Hello guys, I am prette new here and I am thinking about buying the new 911 C4S, but I couldn't find any resource about how the AWD system works. Can you guys help me with it please? Like how rear biased it is? And in what situations it transfers torque? I watched that motortrend video where they tested the C4S against the Ferrari and a Corvette, they said that, if you try to slide it, ıt will give you a bit of drift than will straighten up itself, is that true? What kind of torque distribution makes C4S behave like that?

Thanks for helping!!

 

I'll start with the disclaimer I'm a C2S guy.. and not a C4...

But the fundamental issue with the rear engine 911 from the original is the "over steer" issue (or is it under steer, I can never remember).. because of the rear mounted engine..

And when cornering hard, when your rear end starts to break loose it is that tendency of the driver to let up on the throttle that transfers weight off the rear wheels and results in crashing the car backwards (the correct action is to keep the throttle which keeps the weight transfer over the rear so you can drive out of the curve).. Again everything is accentuated on a rear engine car..

So fundamentally, in the C4 the AWD can react to that situation and keep the rear wheel better planted... so the end results is a better capability towards lateral G's than a comparable C2.. If done right it has a tendency to straighten the car back out, instead of ending up pointing the nose of the car in the direction you were coming from.. Also being AWD it has the benefits if "pulling" from the front wheels as needed...

So maybe you already understand that, but I think the answer to your question is:.. as much as needed....

Keep in mind the benefits of the AWD in a 911 are a bit more helpful in a 911 than a normal front engine car since the physics of a rear engine....

Folks really tend to go for the C4's who are are in climates with a lot of snow and ice. They seem to be very popular in Canada and the alps.. But there are also folks who like and have mastered the characteristics of the 2WD 911, and don't like the AWD...

 

It's not rear-biased as such, like Audi's Quattro for example is 60/40. From what I gathered the 911 C4S operates in pure RWD in normal conditions, with the front wheels kicking in only when loss of traction is detected.

 

You get this display to see in real time the torque distribution.

 

Right -- the torque distribution is dynamic. I've watched the display change how much torque is moved to the front wheels from rear as I change road surface, balance of the car, and road condition (wet, dry, etc.). Much fun!

 

Yeah that's my general understanding as well.. I think part of that is to retain the traditional Porsche handling as much as possible..

 

Yeah, it's just I'm not sure how much I want to be looking down at that as I'm drifting through a curve

 

so you can't really drift it right?

 

I'm sure you can.. It's going to be a matter of how many lateral G's before you break loose.. But I think a key purpose of the AWD is to make that more difficult to occur.. But at some point physics will take over..

But Not having driven a c4 I'm not sure if it behaves similar to a c2 with this regard or has a completely different feel to driving through the drift..

I'm sure however one of the c4 experts can answer that.

On a related note I was watching a video of a professional driver on a test track in a 997 doing a slalom course.. With a c2 and the traction control on he did fine, but with it off he could barely keep from loosing it.. It just illustrates how much the computer can work magic..

 

I'm no expert in my C4S but I remember seeing videos on the internet with both C2 or C4 drifting. It all depends on friction I guess. On snow anything can be made to drift.

I'm going to Finland Rovaniemi to do the Camp4 in 8 days' time. I'm sure there will be drifting but I can report back if the C4S drifts or not!

 

The C4S can be drifted

 

I wonder what kind of a drift it is. I mean if you look at Ken Block's videos, you will see that he is not counter-steering at all. He always steers straight and keeps his foot down to make ALL FOUR TIRES sliding. I think the car he drives has an AWD system like the ones in Subarus or Evo's. Which sends power to the all for wheels that, makes countersteering impossible because it would straighten you up. So the only way to drift it is to drift all four wheels. I am not sure if thats the case with the porsche system because it waits for rear wheels to slide first, and if they slide you have to countersteer, in order to not to spin. But when you countersteer the front tires will receive power and pull you out of the drift. I think that makes either kind of drifts impossible.

 

If they can,
can you tell me what kind of drift they do too? As I explained on the post above. and if the drifts are on power or off the power?
Thanks

 

Why did this turn into a drifting thread???
Let's be honest 99% will have a holy sh$t moment the minute traction is lost and the car starts moving around, especially if you are at speed.
The AWD system is about providing grip.

It's a RWD biased system so it does allow you a little play and ability to rotate the car with the throttle if you like.

 

The reasın it turned intı drifting thread is AWD systems comes to their owns when cards starts to drift/slide.
I see you have a c4s, can you please tell me, that if the car starts to oversteer ON throttle, how long does it wait to send power to the front wheels?

Thanks for your reply, this is a brilliant forum