Driving tips for mountain roads
08-03-2016, 12:32 PM
#1
Driving tips for mountain roads
I'm loving driving my 07 Cayman S 6MT through curvy mountain roads, but wondering if I can improve my technique while I'm doing it. Any tips for braking, throttle, and shifting while going up or down hills and through curves?
08-03-2016, 02:09 PM
#2
First, in the interest of safety, I recommend not driving more than 8 tenths - higher for closed course or track only. 8 tenths for one person may equate to 4 tenths in another depending on experience and ability - bottom line is to leave some margin for the unexpected such as debris in the road, traffic, or simply a severely decreasing radius turn.
Second, use only your lane, but use the whole lane. Especially on a road unfamiliar to you, stay to the outside of the corner in YOUR lane (closer to the center line) when entering a corner and turn in to the apex when you can see the end of the corner.
Third, you can be more aggressive going uphill because braking distances are shorter. Conversely, slow down more when going downhill.
Fourth, try to be in a gear the that puts the engine in the sweet spot of its torque range. You will have more fun, control, and options this way. If you don't know how to heel and tow and rev match downshifts, learn how and practice.
Finally, it goes without saying that your car should be well maintained - tires, brakes, fluids, etc.
Good luck and enjoy your Cayman.
08-03-2016, 05:27 PM
#4
From your question, I'm guessing that you are relatively inexperienced in performance driving. If this is not the case, my apologies.
First, in the interest of safety, I recommend not driving more than 8 tenths - higher for closed course or track only. 8 tenths for one person may equate to 4 tenths in another depending on experience and ability - bottom line is to leave some margin for the unexpected such as debris in the road, traffic, or simply a severely decreasing radius turn.
Second, use only your lane, but use the whole lane. Especially on a road unfamiliar to you, stay to the outside of the corner in YOUR lane (closer to the center line) when entering a corner and turn in to the apex when you can see the end of the corner.
Third, you can be more aggressive going uphill because braking distances are shorter. Conversely, slow down more when going downhill.
Fourth, try to be in a gear the that puts the engine in the sweet spot of its torque range. You will have more fun, control, and options this way. If you don't know how to heel and tow and rev match downshifts, learn how and practice.
Finally, it goes without saying that your car should be well maintained - tires, brakes, fluids, etc.
Good luck and enjoy your Cayman.
First, in the interest of safety, I recommend not driving more than 8 tenths - higher for closed course or track only. 8 tenths for one person may equate to 4 tenths in another depending on experience and ability - bottom line is to leave some margin for the unexpected such as debris in the road, traffic, or simply a severely decreasing radius turn.
Second, use only your lane, but use the whole lane. Especially on a road unfamiliar to you, stay to the outside of the corner in YOUR lane (closer to the center line) when entering a corner and turn in to the apex when you can see the end of the corner.
Third, you can be more aggressive going uphill because braking distances are shorter. Conversely, slow down more when going downhill.
Fourth, try to be in a gear the that puts the engine in the sweet spot of its torque range. You will have more fun, control, and options this way. If you don't know how to heel and tow and rev match downshifts, learn how and practice.
Finally, it goes without saying that your car should be well maintained - tires, brakes, fluids, etc.
Good luck and enjoy your Cayman.
Since 99% of my driving has been on a completely flat road, having the car accelerate or slow down so much without using the brake or throttle is a new sensation to me.
As far as maintenance, I've just crossed the 5,000 mile threshold and had the car serviced so I should be in good shape
08-03-2016, 05:37 PM
#5
You may want to look into local PCA for auto-x, HPDE, or car control courses- you will learn a lot especially in braking, understeer/oversteer and how to manage. Porsche sport driving school (Barber MSP) or the porsche center in Atlanta are also good, though expensive.
On the maintenance, be sure your brake fluid is in good condition. Porsche recommends flush every 2 years. For aggressive canyon driving or HPDE, shorter is better. Boiled fluid from repeated hard stops is not good.
Best of luck.
On the maintenance, be sure your brake fluid is in good condition. Porsche recommends flush every 2 years. For aggressive canyon driving or HPDE, shorter is better. Boiled fluid from repeated hard stops is not good.
Best of luck.
08-04-2016, 02:32 AM
#6
Rennlist Member
You're right I'm not experienced in this kind of driving. It's a strange sensation when I lift off the brake to have the car accelerate forward so fast on the downhill. Also with steep downhill driving is there any harm in keeping at 5k rpm to keep my speed down?
Since 99% of my driving has been on a completely flat road, having the car accelerate or slow down so much without using the brake or throttle is a new sensation to me.
As far as maintenance, I've just crossed the 5,000 mile threshold and had the car serviced so I should be in good shape
Since 99% of my driving has been on a completely flat road, having the car accelerate or slow down so much without using the brake or throttle is a new sensation to me.
As far as maintenance, I've just crossed the 5,000 mile threshold and had the car serviced so I should be in good shape
When approaching a sharp curve, brake the car, downshift a gear or two, and keep the car neutral (no throttle or brakes) through the curve, or apply throttle slightly through the curve. If you find yourself going too fast through the curve, brake lightly, and get back on the gas as soon as you can.
