I don't think all drivers are chasing the same lap times, but I do believe that those individuals who track their cars, are chasing the goal of becoming faster as well as learning how to drive their cars to their potential.

Yes, many years of exciting driving and honing ones skills. The issue people get confused about is the quick fix. Nothing valuable comes easy.

 

I don't think there is anything "incorrect" about the 911 platform. For example, the rear weight bias is perfect for braking, and up hill transitions. As with any car, you learn to take advantage of its strengths, and manage the more challenging traits.

And I really don't think it takes years to learn how to drive the 911. Certainly, experience makes us better in any car. But there is nothing magical about the 911. I found it a bit more challenging than the M3, but not nearly so much as the C6 ZO6, another "correctly" designed platform. Folks seem afraid of the 911, but an experienced driver just needs to drive it. An advanced level track driver in the M3 can be very comfortable in the 911 after one weekend on track.

 

I put coilover damptronics on mine and it took care of that problem.

 

Do your roads have a lot of dips mid-turn? If so, that'll exaggerate the front float/unloaded feeling when your pushing it.

Hold on!

 

Yep, that's exactly how mine felt when I got it last year. Been driving cars for 30 years but my first Porsche. It was really spooky at first, very disconcerting and something I quickly realised I needed to come to terms with.

To the extent that at my first track day in Feb the thing understeered all day long which was weird. I was using my "old" technique and expecting the thing to turn in nicely and track as the power came back on but no go.

But at my second in April I took a different approach, taking more speed off entering corners and getting on the power earlier and harder. Made all the difference.

As others have said try it out on the track. I'm interested to hear what you find.

 

The 3 series is darn near 50/50 weight distribution, I have a 08 328i without LSD and the car feels very neutral. What I love about the 997 is the way the car can be steered with the throttle. You use that big old *** to your advantage in pointing the front end where you want it. Once I got use to it I learned to love this characteristic.

Dave

 

Yes, that is the way to drive it, to throw the weight to rear end and then play with the throttle and pointing car where you want to.

 

I've been a 911 driver since the 1970s. The 997s are the best settled cars ever. I don't sense any lightness at all with my 997S cab.

 

Great post Dave07997S. I agree with you. Slow in and fast out using the throttle to your advantage. Now my Audi S5 is very close to 50/50 which makes for a very comfortable and controllable drift in a corner and not much in the way of steer with the throttle. The rear engine makes it so much fun with 997 going to DEs and learning a new platform (for me). My wife can drift the S5 all day in an empty parking lot and on the track but hates the feel of the 911 platform. To each their own I guess. The good thing is it keeps her out of the drivers seat with my 997.

 

I can only imagine what this discussion would have been like in the late 60s or early 70s had their been an internet. The original SWB 911 could be downright scary at speeds common on today's curved off ramps. I agree w/ Edgy01, today's 997 has tamed the worst of the 911's inherent potential for trouble. I'm coming out of a 06 Cayman and there is clearly a difference, which I fully expected, but I don't feel the 997 to be light at the front, even at highway speeds. Steering input has to be combined w/ proper degree and timing of the throttle, which is true for all automobiles driven in a sporting manner, just more so for the 911. Some of these characteristics of the 997 are noticable even on a test drive.

 

I have a 2009 C2S, returning to Porsche after a few years. I have 9000 miles in her now and I feel that the front end 'bobble' has been eliminated in the new car completely. However, from the get-go I was disappointed in the 'slop' in the suspension and found myself hitting the Sport button every time I got in the car. A visit to Sharkwerks, TechArt springs and RSS sway bars installed cured it immediately. I think the USA spec cars sit too high and are set up too soft for spirited driving...

 

I'll chime in here. I have a 997 C4S with 20 inch shoes. The rubber is 245mm front and 325mm rear (yeah, massive). I have stock suspension with PASM of course.

Yesterday I had it set to sport, with a passenger. I entered a 90 degree street corner pretty hot. It began to squeal and understeer quite noticably, and when I let off the gas, it began to fishtail back and forth along with more squirrely behavior in the front.

This is as explained by others here already due to the weight distrubution.

Obviously, having AWD is of zero benefit to you unless you are ON the gas in a turn. In fact if anything, it's a disadvantage due to adding weight. Although this weight addition may actually help the distribution F/R to a more optimal level vs a RWD Carrera...

Anyway, as you can see, even with crazy rubber, this will easily happen. But on the flip side, oh boy...let me tell you...doing that again while entering it slower and with more concentration on the steering angle and fine adjustments...and then FLOORING the gas after the C4S was in the arc...all you get is:

GRIP GRIP GRIP

and you fly out of the turn with an exit speed that causes your passenger to say "whoa what the hell?!"

 

Your car would handle better with 19" or even better yet with 18" wheels. Your sidewall is way too short for ultimate grip and for the suspension to operate at it's best. Also the reason the rear came around on you is you lifted in the turn in a rear engine car.
Since you seem to like the performance side of a Porsche take same DE tack days with your local PCA group plus there are many other groups that do track days.
I also highly suggest the Porsche Driving School held at Barber Motorsports in birmingham AL. This was some of the best instruction I had when I was starting out.

 

I was under assumption 19" was the default size that comes with any C2S and C2 got 18" default rims by marketing considerations only. But suspension on any 2005+ 997 model was actually designed for 19" rims, wasn`t it?

 

This is not meant to be disparaging, but when someone states the following: “I feel like as soon as I let go off wheel, the car would just shoot straight forward into the ditch.” And "I have to make numerous subtle adjustments going around the curve. Or is this what they call understeer?”

I immediately refer them to driving instruction, driving events, and books on performance driving. I recommend the following titles (everyone has their favorites; these are a couple of mine):

• Bob Bondurant on High Performance Driving
• Skip Barber - Going Faster
• Porsche High-Performance Driving Handbook
• The Technique of Motor Racing

As the OP cannot accurately describe the difference between a light front end and a car that is pushing, the individual is not really in a position to work with their mechanic to adjust the behavior of their car. Any/all adjustments will have to be performed based upon the mechanic’s preferences and recommendations. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but once the individual starts to develop technique and their own preferences, they will most likely want to make adjustments that best suit their individual style.

Finally, when I vacation in Hawaii, the last thing I want to encounter on the public roads is inexperienced driver, in a new 911, trying to come to grips with the concept of drop throttle oversteer. The learning process needs to occur on a closed course.