C4 Handling

[mikfinch]

It's about a month now since I bought my '99 C4 and I'm still very much at the learning stage when it comes to exploring the car's handling. I'm finding one characteristic a bit disconcerting and I was wondering whether it is normal or not. Basically, if I boot the throttle mid-bend, sometimes the car just hunkers down and flies out of the bend, at other times, the car lurches into mild understeer which requires a steering correction. Is this as a result of power being transferred to the front wheels when the rears start to lose traction and just a characteristic of the 4WD system or something unusual? I should add that the tyres are all in good condition and correctly inflated and the vehicle was bought from an OPC so it's supposedly had a full geometry check
I know the C4 gets flamed on this forum so I'd rather not get any replies along the lines of 'should have bought a C2'!
On the subject of learning about the car's handling, can anyone recommend any track day events or driving experiences with instructors on hand who really know about 911 handling?

 

[Michael Downing]

My guess is that there is a difference in grip as between the two types of corner. Is it consistently the same corners/conditions?

Anyway, now I have an excuse to do some research []

As regards track days, for a novice I can recommend the PCGB outings. My first track day was last year at Castle Combe and I have to say I found the atmosphere very welcoming. Despite sharing the track with a cup car and a McMerc I did not feel at all intimidated. By the end of the day I felt I knew the car much better and was flying* past the pits!

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*by my standards if not those of the GT3 boys... []

 

[Guest]

Try being smooth instead of 'booting'! I was at the same trackday as MDowning and can thoroughly recommend them...

 

[tim court]

Jeez there could be a zillion things, are you talking about the same bend? same weather? road surface? same diameter bend, speed?, gear? How much petrol in the tank?

I was doing a track day at brands hatch in pretty cold weather and during one lap of a series of pretty consistant laps, the front just went straight on and a repeat at the next bend.... Noticed the fuel had got verrrry low. Went and filled up and it was back to normal!

 

[ianbanneville]

I learned most about the handling of the C4S during a day with Don Palmer - worth every penny, but hard on tyres. That day was a big tick in my life box!!! []

Link as follows:

http://www.donpalmer.co.uk/

The different characteristics you describe have as much to do with entry speed as how hard you nail it out of the corner, but as previously stated in this thread there are a load of variables. Going around a circuit for a day (and around the same corners time after time) really lets you learn how the car is likely to behave.

 

[mikfinch]

Different bends, different everything although I must admit it never occured to me that the quantity of petrol in the tank could noticeably alter the handling. I'm talking about medium speed bends taken at fairly rapid speed but nowhere near the limits of the car and all that happens is a momentary transition from a neutral stance to understeer when I open the throttle in anticipation of exiting the bend. Not in any way dangerous, just a bit unexpected. I've not had the chance to experiment on a track yet

 

[mikfinch]

My fault, wrong terminology. I'm not talking about booting the throttle wide open but what I would call a moderate application of throttle on exiting a bend

 

[Andy Tims]

ORIGINAL: mikfinch

My fault, wrong terminology. I'm not talking about booting the throttle wide open but what I would call a moderate application of throttle on exiting a bend

Good to hear it[]
Given that you should basically either be braking or accelerating, a progressively increasing application of throttle all the way round the bend is likely to keep the car settled & yield the best results.

Either go for a PCGB or Goldtrack T/day & book some instruction to help ease you into things. Bedford is thought to be a good place to start by most (little to hit & wide in the main) but it's a bit dull, so if you enjoy that, you'll love some of the more interesting circuits.