It's been 20 years since I had my last 911 which was a POS. I have had a 944, 944S, 928S and two 911s.

The reason that I gave up on Porsche was the terrible mechanical quality of the cars in the 80s and, in the rear engined 911 series, what we use to call TTO or trailing throttle oversteer.

This was a fancy name for "lift under acceleration in a corner, expect to spin like a top". The idea of getting "in" a little hot and then somehow telling yourself all will be well by keeping your foot in the accelerator peddle is sooo counterintuitive. After experiencing a few nasty 911 360 degree spins, I quit.

What is the experience today?
Does 4wd help fight this tendency?

 

The technology on the C2's (PSM) is awesome, it will let you get to the edge and not kick in. Go to far and it will help you out.

 

The physics of the rear engined car which has an oversteer are implied. The heavier rear will want to continue the momentum.

How does PSM negate this?

 

Suspension geometry can negate quite a bit of the lift throttle response. (toe links, etc) Not to mention some built-in understeer, and huge rear tires. The PSM can brake the outside front wheel is you do something really dumb, and that will stop a spin unless you have some crazy momentum built up. For example going full throttle into a 40 MPH 90 degree bend at 80 MPH and getting scared and chopping the throttle while you jerk the wheel 100 degrees into the turn. I got two words for you- "hello tree!"
But in that case, you might deserve to eat a little wood!
Only kidding about that!
But you honestly can't compare the primative trailing arms and torsion bars from the 80's to the multilinks of today.

 

The current 911 can and will still oversteer if you lift running at the edge of adhesion while in a corner. However with the new cars you will have to be doing some highly illegal driving on the street to experience this....at the track is another story.

You have to drive a Porsche different than all other car. Slow in fast out is the way.

 

Night and day from 20 years ago. Those were "wild beasts" compared with today's "neutral" 911. No, you don't need AWD either. The engineers have been busy. Head to the dealer and drive, drive, drive. You'll feel it much better than we can describe it.

 

Agreed; driving these cars to oversteer on the street would require some very illegal driving.

If you take the car to a skid pad you will experience understeer and then you can control it with gentle throttle lift and bring it back, quite fun actually.

On the track or the autocross you can spin the car but it is very hard to do, these cars have very high limits. I don't push the car to 10/10ths the track (in fact more like 6/10ths) and I have plenty of fun. If you want to feel the car spin take it to an autocross, brake late and into a hard corner and you will spin, but it takes some work.

 

To the OP: The 911 design evolved, some say for the better, some say for the worse... I suspect you won't like it. Some of us do and we also liked the old ones.

 

It was my 911C RSR 3.0 that I spun

www.idee.demon.nl/911_27/911_27.htm

in a reverse camber high speed left hander that I was very familiar with. It was early morning, no one on the six lane and I was thinking "a little hot, no need, too early to be pushing things" and I lifted. Before I could blink, I was spinning.

I was used to Corvettes and had a Pantera, got the 911 to have a front, mid and rear engine car. I really liked the "push" feel v.s, the pull of the Vette and the neutrality of the Pantera. If you got too hot in a 'Vette, it would understeer and slog on, the Pantera would slide controallbly, the 911....

Anyway, it scared the beJesus out of me.

 

Interesting comment.

I got onto the 977 thinking about a Boxster/Cayman. Then I started pricing them (new) and realized I could haul off a 06/7 911x for the same dollars. The 967s are neutral handlers and I like that. Very predictable. As I looked and drove them, I kept coming away with the feeling that they were lacking substance (for the want of a better word). I'm not much on looks myself but the Boxster top up is butt ugly.

 

Thx I appreciate this analysis, this is what I was looking for, something in the real.

 

The problem is that I live in SW FL and all streets are straight. The few that have any bends are usually radar infested day, afternoon, morning, night and dawn.

But while I was typing that I realized I may have answered my own fears. I don't have any place I can spin a 977. Seriously. My needs are for acceleration and having fun making 90 degree turns. And looking kewl, of course.

 

 

If you want a 'balanced' car get a Cayman S. Note though, that a balanced car is only balanced until you lose it... then all bets are off. In any case do not get in one of these cars and push it on the street, as you may get hurt or hurt somebody.

With all due respect I do not get why you are looking at Porsche since you did not like it in the past and you say now that the Boxster is ugly when most consider it beautiful.

 

I've actually experienced understeer in my C2S under some "grey-zone legal activities" probably due to the lighter front end. Cars handle like go carts and the slow in fast out technique is the key.