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European Delivery and or Porsche Experience CenterThis forum to ask questions and get answers about collecting your Porsche in Europe or the outstanding Porsche Experience Center.
My lovely wife got me a gift certificate for the Porsche Driving Experience just before I purchased my 997 C4S. I am wanting to schedule my experience, and was thinking the Turbo vs. GT3 experience would be a blast, but I wanted to ask here if I should instead consider one of the lower priced experiences, and doing it twice?
I did the Carrera T manual experience and it was fantastic. Car felt right at home. I wondered if the gt3 or TT would be too much for that track. Probably not, but the T was just a blast. I just did an LA experience. This time in a manual S. Awesome also.
I did the 1 hour session last year in a 991.2 GTS. As Pittspilot says the track is narrow and very technical. It’s almost more an Autocross circuit than a actual track
I think a Turbo might be too much and even a GT3 would be overkill. However, between the 2 I’d go with the GT3 as you can work on your technical skills
Just to add to the above, I think it really depends on your skill level. To really push a GT3 on the handling track would really tax my skill level because there is no runoff and not much room for even a small error at the speed I think a GT3 could generate. Meanwhile i think the T is going to be a little slower although by no means slow, or not fun. I honestly felt like I could spend many hours in the T on that track just learning new things about the car.
Also, if this figures into it, when I was at the LA experience, the instructor told me that he had a hard time choosing between the T or the GT3 for that track which is longer and more forgiving, although not a lot.
Having just completed two different sessions yesterday in Atlanta I have an opinion. If I were you, I would get a session with the same model (level) car you bought. I saw numerous people driving very high end cars and it seemed they couldn't handle the power or were scared to death of it. I also wouldn't split one session into two cars. It's 90 minutes and you'll be surprised how fast that goes. Getting used to one car in that time period is enough. Frankly, it's more fun to push the lesser powered cars around the track and the different modules. Launch control in the dynamics area is the only thing that the higher HP cars will really be superior. The one other recommendation I would have is to be coachable. Really follow the instructions and you can have a blast.
My lovely wife got me a gift certificate for the Porsche Driving Experience just before I purchased my 997 C4S. I am wanting to schedule my experience, and was thinking the Turbo vs. GT3 experience would be a blast, but I wanted to ask here if I should instead consider one of the lower priced experiences, and doing it twice?
Any advice you may give?
I did the comparison of the GT3 and the Turbo, it was a real hoot. As you can imagine the two cars are really different which became apparent especially on the track. The main reason I chose those two was I had bot a GT3 and had never driven a turbo so I was curious if I had made the correct choice and by the end of the drive I knew I had ,so it was really worthwhile. The truth of the matter is you can't go wrong with any of the choices its so much fun and heck you might find you want to come back and try some other cars at a later date,you'll have a blast for sure!
My wife also bought me a gift certificate for the driving experience and I chose the TT vs. GT3 comparison. Went to the Atlanta complex yesterday. Had a great instructor - knowledgable and patient.
As you would imagine 2 very different cars - both on torque and with AWD vs. RWD.
Turbo with AWD can pull itself out of an extreme angle skid. We demonstrated that on the skid pad. Also it was a hoot on the launch pad.
The GT3 was more raw and a very capable performing on their track.
Overall I think I enjoyed driving the GT3 more although for a daily driver I would have to chose the TT. Although if I could have the exhaust sound of the normally aspirated GT3 and the torque of the turbo ... that would be the best of both worlds.
My wife and I have both done multiple events at the PEC and I recommend that you do multiple sessions. That way you become more familiar with the track and know what to expect. You can also build a relationship with your instructor and he/she can learn your skill level and know how much to let the reigns out. This keeps both of you safe!
My sessions were mostly in cars that I own or owned to become familiar with their characteristics at, or near the limit. My first session was in a 911 GTS, and I have done subsequent sessions in a Cayenne Turbo S and a 911 Turbo S. Other events included the Panamera Turbo SE Hybrid for fun and the GT3 just to see if I wanted one for track days.
As with most motorsports learning, starting in an underpowered car creates the most opportunities for learning. Jumping into a GT3 is WAAYYYYY to much car for nearly all mere mortals...
Whatever decision you make, go there clear headed and with your eyes and ears wide open so you can learn the most from their excellent staff...
Porsche Experience Center – Atlanta – September 2019
We drove up to Atlanta for a couple days this past weekend to take in one of the “Porsche Experience Center” sessions. I did the 90 minutes “Mastering the Manual” in a car similar to mine, a 911 T, while Mrs. Rich did one of the “Demonstration Runs”. It was huge fun and we both enjoyed it immensely. I searched and found this thread to add my thoughts to, hope it is useful for someone considering a trip to pecatl.
I’ve had my license since 1976; and in all that time, I’ve never had an accident. Couple tickets when I was young and stupid, but generally I’ve driven all my life in Manual Transmission cars with rare exceptions. My skill level is very basic: I can start, stop, shift, but never, really, have I ever explored any racing experiences. Now recently having bought a fairly high-performance car, I wanted to learn more about it, and me. So in making this reservation, I had two goals: to get an objective assessment of my driving skill level, and to safely explore the limits of my car in a racing-like environment.
