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YOUR RESEARCH996 Corner Instability
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easiest and first place
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Suspected cause
Probably the easiest and first place to start would be checking the tire pressure of the front tires.
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Suggestion
Apart from tyre pressure you'd want to check the age of the (front) tyres.
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Suggestion
Probably the easiest and first place to start would be checking the tire pressure of the front tires.
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Suggestion
Front tire width changes in relation to rear can also change the characteristics.
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Suggestion
So, wheels from 17" to 18", Height drop of around 1.5", camber change from 0 to -1.5.(X74 spec) For the street it's quite good.
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Hi all,
just bought myself a 996 C4S. Super happy with the car, I just came across something odd that I'd love to collect some ideas on.
The other day I was pushing it on a country road a bit. The car got sudden understeer, however, it didn't seem like the tires were breaking traction, as I was far from the grip limit, it rather felt like the front differential / AWD system intervened even though it shouldn't have. I wasn't fast, cornering at a medium-grade corner on consistent medium throttle at ~90kph (~60mph), full traction grippy road. Something my old Audi A4 would do easily. It was just for a split second, and I saw something yellow flash in the gauge cluster, but couldn't quite catch it.
I'm not too familiar with the 4/4S platform and am a bit clueless about what could bring this kind of symptom on the front axel.
Any ideas what could be responsible? Really took my confidence out of cornering.
Cheers,
Carlo
911s inherently have quite a bit of understeer. Probably the easiest and first place to start would be checking the tire pressure of the front tires. Too high and it will exacerbate understeer.
The PSM came into action and reduced the understeer. That's what the Amber light showed you.
Apart from tyre pressure you'd want to check the age of the (front) tyres. I notice that my 4yr old front tyres (Michelin PS2�s N3) don't grip as well as they used to on my C2.
Thanks! Tires shouldn't be an issue, they are brand new (dec '23; Hankook Ventus S1 evo), and have ~800 miles on them. I'll recheck pressures, but would be surprised if they overinflated.
I had to look that up. I don't have PSM and don't know how it works, but you're right. It will intervene in the event of understeer.
https://www.total911.com/sales-debat...ill-add-value/
As the guys said, factory understeer, AWD, PSM and tire pressures can mess with you. Let us know what you find with your tire pressures what size tires you are running. Good news is it's curable.
My 911 understeers when I am on the throttle because the weight on the front is lightest. An empty gas tank exacerbates it.
So for slow corners, I trail brake, and for faster corners, I�m off the gas. I�m only on the throttle if I have enough grip.
People may warn you about lifting off the throttle in a 911 because that can cause oversteer, but on a 996, you should not really have to worry about this as much as in much earlier cars.
I�m curious about the reported understeer tendency with these cars. I�m familiar with it from my old GTI, but my 996 corners neutral with just a touch of oversteer at the limit. I would never think of my 996 as understeering. Is it because of my setup? Wavetrac LSD (on rebuilt 6MT), PSM, and 235 19s in the front. 36psi front 42 rear.
Alot goes into the set up to get certain characteristics. LSD helps the car rotate when cornering as well as provides stability under acceleration and braking. Front and rear coilover stiffness and sway bar stiffness play a huge part, as well as tire pressures and tire sizes. Front tire width changes in relation to rear can also change the characteristics.
To reduce understeer stiffen the rear suspension and soften the front. Opposite to increase understeer.
295 in the rear.
Back roads I drive are very curvy, it�s almost all 2nd and 3rd gear. Very possible it�s not fast enough to induce. I also wonder though if the LSD makes the car tend toward oversteer and offsets the factory tendency.
Interesting, did not know.
I�ve noticed that bigger wheels with shorter-sidewall tires tend to break traction quite easily, as compared to smaller wheels with larger sidewalls.
Since you�re driving mainly in 2nd and 3rd gear, it makes sense to me that you�re getting slight oversteer. The torque magnification from the lower gears make it easier to slip the rear wheels.
I�m not sure how an LSD actually behaves on our cars (I have an open diff), but I�ve heard that it does help promote oversteer.
My vote is on the setup. Mine had understeer when I bought it through to when I changed to coilovers and the different alignment specs. So, wheels from 17" to 18", Height drop of around 1.5", camber change from 0 to -1.5.(X74 spec) For the street it's quite good. I just got done with a rally which really challenged my abilities, but the car never understeered. Good luck, a million things to try!
Reading this thread (and others like it) and many of the replies leads me to believe some track time with an instructor or some skidpad sessions would be very helpful. Fast road driving just isn't (or at least it shouldn't be) the same. There is a lot of knowledge on this site and the contributors for the most part are awesome with sharing and explaining their knowledge, but nothing beats first hand experience, good tutelage, and proper practice.
I almost binned my 996 on the first canyon drive thinking it would rotate, but instead the front just washed out on trail brake. Alignment and tires alone made a night-and-day difference, a more modified example could do anything.
Ehhh fast road driving eventually just becomes tarmac rally if you're irresponsible enough. And the first rule of tarmac rally is brake to steer, which is pretty universal whether you're thrashing a 996 or a tank of an Audi S6.
Guys I am with you.
If I was emperor of the world for a week, I would put every high performance car owner thru a mandatory 2 day training starting with autocross school and then track school to educate them on vehicle dynamics and how to drive. But the consequence would be far less entertaining YouTube videos of guys crashing their cars when leaving cars and coffee on cold tires.
I have been a PCA instructor for years, and there is nothing better than when a student has an 'Aha" moment sometime during the day as it all starts to come together. It's usually when you get them strapped in to the passenger seat and you take them for a ride at speed later in the day. They then realize the importance of tires, grip, brakes, suspension set-up, smooth driver inputs and transitions, all of which are ingredients in balancing the car around the track to carry more speed. All of which translates into safer street driving.
There is my pitch. If you own a 996, sign up for a track day to understand vehicle dynamics and become a more effective driver. You will be suprised with what your 996 can actually do.
