First impressions of a 964 RS

[Laurence Gibbs]

With the weather improving i have finally been able to put a few running in miles on the car. Having not used it for well over a year (closer to 18 months) it was all abit like driving the car for the first time again.
The first thing to hit me is (kind of obvious) the lightness. The car feels light although all the controls feel heavy which is an odd contradiction. The second thing is the steering , it's just sooooo comunicative and there is always this slightly odd 911 thing where the steering seems to react a split second before the body does (or am i imaginining that ?).
The engine itself is also a suprise to come back to. keeping below 5k rpm there is an amazing amount of power still available and the abilty to just keep in 5th and use the wave of torque is great. Drop a gear or two being mindful of the revs and its fabulous. I have to stress that it's probably no quicker than it was before it's just that i have missed the immediacy of it.
Then there is the down side, the bits you forget coz you want to. The noise or more accurately tyre noise. On R888's it's horrendous . I will seriously consider going back to road biased tyres as the Toyo's really spoil the road drive(ok so i know there great on track). I can live with the gearbox chatter and the general mechanical clatter but just not the tyres.
On the whole i have really enjoyed getting back in the car and using it. It's reminded me of why i bought it and more importantly why i keep hold of it.[]

 

[clubsport]

Good to hear you are enjoying it Laurence.

What ever happened to the write up on the engine rebuild you started?

That had the potential to be a great read and of interest to many of us on here!

 

[Laurence Gibbs]

Pictures with some supporting text were put up on here a while ago and on the 64RS facebook page. To be honest there are plenty of great write ups on the internet right now, i didn't want to re-invent the wheel so to speak by going into great detail. Just tried to point out a few of the more interesting bits, rather than write up on biblical proportions.
I take it you missed them or thought there would be more?

 

[ian harvey]

As many of us know, 888's suit our cars very well on track but they are grim on the road. As soon as I get home from the track I swap back to my road wheels complete with Pirelli P zero's in my case. They are nearly worn out now and I am likely to replace them with more of the same. I have had a good few sets of these over the years and the only time I tried an alternative type I regretted it.

They are not too good on track unless it is wet when the are very safe and enjoyable with predictable break-away. In normal road conditions they are grippy, quiet and quite compliant which helps the ride no end. Stick with the standard profile up front and the steering is really good - manageable at parking speeds and full of feel and quite light once on the move, both in marked contrast to track focused alternatives particularly when 225's are chosen.

One tempting recent addition to the market is from Yokohama (a 510?) which is aimed at high performance cars where a decent ride is desirable. This could be perfect for our cars and I will look into them when I swap them although I will probably play safe and stick with what I know and like.

One thing for certain, if you plan on some road use, get the right tyres, you'll prefer the experience and use it all the more. I doubt you would want to on 888's.

Ian

 

[Laurence Gibbs]

Yep i have had P zero's in the past and they do a reasonable job all round . Bit squealy on track but thats probably my driving [] and obviously not as grippy on track as the toyos but much less noise on the road. The Toyos are on my 996 c4 wheels I might get a set of Pzero's to go on the mags. I did think about the T1R or whatever it's called might be better on road or possibly michelin PS2 's Yoko's sound interesting i will look them up.

 

[andrew_churcher]

I think you are referring to Yokohama ad08s? 8mm tread but closer to a track tyre than road tyre. I replaced my Pirelli p zeros for these and am impressed so far.

 

[ian harvey]

This is a brand new tyre, been in a couple of mags recently, I just cannot put my hand on one. Did not read like a track focussed tyre at all - more of a tyre for serious performance cars but with a consideration for decent complance.

It could be a great road tyre for cars like ours or it could be trying to be too clever without offering any real bonus over existing known brands. Either way, don't use track tyres on the road! Anyone who bases their views on a 964 RS's ride on track tyres and extreme set-up is misleading themselves.