High Speed Stability
Discussion
Had a wonderful 24 hours with a 163 mile old, Midnight Blue 997S, lent to me by an OPC. Put 300 odd miles on it, in mainly pouring rain on A roads and a bit of London commuting.
Loved it, that grunt that slingshots you out of each roundabout and its general chuckability and amazingly no scarey moments in the wet, or maybe I was not trying hard enough. Wasted in London traffic as this car just wants to go and if I owned one I would lose my licence or my life or both.
The 997S really inspired confidence BUT it did not feel so planted at 120, the front end is starting to go light and the front wheels seem to be skittering and steering does not feel so confident. Is this normal with a 911? I would have thought that it would be more stable, especially as it goes on to top out at 180. Up to 120 no problem.
I really did not want to give it back but as most of my driving is around town it would be a shame to misuse such an awesome vehicle plus the fact that it managed 10 mpg on a 20 mile London crawl. The other factor against such a car in town are all those bloody speed bumps, you just have to stop and walk it over unlike my Beemer that just floats over them with its 1990s tyres.
At least I got to thoroughly drive my dream and the OPC did not even give me a hard sell when I brought their machine back covered in road muck and a bit of mud.
Loved it, that grunt that slingshots you out of each roundabout and its general chuckability and amazingly no scarey moments in the wet, or maybe I was not trying hard enough. Wasted in London traffic as this car just wants to go and if I owned one I would lose my licence or my life or both.
The 997S really inspired confidence BUT it did not feel so planted at 120, the front end is starting to go light and the front wheels seem to be skittering and steering does not feel so confident. Is this normal with a 911? I would have thought that it would be more stable, especially as it goes on to top out at 180. Up to 120 no problem.
I really did not want to give it back but as most of my driving is around town it would be a shame to misuse such an awesome vehicle plus the fact that it managed 10 mpg on a 20 mile London crawl. The other factor against such a car in town are all those bloody speed bumps, you just have to stop and walk it over unlike my Beemer that just floats over them with its 1990s tyres.
At least I got to thoroughly drive my dream and the OPC did not even give me a hard sell when I brought their machine back covered in road muck and a bit of mud.
Raven Flyer said:
Starts to get firm at 125 and is rock solid at 160+.
I am sure there is a Citroen showroom near you that can satisfy all of your needs.
I am sure there is a Citroen showroom near you that can satisfy all of your needs.
Ouch!
My comments about town driving were aimed at all those tossers that buy the car 'cos its expensive but never get out and drive it like its stolen. Such a waste.
And the guy in the quattroporto holding up all the traffic as he stayed at 60 in the outside lane, were you not ashamed that even the lowly Previa had to undertake you.
Raven, I'm asking a question which if you can't answer it please refrain from sarky comments. So it appears this is not normal so maybe a tracking or wheel balance problem then.
Edited by croyde on Friday 12th January 07:06
Edited by croyde on Friday 12th January 07:09
croyde said:
Raven, I'm asking a question which if you can't answer it please refrain from sarky comments.
Did you leave your sense of humour in the car when you handed it back to the dealer ?
FWIW, On my Millbrook track day, the C4S I was driving was rock solid up to 160mph. On the high speed bowl it felt slightly lighter at the front, but to be fair the track is pretty bumpy, and we had a cab for this part of the drive rather than the Coupe used for the bulk of the day.
Sidicks
Sorry, just had an arguement with the Missus, I take it back
Thinking back it was a very bumpy A road and a long righthand curve, the other time I saw XXXmph was when I didn't even realise it and just glanced down at the speedo whilst on a M road.
I have driven a 996 Turbo on a track which felt rock solid all the time so I was only asking as this one did not seem as planted.
Thinking back it was a very bumpy A road and a long righthand curve, the other time I saw XXXmph was when I didn't even realise it and just glanced down at the speedo whilst on a M road.
I have driven a 996 Turbo on a track which felt rock solid all the time so I was only asking as this one did not seem as planted.
Edited by croyde on Friday 12th January 07:48
croyde said:
Had a wonderful 24 hours with a 163 mile old, Midnight Blue 997S, lent to me by an OPC. Put 300 odd miles on it, in mainly pouring rain on A roads and a bit of London commuting.
Loved it, that grunt that slingshots you out of each roundabout and its general chuckability and amazingly no scarey moments in the wet, or maybe I was not trying hard enough. Wasted in London traffic as this car just wants to go and if I owned one I would lose my licence or my life or both.
The 997S really inspired confidence BUT it did not feel so planted at 120, the front end is starting to go light and the front wheels seem to be skittering and steering does not feel so confident. Is this normal with a 911? I would have thought that it would be more stable, especially as it goes on to top out at 180. Up to 120 no problem.
I really did not want to give it back but as most of my driving is around town it would be a shame to misuse such an awesome vehicle plus the fact that it managed 10 mpg on a 20 mile London crawl. The other factor against such a car in town are all those bloody speed bumps, you just have to stop and walk it over unlike my Beemer that just floats over them with its 1990s tyres.
At least I got to thoroughly drive my dream and the OPC did not even give me a hard sell when I brought their machine back covered in road muck and a bit of mud.
