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I had the opportunity today to participate in the annual Car Control clinic put on by the NNJR PCA chapter. This clinic gave you the chance to push your car HARD and learn (or exceed) the limits of traction in a safe environment. The only thing hurt during this event were cones and believe me, from the looks of them, they're used to being beaten.
Hopefully my writeup will encourage more of you to sign up for any AutoX or car control courses offered by your local PCA region. Don't expect a Porsche Driving Experience type of school, but waddya expect for $55 vs. $1000 a day for PDE?
Parking Lot 18 of Giants Stadium was divided into four areas setup as follows:
The day started early at 8AM with registration and the clearing your car of any loose objects. For the Cayman/Boxter owners, a 18 gallon Rubbermaid enclosed tote fits PERFECTLY in the front trunk. This makes it a snap to clear out your car and keep things dry (more on this later). As you can see, all us genius Porsche owners think alike:
The class is setup so that 1/2 the group drives in the morning and the other half works the course picking up cones, managing the start line and lining the cars up. Lazy folks need not apply here. I ended up with cone duty and it was a whole morning of doing wind sprints. Just cause I was the thinnest person there everyone though I was in shape to run. (Note to self, many fellow Porsche owners are not good candidates for Sports Seats) So much for keeping my new Piloti shoes pristine! They don't make good running shoes, the soles are too flat and I would end up skidding to a stop to get a cone.
I worked the braking exercise and it definitely kept me on my toes. We had a large assortment of cars from a '74 911, 996 C4S, Boxters, Caymans and several Cayannes! It was something to see that SUV make a 180 degree turn and power out. I could just picture the gas gauge dipping when they floored it out of the turn. One note, the Cayman S definitely had the most aggressive sounding stock exhaust. I thought the Boxster S would sound the same but it didn't. Oh well, maybe the Boxster guys (gals?) weren't floorin it. The 997 Carerra S was the best of this group. When he floored it after the turn, the car just MOVED. Not even the 996 C4S accelerated that quickly.
It took forever but finally the morning session was over and it was time for lunch. After choking down a sandwich while sitting on the asphalt (note to self, bring a damn chair next time), it was my turn.
First up, the brake exercise. As explained to me, the goal here is to learn how your car feels under MASSIVE braking and <insert Charlie Brown mumbling here>. Damn helmet made me feel like I'm looking out of a tin can and I couldn't hear a thing.
You ran straight down a course full throttle, brake and execute a U-turn while maintaining speed, then come all the way back and brake HARD to stop the car in front of a wall of cones. I was fortunate my instructor was the local hard core AutoX guru and driving like this was 2nd nature for him. So pop the clutch and floor it, shift to 2nd and go. I saw 5000 RPM for a sec before it was time to brake and swing the car hard left for the turn. Feather the throttle a bit until we past the apex then floor it.
The turn was the toughest part to get right without understeering (too much throttle in the turn) or braking too much and going way slow. I did get a touch of oversteer once and I was surprise that I responded quick enough to correct it. Probably pure luck. Anyhow, now we're flying down towards the cone barrier and I've got to setup for braking. Not sure how fast I was going, but I braked hard enough to lift my *** off the seat almost a few times. I defintely past 6000 RPM in 2nd before my brake zone came up. The first few times I did manage to tap the cones and knock my MowerAxel front plate holder askew. Oh well, took the plate off and toss that in the trunk (shhh, no loose objects in the car, remember?)
Just a side note, but the person next to me in a 996 C4s managed to somehow SMOKE their clutch during the first run of this exercise. I come back after my run and it STANK to hell. Next thing I know, I saw smoke coming out from somewhere! Come on, I'm wearing a 20 lb helmet, talking to a strange instructor, now I've got to jump out of my car w/o knocking myself out on the door pillar since my head is the size of SpongeBob now. Well thankfully it wasn't the my Cayman smoking, it was the 996. Those 911 guys are rich, they but new clutches without a 2nd thought. I had to smell that damn clutch for the rest of the afternoon since I lined up next to them. Made my stomach do cartwheels.
For a moment there I thought I had forgotten how to drive a stick. When I got my first car 10 years ago, I didn't know ANYONE with a stick, so I just went online to the InterWeb and learned the principles of driving a stick by reading about it. Then I picked up my brand new Audi A4 from the dealership and drove it home in Brooklyn/Staten Island traffic NEVER HAVING DRIVEN A STICK BEFORE. Come to think about it, that was my first car and all my driving experience prior to that was in 1988 when I passed my license test. (can you figure out how old I am now?) That was the last time I touched a car. Humm, driving for the first time in traffic, in a brand new car, and driving a stick. You guys sure you want me as a Zone 1 coordinator?
Anyway, let's just say that EZPass is my friend and to this day stopping at a toll booth makes me break out in a cold sweat.
