OK, not challenging anybody here...just asking and trying to learn. First:

MANY people say letting off the gas mid turn is very dangerous and you will spin

OK, so why has that never happened to me? I've purposely tried to oversteer by lifting while already sliding(understeer slide) in a turn. This does not help turn the car around at all, so I tested it because I keep hearing the warnings. No matter what, lifting never seems to compromise traction at all. In fact I can't tighten my turn at all using the throttle. What is the deal with the 997 and 996 cars? Is the lifting thing an air cooled problem?

 

It can be done but first you have to be going faster than 15 mph!

 

Snap oversteer on throttle lift or tapping the brakes mid-corner is mostly an early 911 issue and overhyped. Modern Porsche's come with a ton of push (understeer) as set up from the factory and just aren't nearly as prone to snap oversteer. Plus any car with PSM (yaw management) is designed to prevent that exact problem, so very difficult to get them to spin with PSM on.

But if you set up your car with more front grip for more balanced handling, turn of PSM, go into a corner very hot at tap the brakes just before the apex, you definitely can still get them to spin!

If you are coming into a corner with too much understeer, you want to do the opposite of lifting the throttle... As soon as you can start getting on as much throttle as you can, and the car will start to grip and come around nicely. Also, slow-in, fast-out is the fast way to get through the corner. If you are plowing to the point of sliding before the apex, you need to be adjusting your line and slowing down before the corner so you can start applying throttle sooner for a good exit. Tweaking your alignment and making sure you balance your tire sizes F to R can also help.

 

I've tried that. The car does not follow the same laws as you describe. Giving more gas seems to stabilize oversteer for me actually but flooring it does not help whatsoever. If I start to slide in a corner it's very civilized and predictable. You simply are BARELY turning even though you have the wheels turned sharply. Then if you flick the steering fast enough you can trigger oversteer and if it's goes too fast, I can stabilize it with throttle. This is around 35MPH to 45MPH BTW. hairpin turns.

The other way is to use the hand brake. That is the most reliable method. I don't understand how with PSM off and flooring it in a turn, the rear tires don't give up. Tire pressure was 33F 44R(stock recommendations.) Then I tried 31F.

It's Sumitomo IIIs. The tires. 120 miles on them.

BTW...in general the car feels loose. Not scary but you don't feel a ton of confidence. Like I would not want to swerve at 75MPH. I'm unable to pull a lot of Gs in the car. Is that how these cars are? Is it tires? I really wish I could get it to feel like new Gallardos. Those will mike you seriously concerned that the doors are closed properly. I mean I don't think a person can push you against the door as much as the car does in turns. It feels on rails too. Not even a hint of slipping. How can I get close to that in a 911? I know it's 2WD versus AWD, but still, I know RWD can do the same thing just with limitations.

 

Got jokes? LOL

 

As stated here - ancient history. Old 911 quirk but not for a decade or so.

 

The trailing throttle oversteer (snap oversteer) issue is much more common for old 911s than for modern 911s, as others have said. It has as much to do with the suspension in those cars as it does with the rear engine. A modern Porsche (996+) is much more difficult to spin in this manner, especially with PSM activated. That being said, these cars will exhibit trailing throttle oversteer and spin in the right conditions - I've seen it first hand.

 

So what is problem then? Sumitomo tires? 40,000 mile suspension needs maintenance? I can't imagine how much understeer a C4S has.

 

7x--You fly one or own one?

TC
G550/450/767/etc.

 

It's hard to say. I tried a set of Sumitomos and I hated them. I think it would be really hard to cause understeer in my C4S - it would only happen in extreme conditions.

Perhaps the Sumitomos are breaking loose in the front and causing you to push before you might with Michelins or Pirellis.

 

1. Technique: I don't think it's particularly easy to drive a perfect corner near the traction limit with a C2. It's definitely less forgiving to incorrect driver input than a C4 or Turbo, but very satisfying when you get it right. Sounds to me like you are going in way too hot. Once you are sliding the front with push, not much is going to bring the back end around till you shed some speed and regain front traction. Brake more before the corner, late apex, squeeze the throttle hard. Whatever car you are driving and whatever your setup is, overcooking a corner isn't something you can correct by just mashing or chopping the throttle.

2. Tire size: Everyone loves to stuff on the largest rear tire they can, you want to do the opposite to give you more front grip. You really want to bias a bit more towards the front than the factory. 245/285 or even 245/265 will balance that front grip a bit more than 225/285.

3. Alignment: More camber, less toe will change the handling significantly.

 

Nice tips! I think yo might have nailed it! I'll have to try that my man!

What rings a bell to me is saying that losing the front is too late. Keep in mind I'm having fun and learning the cars limits not trying to be fast. I WANT to slide. What I'm toying with is being able to correct for going in too hot. My end goal is if I ever go into a corner to hot by accident, I'll be prepared to save her. So its fun and safety at same time.

I take it I need to address a few things:

Stop going in so hot make front grip a priority.
If I do loose the front try to let the speed drop and perhaps decrease the turn a bit to get traction back.

The good news is these cars are so well built I don't have to worry too much about loosing the rear. You have to WORK to get it to slide. It's the front you have to worry about but IF you do loose the rear...good luck to you.

 

Good stuff! I tried it again today and had much better results. I focused more on not entering the turn ugly. I kinda give the suspension a little warning that the turn is coming and smooth it in rather than shock it with a sudden sharp turn.

I now find that throttle CAN turn the car around but now how you would think. When you punch it. the car is kinda not sure what you want so does not do much, then if you immediately lift you feel the entire car unsettle and start to oversteer. Very interesting that it seems giving more gas in turn will generally not cause control issues...except in risking pushing through the fron tires in a understeer scenario.

 

Now try doing the same thing but don't "punch" the throttle... modulate the throttle gently squeezing it as much as you can without breaking traction. It's at *that* point that you feel the suspension settle into the corner and give you nice exit speed.. That's the C2 cornering buzz I mentioned earlier.