Andy (Portland, OR)

What a great visual! I think I've got my work cut out for me, but as a friend says, it will make me a better driver.

Thanks.

healeyg

find a race shop who knows what they are doing to set it up (I use Farnbacher-Loles)

the way my car is now, the turn-in is so sweet, i can get the rear end to step out just from agressively turning the car in without changing the throttle.

no understeer in that equation ...

ryce

Andy, get the alignment, do a little playing with the sways, get some R compounds, practice a bit a develop a gentle touch, and you'll see what this car can really do. These things are quite different and more challenging than boxsters. They require a lighter touch, smoother transitions and a lot more balancing.

The way mine was aligned from the factory, it was hardly worth driving. I asked myself what did I do! Once it was aligned, it was much better. When I drove it with the R dunlops, I said now I get it. I absolutely love this thing on R's. It is a total hoot, so precise, responsive and capable.

Caleb

Sounds to me like you're getting on the gas while the wheel is still turned, which will definitely make the car push no matter what alignment or tires you've got. Remember the string on the wheel attached to the throttle - turn the wheel, off the gas, unwind the wheel, on the gas.

Evil Twin

Hi All. I'm new to this board, but I've worked with Andy at a number of events now, rode with him at the autox yesterday, and have spent a lot of time at the track. Question: how broadly does Porsche define the alignment specs for this model? Sometimes, the stock "specs" are so broad as to allow a lot of room for tweaking the alignment's impact on handling. If the ranges are broad, what should Andy be thinking about for a streetable track setup, and has anyone done any work with a pyrometer, in combination with fussing with the stiffness of the antisway bars, to confirm you're getting the desired results? Just asking in case there's more for Andy to think about than just asking his local Porsche performance shop to "dial something in" for him.

From my perspective in the passenger's seat, I think Andy will need to change his driving style (per your suggestions), as well as to dial in a more appropriate alignment and to fuss with his sway bar settings, but the car still pushed more than I'd have expected. The flipside of that, of course, is that it also seemed more stable under trail braking than I'd have expected from a car with the polar moment somewhere around the rear wheels.... :-)

Best,
Twin

mooty

if by trail braking, you are really light on the brake, it's very stable. but if you got a heavy foot, good bye.

the street alignment for usa is useless. do a seach you will see some aggressive setup per porsche factry. bob roleau has posted many times. these alignments are perfectly stable on street driving, just that they chew threw tires like gums. but you will get used to it. always but GT3 tires in sets of three's LOL>

caleb, you are alive and well..... where have you been. you must come out to play soon.

DavidNR

Andy,

To reply to your questions.

My car's swaybar settings came one from full stiff both front and rear. I have had the Roland Kussumal alignment done, ride height, corner balance and run PS2 tires. The RK settings also spec the F & R swaybar settings one from full stiff. This is a track setup.

Autocross is a much slower sport and needs the car to be able to rotate much faster, so much faster it is dangerous on the street and track at higher speeds. So set the front bar on full soft will give you the front bite you need, rotation and transition to oversteer. This has worked for me, maybe not the only or best solution but least the way I like it and it't fun!

Set the bar back to one from full stiff right away or you may find yourself like I did in the rain in an unwanted drift toward a 6" curb with (luckily only) a nice crease down the middle of the drivers seat cushion as a leftover.

The great thing is this car is so adjustable so play with it and find something that works. BTW, you aren't the guy to do a only smokey spin out.

Bob Rouleau

Andy - Bruce provides the key. To get a 911 to turn in, you need to transfer some weight to the front. In a slow turn, trail braking does the trick. In a sweeper, a gentle lift will do it. Once you get the nose pointed, then you can steer with the throttle. The secret is to get the car to turn in, you cannot do that if you are hard on the gas. Period. No ifs or buts. Once the nose is turned in, you can balance the car with throttle. This takes finess but is very rewarding.

On a track, bars set -1 front and rear will allow power on oversteer. I set mine -1 in front and -2 in back. I prefer a bit of understeer, I can get on the throttle sooner in fast sweepers. This is a subjective choice, you may prefer a bit of oversteer unless you confront turns 1 and 2 at our home track. In other words different tracks call for a different setup. Are there more slow corners than fast ones? If the speed is to be made in sweepers (think Road Atlanta) then a bit more understeer pays dividends.

For auto X think the suggestions given above make sense. Auto X (which I despise- 8 mons of driving, 8 hours of waiting) usually has more tight turns than sweepers. A 911 understeers a lot under those conditions, so balancing the car with more bar in back makes it easier to rotate. I would not, NOT NEVER use a soft front and stiff rear bar on a road racing circuit unless I wanted to see the track going backwards.

Best,

roberga

Andy,
Stock tires and size and dampers and springs. I let a friend drive the car at an autocross in Seattle back in November. His first time in my car and it was the second fastest run of the day. With my fat *** in the right seat. The fastest was Jodie Fordahl in an 87 911.
I do have a good alienment.
By the way I suck at Autocross. See you on the 24th.

mooty

so, if i had a fat *** passenger in my car, i will be much faster.....

wake up, john.... it's the driver driver drive.... ugh..... for a minute i thought i got it.

roberga

mooty... my point exactly..