Where was I? Oh yeah, next up, the skidpad! Just great, the clutch smell is making me nauseous already and now I have to go in a circle? I better not barf into my helmet, those damn things are $$$!
To be continued...
PCA - Porsche Club Of America
The Porsche Club of America - http://www.pca.org
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__________________
Pete
2008 Meteor Grey CS, PASM, Chrono, Sport Seats, Sport Shifter, Sport steering wheel, Xenon, Fire Extinguisher, Auto Climate and clear bra!
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Last edited by PistolPete13; 05-19-2008 at 12:22 PM.
Nice write up.... It was an awsome event. Nice to meet you and some of the other Cayman Club Members. I liked the braking and the slalom courses best. I guess the afternoon skid pad was better with the help of mother nature. I love these Caymans, out of the box.... go!!!!
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2007 Porsche Cayman
2002 Audi S6
2002 Audi S4
1983 Mercedes 240D
I'm breaking this up into multiple posts because I'm all hopped up on Red Bull right now and I want to beat Nick USA's post count. What's he up to now dammit???
Where was I? Oh yeah, skidpad time on a churning stomach.
Instructor: You'll learn how to balance the car at the edge of adhesion with small steering and gas inputs.
Me: I can't do an oversteer slide like in Fast n'Furious Tokyo Drift??
Thank you to the Rutherford Fire Department for sending a pumper trunk to wet down the skidpad so that out tires wouldn't melt. I learned something new about firefighting today. The best fire retardent must be... MUD. Yeah mud, my clean, pristine, waxed and California Car Covered Cayman was covered in MUDDY SLIME after one turn in the skidpad. Yeah, de-snork my ***, if I had de-snorked my engine would have been sucking in the sewage water from the porta-potties.
My first three go arounds on the skidpad were drama free as I slowly picked up speed and tighten the circle. If the car understeered, a decrease of the throttle and straightening of the wheel brought it back in line. A good technique is to hold the steering wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock with just your fingertips. Our steering rack is so sensative you do feel everything. Of course don't be drive with your fingertips when your at the light and some hot girl looks over to check you out. That's when you have to lean the seat all the way back so that only the top of your backwards Porsche cap is visible.
Oh but the way, PSM is OFF for all these exercises. Since I paid good money for PASM and Sport Chrono, I put these on too.
Right before my 4th run I was feeling like a pro, so I jump off the line and promptly stall. Key all the way to the left, restart, off I go. I did the most amazing run on the skidpad after that, nice tight, balanced, blah blah blah. The instructor was amazed. I pull back in line and look down. D'OH!!! After the stall, PSM came back on, PASM and Sport Chrono were off. Talk about a letdown!!
One more thing, if you ever find yourself in a skidpad going counter clockwise, look out the drive window for the cones ahead of you. You're not going to see anything out the windshield. My instructor kept fiddling with the wiper controls to clear the water off the windshield and I told him to stop, I wasn't looking in front anyway. Of course when I finished the run, I had to drive back to the line blind. (MUD, remember???)
Next up, more skidmarks! Err, skidpads!
PASM - Porsche Active Suspension Management
This active damping system offers continuous adjustment of individual damping forces based on current road conditions and driving style.
The driver can choose from two setup modes, ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’, using a separate ‘damper’ button on the center console. ‘Normal’ mode is designed for general road driving and circuits with uneven tarmac. ‘Sport’ mode is intended for smoother track surfaces, where the harder settings help eliminate pitch and roll.
In either mode, PASM continuously evaluates the current conditions while automatically selecting the corresponding damper rates from the respective set of mapped values.
A range of sensors are used to monitor the movement of the body under acceleration, braking and cornering maneuvers, as well as on poor road surfaces. The PASM control unit then evaluates this data and modifies the damping force on each individual wheel in accordance with the selected mode. The result is a significant reduction in body movement as well as a better grip on the road.
For example: if ‘Sport’ mode is selected, the suspension is automatically set to a harder damper rating. If the quality of the track surface falls below a certain threshold, the system immediately changes to a softer rating within the ‘Sport’ setup range. When the quality of the tarmac improves once more, PASM automatically returns to the original, harder rating.
Need more information about PASM? Click this link: FAQ for PASM
Sport Chrono and Chrono Plus
This optional package is a valuable addition for trackday use. Available in conjunction with the CDR-24 CD radio, it includes a swivel-mounted analog and digital timer unit which is centrally located on the dashboard. All functions are easily accessible via the control stalk for the on-board computer. Analog dials measure hours, minutes and seconds, while a separate digital field displays whole seconds, tenths and one hundredths of a second. A second digital display runs in parallel in the instrument cluster. Click this Link to visit the FAQ entry for Sport Chrono.
