Nearly bit me

[xenon]

Up until getting my 944 a few weeks ago I have had BMWs for the last 10 years or so, company provided, and the last one was a 325i which was reasonably quick. I took all the things like DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) for granted and unless you deliberately turned it off to muck about it helped out if you overdid it. The 944 doesn't have that...[8D]

Although I had a bit of a play when I got it, in a controlled environment, this morning I very nearly did what arumdevil did recently...

Wet greasy roundabout on the way to work - "I can just nip in that gap", I was thinking to myself. Throttle + 3rd + wet + not paying attention.... Oh ****!. Too much opposite lock, plus panicked a little and shut the throttle too abruptly. Result: I'm not facing the right way anymore... I then had to execute an embarrasing three-point-turn in the middle of the roundabout full of rush hour spectators. How the hell I didn't clout something I don't know. There, but for the grace of God.

Be careful out there!

 

[zcacogp]

Ian,

Don't worry ... try it again tomorrow, and it won't frighten you, try it again the day after (Saturday, when there's no-one around) and you'll learn to love it.

The 944 has a FANTASTICALLY adjustable chassis, and it is very benign on the limits. You don't need ASC or PSM or whatever it is to have a good time. When you are sliding it around every corner at no less than 45degrees to the direction of travel, then you'll know what fun is!

(Be warned. Rear tyres are pricey.)


Oli.

 

[xenon]

Yes, I enjoyed it when I was doing it deliberately when I first got the car, but this served as a reminder how quick it can get away from you (well, me) if you're not really concentrating. A lesson learrned and I live to fight another day....

 

[Guest]

Still unsure on how you cope with the rather abrupt spike in power at 3k - and the turbo lag on my 944! Any tips?! I'm taking it to a trackday soon though, which should help me get used to it.

 

[Hilux]

Stay on boost circa 4000 and in the right gear []

 

[sawood12]

I find that if you anticipate when the boost is going to kick in you can just lift the throttle a few mm at the point it is due to come in and it takes the sting off the kick without taking you off boost so as soon as you start to straighten up you can floor the throttle and have instant boost. If you release the pressure on the accellarator too much you'll drop off boost and have the embarrament of flooring the throttle and nothing happening.

 

[xenon]

I should point out that mine is N/A so I can't use non-linear power delivery as an excuse. Driver error....[>:]

 

[beavercraig]

ORIGINAL: Chris__

Still unsure on how you cope with the rather abrupt spike in power at 3k - and the turbo lag on my 944! Any tips?! I'm taking it to a trackday soon though, which should help me get used to it.

Buy a 911![][]

 

[John Sims]

ORIGINAL: beavercraig

Buy a 911![][]

As I said elsewhere, I'd be more likely to buy a Trabant, and that isn't going to happen either.

944 - Great car shame about the badge.

 

[ians]

ORIGINAL: xenon


Wet greasy roundabout on the way to work - "I can just nip in that gap", I was thinking to myself. ....

Don't worry - your obviously still a BMW driver at heart, but it will wear off soon.[]

The junction where I enter the motorway in the morning frequently has a - you guessed it - BMW parked the wrong way round in the inside lane..

 

[arumdevil]

glad nothing too serious happened as a result, scary!

 

[xenon]

Thanks arumdevil - any news from your insurance company? [&o]

 

[Neil Haughey]

Er sorry Oli but that is patently untrue. The S2 and worse turbo is one of the least benign cars I have ever been in. Most cars like my Saab 9-5 can be driven round corners with the tyres squeling away like a pair of porky pigs in the slaughter house, try that with the back end of a 44 that doesn't have an LSD at high speed and see how many times you get away with it before killing yourself, the car or someone else.

Please please ppl if you haven't already got your S2/turbo over its limits on a public road and got away with it for gods sake don't go trying it!

Take the car on a track and try there instead.

 

[944Turbo]

Very dependant on tyres and pressures. on bridgestones I couldnt catch it once it slid but on dunlops its very controllable, lots of seat time helps as well,
Tony

 

[Alpine]

I have had the back out on mine twice on roundabouts and both times it was unexpected and pretty scary (I have bridgestones on the rear), but I managed to catch it.

