ignacio

what is walter rohrl supposed to say? " buy the prior model turbo" last i heard he is trying to make a living. besides, no one here has his skills.

i don't doubt that the 997 tt has more rear wheel bias. the point is that that is not sensible in a rear engine car which just by weight will always have rear wheel bias.

i've owned porsches since 1976. my '79 911 sc was rear wheel biased to the nth degree. this made it fun but quite unforgiving, especially in the rain. again, for a rear wheel biased car, i'd get a gt3 or a gt 2. at this point in my life i prefer a greater margin of safety that the 996 c4s or the 996tt provide.

i don't doubt that 99% of the time on standard roads, it will be fine. that last 1% can be quite costly, especially if you like to push on tight corners.

i'm glad that most of you are pleased with your 997 tt's. it would be awful to spend all that dough and be unhappy! for me i think porsche has compromised handling for thrills. i prefer a 996 tt that i can put snow tires on and drive it year round with impunity.

ignacio

chris

reading your post again, i see you are talking about these cars as track animals. that's not my primary use for my porsches. what i love about the 996 tt is that it's an everyday supercar. for a dedicated fair weather track car, the gt3 would be more fun.

TT Surgeon

I use it for both! I referred to the track bc that's where I'm driving it 8-9/10ths, that's where I'm gonna see handling issues.

blkc4sny

Chris,

Thanks for the feedback.

Should I decide to keep my C4S, I would lower it. Would you recommend buying the X73 package from Porsche. I'm not looking to track my care, but I like the looks of a lowered Porsche. What do you recommend? Is there a list of items that I would need to order. How long for the install? I live on L.I. too.

eclou

Ignacio,

I have worked my TT pretty hard at the track with Hoosiers on a fast track. I have had the rear end come out on me at 120+ mph when I pinch a fast corner and the PSM let the car drift about 15 degrees out before it unf*cked the situation. The correct was so fast I continued on my line and didn't even lose ground to the guys behind me.

You have to remember that a 500+hp car has alot more energy going into turns than the feeble editors of C&D are used to. Corners come up so fast in the TT that it is alarming if you are not used to it. Also, the stock alignment and ride height is far from ideal for track work. These are easily rectified though. Trust me when I tell you that the car is a hoot at the track (just get track tires!). The local PCA instructor for the instructors took my car out for a couple of laps and said it was the funnest and most amazing ride he's even been in.

AAHTT

Same here, I took the San Diego region DE chair and instructor in my car on the track and the first words that came out from his mouth were: Oh my god, oh my god!

Bob Rouleau

I cannot speak about the Car nd Driver editors who dissed the 99TT handling. I won't mention names, but I have sat beside automotive journalists track driving new models on the track. After braking way too much for the corner, the driver accelerated towards the apex while ommenting "These Boxsters still understeer way too much".

Lift throttle oversteer will happen with any car while cornering hard *if* you lift off abruptly. A Z06 will lose the back end as easily as a rear engined porsche. You *can* lift in a corner with a modern Porsche as long as you lift progressively. Same thing applies to acceleration.

Best,

eclou

Excellent post. It used to be the rags would test a car and then bring along an accomplished driver/pro to take a couple of laps as well. The pro's laptimes would usually be .5 - 1 second difference between hi-po cars. The editors' times would only get a brief mention (because they sukked). I would not trust a group of deaf-tone trolls to tell me which stereophile equipment was better. Also, physics hurts.

TT Surgeon

Lou, really starting to dig your wheels!

nickoz

Although I doubt that I'll ever spend much time driving the car close to its limits, I think it's important to be familiar with them. That's why I plan to spend a day at the track with an experienced Porsche advanced driving trainer shortly after taking delivery. I'll explore the cars on the limit behaviour in a safe environment, with and without driver aids, rather than learn too late on the road what can happen.

By definition, if you drive the car at its limits something is going to happen. I'm glad the car can be pushed to the point at which it will bight!

eclou

The fresh batch will be done the end of the month. They are really light (18# front, 22# rear) and very easy to clean. I can wipe the entire inside of the barrel with a sponge thru the spokes

E55AMG

I don't get it. All I seem to remember when the TT came out were all the detractors - "It's too easy to drive fast", "boring", "too safe" (never quite got that one). Now, people are terrified LOL.

I've only had my car a couple of weeks but I have to imagine you would have to do something incredibly stupid to get in serious trouble on the street.

TT Surgeon

Bruce you could put the x73 in, have TKX do it in huntington...but why not just trade it in on a TT, either new or used?
Pouring cash into a NA 996 is a losing proposition imo, been there, done that, got the t shirt, don't want another!

ignacio

i found comments about the 996 tt being boring to be silly. i assure you a good driver can give anyone a good thrill in their 996 tt. i am disappointed that the 997 tt is again subject to off throttle oversteer. imo, this does not make it more sporting - simply unpredictable

off throttle understeer has been the biggest problem for all 911's from the beginning. it was nearly gone in the 996 tt. it's back in the 997 tt. to me that's a step backwards fortunately there are lots of low mileage 996 tt's out there for those that feel the same way. in any case i'm glad you like your 997 tt as is.

ignacio

blkc4sny

Chris, thanks for feedback and advice on both accounts. I may just call it quits on my 996 C4S and go for a trade in for a new TT. I am about to put down my deposit on one next week.