ronmart

Yesterday I attended my first drivers skills event with the Porsche club in my first track event in the 911. WOW!

The following myths have been shattered about the C4s:

1. You can't get the back end out - HA!!!! With PSM off and sport mode on, I had my tail hanging out quite a bit during the 2nd half of the day. It was throttle steer nirvana!

2. You can't spin a C4s - yes, you can and I did - 3 times (2 times intentionally) and came close to it another 2 times but used throttle steer to bring it back. Here's one of the intentional ones caught on video on the wet skidpad:



NOTE: The right half of the circle is covered in VHT which is as slick as oil when wet.

Here's a 5 minute video: NEW 6/12/06 @ 10:42 AM
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...05136771665579

NOTE: That's an unplugged PSE in the video but it sounds better in real life.

All I can say is that I found out how hard you have to push my car to reach the edge, and that point is insane! I had 27 miles of track time all in short tracks with < 2 minute runs so that translated into many hours of actual seat time.

I'll post more later for those who are interested, but here's a boat load of pics...

MJones

You had A BLAST!!!
I know you did
Driving events like this are a great introduction to understanding your car.

Remenber a couple of things:
Driving is all about seat time.

LOOK where you want to go
yoir hands follow your eyes.
Keep your eyes UP

On a salaom, pick a spot at the end to look at, no need to look at the gates.
your peripheral vision will take care of the gates.

Check out the skid pad at PDE, CLICK HERE and watch John park at the end...car control.

Consider attending PDE....tou will really enjoy it
http://www.porschedriving.com/

ronmart

Indeed it was fun! I'd love to go to PDE but it will be hard to squeeze in anytime in the next year or two. In the meantime, events like this and at my local track with have to do. Of course, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do that after seeing the wear on my tires yesterday - OUCH!

The B

Great post, brings back some of my favorite memories. These cars are an absolute blast at these events and I'm glad you recorded it!

Sunshine

On the one day PDE, when you do instructor hot laps after lunch, who drives, you or the instructor? Which are more fun, one or two day courses? Which one do you get to drive the 911 on the track more?

mdrums

Looks like fun...so...do you need new tires now?

mdrums

Oh I forgot, You car with PSE sounds awesome!

ronmart

I can't speak about PDE because I haven't been there, but I have attended a similar High Performance Racing School in the Seattle area in 2001. Track time is fun no matter what you are doing, but I found the skills event very helpful in getting a better understanding of the car. However, the track time is great because you get to put it all together and there's nothing that beats screaming down the straight with your foot on the floor, and then braking hard as you fly through the first turn. The thrill is like nothing I've ever experienced. I can't wait to do that in my 911.

Coochas

Ron,...looks like fun. Car sounds great.

ronmart

No, but I'd say I took at least 30% of the life off of the tires. There was a noticable amount of rubber missing, but fortunately it was evenly worn so the tires handled the track well. The audible feedback from them was excellent and the grip was spot on. I was very pleased overall with the Michelin PS2's. I just wish they were about 75% cheaper!

I don't think I'll make it past 9000 miles on this set of tires (assuming no more track events).

Thanks! I had a bunch of people say that. Having the cable disconnected really helps get a good sound through the entire power band. It never gets annoying either as it is loud, but not obnoxiously so.

ronmart

Thanks!

Tag - your it Dave! You need to get out there with your local Porsche club and go see what these things can do. I was also able to dispell any myths about the C4s being an understeering pig, as the only time it understeered badly was when I drove it badly or when I hit the VHT on the skidpad (but that happened on everything that was out there).

With PSM off and sport mode on, you can summon throttlesteer and do some amazing things with these fine pieces of machinery! FUN STUFF!

With PSM on, and sport mode on, you can get the back end out a reasonable amount. However, you'll never lose it (even on wet VHT). Lots of fun can be had with a complete safety net there to catch you if you go nuts.

With PSM on, and sport mode off, this car simply defies physics. It just can not be made to get upset, no matter how stupid your driving! However, you wll get some nasty understeer sometimes if you are really pushing it extremely hard.

Oh and the brakes? Well, let's just say that something this size is not supposed to stop this fast -- yet it does! I had an event where the instructor wanted me to see how fast the car could stop so we intentionally were going to try to hit the cones. He was impressed to see that we actually stopped just shy of the cones.

You've gotta go do it Dave!

Sunshine

It looks like you had alot of fun. You and your car look right at home on the course.

Vancouver83LTD

oubviously he had a blast, look at that goofy grin on his face at the end!
Anyways, great ronmart looked like you had tons of fun! Thanks for sharing.

NiATE

Now you know why there are so many posts out there on what are the best "bang for the buck" tires. ALL Porsches are way too fun to get 40K or 50k miles outof a set of tires. I'm lucky to get 12k!

Enjoy in good health!

ronmart

Thanks Lori & Vancouver83LTD! I did have a blast and a similar **** eating grin on my face like I did when I picked up my car!

Yes, NiATE, I can see myself looking at Khumo and Toyo tires differently already!