Q: “I’ve recently bought a 991 Carrera after owning (and tracking) a 1999 Porsche Boxster for 6 years at various PCA DE events. In light of the obvious bump in horsepower and the different placement of the engine, I was wondering if you had any tips on how to approach taking the 991 out on track coming from the Boxster.”
A: I highly recommend sending your 991 to me for a few months just to make sure that it’s in good shape and ready for you. 🙂
Beyond the obvious of taking your time building up to speed, the main strategy I’d recommend is the Sensory Input Sessions that I’ve written about in my books, talked about in videos on my YouTube channel (check out this one titled Sensory Input), and include in many of my training programs. It’s the most effective way I know of to tune a driver to a car (or a track). It’s what you sense visually, through your feel (kinesthetic sense), and with your hearing that gives you the cues as to what your car is doing. So if you can tune them up and become more sensitive to what your car is telling you, then you’ll learn your new car sooner. If you deliberately focus on those senses, individually, in isolation, you’ll refine them better. So, that’s the main thing I’d suggest.
The second thing I always recommend is some skid pad time. Getting time learning what the car is going to feel like when it steps out and begins to slide will not just give you better car control, but confidence.
One thing I’d like to clarify here is this: physics is physics, and cars follow the laws of physics, no matter whether they are front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive, front-engined, mid-engined, rear-engined, or whatever. Too many drivers fall into the trap of believing that changing from one car to another requires a completely different driving technique, as well as completely different cornering lines. Not true. We have to adapt to the car and how it responds to our inputs, and that’s why I recommend using the Sensory Input Sessions, as that will speed up the learning process.
I could write an entire book on your question (I guess I kinda did!), but this should give you a place to start.
Not to “challenge” this point per se, but isn’t it also true that the drivetrain layout brings with it certain generalities (i.e., perhaps a bit later on the throttle in the case of FWD). For example, Randy Pobst has a brief segment about these “generalities”. Thanks.
There can be as big a difference in the “generalities” from one RWD to another RWD as there is between FWD and RWD. For example, a Mustang and a Miata are both front-engined RWD cars, but the subtleties of turn-in points, and the amount of trail braking is as different as between a FWD Honda and a RWD Miata.