I run a '99 C4. It's my first 911 but I consider myself to be an experienced road driver and have owned and occasionally tracked a few fastish cars in the past. Last year, I took my C4 to Bedford Autodrome and managed to stuff it into a gravel trap right in front of the pits much to the amusement of all concerned. Even now, I still think about what I did wrong and how I could avoid doing the same in the future particularly on the road where the consequences would be much more severe. So I'm looking for some advice from experienced 911 pilots on this one
My car has 18" turbo look wheels with Conti Supercontact tyres - not the best tyres, I know - and pressures were set as standard. Track conditions were dry and hot, with about 25 - 27 deg C air temp. I'd done about 5 laps in the car, gone into the pits for 10mins or so to cool the brakes and then gone out again. After a further 2 laps, I switched off the PSM (perhaps not the brightest thing to do) but completed most of another lap without mishap. There is a right hand bend just before the pit straight which I had been taking at about 75 - 80mph but I felt the car could go harder through this bend so, on this occasion, I entered the bend just a few mph faster. I felt the car push a bit wide just past the apex; now, I know enough to know that backing off the throttle when you're committed to a bend in a 911 is not a great idea so, at this point, I backed off the throttle only very slightly just to tighten the car's line. Immediately, the rear end stepped out but I still had it in my head that backing off further was a bad idea and if I maintained power to the wheels, the C4 drive would transfer more power to the front wheels and pull the car through. So, I steered into the slide and maintained and even slightly increased pressure on the throttle. But the car ploughed pretty much straight on towards the inside of the bend where it clattered ignominuously into the gravel trap.
The car was towed back to the pits and after a few minutes blowing bits of gravel out of all orifices with an air line, I gingerly went back out on to the track and completed the track day, albeit somewhat chastened and with the PSM left on. The car itself did'nt seem any worse for the experience once all the bits of gavel had been shaken out of it which is perhaps a testament to the inherent robustness of Porsches.
So, a few questions.
I know I should'nt have backed off the throttle but what should I have done when the car started to run wide in the bend?
Had I left the PSM switched on, how would PSM have sorted this situation out?
How would a C2 have reacted in the same circumstances?
Why is PSM standard on C4's when logic would seem to suggest that PSM would be even more useful on C2's
My car has 18" turbo look wheels with Conti Supercontact tyres - not the best tyres, I know - and pressures were set as standard. Track conditions were dry and hot, with about 25 - 27 deg C air temp. I'd done about 5 laps in the car, gone into the pits for 10mins or so to cool the brakes and then gone out again. After a further 2 laps, I switched off the PSM (perhaps not the brightest thing to do) but completed most of another lap without mishap. There is a right hand bend just before the pit straight which I had been taking at about 75 - 80mph but I felt the car could go harder through this bend so, on this occasion, I entered the bend just a few mph faster. I felt the car push a bit wide just past the apex; now, I know enough to know that backing off the throttle when you're committed to a bend in a 911 is not a great idea so, at this point, I backed off the throttle only very slightly just to tighten the car's line. Immediately, the rear end stepped out but I still had it in my head that backing off further was a bad idea and if I maintained power to the wheels, the C4 drive would transfer more power to the front wheels and pull the car through. So, I steered into the slide and maintained and even slightly increased pressure on the throttle. But the car ploughed pretty much straight on towards the inside of the bend where it clattered ignominuously into the gravel trap.
The car was towed back to the pits and after a few minutes blowing bits of gravel out of all orifices with an air line, I gingerly went back out on to the track and completed the track day, albeit somewhat chastened and with the PSM left on. The car itself did'nt seem any worse for the experience once all the bits of gavel had been shaken out of it which is perhaps a testament to the inherent robustness of Porsches.
So, a few questions.
I know I should'nt have backed off the throttle but what should I have done when the car started to run wide in the bend?
Had I left the PSM switched on, how would PSM have sorted this situation out?
How would a C2 have reacted in the same circumstances?
Why is PSM standard on C4's when logic would seem to suggest that PSM would be even more useful on C2's