I agree with you on this.IMO most 911's feel very vague on the front end at reasonably high speeds..in fact evo magazine did a test on about 20 cars a few months back on track(cant remember which)and the journalist driving the 997 at 170mph said the car felt positively dangerous Loved it, that grunt that slingshots you out of each roundabout and its general chuckability and amazingly no scarey moments in the wet, or maybe I was not trying hard enough. Wasted in London traffic as this car just wants to go and if I owned one I would lose my licence or my life or both.
The 997S really inspired confidence BUT it did not feel so planted at 120, the front end is starting to go light and the front wheels seem to be skittering and steering does not feel so confident. Is this normal with a 911? I would have thought that it would be more stable, especially as it goes on to top out at 180. Up to 120 no problem.
I really did not want to give it back but as most of my driving is around town it would be a shame to misuse such an awesome vehicle plus the fact that it managed 10 mpg on a 20 mile London crawl. The other factor against such a car in town are all those bloody speed bumps, you just have to stop and walk it over unlike my Beemer that just floats over them with its 1990s tyres.
At least I got to thoroughly drive my dream and the OPC did not even give me a hard sell when I brought their machine back covered in road muck and a bit of mud.
kayc said:
croyde said:
Had a wonderful 24 hours with a 163 mile old, Midnight Blue 997S, lent to me by an OPC. Put 300 odd miles on it, in mainly pouring rain on A roads and a bit of London commuting.
Loved it, that grunt that slingshots you out of each roundabout and its general chuckability and amazingly no scarey moments in the wet, or maybe I was not trying hard enough. Wasted in London traffic as this car just wants to go and if I owned one I would lose my licence or my life or both.
The 997S really inspired confidence BUT it did not feel so planted at 120, the front end is starting to go light and the front wheels seem to be skittering and steering does not feel so confident. Is this normal with a 911? I would have thought that it would be more stable, especially as it goes on to top out at 180. Up to 120 no problem.
I really did not want to give it back but as most of my driving is around town it would be a shame to misuse such an awesome vehicle plus the fact that it managed 10 mpg on a 20 mile London crawl. The other factor against such a car in town are all those bloody speed bumps, you just have to stop and walk it over unlike my Beemer that just floats over them with its 1990s tyres.
At least I got to thoroughly drive my dream and the OPC did not even give me a hard sell when I brought their machine back covered in road muck and a bit of mud.
I agree with you on this.IMO most 911's feel very vague on the front end at reasonably high speeds..in fact evo magazine did a test on about 20 cars a few months back on track(cant remember which)and the journalist driving the 997 at 170mph said the car felt positively dangerous Loved it, that grunt that slingshots you out of each roundabout and its general chuckability and amazingly no scarey moments in the wet, or maybe I was not trying hard enough. Wasted in London traffic as this car just wants to go and if I owned one I would lose my licence or my life or both.
The 997S really inspired confidence BUT it did not feel so planted at 120, the front end is starting to go light and the front wheels seem to be skittering and steering does not feel so confident. Is this normal with a 911? I would have thought that it would be more stable, especially as it goes on to top out at 180. Up to 120 no problem.
I really did not want to give it back but as most of my driving is around town it would be a shame to misuse such an awesome vehicle plus the fact that it managed 10 mpg on a 20 mile London crawl. The other factor against such a car in town are all those bloody speed bumps, you just have to stop and walk it over unlike my Beemer that just floats over them with its 1990s tyres.
At least I got to thoroughly drive my dream and the OPC did not even give me a hard sell when I brought their machine back covered in road muck and a bit of mud.
I would agree with this but i did have a cab and it felt like you was going to take off at 150(abroad).
Thanks people, so I wasn't imagining it. A bit concerning on a 180 mph supercar especially as I have driven my Beemer near its top whack of 140 and it felt fine. I suppose that in the 911 with all that weight at the back and the transfer of weight backwards under acceleration and at speed, the front will go light, like a motorbike.
I thought that the boffins would have accounted for this with electronics with the latest incarnation of the 911 but some of you say that the car felt fine at speed.
Maybe I need another testdrive
I thought that the boffins would have accounted for this with electronics with the latest incarnation of the 911 but some of you say that the car felt fine at speed.
Maybe I need another testdrive
kayc said:
silver993tt said:
Itt's all down to correct alignment. My 993 turbo was a bit skitish at high speed until I had the wheel alignment set while I was in germany. Absolutely rock solid at any speed after that 
Maybe 4wd 911's are much better? Air cooled better than water cooled?
have i made a blunder here? Is the 996 TT air cooled or water cooled?
Edited by bund on Friday 12th January 08:40
bund said:
kayc said:
silver993tt said:
Itt's all down to correct alignment. My 993 turbo was a bit skitish at high speed until I had the wheel alignment set while I was in germany. Absolutely rock solid at any speed after that
Maybe 4wd 911's are much better? Air cooled better than water cooled?
have i made a blunder here? Is the 996 TT air cooled or water cooled?
Edited by bund on Friday 12th January 08:40
Its water cooled up to warp factor 4 after which point the surrounding air speed is sufficient to cool it, unless you are doing 220mph+ on slippy roads in the rain where the air flow switches to provide impeccable road holding and scoops direct the rain to provide extra cooling for the back up nuclear reactor.
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