Hi there,

A lot of us are focused on getting the best times on the track which is great but I am more of a fan of power sliding than getting the best times. When I saw the video of chris harris powersliding his 4.0, I was very impressed by the way he was able to do it so effortlessly but in my attempts to recreate any kind of sliding, I have not had any success. Worse, I end up recreating a haphazard trail braking situation because I end up losing confidence before the apex because I am not used to driving a rear engined car. Are there any pointers or techniques that you guys would recommend? I want to be able to power slide into sharp curves and turns?

 

Try the PSDS, they will teach you a midcorner slide.

 

You will want a good LSD first....

seriously however, you might wanna try a large empty parking lot and start trying to lose the rear end and drifting techniques.

 

chris harris makes it look easy. in truth you need a lot of experience and a safe space to get to the way he does it. the most common tendency, and this still happens to me if I go sideways without expecting it, is to overcorrect with your hands. If you watch how he does it, he turns in, the car begins to slide, and then he lets the wheel run through his fingers and it basically corrects itself if you can balance it on the throttle.

 

The reason I love the Rennlist GT3 forum is threads like this. So much better than "which microfiber towel should I use?"

 

Funnnnyy!!!!

 

I suggest working on all around car control skills rather than just sliding. From there the ability to slide and control it will come with seat time. The Skip Barber Advanced Car Control course will give you a head start. Another option is a good rally school like Dirt Fish. PSDS has a skid pad exercise, but you won't get enough time on it in my opinion.

Also realize that Chris Harris has the benefit of editing, much like Ken Block in his Gymkhana commercials:

 

Dirt track experience can help.

 

I recommend the Porsche Camp4 winter ice driving school in Quebec. Studded tires on ice tracks with Carreras and Caymans, also a huge figure 8 ice skidpad. Fun? Oh yes! And the Canadian beer is pretty good too, eh!

However, this quite different than breaking a GT3 loose on dry pavement, speeds and grip are obviously much lower is the ice case, but the prinaples of physics are the same.

Doug N

 

i went to the porsche driving school at the silverstone and got some sliding lessons over there, i found that the gt2 was much easier to slide than the gt3rs, i did very well with the gt2 while competely failing with the gt3

 

Turn off your traction control first thing, and you will have a heck of a time keeping it FROM sliding. Great care not to hit anything from that point on.

 

PSDS in Germany actually run a "g force" class once or twice a year that teaches this exact skill at the Porsche track in Leipzig ... Ive always wanted to do it!

 

SC+TC Off, trailbrake into a corner 5-10mph hotter than you normally would and the tail will certainly want to come out like the RR car that it is.

The fat rear-section tires makes it difficult to induce a power-on oversteer. Easier to work with weight transfer i.e. lift-off or braking. The resulting slide will be easier to catch with the throttle esp. for somebody learning the car.

 

Find a sharp (90* or more) corner with plenty of run off, a private car park well away from kerbs, posts and other cars using cones to mark a turn in point and apex would be a good starting point. If you can wet the area speeds and loads will be less.

Drive up to the the first cone (turn in) in second gear at ~30-35mph get the car turning (no brakes) and just starting to settle then give a prod of power just to release the grip (not full throttle!!) and the back will start to move out. Now the hard part starts, most people don't move the steering wheel fast enough or far enough (number of turns), a good test is if you loose the back hold the steering in the position you were at when you lost the back and stop the car, get out and have a look at how much lock was wound in- I will wager not much and probably no more than 1/2 a turn! You will need to be heading for the lock stops at over 1.5 turns to catch and hold a slide of any angle!

Time and effort spent catching the slides first will get the steering input sorted next you can reintroduce the throttle to prolong the slide, just like rubbing your belly and patting your head lol!

Good luck and have fun. Let us know how you get on and any tips you find work!

Thanks
Jay

 

Have some spare wheels with crap/cheap tyres overinflated on the back will help as well and will presever your nice MPSC for another day.

Note if you end up going backwards, and you will, hit the clutch!

Jay