PSM - Porsche Stability Management
While it can’t overcome the laws of physics, the revolutionary Porsche Stability Management (PSM) system does lend an added degree of balance and control to the Cayman’s mid-engine driving dynamics, inspiring surefooted confidence in corners and extreme situations.
A standard feature on the Cayman and Cayman S, PSM continuously monitors steering input, road speed, yaw velocity and lateral acceleration to calculate the actual direction of travel. If the car begins to steer off line, PSM instantly intervenes with precision brake inputs on individual wheels to help bring the car back onto the driver’s intended path.
If braking alone isn’t enough to correct the vehicle’s cornering line, PSM then calls on the Cayman’s engine management system, adjusting engine output as needed to help stabilize handling. PSM can also compensate in an instant for mid-corner changes in load resulting from deceleration or braking. When Sport mode is selected with the optional Sport Chrono Package, PSM’s threshold for intervention is raised, allowing for greater driver involvement. If you prefer driving without automatic PSM assistance, the system can be set to standby at any time. In this case, it will only intervene under heavy braking, where both front wheels exceed the ABS threshold.
For all of its technical ability, PSM goes virtually unnoticed in everyday driving situations, preserving the Cayman’s natural agility.
__________________
Pete
2008 Meteor Grey CS, PASM, Chrono, Sport Seats, Sport Shifter, Sport steering wheel, Xenon, Fire Extinguisher, Auto Climate and clear bra!
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Hey, great to meet you too Cayman Ken! Too bad we couldn't chat more, that damn class got in the way. I'd be happy just talking all day with other Cayman owners.
Next up, the clockwise skidpad.
Humm, kinda redundant, but guess they wanted you to wear down your drivers side tires too so that you won't drive home leaning to one side.
I did get a front row seat to a 997 Carrera AeroKit GT3 wanna be do two complete 360 degree spins in front of me. By this time our cloudless day had turned into a heavy steady rain. Remember I had to work in the AM session, now those poor guys are standing in the rain picking up cones and dressed in only t-shirts. Time to rollup the windows on turn on the AC, damn humidity...
Final exercise, the slalom course! This combined the skills learned on the skidpad and the braking course. Once you get up to speed, you need a nice steady rhythm, left, right, left, skid!, correct, overcorrect!!, skid, right, etc.
At end of the course with another tight U-turn that caused a lot of grief for many, but my AutoX instructor had be veer so far out I was almost off course and into the curb before cutting my turn. It worked, I definitely carried a ton of speed back up the slalom, almost too much sometime and I would have to lay off the throttle.
So what did I learn today?
-The Cayman S has great brakes and the brake pedal won't snap off no matter how hard I pressed.
-PSM works and can lull you into a false sense of security when doing doughnuts in a parking lot.
-As you begin to lose control, ease off the throttle. All movements must be smooth and gentle. No sawing of the steering wheel, you're not Walter Rohle.
-Look ahead, look ahead.
-The Cayman is capable of telling you exactly what is happening to it dynamically, it's up to your hands and butt to feel and figure it out.
-Mud is a good fire retardant.
And for Nick_USA, yes this was the first time I've had to drive the Cayman in the rain, there was a massive thunderstorm on the way home. Oh well, probably the most important thing I learned today was that my windshield wipers do work. You'd think after 7 months they would be glued to the windshield...
Red Bull is wearing off, good night!
PSM - Porsche Stability Management
While it can’t overcome the laws of physics, the revolutionary Porsche Stability Management (PSM) system does lend an added degree of balance and control to the Cayman’s mid-engine driving dynamics, inspiring surefooted confidence in corners and extreme situations.
A standard feature on the Cayman and Cayman S, PSM continuously monitors steering input, road speed, yaw velocity and lateral acceleration to calculate the actual direction of travel. If the car begins to steer off line, PSM instantly intervenes with precision brake inputs on individual wheels to help bring the car back onto the driver’s intended path.
If braking alone isn’t enough to correct the vehicle’s cornering line, PSM then calls on the Cayman’s engine management system, adjusting engine output as needed to help stabilize handling. PSM can also compensate in an instant for mid-corner changes in load resulting from deceleration or braking. When Sport mode is selected with the optional Sport Chrono Package, PSM’s threshold for intervention is raised, allowing for greater driver involvement. If you prefer driving without automatic PSM assistance, the system can be set to standby at any time. In this case, it will only intervene under heavy braking, where both front wheels exceed the ABS threshold.
For all of its technical ability, PSM goes virtually unnoticed in everyday driving situations, preserving the Cayman’s natural agility.
__________________
Pete
2008 Meteor Grey CS, PASM, Chrono, Sport Seats, Sport Shifter, Sport steering wheel, Xenon, Fire Extinguisher, Auto Climate and clear bra!
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Last edited by PistolPete13; 05-19-2008 at 12:13 PM.
Until 
Linear Mode
