1990nein

It was my first time with the car in a controlled environment. I wanted to go faster but me and my instructor had systematically different ways of learning the track (he drives a 964) so I was holding back quite a bit trying not to push him above his comfort level.

I guess I eventually scared him out of the car, so on the last lap I tried getting into hoon mode, but PSM was on and wasn't having any of it. The car was in Sport+ but I was surprised to find how little if any throttle steer it allowed during slip. I also found the PDK buttons to be cumbersome, I kept upshifting with my palms on accident.

Overall good day and hats off to my instructor for staying with me until the last run.

https://vimeo.com/83506617

fskof

Link does not work

1990nein

Sorry it should work now

Kero

19k miles on Pilot super sports? Are they almost toast?

1990nein

They were 10mm new. I measured 6mm on the rears and 7mm on the fronts a couple of months ago. I would say they the rears currently have 30-35% of the grip when compared to new, and the fronts with about 45% grip when compared to new.

So not the best grip anymore, but they still have good tread, feel, and remain predictable at the limit.

myw

nice vid.

btw. best user name ever.

Buddhamonk

I've never understood the appeal of autocross - especially with it's lack of actual speed. Maybe I should give it a try. Is the 911 supposed to be a good autocross car?

DMoore

You apparently have the multifunction steering wheel with the up/down buttons on each side of the wheel. I had paddles on my 2011 Carrera GTS - they work much better for performance driving. You'll need to learn to hold the steering wheel without hooking your thumbs over the spokes. Hold your thumbs vertically on the outside of the wheel, closest to you. Once you learn this trick you'll stop making unintentional upshifts.

DMoore
'13 C2S (with paddles)
'13 Panamera GTS (with multifunction buttons)

sjfehr

You may not carry the sort of raw speeds you do at an HPDE, but you're still moving at highway speeds, and you're operating much closer to the edge of traction, and doing so for much more of the course. I find autocross incredibly addicting. It's low-cost and low-risk, you should give it a shot

carbonGT

Isn't that all Carrera GTS come with paddle shift as standard? Did you order yours with Multifunction steering?

masitr

While I mainly stick to the track now days auto-x is a great environment to learn car control, reaction time/hand eye coordination and improve your ability to learn a track quickly. If you have an instructor who is not comfortable with speed, they need to request a different instructor or go it alone. You need to push to find your and the cars limits. Typically when you start to hear the tires you are on or at the limit of grip. Also be aware of surface changes and imperfections.

When you walk the coarse, walk the your driving line as if you are in the driver seat and look ahead. You may also need to over inflate your tires to prevent them from rolling over. Be sure to monitor, record, bleed and tune your tire pressures in between runs. You don't want the tires to roll over past the tread blocks.

1990nein

Driving an autocross course at the limit is more like traveling 140mph+ on a regular highway while trying to maneuver through heavy 65mph traffic. There's no room for error. You can have fun autocrossing any car, including minivans.

I remember the PDK buttons were developed and marketed as being in the ideal position for the hands. There was enough demand that Porsche gave in and offered paddles as an option.

My instructor was a former pilot, served in the forces for many years, and has been at supersonic speeds. I wouldn't say he wasn't comfortable at speeds - it can be unnerving for anyone to sit in a car, have zero control over whether or not/how hard you are going to crash. If I was him I probably would have got out of the car after the first run of the day, but he stuck with it and I'm sure we both learned something from each other at the end of the day.

Cool video I came across, some slow-motion shots: