997S Test Drive Plus

[Guest]

This morning I went to Mira to test drive a 997S, which some of you may think is a bit late since I have owned one for nearly a year. You would be right but hey its a free morning of buggering up somebody elses car.

This car had the PCCB, a short shift gear lever, Sports Chrono and PASM. So a quick impression of each follows.

PCCB - Pedal travel is so much less than my conventional brake setup and immediately inspires a load more confidence. A slam the brakes on test at 100mph proved absolutely nothing to me as I have no idea if my brakes would have coped as well. Would I order them? Not on your nelly at that price but the brake feel was nice.

Short Shift Gear Lever - Thank god it can be retrofitted as it gives a really immediate, good impression. It is so positive that it should be fitted as standard.

Sports Chrono - Although I have always regarded this as a gimmick it did reveal one excellent trait. As it sharpens up throttle reponse to throttle movement it means that when heal and toeing you don't have to bend your foot so much to build up the revs. On downchanges I absolutely loved it and coupled with the PCCB brake travel it makes life a lot easier. The clock and all the rest of it is just a stupid waste and even the instructor said it is useless on track.

PASM - The Porsche adaptive damping is one step forward in technology too far. Firstly the car never feels alive around you like my -20mm (conventional sprung car) and the steering seems desensitised as a result. Camber changes and quick direction changes also upset the car and it never feels settled. Would I ever get a PASM car? no chance. Oh and it looks like a 4x4 sitting next to mine this morning.


Finally the track driving was in the wet and the instructor was in no mood to die with little run off area before hitting a great wall of tyres. There were no mad antics from me but i still enjoyed the experience and will hopefully get back to Mira on the wet handling circuit soon to test a Cayman S

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: Rgarr1

PASM is simply a hydraulic variable damper system which makes the dampers go firmer in response to the way the car is being driven. It has no effect on the springs. When the car is in 'Sport' mode the dampers are put to their firmest setting - ie there is no variability. If the car lacks 'feel' when being driven in the 'Sport' mode (which I question having driven mine on at least 6 track days) it is not due to PASM.

Who said anything about springs? I didn't.

The car certainly lacks feel compared to a -20mm set up; is certainly a lot more remote and the Porsche driver who instructed me Simon Simpson also said PASM can be caught off guard when weight transition or camber changes are very quick. His preference were he to own a 997, would be to scrap the PASM, have -20mm and PCCB (which he says massively increase 'feel' (I guess he hasn't considered replacement cost)

As for you driving it on track, have you driven a -20mm on track to? Funnily enough I have tracked my own car loads and feel qualified having driven both to say the PASM car is lacking in 'feel'. Never got a chance to get the PASM car sliding but the lack of LSD I guess is also very frustrating.

So unless you have tracked both I wouldn't be so confident.

 

[oliver]

I would imagine, and from what I've read, PCCBs and 18" wheels (both of which reduce the unsprung weight) would be a major contribion to improving the 'feel' and balance of a 997.

Also, aren't PCCBs claimed to have a 250,000 miles service life?

 

[Guest]

I have never driven a 997 on 18's but from everything I have read it does appear that would be an excellent option.Unfortunately vanity prevents me from getting 18's as I much prefer the look of the car with 19's.

While the PCCB's are supposed to last a long time they don't in practice. This has been found out the hard way by a lot of GT2/GT3 owners and despite Porsches claim that the new PCCB ver II is significantly better I would not want them to reject a warranty claim and have to fork out £10,000 for a new set.

In fact the problem is so bad that owners of 2nd hand GT2's are advised by pretty much any expert to drop the PCCB and get some steel discs stuck on immediately.

The fault can be blamed on track drivers going into gravel traps and not making sure any small stones are removed before reaplying brakes; or that sometimes after hard use people leave their foot on the brake pedal, creating fantastic heat between pad and disc or that people simply don't use them correctly and rather than hitting the pedal hard and for short periods apply it far to slowly on the way into corners. Whatever the reason too many owners have had cracked discs for me to take the risk.

If it was not my car I would have them instantly

 

[jcosh]

This subject interests me greatly.

I am currently considering a 997S and after a recent back-to-back test drive (on the road); I would not buy the PASM car. It does feel some how remote in its handling compared to the -20mm car. It is difficult to put into words, but the -20mm car had a farmore involving character and I am sure that I could sense odd electronics going on in the PASM car during hard corning over changing surfaces.

However, the -20mm car that I drove also had PCCB's fitted and this would have also added to the feel of the car. I am very tempted by the PCCB's, but have similar reservations to those mentioned above.


Cheers Jonathan

 

[nsm3]

Just as an aside, isn't the PASM equipped car -10mm over a standard suspension setup, making the difference between PASM (-10mm) and the LSD (-20mm) only 10mm anyway - or have I misunderstood?

 

[johnag007]

I have never driven the -20mm, but I have a sneaking suspiscion that I would rather like it (my by now heavily pregnant wife would not!). PASM somehow does feel slightly "off" for some reason, which I cannot put my fingers on, it is a bit like there being a rubbering something between you and the ground, by and large there is something missing on the cohesion side of things, I might be totally wrong but there you go.
Anyone know of any after market item to get the PASM suspensions to "act" differently?
Anyone chipped their cars by any chance?

JAG

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: nsm3

Just as an aside, isn't the PASM equipped car -10mm over a standard suspension setup, making the difference between PASM (-10mm) and the LSD (-20mm) only 10mm anyway - or have I misunderstood?

You have not misunderstood and indeed are correct.

Stick the PASM car and the -20mm side by side though and even -10mm is noticeable.