Porsche 911 handling?

[MC Bodge]

Having re-discovered GTL and 'driving' these extreme versions of the 911 :



I'm now intrigued by what real old 911s were actually like to drive.

With the engine in the wrong place, oversteer is obviously a constant threat, but in GTL, unless you enter a bend relatively slowly and get onto a 'balanced' throttle, the Porsche cars understeer off rapidly. The cars seem constantly swiging between over and understeer.

They must be challenging to drive fast. I've seen the video of that Yellow RUF at the Nurburgring -I've a lot of respect to the driver!


ps. I've managed to pedal the 934 around reasonably (ie. laps of Laguna Seca without leaving the tarmac), although the 935 is a laggy beast.

Edited by MC Bodge on Sunday 5th December 14:30

[MC Bodge]

Penguinracer said:

am I alone in thinking that this doesn't come across as a surgically sharp precision driving tool but looks more akin to helming a sailing vessel across a narrow channel in a wind over tide situation?

You're not alone. That's exactly what I was thinking. That Spa driving is incredible though.

I can understand the satisfaction of taming the beast, but a vastly over-powered VW Beetle isn't the ultimate driving machine

Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 7th December 19:37

[MC Bodge]

The Wookie said:

Once you get used to loading it up in a certain way then the benefits of the layout make themselves obvious.

The benefits being so many that every other manufacturer has copied it....

[MC Bodge]

RSGulp said:

What? People are commenting on driving rear-engined 911s based on a computer game!

A PC game isn't a very realistic approximation, but as it is unlikely that I'll drive an old 911 in anger at any point in the future, I thought that my original post was fair enough.

[MC Bodge]

Rouleur said:

Fans of the Spa clip will love this short one of how his driving looks from the outside!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-hXjerSPMw&fea...

And his qualifying lap - 1:30+ he takes a double apex left using barely any left lock, and 2:30+ is interesting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK3fDkZ1kgg

That car is an absolute handful, but he can hustle it along rapidly. No matter what some of you Porsche fans think, the 911 is a bizarre creation!

I'd love to have a go in one of these though:

Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 7th December 21:55

[MC Bodge]

graemel said:

If you can drive a 911 at ten tenths everyting else is a weeze. The 911 requires a unique technique to get the most from it and once mastered it is not only the most satisfying car to drive but also incredibly fast.

I can appreciate that, especially as someone who enjoys riding motorbikes.

graemel said:

Balance is the key which comes from feel. A game no matter how good it is gives you none of this. You cannot get hurt or killed and it won't cost you £20K to fix it when you get it all wrong

I know that. When I first put GTL on last week, the thing that struck me was the lack of 'feel'. As I said, it is only an approximation, in 2D, with no motion, but I'm unlikely to drive a real classic Porsche racing car!

graemel said:

The youths of today seem to be bred on computer imageary and computer interaction. There is no face to face communication. It's easy to have a row on a computer

I don't think anybody is having a row here?

I remember my Dad warning me that driving wasn't like a computer game. Unsurprisingly, Driving a VW Polo wasn't exactly like Psion Chequered Flag or even Stunt Car Racer

[MC Bodge]

Al W said:

These fans you refer to are folk who actually drive and race 911s, yet even after reading their posts you seem to know better, based on a computer game...
Isn't the Internet great

I think that some people are missing the point.

I was intrigued enough by my enjoyable, but tricky, experience of 'simulated' 911 handling to ask if this was in any way in-line with reality.

The fact is that the 911 is extremely unusual, even if you don't like my use of the word 'bizarre'. The peculiar handling characteristics (whether they could be considered good, bad or indifferent) are very apparent in those videos of Spa.

Al W said:

The 911 may be bizarre in your opinion, but it isn't to me as i grew up around them

-Why does this remind me of the way that followers of supposedly omnipotent deities are often surprisingly easily offended?

Edited by MC Bodge on Wednesday 8th December 12:41

[MC Bodge]

Al W said:

As for being offended by internet comments about a car...
Just like every other car built, a 911 is a compromise but one which happens to suit me. Can you not see that something very familiar is unlikely to feel unusual or bizarre?

It has nothing to do with whether or not you personally were conceived, born and live in a Porsche 911.

The 911 is an unusual car.

You may love it with a passion, but it is still an unusual car. If it wasn't unusual, you may not love it quite so much.

-I'm still not sure why you took offence though.

Al W said:

You don't need to own a 911 to experience one on track for yourself. Something like this would give you an insight for modest outlay: http://www.mithril.co.uk/giftvouchers/gtclassics.a... and I hope you get the opportunity

I'm sure that would be superb, but £269 (and a 500 mile round trip) for an hour session??

I'd rather do a track session in something a bit less flash.

Edited by MC Bodge on Wednesday 8th December 19:05