Obviously it is good to downshift before you head up a steep grade.
While it does no specific harm to allow the engine to rev up to 5K RPM on a descent, it does add some wear to the transmission. An old adage is "brakes are cheaper than transmissions". However if you feel like you have more control of the car at that RPM, then that alone is reason enough to go with it.
Living is a part of the country where you cannot even go to the store without encountering hills, and nice curvy/hilly fun roads are only a few miles away, I guess I take it for granted.
I will almost go so far as to say that without access to these kinds of roads owning a Porsche would be a little bit pointless.
08-04-2016, 11:43 AM
#7
Burning Brakes
If you aren't a member of the PCA, I encourage you to join and get involved in HPDEs to learn more about your car, expand your abilities and to have a grand ole time.
Whereabouts are you located? If the local PCA region doesn't have a big HPDE program, there are other track day programs available, Trackdaze, Chin Motorsports, NASA are popular ones.
Whereabouts are you located? If the local PCA region doesn't have a big HPDE program, there are other track day programs available, Trackdaze, Chin Motorsports, NASA are popular ones.
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08-04-2016, 11:59 AM
#8
If you aren't a member of the PCA, I encourage you to join and get involved in HPDEs to learn more about your car, expand your abilities and to have a grand ole time.
Whereabouts are you located? If the local PCA region doesn't have a big HPDE program, there are other track day programs available, Trackdaze, Chin Motorsports, NASA are popular ones.
Whereabouts are you located? If the local PCA region doesn't have a big HPDE program, there are other track day programs available, Trackdaze, Chin Motorsports, NASA are popular ones.
Normally I'm in Florida where it's extremely flat and straight and there are stop signs and traffic lights everywhere. Here it's like another world with huge open expanses with steep hills, sharp turns, and winding fun roads.
As far as maintenance, is it routine to replace the brake fluid at 5,000 miles? I'm only here a few months in the summer and winter, hence why I only have 5,000 miles on the car. I'm ordering winter tires so I can drive it in the winter too
08-04-2016, 12:46 PM
#9
I'm in Utah now and also go to Colorado with the Cayman.
Normally I'm in Florida where it's extremely flat and straight and there are stop signs and traffic lights everywhere. Here it's like another world with huge open expanses with steep hills, sharp turns, and winding fun roads.
As far as maintenance, is it routine to replace the brake fluid at 5,000 miles? I'm only here a few months in the summer and winter, hence why I only have 5,000 miles on the car. I'm ordering winter tires so I can drive it in the winter too
Normally I'm in Florida where it's extremely flat and straight and there are stop signs and traffic lights everywhere. Here it's like another world with huge open expanses with steep hills, sharp turns, and winding fun roads.
As far as maintenance, is it routine to replace the brake fluid at 5,000 miles? I'm only here a few months in the summer and winter, hence why I only have 5,000 miles on the car. I'm ordering winter tires so I can drive it in the winter too
08-04-2016, 03:00 PM
#10
Slow in, fast out
Don't overdrive your sight lines
etc., etc.
For me, fun, safe driving in the mountains is all about momentum and being in the right gear at the right time. I tend to use a lot of engine braking and focus on momentum and setting corner speed right, rather than mashing the throttle in the straights followed by mashing the brakes on corner entry. I find that I can drive a lot better and smoother on the street with more engine braking and less foot braking, focusing on setting good corner entry speed and then accelerating firmly from apex out as my sight line opens up. Helps a lot if you get to know the road well before you begin to pick up the pace, including what types of obstacles you might encounter (cyclists, deer, etc.)
The one comment above that I might disagree with a bit is the idea of using your whole lane in all situations. I spend a lot of time on roads with a very high number of motorcyclists, who are sometimes known to apex left handers and hang across the center line. For that reason, I rarely do a full lane late apex approach to tight right handers there. I tend to stay mid corner on entry a lot in the places/times when I know that the sport bike quotient is high.
Don't overdrive your sight lines
etc., etc.
For me, fun, safe driving in the mountains is all about momentum and being in the right gear at the right time. I tend to use a lot of engine braking and focus on momentum and setting corner speed right, rather than mashing the throttle in the straights followed by mashing the brakes on corner entry. I find that I can drive a lot better and smoother on the street with more engine braking and less foot braking, focusing on setting good corner entry speed and then accelerating firmly from apex out as my sight line opens up. Helps a lot if you get to know the road well before you begin to pick up the pace, including what types of obstacles you might encounter (cyclists, deer, etc.)
The one comment above that I might disagree with a bit is the idea of using your whole lane in all situations. I spend a lot of time on roads with a very high number of motorcyclists, who are sometimes known to apex left handers and hang across the center line. For that reason, I rarely do a full lane late apex approach to tight right handers there. I tend to stay mid corner on entry a lot in the places/times when I know that the sport bike quotient is high.