Which club are you racing with, I know there is an event this Saturday at the meadowlands, who's racing sunday I might swing by after CnC if its in Jersey...

 

I disagree with nearly everything posted above...
I autocross my 2011 Turbo S nearly every month. No mods except exhaust. However, my local autocross set ups are very well done and spaced out for higher hp cars. The tracks always have tighter, technical sections to even things out.

I previously auto crossed a 2001 Turbo. It was more modified w better tires and suspension. (Sold it to a friend who Tracks w me). Our cars are very competitive. The only cars I might lose to are race cars, sometimes...

I agree turbo cars are better suited for tracks (which I love and prefer) but if the autocross track is set up well, then u should dominate. Get some new wheels and tires to swap for events.

Good luck.

 

Forget playing around in the parking lot with cones. In fact, forget the mods you think you need. Go out and actually drive the car at the track.


Learn your turbo in its stock form first. Mod gradually to your driving taste.


BlueTurboS explains this perfectly! Even if he doesn't agree with me, I agree with him!

 

you're still basically reinforcing what is being said which is the TT is not suited and won't do well on low speed courses. Its nice ur locals configure higher speed setups for u guys but in general that's not the case.
And not everyone has resources for multiple wheels or trailering a car in.

Its still a cheap way to improve on your own driving skill and have fun but if your looking to win trophies autoX'ing it's not the car for it.

 

Yes, the power delivery is my concern especially after test driving the 997.2 turbo. I felt like the torque band is not so wide for the lower rpms. After about 3,xxxRPMs, the turbo is like a rocket. I felt like anything under that had lag. I was thinking it'd be best to keep it in 2nd gear most of the time. I did read that the EVOMSit ecu will give it better power in the midrange and also make the power more linear as well.

Any of you with the NNJ PCA? I've done a few autocross events at MetLife stadium since I'm part of that PCA group.

That's nice to hear. The last time I did autocross it was setup more for the higher HP cars.

I strongly believe that for obvious reasons being well-rounded in both autocross AND the track would make me an overall driver. For example, on one run I was running with the PSM off and spun out which was fine for autocross since it's an open parking lot.

The bottom line is that I understand that the Turbo is not nearly as well suited for autocross as the GT3 or Spyder but I'm not looking at winning trophies for it. I'm just there to test the limits of my Porsche, learn the characteriscs of the car safely, and to have fun. My Boxster as did really well and there've been times where I've had overall better laps than a 997.2 GT3 and a Boxster Spyder. I just don't want to feel like the Turbo is completely out of its element as say a Dodge Challenger would.

 

Watching this video is encouraging. The tight turns still looked very doable for the 911 Turbo S.

 

I'm a PCA member too but I would usually just check out http://www.autox4u.com/events/
and race with what ever club fit my schedule.
I'll probably swing by to watch tomorrow after the local CnC in Ridgewood.

 

I've been autocrossing my turbo this year alternating between two different PCA events in my area. One setup is in a tight parking lot and the other is at a stadium parking lot. If you can get over the pride of being beaten by miatas and caymans all day then it's a fun time.

What most people say is true. Turbos are definitely NOT set up for autocross. By the time you hit boost you have to brake (which is still true even if you get a tune). My car is tuned to give you more power down lower than a stock turbo and it still doesn't help.

Here are the reasons it doesn't work as well:
1. Heavy AWD
2. Auto-x is done in second gear
3. Hitting boost is almost a curse because you start going so fast right before you have to turn and have to slam on brakes to compensate. None of the courses I've run have had wide open sections like the first video you posted
4. You normally don't hit boost so you use very little of all that power you have
5. Autocross is about being smooth so having boost kick in suddenly is not to your advantage

Caymans and boxsters are MUCH better for it. I get beaten by stock base level caymans all day. Do I care? Maybe a little. It's a little embarrassing/frustrating when your turbo gets smoked by a modified Subaru Forester wagon (which happened to me last autocross). As long as you adjust your expectations it can still be fun.

 

Just finished my first autoX yesterday in my turbo. I did quite well for a first time and had a blast. I was in 2nd almost the whole time and kept up with the other turbos. All in all it was fun and I don't care what car people drive, as long as you're having fun it's all good. I got beat by modified boxsters and caymans, but only by a little bit, no landslides except for some of the heavily modded versions. Btw my boost was never a problem, it was almost always properly spooled and there were gobs of power whenever I needed it. A few turns I could have downshifted to 1st to really blast out of the corner but didn't feel the need.

 

Okay great, I'll check it out.

Thanks! That's exactly what I have thought and was looking for confirmation. I was thinking out of the full Porsche lineup, the 997 Turbo is prob the worst for autocross compared to the Boxster/Cayman and the NA 911's due to its:
-AWD
-heavier weight
-turbo/boost
I'm used to beating the higher hp cars in my Boxster S, but I hope I won't care so much as long as I'm having fun in my Turbo and not completely frustrated.
I will probably go ahead with my purchase of the 997 Turbo as it's the Porsche I've always wanted as a kid, even before what I knew what GT3 was. Then depending how much I love/hate it, I will decide when I eventually want to move into a GT3.

 

Honestly the GT3's weren't doing that much better on the track than the turbos. Maybe a little but for as beat up as the Turbo gets when compared to autoX I think the difference was negligible. The smaller lighter car will always be the victor in these comparisons, but you have to ask yourself if you plan on autoX-ing everyday or a couple times a year.

 

Awesome! That's also good to hear. I guess I will find out for myself if I end up w a 997 Turbo. Beautiful Turbo btw! I was thrown off by the 993?TT in your avatar. My first choice is a Guards red turbo, with speed yellow a close second.
Is that the NNJ PCA? I don't recognize the cars but I do know that instructor in the purple. I believe he owns a 986 Boxster S.
I guess it also depends on the driver. The 997.2 GT3 I beat had a novice driver.

Even if I might get beaten by lower hp cars in autocross, I think the 997 TT will more than make up for it in anything other than autocross.

 

hmm i'll have to check my avatar, i had a 997 there i thought Yes this was organized by the NNJR PCA, that instructor is one of the old timers in the club. Thanks for the compliment, car is a beauty. Go for GR or SY, too many blacks and greys out there.

The 991 GT3 at the event was running 52's when I ran a 55, so for what it is I know three seconds is a lot, i'm a novice, that driver was an instructor in a new GT3

 

I saw your car later in the afternoon, looks like you were doing pretty good.
How many in your class? One thing I do like about the Porsche Auto-X is its easier to rank high as there are so many categories for Porsches alone


I guess MrNurse didn't race...

 

Were you AutoXing? I started off my first run at 61 ,then got down to 59, 57, 56, and 55 (seconds) on my last run. Few spots I just simply couldn't find the line and know I could have chopped off a couple more seconds. But I ran with the instructor who had the new GT3 and he said I was doing great and hitting a lot of spots very well...he gave me a few pointers and I shaved off that 0.5 second I was looking for to get down to 55.