918 arrival
05-31-2015, 11:46 AM
#17
Addict
Lifetime Rennlist
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Lifetime Rennlist
Member
WOW!
You win.
This goes to the top of my list as the most beautiful (ok, one of the most beautiful) Porsches that I've "seen"!
Wish that you were in NorCal to go for a spin with us...
You win.
This goes to the top of my list as the most beautiful (ok, one of the most beautiful) Porsches that I've "seen"!
Wish that you were in NorCal to go for a spin with us...
06-04-2015, 03:12 PM
#21
06-04-2015, 04:12 PM
#22
06-05-2015, 08:14 AM
#23
06-05-2015, 09:35 AM
#24
Thanks - just to say that the traffic probably cost 10ths of seconds on a high 36 best lap, no more.
The lap that RSR filmed above was a last minute request as we were leaving the circuit, so was fully fuelled, with our luggage on board, and with car not in full charge as I'd run it down previously. (I also forgot to switch to sports suspension!). We did one flying lap then had to go to catch the channel tunnel booking!
Overall, braking is really good, once you get the hang of having to press harder again to maintain stopping power after the regen kicks in. The aero works properly, and you can really feel it through places like Eau Rouge. Downside is always going to be weight, as it’s still not a race car.
So, even with good brakes it’s hard to stop and get turned into the corner, and have to drive in right to apex if possible, and change of direction at places like "pif paf' chicane needs a bit of work. Easy to miss the turn in, which again is affected by the weight, especially downhill braking.
If i remember, we had 1.4g lateral and under braking, and 0.8g under acceleration on track, but 1.3g when from a standing start. Porsche driver thought it can corner at 1.5g, but it was my first day with car, so that's my excuse!
Boyko23 - battery is good, but does take a bit of management if you are driving hard. (It's absolutely no problem on the road, and hybrid mode seems to halve full consumption). At Spa, if you went to full power, no regen (hot lap), then it would not do two full laps.
Also, when I was at the factory, they told me that Sport mode was optimum on track for regen, but that was still draining reasonable power over a lap. Not sure if it's tied to how hard you are driving, but we worked out (at Silverstone GP track a few days later) that Race mode gave more longevity.
In the video from RSR, I had run out of charge on the last run up to and through Blanchimont, and it was noticeably down on power. That's why we look a bit unimpressed with the lap time! (it was a very high 2.38 i think).
So - one lap pace is great, assuming you manage the boost strategy. Multiple lap pace is very good in race mode. However, you can't drive any of the latest 'hyper' cars for endless laps on full power, whatever anyone says. You need to think of 918 as an LMP car for the road, not a sprint car. Then it all makes sense, adds to the experience, and it is a fantastic piece of kit. The magazines reviewers don't get this, and are too one-dimensional. I'm glad I took the time to drive enough to work it all out (2k miles last week)
You can see in the video that I dialled out some downforce by switching modes on the Kemmel Straight (probably psychological boost only, and I chickened out too early!), then you have endurance style braking adjustments to improve regen, boost management, removable top for full sound effects etc. It's much more interesting, IMO, than pounding round on a non-competitive track day in something more 'traditional'. As always, if you want to race, get a race car...
The lap that RSR filmed above was a last minute request as we were leaving the circuit, so was fully fuelled, with our luggage on board, and with car not in full charge as I'd run it down previously. (I also forgot to switch to sports suspension!). We did one flying lap then had to go to catch the channel tunnel booking!
Overall, braking is really good, once you get the hang of having to press harder again to maintain stopping power after the regen kicks in. The aero works properly, and you can really feel it through places like Eau Rouge. Downside is always going to be weight, as it’s still not a race car.
So, even with good brakes it’s hard to stop and get turned into the corner, and have to drive in right to apex if possible, and change of direction at places like "pif paf' chicane needs a bit of work. Easy to miss the turn in, which again is affected by the weight, especially downhill braking.
If i remember, we had 1.4g lateral and under braking, and 0.8g under acceleration on track, but 1.3g when from a standing start. Porsche driver thought it can corner at 1.5g, but it was my first day with car, so that's my excuse!
Boyko23 - battery is good, but does take a bit of management if you are driving hard. (It's absolutely no problem on the road, and hybrid mode seems to halve full consumption). At Spa, if you went to full power, no regen (hot lap), then it would not do two full laps.
Also, when I was at the factory, they told me that Sport mode was optimum on track for regen, but that was still draining reasonable power over a lap. Not sure if it's tied to how hard you are driving, but we worked out (at Silverstone GP track a few days later) that Race mode gave more longevity.
In the video from RSR, I had run out of charge on the last run up to and through Blanchimont, and it was noticeably down on power. That's why we look a bit unimpressed with the lap time! (it was a very high 2.38 i think).
So - one lap pace is great, assuming you manage the boost strategy. Multiple lap pace is very good in race mode. However, you can't drive any of the latest 'hyper' cars for endless laps on full power, whatever anyone says. You need to think of 918 as an LMP car for the road, not a sprint car. Then it all makes sense, adds to the experience, and it is a fantastic piece of kit. The magazines reviewers don't get this, and are too one-dimensional. I'm glad I took the time to drive enough to work it all out (2k miles last week)
You can see in the video that I dialled out some downforce by switching modes on the Kemmel Straight (probably psychological boost only, and I chickened out too early!), then you have endurance style braking adjustments to improve regen, boost management, removable top for full sound effects etc. It's much more interesting, IMO, than pounding round on a non-competitive track day in something more 'traditional'. As always, if you want to race, get a race car...
06-05-2015, 10:58 AM
#27
Thanks. We couldn't get anywhere near a clear lap without lots of traffic at Silverstone. Different track day rules meant only overtaking on left, on straights, by consent. I think I've done faster lap times in a Caterham! If I can get our data/video software to run on a Mac.., I'll try to get an estimate time over next few days.
