+2.

The light doesn't seem to be an issue for everyone that has it. Hate to say it but it sounds like an excuse....sorry, but it really does. Has anything been bought at all yet?

 

Please don't pollute this thread with your nonsense otherwise I'm going to report you to the mods.

 

So that thread posted states to do a negative 1.5 camber with the toe slightly positive.

This won't effect tire wear? What is the stock camber?

 

Don't be too judgmental. I actually have the DSC, and while I do love what it does, I find the light annoying.

It wouldn't make me give it up, but I do find it less than ideal.

 

Having driven both the Turbo and the 981 S on and off track, I would start with getting the alignment checked. If the rear toe is out of spec, the handling is seriously degraded. There is no reason for a 997.2 turbo to be less reassuring than the Boxster on the road. Note that the 981 turns in more willingly than any 911 (New GT3 excepted) but that's a matter of adaptation. More negative camber up front will help turn-in and mid corner stability. Based on the symptoms, my guess is that the rear toe is wrong. Note that I strongly recommend rear toe links for any 911 since rear toe can be knocked out of alignment by even moderate bumps on the road. Your car like all 911s is very sensitive to rear toe settings. Start with a proper alignment before modifying the suspension - but get rear toe links.

 

I also felt my car had issues in corners. I was coming from a 2002 911C4 with Bilstein PSS10s. The C4 was VERY PLANTED and could be dialed in with adjusters. I took the Turbo in for tires and had a 4 corner alignment and the car has changed dramatically. These cars have so much power that using the standard "slow in hard out" philosophy will really change your skills. Keep working it, I've had my car for 3 months and am just now getting to feel comfortable.

 

Can you explain to me the suspension parts of this car that are most responsible for handling? I'm coming from a front engine car that had a single live axle rear. It was very simple. Had shocks, springs lower control arm, upper control arm, and that was about it.
The turbo S is rear engine, has a multi link rear, with a lot of crap added in, and I don't know what each part's purpose is for. Based obvious things like the shocks, springs, lower control arm, front lower control arm, etc...

Also I don't know what kind of alignment these cars like. I really didn't play with alignments on my last car. I just messed with it for the sake of being within spec once I lowered the car.
I do not think the toe is out. This car just had an alignment checked 1000 miles ago. Also I had a porsche tech drive it to check it again because my steering wheel pulls every so slightly left to keep the car straight, after we swapped to winter tires.

So why is a lot of negative camber and slightly positive toe good for this car? What suspension components contribute the most to traction on the street?
I bet these are questions a lot of owners would like to know about.

See the turn in thing you mention, I wonder if that is something TPC or BBI front track widening kit would fix. They make the front track as wide a GT3 RS.

 

I'm use to slow in hard out. That's how I had to drive with the shelby. If not it would snap around.

 

Update: I called Tom from TPC and had a nice chat about this. I'm going to wait till my summer tires are back on the car, then take it for an alignment and DSC to them. We'll start there and see what happens. Seems my problem could be from winter tires and poor alignment as already indicated. But also the feeling I am looking for that the new cars have could be from the increased PASM control the new cars have.

If this doesn't solve it completely, widening the front track will probably be next. For my car they recommended I keep the stock parts in the rear unless I'm lowering the car. Especially since my car is 99% street and a DD.

 

I must applaud all of you who contributed about alignment and handling characteristics! I remember when I was trying to wrap my head around it. That was quite some time ago. But if I were new to the concept, this thread has all the explanation that one should need. Great job!

I do have one sort of off topic question to ask... in my 993 the front camber cannot be adjusted much. Well, you can, but not easily and accuracy is compromised. So I bought adjustable camber plates and problem solved. Before I couldn't get more than -.4 on left, -.6 on right
The plates offer an insane range. I have the fronts set at -1.75 and rears -2.25.

My question is ... are the fronts on your guys' newer cars more adjustable? I was told the North American cars weren't very adjustable to meet some silly DOT rule (or something like that - can't remember the guy's exact words).

 

You've identified the problem successfully, jem7v: your "driving doesn't change from car to car." Of the three cars to which you've made reference, the Turbo S has the highest limits, yet you're operating it as you would a Boxster. You assume that three different cars will respond remarkably alike if you utilize in each the same types of driver input--an approach based on your belief that your current driving skill set should be uniformly effective for the three cars.

Since the Turbo S doesn't respond like a Boxster or a 991 C4, you've concluded that the suspension on the Turbo S needs improvement. Short of a flaw in the car's alignment, the Turbo S with stock suspension should be more than sufficient for daily use. The alternate approach that you're considering involves modifying the Turbo S's suspension in order to make the car's handling more consistent with the one driving skill set that you want to use. You can invest in the car by altering its suspension and operate it with your current driving skills, or you can invest in yourself as a driver: you can develop, broaden, and enhance skills which will make your operation of your Turbo S more effective and rewarding and which will increase your ability to drive other cars with more precision and confidence.

 

Yes I will do a driving class, but I think now the problem is the alignment and PASM. The feeling I am describing, I believe is a dampening issue. I think the DSC will solve that, but we will see. Tom told me wait for the weather to get better and order once the summer tires are back on in 2-3 months. Also the feeling I have of the rear end getting lose could be due to the winter tires having soft side walls.

It made sense once they told me the new PASM range is about 25% both ways while mine is 10% both ways. Then their unit is 100% both ways. I know on any car shock absorbing is probably the most crucial thing to handling IMO. And cars can drive much better or much worse if the shocks aren't right.

Question for anyone who knows, can you do a GT3 spec alignment with stock parts on the turbo s? Is this the alignment essentially most have been using?

 

Yes you can align it to gt3 specs, but I wouldn't make any determinations based on limited street jaunts in snow tires. With all due respect to tom at tpc, his job is to sell parts. I'm sure the dsc is great, but I'm not sure you're ready for it given your skill set. Again, align it to gt3 specs snd leave it alone. The dsc is really helpful with a 997.1 rather than a .2, bc the 997.2 suspension is better out of the box than a .1.

 

You can line up a Corvette, a 911, and a BMW M3 at the track and unless you adapt to each car's ups and downs, your experience will be less than satisfying. As a long time track instructor, I can guarantee you that even with top of the line mods, no two car models are alike. A true driver knows to adapt to the car, not the other way around. So I agree with the consensus; if you are looking to make the car handle better, first learn how to handle the car.

 

I told the OP to wait for better weather put on a set of Michelin Pilot Supersport tires then break-in the new tires for 200 miles to get a baseline feel before doing anything else.