Promptly at 900AM I was met by my coach, who provided a comprehensive safety brief. I heard most of it but the butterflies were hovering. “My” car was a black 991.2 911 T, shod with well scrubbed Pirelli P0 tires. This was one of only two manual transmission vehicles in the PEC fleet. Equipped with a 7 speed manual transmission, except for the manual bucket seats, the 911 T is essentially identical to my car. I wore normal weekend attire; running shoes, shorts and polo. My coach had me sit much closer to pedals, so I had much more brake pedal force available. My hands were at 9 and 3, thumbs on the steering wheel ‘bumps.’ The car was set to Sport mode the whole time, with the satisfying snap crackle pop and auto rev matching enabled.
We did 2-3 warm up laps on the outer circuit, while we chatted about tire heat, pressures and weight transfer under braking and throttle. My coach was probably sizing up my meagre driving ability and determining how, exactly, we were going to approach the exercises. My pace was ah sedate. I was mindful of the old phrase, “oh Lord, please don’t let me foul up.”
The Accursed Kick Plate My first challenge was a simple 20 mph car control exercise. The “Kick Plate” is a hydraulic plate which randomly moves left or right to induce a snap oversteer situation. In theory, one corrects IMMEDIATELY and all is well. Of course, that never happened. My best run I managed to “only” let the car do a 90 degree turn. Several loop de loops preceded this. My wife later indicated this was highly amusing to watch. It was not easy in the car, I can assure you. (You are supposed to max out at 25 mph. I never got past 20).
Circles – Wet and Otherwise After leaving the kick plate, I tried the Wet Circle – which is exactly what it sounds like. Trying to do several “kick” and “catch” exercises proved hard. I did manage a few microseconds of “power sliding” around which I am sure impressed no one, but it was a fun few seconds feeling like I was “holding it” before I spun out. Very cool.
Low Grip Handling Circuit” We dried off the tires with a lap of the outer ring, then entered the Low Grip Handling Circuit at the back of the complex. This was fun. The surface is very slick, so the end result is you can’t really do more than 25-30 mph. Much of the “steering” was actually done on the throttle; I was either hard on the braking to dig the nose in or the gas pedal was pegged to set up for the next turn. I think I now have a slight inkling of what “steering on the throttle” means. To be honest, I felt pretty good here; the surface of polished concrete made it feel like a large go-kart – which I have a fair amount of “fun” laps in.
Slaloming My last task was to navigate the slalom. After an initial run, my speeds at end went from 24, to 27, to 34 mph. I got a “not bad Rich” at the end. I almost lost it at last turn of the last run, but I felt very much at the limit.
Bringing It All Together. We finished our session with several hot laps. I felt a bit nervous, but started to put the pieces together after a lap or two. On lap 4 I hit the Apex before Pit Straight and reflexively went from 2 to 3 to 4 and approaching the right hander, realized I was going in a “bit hot”. I heard a fairly animated “RICHBRAKEBRAKEBRAKE!!!” and felt some squirming in the front end, but nailed it coming out of the corner in 2nd. I dialed it back a notch and on Lap 5 felt very positive and in control of the car, but it was still moving a lot in the twisties.
Coming around the circle near the viewing/pits area. I recall being pretty hard on the throttle here...
We entered the pits after lap 5 to swap drivers. I have to say, 1015AM Rich would have scared the heck out of 915AM Rich. Overall I felt significantly more confident, and faster, much much faster yet still in control of the car. I felt great.
Which lasted about 60 seconds.
My coach hopped in and I strapped into the passenger seat so he could ah “show me the racing line”. As we took off apparently one of the lead instructors in a GT2 RS approached from the rear. Well, of course, my coach, being a red-blooded racing driver, did what any racing driver would do. He said “hold on” and we were off. Two laps later, I weakly held my hand up for the Emergency Fresh Air signal. My coach grinned and we pulled into the pits.
Holy Cow. What a ride. I asked him and he said they were limited to 7/10ths during the demo lap. 7. 10ths. Yeah, right lol. I stumbled up the steps and had to “take a moment” in the AC of the upper deck with a restorative Ginger Ale. I was ok about a half hour later enough to have a small bite and after cooling off, felt fine.
We made the obligatory visit to the gift shop for Porsche swag, but I skipped the $14,000 Porsche Models lol. They have a “Museum-like” experience filled with a few cars; it was an interesting walk-through. Dinner at the on-site "356 Restaurant" was very enjoyable. The aperitif was a nice glass of Walnut Creek Merlot as we overlooked the track for the final hot laps of the day. We both had the 12 oz 1855 Boneless Ribeye, accompanied by heirloom potatoes hash w baby spinach and béarnaise sauce, with a frosty Stein of refreshing German Hefeweizen.
The Museum-like area in the basement - very cool...
Expectations vs Reality The entire Facility and staff at the PEC are first rate - Staff are uniformly excellent; the Museum, shops, hotel, restaurant, amenities, ambience; it was just a fantastic experience. It was a vastly more intense driving experience than I was expecting. I got several take-aways I can use to enhance my daily driving enjoyment. I feel better about exploring Driver Education events with my local chapter of Porsche Club of America, having been exposed to track and car. I have a new respect for my car’s handling and roadholding limits - they are very high. My skill level, however, remains near the bottom - but I could see some small Improvement in my car control ability.
I was looking to book a fall 2020 session at PEC ATL when I noticed there was no “Mastering the Manual” session offered. I am going to contact the PEC, but it’d be a shame if they aren’t offering anything with a 7MT.
03-11-2019, 01:04 PM
Driving Experience - Atlanta
