Moderato

I was reading reviews and they say that the 997 Turbo can send 100% of the torque to the front axle. Can someone explain to me why this would be a good thing? Why would you EVER want 100% of the TQ going to the front axle, expecially in a 997? Wouldn't this completely change the handling characteristcs of the Turbo to the point that it would be NOTHING like the other 997 variants? This is a huge departure from the 997 C4S setup where it's rear bias all the time, but sometimes sending a percentage of TQ to the front axle, but always keeping TQ at the rear axle.

Edgy01

I think this is in error. In fact, another article on the 997TT indicated that very little of the power goes to the front end, even in the most extreme cases.

Dan

Riad

It's still 95% rear wheel 5% front wheel, with up to 40% **** to the front wheel.

djantlive

if your rears are on ice, having power to front makes sense. don't worry, porsche isn't stupid to make 911 a fwd...

Moderato

Ok, I found where I got this information from:

Excellence - The Magazine About Porsche
June 2006
"The Next Turbo - Porsche's most advanced 911 ever"
Page 70

"Whatever impact PASM has on the new Turbo's handling prowess, a bigger difference is made by Porsche Traction Management. First seen in the Cayenne, PTM uses a clever Borg Warner made viscous clutch that can open or close in just 100 milliseconds to transfer power between axles as required to maintain optimum traction at all four wheels. The clutch also opens instantly when the ABS kicks in. This viscous clutch is housed in a transmission made by Getrag and can send up to 100 percent of the torque to the front or rear axles. It's superior to the older system in slippery conditions, where it helps to reduce understeer without affecting the stability of the car."

Seems that based on this that the 997 Turbo could infact be 100% FWD if the AWD system determines that is necessary.

gota911

Rob - I am assuming you meant for the above to read "up to 40% shift to the front wheel."

OCBen

The statement is obviously ambiguous and poorly worded. The discussion is about the viscous clutch. And the way I can interpret that statement is that they are saying that this viscous clutch has a mechanical efficiency of nearly 100%, meaning that there is virtually no power loss when torque is transferred to the front or rear axles.

But it seems absurd to think that Porsche would design the turbo to be capable of 100% Front Wheel Drive mode with zero torque going to the rear wheels which have the advantage of the weight of the engine to help transfer power to the pavement.

Moderato

I agree, I guess we'll have to wait for some more reviews to come out.