brake or throttle

hello everyone, i am still learning how to drive my 996. so when entering a corner too fast (yes i understand slow in, out fast while knowing the road or racing) is it best to: a. apply brake b. feather throttle and steer thru it

c. power slide.

logray, i guess i did not supply enough choices! thanks.

Quotes source post: 8819466

Depends upon what you mean by 'too fast'... If the corner's posted for 35mph and you enter it at 40mph (and the road conditions are good) you'll be fine, probably. If the corner's posted for 35mph and you enter it at 70mph, you'll be find. Probably, though you might get a scare that takes 10 years off your life. If you go into the corner way too fast, and this can be that 35mph corner if the road's wet, icy or has gravel/sand or anything on it that will reduce traction... oh my. (I entered a corner too fast driving a pick up truck once on a wet road and the truck spun 180 degrees and I ended up driving the truck backwards looking out the rear window until I could slow the truck down and get it pointed the right way.) The best advice I can offer you is to take some driving classes, get some professional driving instruction, and on marginal traction surfaces/in marginal traction conditions so you can get a feel for the car when it reaches borderline traction states (or goes beyond) so you don't enter a corner too fast and if you do you know what to do. There are simply too many variables to cover them all. In many cases instinct and training has to take over. One just doesn't have that much time to reason things out. Sincerely, Macster.

option b, trust the hardware.

with a 996, you can get away with much more than you would have in an older 911. In a general sense, if you overcook the corner entry a bit more than you thought was safe, you can almost certainly get away with some light braking as you steer into the corner. You'll load up the front wheels a bit which will help turn-in, and the back will probably feel a bit light, but the car will likely come through the corner just fine. You'd be surprised how high the limits are these days.

I would suggest that you register for some local PCA autocross to learn the limits of your 996. It's safer and you'll learn the limits much faster than on the street.

It depends... no two corners/situations are alike. surface type, bumps, weather, etc... all play a role. The suggestions re: DE are spot on. Go learn the car and you'll be better equipped to deal with the situation.

+1 for option B I would try to steer thru it, during a wet winter skills day I had no problem with oversteer Every situation is different but chances are you will be more likely to understeer than oversteer.

Is this where curb rash comes from?

hi everyone, i understand i have posed an open ended question, and all situations are different. i like option b myself. as far as improving my driving skill and knowledge, i do want to participate in autocross. i know that will help considerably. just dont have the additional $$ needed right now. i am also psyched about winter. driving in snow and ice allows you to learn a lot too.

option c: BAIL OUT ! last DE we had a rain squal in the fastest corner on the track...my little car was eating C4S and Turbo AWD cars....not because its faster but because I have driven it more in conditions near the limit.....DE's and CCC's are wonder ways to explore your car and learn how much you can really get away with in the case where you are too hot IN - if it's only precieved as too hot and you "correct" you could in fact cause a problem that really never exsisted GO TO THE TRACK SMILE REPEAT

Yeap DE my friend... DE

When I read these types of questions it reminds me of myself when I purchased my 1st 911 and kept asking other 911 owners how to drive my car safely, what to do in an oversteer situation. The best advice I got was to take my car to a Auto X and has an Instructor pace me through the learning curve at my pace. It was the best advice I ever got. We could all answer this question with our experiences and give a million options, this driver needs to either learn at Auto X's or DE's or he'll be learning the hard way. If he's going to recall what we've said, during that high speed entry scenario, by the time he remembers the suggestions, he's rotated his car and is wondering what happened on the side of the road. Auto X's are not that expensive. They will run you about $60 (give or take) and even just 1 event and you'll leave there more experienced and you'll be able to answer your own questions with the experience learned on that day. Be sure to get an experinced Instructor and preferable one who owns your type of car. Just my $ 0.02

CCC's (car control clinics) are offered thru many clubs like BMW and Alfa for cheap, our PCA has "skills days" for $65 and our AutoX is $25 IIRC DE's might not be as rewarding at first because at a CCC they will love it if you spin out....not so much at a DE event - and a few good spins can go a long way to discovering the limits of grip

Quotes source post: 8821895

+1, safely experience the limits of your car at these events, not on public roads. AutoX, CCC, DE's or a non-member trackday are all good ways to get to understand your car (any car). Do it, it will be cheaper than learning anywhere else.

Quotes source post: 8819466

fixed it.

Taking into mind the the fact that the race car drivers everyone thinks of as the best drivers practice and practice again for the right entry and exit speeds for all the turns in a race I figure it's best for you to do the same instead of sticking it all out in the turn. A quick fix answer is going to resolve a too fast of an entry into a turn only if you know how the suspension is going to track with all the variable the road throws at it. Even dead skids through turns take practice and learning just how much power is there to push you through a turn while the tail isn't tracking. Anyway at least my car or brain doesn't like the suspension to be doing major changes while cornering. I still haven't dead skidded the car. Although I have let off in a turn and found that to be unsettling mentally and suspension wise. Take answers from your own experience and play safe. Sadly I've left my younder years of dead skidding behind but I can tell you its near redline and that might not appeal to you going semi sideways. It isn't that new drifting fad of smoking the tires but pretty close.

The thing I notice most about the car is, when it breaks loose in the back end (at least my C2) - especially if you don't expect it, it requires lightning quick reflexes to correct - much more-so than any other car I've driven/owned (which includes other sports cars). Having stiffer sway bars or coilovers helps with the feel of the car in these situations (as Pac996 points out, mushy = bad). Certainly something you don't want to "practice on the open road". Once you know the limits of the car though... it becomes more of a tool than something you might fear in those situations. I believe Jeremy Clarkson said it best when he noted that the car is very "German" because it never wants to lose grip or go beyond the limit; rather keep all fours planted up nearly to the point of insanity (the point being beyond that = the point of insanity the car becomes uncontrollable for most humans). I think this was in a Turbo or GT3 when he smashed it sideways into a wall.

great advice everyone. i am not suggesting that i am using the street to expolore the limits of my carrera - that is dumb. sounds like the answer is ax!

Absolutely. They're great fun.

If coming in too fast and being sure light brake and turn simultaneously won't do it, I use the width of the tarmac to brake as much as is possible then turn. this will reduce the marginal 10 mph that is required to get through. within weeks of my 996 acquisition I went auto-x -ing to learn it. I learnt permanent understeer in my hands (driving style dependent, I'm used to flyweight rwd/front engine cars of 1200lbs or so) and that PSM is incredibly effective and subtle at reducing speed. this is at <50mph, above that I still need to learn it and will take it to track at first oppo. learn it first in safe environments - it is great fun too!