Some of you seem to have the rear end out all the time in a controlled way - would be interested to know how you have learned to do this as I'm too scarred of loosing it to try.

 

[Hilux]

The S2 and worse turbo is one of the least benign cars I have ever been in. Most cars like my Saab 9-5 can be driven round corners with the tyres squeling away like a pair of porky pigs in the slaughter house, try that with the back end of a 44 that doesn't have an LSD at high speed and see how many times you get away with it before killing yourself, the car or someone else.

?????

The 944 is a very very forgiving car. What it doesnt like is people with lead feet giving it huge great gobs of throttle too early in a tight bend. Driven carefully in the right gear and a trailing throttle etc it is as easily balanced as any car. Even the turbo is fine in my book provided you are in the right gear and on boost an (admittedly) gentle right foot will see you ok (but an S2 will probably be quicker out of the bend)

What you really want in a tight bend is a Mk1 Golf or a mini [] our cars are long distance cruisers

 

[arumdevil]

Not yet Ian, but thanks for asking. I called them a week ago friday as I had not heard anything and they told me they were still waiting on the engineers assessment. How long does it take to say "It's a total loss" ???! [8|]

On the up side, I hadn't got around to sending in the form and photos for the agreed valuation which I paid extra for on my policy, so I emailed it in the morning I made the claim. I'm hoping whichever department does that will get back to me with a value for the car before they realise I am making a claim (I'm worried it might influence their valuation if they know), but I don't know how likely that is!

anyway, fingers crossed on that one. And it looks like we're in for a tad more rain, so careful out there guys!

 

[sawood12]

Well the 944 requires driver involvement. You cannot drive it carefree like a modern car. You have to think ahead - especially in slippery conditions and plan where you are going to apply throttle and even then you have to feed the throttle in rather than flooring is and letting the traction control sort it out for you. But the beauty is that if you respect this and work at it, it will reward you when you get it right.

I cannot begin to express how much of an improvement the KW's have made over stock suspension. It has totally transformed the grip levels, balance, feel and overall handling of the car. I wouldn't say the handling is still carefree but because you have so much more grip and the handling is less sensitive it is more forgiving. I would liken the difference in engine terms to be similar to the difference Paul Smith must have felt when he first drove his 3.2 engine - it's that much better.

Regarding LSD and Open diff i'm of the opinion that LSD's require more skill to drive in slippery conditions as they can induce oversteer because as one wheel looses grip and the axel locks the other wheel will be influenced and is no longer independant. Thats fine if you know how to drive them and it will give you more drive, but if it hits you unespectedly you will be in allsorts of trouble very quickly. This is why Porsche fitted a very slack 40% LSD to cater for the 'normal' driver and why the majority of sportscars you buy don't have LSD's fitted. For road use and the odd track day i'm much more inclined to think the Torsen diff is a much better solution.

 

[xenon]

I think the 944 is forgiving and easy to drive with a bit of opposite lock too. When I first got the car and went out to experiment I found it easy to steer on the throttle. In this particular case I was half asleep and got a very quick wake-up call. With the BMW the DSC would have kicked in and other than the light flashing on the dash I'd have been none the wiser. With the 944 the tail snapped round. Not the cars fault, purely mine. It needs respect. That said, the tyres are at the TWC but it was driver error.

 

[Neil Haughey]

All of that is fair enough but it assumes 2 things;
1) That the driver is familiar with the 944/68 dynamics and has a clean smooth driving style
2) That the limit is being reached by either giving it 2% too much on the exit from a corner or 2% too much on the way in, both can cause the car to oversteer depending on braking and steering inputs (this is what I love about the 44 chassis it can oversteer or understeer depending on how you drive it!).

The point is that 90+% of the fwd cars built in recent years can be chucked into and through bends at ridicolous speeds that cause all 4 wheels to skid about, you can not do this in the 44 but with a high locking factor LSD you could probably get away with it.

It has to be said also that the speed at which the back end breaks away is a critical factor IMHO. I have always found that in tight corners at low speeds it is easy to catch. At 70-80 mph different story.

Lastly how many of us know ppl, many of whom have been on this forum have smashed up a 44 after loosing it on public roads?