When booking, I thought that would be better (safer!) than Spa which was a free for all, but in the end Spa was much better, and Silverstone too frustrating with speed differential. We left S at lunch, (as my self-insure policy had a rain restriction on it!) but my co-pilot who was over from US was able to get a few laps driving without fear of anyone hitting him, which is why we went.
When booking, I thought that would be better (safer!) than Spa which was a free for all, but in the end Spa was much better, and Silverstone too frustrating with speed differential. We left S at lunch, (as my self-insure policy had a rain restriction on it!) but my co-pilot who was over from US was able to get a few laps driving without fear of anyone hitting him, which is why we went.
06-06-2015, 02:59 PM
#28
Thanks - just to say that the traffic probably cost 10ths of seconds on a high 36 best lap, no more.
The lap that RSR filmed above was a last minute request as we were leaving the circuit, so was fully fuelled, with our luggage on board, and with car not in full charge as I'd run it down previously. (I also forgot to switch to sports suspension!). We did one flying lap then had to go to catch the channel tunnel booking!
Overall, braking is really good, once you get the hang of having to press harder again to maintain stopping power after the regen kicks in. The aero works properly, and you can really feel it through places like Eau Rouge. Downside is always going to be weight, as it’s still not a race car.
So, even with good brakes it’s hard to stop and get turned into the corner, and have to drive in right to apex if possible, and change of direction at places like "pif paf' chicane needs a bit of work. Easy to miss the turn in, which again is affected by the weight, especially downhill braking.
If i remember, we had 1.4g lateral and under braking, and 0.8g under acceleration on track, but 1.3g when from a standing start. Porsche driver thought it can corner at 1.5g, but it was my first day with car, so that's my excuse!
Boyko23 - battery is good, but does take a bit of management if you are driving hard. (It's absolutely no problem on the road, and hybrid mode seems to halve full consumption). At Spa, if you went to full power, no regen (hot lap), then it would not do two full laps.
Also, when I was at the factory, they told me that Sport mode was optimum on track for regen, but that was still draining reasonable power over a lap. Not sure if it's tied to how hard you are driving, but we worked out (at Silverstone GP track a few days later) that Race mode gave more longevity.
In the video from RSR, I had run out of charge on the last run up to and through Blanchimont, and it was noticeably down on power. That's why we look a bit unimpressed with the lap time! (it was a very high 2.38 i think).
So - one lap pace is great, assuming you manage the boost strategy. Multiple lap pace is very good in race mode. However, you can't drive any of the latest 'hyper' cars for endless laps on full power, whatever anyone says. You need to think of 918 as an LMP car for the road, not a sprint car. Then it all makes sense, adds to the experience, and it is a fantastic piece of kit. The magazines reviewers don't get this, and are too one-dimensional. I'm glad I took the time to drive enough to work it all out (2k miles last week)
You can see in the video that I dialled out some downforce by switching modes on the Kemmel Straight (probably psychological boost only, and I chickened out too early!), then you have endurance style braking adjustments to improve regen, boost management, removable top for full sound effects etc. It's much more interesting, IMO, than pounding round on a non-competitive track day in something more 'traditional'. As always, if you want to race, get a race car...
The lap that RSR filmed above was a last minute request as we were leaving the circuit, so was fully fuelled, with our luggage on board, and with car not in full charge as I'd run it down previously. (I also forgot to switch to sports suspension!). We did one flying lap then had to go to catch the channel tunnel booking!
Overall, braking is really good, once you get the hang of having to press harder again to maintain stopping power after the regen kicks in. The aero works properly, and you can really feel it through places like Eau Rouge. Downside is always going to be weight, as it’s still not a race car.
So, even with good brakes it’s hard to stop and get turned into the corner, and have to drive in right to apex if possible, and change of direction at places like "pif paf' chicane needs a bit of work. Easy to miss the turn in, which again is affected by the weight, especially downhill braking.
If i remember, we had 1.4g lateral and under braking, and 0.8g under acceleration on track, but 1.3g when from a standing start. Porsche driver thought it can corner at 1.5g, but it was my first day with car, so that's my excuse!
Boyko23 - battery is good, but does take a bit of management if you are driving hard. (It's absolutely no problem on the road, and hybrid mode seems to halve full consumption). At Spa, if you went to full power, no regen (hot lap), then it would not do two full laps.
Also, when I was at the factory, they told me that Sport mode was optimum on track for regen, but that was still draining reasonable power over a lap. Not sure if it's tied to how hard you are driving, but we worked out (at Silverstone GP track a few days later) that Race mode gave more longevity.
In the video from RSR, I had run out of charge on the last run up to and through Blanchimont, and it was noticeably down on power. That's why we look a bit unimpressed with the lap time! (it was a very high 2.38 i think).
So - one lap pace is great, assuming you manage the boost strategy. Multiple lap pace is very good in race mode. However, you can't drive any of the latest 'hyper' cars for endless laps on full power, whatever anyone says. You need to think of 918 as an LMP car for the road, not a sprint car. Then it all makes sense, adds to the experience, and it is a fantastic piece of kit. The magazines reviewers don't get this, and are too one-dimensional. I'm glad I took the time to drive enough to work it all out (2k miles last week)
You can see in the video that I dialled out some downforce by switching modes on the Kemmel Straight (probably psychological boost only, and I chickened out too early!), then you have endurance style braking adjustments to improve regen, boost management, removable top for full sound effects etc. It's much more interesting, IMO, than pounding round on a non-competitive track day in something more 'traditional'. As always, if you want to race, get a race car...
06-06-2015, 10:01 PM
#30