Are Spyders Becoming Extinct At OPCs!

[MrDemon]

Turbo's are not to fast for the road because you have the Torque to play with in low revs. A NA 500BHp high reving car like the GT3 is to fast for the road because you cannot get to the sweet spot. too fast for the road does not mean you doing 120 mph is too fast, people with these cars hit 100mph most days, but we don't talk about it. when I mean too fast for the road I am talking about gear ratios and not being able to drive the car as intended as you need bigger/longer roads to rev the car out. hence why the Spyder on a B road at 85mph or so is a great car, it brakes better than most due to the weight of the thing and the engine is on song at those sort of speeds so you can use it. I ran my 911 Turbo beating TTRS with 430lb/ft torque is was not too fast for the road as I had that torque at 2k revs, you just get there quicker ;-) as an example of speed it did 20-40mph in 1.2 seconds which was a laugh vs any other car on the road. yellow new page pic to match the sun we are having

 

[rob.kellock]

ORIGINAL: flat6

but I think the 911 is small enough and it's wheelbase short enough (shorter than a 987) to make it handle well.

Are you sure? They have the same front wings and doors don't they? The distance from the back of the drivers door to the rear wheel looks the same to me? Fundementally 997 and 987 are the same car for the front 2/3. Happy to stand corrected []

 

[flat6]

True true MrD

 

[flat6]

Yep MrK the 997 wheelbase is 2350mm and the 987 wheelbase 2415mm Strange but true. Well, not so strange really. The 987 has to accomodate 2 occupants and an engine between the wheels to gain the benefits of mid-mounted mass. The 911 going for a rear weight bias, does not. The 911 hangs it's engine behind the rear axle and I don't think it's as such designed to accommodate 2 more people, there just happens to be good space below the roofline for 2 rear passengers because there's only the transmission inside the rear axle so you can place 2 small seats low enough. I think the short wheelbase is essential for the 911's dynamics but I can't remember why. The 991 wheelbase is only 15mm shorter than the 981 but I 'think' when extending the wheelbase from 997 (for whatever they wanted to alter in the dynamics), they also moved the engine slightly forwards. Can't alter one without the other as it'll start popping wheelies I guess[]

 

[rob.kellock]

Well well well... six and a half centimetres - that would make all the difference! Must get my eyes tested. Nearly whipped out my camera phone on the way back from court - thinking in particular of Rob - our city centre Specsavers has a damaged and broken external sign... That's almost a definition of irony!

 

[jdpef356]

Six and a half center-meters can make all the difference to some guy's[] -------------------------- Your spec savers sign reminds me of:-

 

[rob.kellock]

[][][]

 

[flat6]

Yeah 6.5cm isn't much but it is interesting the direction in which they are different, with the 911 being shorter. I suppose it's a lot in terms of chassis set-up. But as you say, it'd take more than a trip to Specsavers to spot it without measuring it[]

 

[MrDemon]

991 is close to 9cm longer though than a Boxster to try and bring the engine in a bit as the 997 does not handle that well

 

[ted walker]

Why wasnt Speed Yellow available on GB Cars I wonder

 

[flat6]

991 is 2450mm and 981 2475mm, so only 2.5 cm difference. That yellow Spyder is a one off PTS.

 

[flat6]

But PTS was only available for a short time and not in the UK - is that right daro?

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: flat6 But PTS was only available for a short time and not in the UK - is that right daro?

PTS was available in USA and possibly Germany but definitely never offered in UK to my knowledge or if it was nobody ever took it up which is more likely the case[&o]

 

[MrDemon]

as it's about 4k for PTS it's not very common

 

[jdpef356]

ORIGINAL: flat6 P.S. daro, the same question can be asked of the Spyder. It too can be very fast our roads. Forget straight lines for a mo. If you take the Spyder on a twisty B road and brake as late into corners as you dare (and the lightweight Spyder is mighty under braking) you will be carrying serious speed into that corner and it will keep you busy carrying that through the corner; the engine revs at that speed will keep the engine on song and it'll blat you out of that corner. The difference with the turbo may be that you might enter the corner fast by accident if you're not keeping up with the car whereas you may have to be more daring in the Spyder but that is down to the driver to get the most out of the Spyder and both can generate speeds that can be deemed unnecessary to get around a British road. Straight line speed isn't that amusing for me whereas acceleration, braking and having to steer quickly is and in the right environment the Spyder is no slouch and will keep you busy if you drive it how it can be driven. Speaking of acceleration, it was amusing that the turbo accelerated so hard that when it dislodged my phone from the cubby hole in the centre console, whilst I expected to find it on the floor in the passenger footwell, it was actually collected by the passenger seat! I guess you could say it accelerated quicker than the acceralation from gravity could act on the phone to take it to the floor[]

