Taking the 996 to circuit

At the end of this month I will take the 996 C2 Cab to circuit. I used to own a 3.4L powered Boxster and that car was amazing at the track. I could slide the car just by playing with the steering and throtle (I know it�s not the fastest way around circuit, but it�s the funny). Will I be some how dessapointed with the 996? The Boxster was balanced , the front was very sticky which I loved, I could point the front to the turn and the car would follow my imputs in a decent manner, it was very predictable, and when it brake loose, it was in a very smooth way, very easy to control. Is the 996 like that? I�ve already made some miles with the 996, but they were all highway miles. At high speeds the 996 seemed more stable than the Boxster, on those German highway fast turns the 996 seemed more planted, where the Boxster was a bit nervous, but on sharpe/slow turns I believe the Boxster to be superior due to the sticky front behavior and midle engine characteristic. Am i wrong? I couldn�t felt this yet, but this is what I�m expecting. I like a car that has good handling characteristics, specialy on the front, so that you can play with the back on your way out of the turn. Another great feature on Boxster handling is that you could play with the weight of the car thrue turns, for example in a sequence of slow turns, you could launch the car to the turn and it was easy to feel the weight helping you putting the car on the right place to control the next turn, is the 996 like that? (Sorry for the bad explanation, English is not my first linguage, but I believe you understand what I mean) . What can be the best tire pressure to run on circuit with the 996? Any imputs from you would be great. Thanks Check the link bellow, it was a great day at the circuit with my Boxster and among 50 Porsche drivers, I�ve won ....Life is good http://www.porscheclub.pt/jarama.htm

This is my eperience from owning a C4S, so take it for what it's worth. The Boxster and the 911 are two cars that are set up very differently. You cannot take the techniques you have learned from the Boxster and apply them to the 911. To do so will lead to disappointment. I believe that the Boxster is easier to drive fast, and that the 911 is harder to learn to drive fast. Once you learn, though, the 911 will be faster. I've been with many a Boxster on road courses, both track prepped as well as not. They can keep up in the tight corners, but the C4S can exit faster and leave them behind. I've also met them at autocross, the true tight cornering testing ground. Just by watching, the Boxster seems so much at ease compared to the 911's. At the end of the day, though, it is the 911 that has the better times.

What would be faster around the track, Carrera 2 or 4? I believe the C2 to be a tinny faster, but the C4 easy to drive fast. just my guess. J.Seven

That's actually been answered by Nurburgring. In the 'Ring, the C4S was faster than the C2, the C2 was faster than the C4. All 996 models, stock set-up. The actual times were posted in this board several months back. Along with other interesting times, such as GT3, TT, etc.

palting any idea were to find these times?? thanks for the info!

I just tried a seach of the archives. I can't find the darn things. Maybe someone here has a copy on their hard drive.

Did you have your Boxster converted to a Ruf 3400S? Do tell! The 996 is a terrific track machine with a very different weight balance and feel compared to the 986. You already know the 986. Now you can master the 996. Stay in the throttle and feel the joy...

cool. jarama was a great f1 circuit...you guys in europe are fortunate to be able to drive some great historic tracks. i've tracked both cars, my 986 seat time was far less. if you have the sort of car control you describe, the transition to the 996 will be seamless. out-of-the-box, the 996 understeers quite a bit. lots of experimentation with alignment is necessary (1-1.5 neg front camber, adjust rear toe, etc). when the 996 does come around (oversteer), you have to be more judicious with the gas. if you spin one on purpose, you can sense it's very difficult to gather back up compared to the 986...but you'll have more fun (better power) and your skills will advance farther, imo. recent posts make me envious....jarama, spa, the 'ring, etc. etc.

Uhm... Well darn you ran a 3.4 liter boxster with mid-engine design? In a regular boxster or even boxster s, 996 would have better times. The Boxster S for some reason never needed a 6 speed(shoulda kept the 5 speed). I've driven loaner boxsters and I have to say handling is so much easier like point and shoot. But with a 3.4 boxster neone know how that compares to a 3.4 996 laptime wise? I ran with boxster/boxster s but always seem to exit out of a turn much faster. With a 3.4 boxster with equal drivers uhm????? Regards. Mike

Well, I couldn�t waited anymore, so I went to the mountain roads 30 minutes from my house to see what the 996 was capable of. Car is not that different from the Boxster, very predictable, very stable, very, very easy to control just like the Boxster. You can slide the car just by playing with the steering, keep the weight on the rear axle on your way into the turn and you�ll have a big smile on your way out of the turn, it will slide untill you say "stop" steering and throtle are your hands and feet if you know what I mean, simply amazing, and when the tires recover the grip it�s in a smooth way, Porsche sure know how to do it fun. The "go kart" feeling is named Boxster due to superior 996 weight and size. The 996 is more stable at high speeds, more silent and almost ratlle free compared to Boxster. Another big difference is inside cabin bufting, the 996 is superior on that regard too. The Boxster noisier cabin together with the intake and engine screaming just behind you, makes the Boxster feels more mechanical, more wild, the 996 "hides" some of this sensations. Both are great cars but I find the the 996 to be more refined. I will take the 996 to circuit at the end of this month and I will see who�s the fastest on circuit, I�ll keep you posted. J.Seven Here�s some pics I took there