front, the sidewalls are a little soft.
They chunk badly at full tread, recommend shaving! They don't have quite the grip of MPSCs or Victo's, but last longer and are very easy tire to drive, very progressive even when they get too hot.
I don't know what I'll use this summer when I do trackdays again, the DSSR were a great bargain but no longer available
), from my experience tire life was surprisingly good. I used them for street driving between trackdays, and unless there was standing water or hard rain, they're fine for the street. With the first set, I had some rear wear issues because my kinematic toe was off, chewed the insides very quickly. But once that was corrected I would say wear wasn't too bad, you could probably get 6000 miles on the street with RS spec alignment. Fronts last about 1.5x rears. They like negative camber especially in the front, the sidewalls are a little soft.
They chunk badly at full tread, recommend shaving! They don't have quite the grip of MPSCs or Victo's, but last longer and are very easy tire to drive, very progressive even when they get too hot.
I don't know what I'll use this summer when I do trackdays again, the DSSR were a great bargain but no longer available
OK, I might have to call B.S. on the 2:35 time if you are running stock suspension (limited negative camber), the DSSRs, and are still getting that kind of wear. Just about any tire driven hard on a stock suspension Porsche will not have enough negative camber and will wear out very quickly. I was killing DSSRs and MPSCs in ~2 days with my Turbo on stock suspension with max-possible negative camber.
04-28-2006 | 12:17 AM
#77
Rennlist Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 166
Likes: 14
From: Fairfield, CT
OK, for what it is worth here is a relative newbie's point of view on PSM. I recently did Porsche Driving Experience and had Dave Donahue do a few hot laps with me in a stock 06 997 S. He was bumper to bumper for several laps with another instructor/passenger due in front of us. Needless to say, the ride was as close as I'll ever get to "racing" and Dave's skills are far in excess of any DE instructor I've ever ridden with. No offense meant. Point is, PSM never kicked in once. I never felt it and I asked him to confirm that it didn't kick in and he said it didn't. Since that ride, and I know he wasn't driving "100%" with a customer on board, I firmly believe that PSM will not slow the vast majority of us down at DE. Maybe a Donahue, Roehrl, Henzler, etc. are faster without. But not me and I venture to guess not most of the guys I do DE with. I love my 996 GT3 and not having the safety net does feel macho. And I do get a sense of satisfaction when I catch an impending slide, but net net, I'd prefer to have it.
04-28-2006 | 01:02 AM
#78
Race Car
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 3,945
Likes: 87
From: SF
My old 996 had TC and it sucked at the track when I forgot to turn it off. Clearly, I'm no pro, but I was slower with it on and it wasn't going to save my bacon if I made a mistake at speed. "Safety net"....not really.
04-28-2006 | 01:21 AM
#79
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,583
Likes: 10
From: Los Everglades
Some people prefer to have electronic driving assistants. I don't like them for the simple reason that they're computer programs, and as any computer program, they need an input to provide an output, they can't anticipate what's ahead on the road.
The best driving aids are on the human senses, especially the common sense.
The best driving aids are on the human senses, especially the common sense.
04-28-2006 | 05:00 AM
#80
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,722
Likes: 0
From: Munich
Originally Posted by PK996C2
OK, for what it is worth here is a relative newbie's point of view on PSM. I recently did Porsche Driving Experience and had Dave Donahue do a few hot laps with me in a stock 06 997 S. He was bumper to bumper for several laps with another instructor/passenger due in front of us. Needless to say, the ride was as close as I'll ever get to "racing" and Dave's skills are far in excess of any DE instructor I've ever ridden with. No offense meant. Point is, PSM never kicked in once. I never felt it and I asked him to confirm that it didn't kick in and he said it didn't. Since that ride, and I know he wasn't driving "100%" with a customer on board, I firmly believe that PSM will not slow the vast majority of us down at DE. Maybe a Donahue, Roehrl, Henzler, etc. are faster without. But not me and I venture to guess not most of the guys I do DE with. I love my 996 GT3 and not having the safety net does feel macho. And I do get a sense of satisfaction when I catch an impending slide, but net net, I'd prefer to have it.
This is a very good reason why drivers working towards inmroving their technique should leave PSM/ESP ON. When it cuts in, it is telling them that they have done something wrong. They know that next lap they will have to cope with that corner differently.
Note, I am not talking about racing, racing is a different situation, although I should point out, en pannant, that TC is desirable on a track car, look at F1 if you need convincing.
R+C
04-28-2006 | 11:59 AM
#81
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,257
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by PK996C2
OK, for what it is worth here is a relative newbie's point of view on PSM. I recently did Porsche Driving Experience and had Dave Donahue do a few hot laps with me in a stock 06 997 S. He was bumper to bumper for several laps with another instructor/passenger due in front of us. Needless to say, the ride was as close as I'll ever get to "racing" and Dave's skills are far in excess of any DE instructor I've ever ridden with. No offense meant. Point is, PSM never kicked in once. I never felt it and I asked him to confirm that it didn't kick in and he said it didn't. Since that ride, and I know he wasn't driving "100%" with a customer on board, I firmly believe that PSM will not slow the vast majority of us down at DE. Maybe a Donahue, Roehrl, Henzler, etc. are faster without. But not me and I venture to guess not most of the guys I do DE with. I love my 996 GT3 and not having the safety net does feel macho. And I do get a sense of satisfaction when I catch an impending slide, but net net, I'd prefer to have it.
PDE