Glad to see you are enjoying the new car flat6. Great summary of changeover to date. I recall my first 911 a 3.2 80's Targa. I pushed it on the same bends on a stretch of 'B' road ever increasing the speed until one day I over cooked it and the back came round. Rather a different drive than your Turbo but none the less not the thing you want to happen - at least it told me where the limit was! Today, I can get just as much fun running the 'Old Gal' my 356 on a a twisty B road in the dusk. Pick a B road with high hedges or banks and it will increase the feeling of speed. Great fun in any car![] Well as most readers know I'm not that fastest, however I do like to push along a little in the right place. ' A' roads in the UK are very restricted and the fun for me is at roundabouts. As a general rule you will not find speed cameras leading into or out of a roundabout. The only other thing you need is for there to be good visibility of any traffic approaching as the same time as you are. Quite often when driving the Spyder a quick glance in the mirror just before a roundabout will reveal someone on your bumper. A quick glance as you exit the roundabout usually show the other driver sawing away trying not to hit the kerb! Another glance when you are a couple of hundred yards up the road shows them to be well back, they wont be following you into the next roundabout.[:-] Lets hope its a great weekend for Porsche at Le Mans. Our Porsche Centre Cambridge will be open today 10am - 9pm and Sunday 9am - 4pm For a specially themed Le Mans weekend. For members who have pre booked the centre will be offering refreshments guided tours of the Centre and some pro drives. Forgot to mention the race, no doubt live on a large screen. Who knows the refreshments could turn to Champagne on Sunday afternoon. I might just put in an appearance or two finding my way to the Centre via a 'B' roads[][] Enjoy your cars and the weekend!

 

[MrDemon]

Cannot see them winning this year. But good luck to them.

 

[spyderwhite]

ok here goes did the driving experience with porsche at opc today which was back to back driving pdk v manual for an hour.boxster 2.7 manual pasm on 20 wheels and pdk caymanS on pasm 20 wheels.both cars suspension felt soft/unfocused even in sport mode compared to the spyder and even more limo like but imho give me na suspension any day of the week.my first time with pdk is yes its smooth and quick but it just does not do it for me and i would argue a pdk 981s cayman is no quicker than my manual spyder.after driving the cars then driving my spyder my car felt more agressive and more urgent more alive and even felt more torquey and a proper drivers car.on to the steering yes its (i cannot find the right words i am no journo)but i could have been driving an audi/vw.what i will say if one is looking for an everyday car the 2.7 with a manual gearbox 18/19 wheels and na suspension would be sweet..so for now there is no car in the current porsche line up that will tempt me from the spyder sorry rob k i would ask for your spyder back its one of porsches finest hours

 

[rob.kellock]

[] My Cayman is PDK non PASM, 20" wheels. PDK takes more than half an hour to get used to as do the subtle qualities of the 981 chassis. I completely understand why you would say what you do. Cayman is no slouch though. I kept up with MrD around Anglesey when MrD had an instructor in with him! I have done 1500 miles in my Cayman in less than a month, it will have done another 2000 in the next 4 weeks, the roof is nice and quiet and the interior is a nicer place to be. If I could have kept the Spyder I would, it is a special car. I do miss it. I do enjoy using the new car though.

 

[Rocket Man]

I love the Spyder but i do love the GTS versions but am at odds with the price gaps between Boxster and Cayman. Boxster. 38810. Cayman. 39694. £884 Boxster S. 47035. Cayman S. 48783. £1748 Boxster GTS 52879. Cayman GTS. 55397. £2518 So what extra extras do you get between these cars??

 

[rob.kellock]

It is completely ridiculous and put me off Caymen for years. Jaguar have the pricing better with the F type. Cayman remains the only car I can think of where the convertible is cheaper than the hard top.