workhurts

As compared to my 06 Cayman S, my '11 base 997 feels a bit sloppier on turns at moderately high speed (like 85-90 mph). I don't recall the Cayman feeling as unstable (relatively speaking).

Is the base carrera suspension worse the cayman s? I know my brakes aren't painted and they were on the S.

Are there any simple ways of making this thing a tad bit more stable? Any adjustments possible?

0-Steve

I felt the same way coming from a Box S. You will get used to it. Heavy rear and light front. Still handles amazingly well. Just not as secure feeling as a Boxster/Cayman!

david

What tire pressure are you running?

I find that air pressure in the range of 35 (front)/38 (rear) lbs. seems to keep my front end firmly on the ground no matter where I'm on the speed or twistie spectrum.

Anything north of 40 lbs. (front or rear) and the front end gets progressively lighter.

Let us know.

MarcoRemius

I encountered the same feeling when I first got mine. I guess I've just gotten used to it (and tend to like it).

I remember being worried that if the front end was that light and "floaty" on the street, how in the world would it ever do well on a track? Interestingly enough I find the 911 handles better on the track than it does in spirited street driving. You just have to adjust your driving style a little. I found that being more aggressive under braking for a corner plants the front nicely for turns.

That being said, the 911 felt solidly planted on the front stretch of VIR which has a ~110mph right hand kink in the middle.

Dennis C

I've driven a 997 on an unlimited speed section of the autobahn in Germany a few times. I noticed the same thing around 90 mph. However, as speed increases the car tends to work past this issue and it feels very stable. Over 120 mph, it really sticks to the road!

Tcc1999

Like the other have said; it is the nature of the rear-engined beast.

But since you brought it up, you probably know the 911 has both under- and over-steer tendencies (compared to the Cayman). One thing to watch for, and it has bitten me twice (lucky with no damage in a 997.1 and 997.2) is under-steer at low speeds. My experience has been at speeds between 20 and 40 mph, turning rather sharply and, in my case, coming off the clutch and on to the gas too quickly/aggressively in 2nd gear will result in under-steer. Once you know the car will react this way with this particular input it is no big deal to avoid it but the first time it happens, well, you're turning the wheel and the car just keeps going straight with the whole front end shaking and it is rather un-nerving.

workhurts

Let's not talk about under-steer. My M Coupe which I had been driving for close to a decade decided to bite. Like you said, 20-30 mph turn ... a bit too much gas and there she goes. I had really been expecting the rear end to brake loose a bit with the gas and rotate the car but it never did

I'll mess with pressures but I think you folks are correct, nature of the beast.

I was just trying to make sure there weren't an 997.2 S components I should start thinking of swapping into the car.

n1gels

Interesting. I was inadvertently running with the fully loaded tire pressures and felt the same floaty, unglued to the road feeling. This was worst on fast sweeping corners with scalloped undulations. I could feel the car bouncing in a way that made me just want to slow down. Engaging Sport mode with PASM made a big difference - no more light front end bouncing. I haven't had chance to drive the same road conditions with the correct tire pressures, but it's good to know that it makes a difference.

Hella-Buggin'

If you're new to 911 and cornering techniques you should join your pca and do some DE events to learn to shift weight around so you can maximize grip. A more aggressive Alignment can also help keep the front end stable.

david

The positive aspect of 40+ lbs of air pressure is that MPG is substantially better.

However for my usage, a lower setting feels just right, even when S-PASM is not engaged, so better MPG be damned.

workhurts

I've gotten kinda used to the lower speed corners but the higher speed sweeping turns don't feel solid. I'm slow. It takes me a year to get comfy with a car.

red996

Coilovers made that floaty feeling go away on my car. It's not simple or cheap, but that fixed it.

Marty111

When I purchased my 997.2 cab in may I posted the same concern. I had a wheel alignment and noticed an improvement. Nonetheless, I has taken time to learn this car. Previously, owned a 2004 M3

Comanche_699

Mark, is there a sort of "general" set up that people like to use for street (canyon carving and coast smashing) that you or others have found work really well?

My current set up is cold air pressure: 34 front, 37/38 rear.

Alignment:

Left front
-0.4° camber
7.6° caster
0.04° toe

Right front

-0.3° camber
7.8° caster
0.04° toe

- the rears are -1.5° & -1.7° camber with total toe at about 0.37°

Car seems fine, "floats" more than a 4s to me, and have only had a few "surprise!" moments with understeer in the curves, (also at lower speeds) - but I assumed driver error, braking a little too late, or some other input that I could control, because it happens rarely.

The floating I've always attributed to the nature of the car. With no engine up front, I expect it to feel light.

At first it was a little frightening, but I continued to tell myself, "Nick Tandy drives the crap out of these cars. Patrick Long would get in this very car and disappear even if I was following in a GT3. The CAR is fine!"

And after that little mantra, I just drive. It still sticks better than my M Roadster ever could, stops quicker than should be expected, and even when I could swear the front wheels just came off the ground, the nose still lands exactly where I expect it, 99+% of the time.

But I'd be curious to know what other set ups people are running, and what specific noticeable improvements, or consequences they are discovering.

- dan

2006 c2s cab, 19" Michelin PSS, stock widths w/ 7 (front) & 15mm (rear) RSS spacers.

workhurts

Just a note on alignment. I had the car aligned recently and front tires are under 3k miles. In terms of set up. 2 alignment shops. 2 different numbers.

Not sure who's calibrating what anymore.