Rear end slide

[Old Soldier]

I drove my 2002 boxster for the first time today and when I accelerate heavily while turning from a dead stop ( right hand turn on deserted street) my rear end wants to slide out from under me. What's this? I've never had any Porsche do that to me before, they normally squat down and grab the road, not this my Boxster, what's going on here?

[Root_Werks]

Your TC must have been off. If you haven't ever driven a mid engine car before, I mean a true mid engine car before like a Boxster or 914-6 with some power, be careful. This is not like a 911 or even a 944/928 set up where you have a bunch of wieght sitting directly over your back wheels. Or a 944 where your wieght is at the ends of the car. Boxsters will have a tendency to snap-spin on you like a top when pushed beyond the limits.

I only have a 97', but I can assure you, the first thing I do is start the car, the second thing I do is turn the TC off. I like to throttle steer.

Your car shouldn't be "All over the road", but should be able to throttle steer when so disired. I hope that helps. Take it some place you can really drive it and loose it a couple of times so you know the limits of the car. I have driven 914-6's most of my Porsche life and this Boxster is just amazing. Master it, not much will keep up with you when you do.

[Old Soldier]

Now I'm going to sound dumb, but I don't know what the TC is? I have owned 914's and after checking the tires today ( pretty worn but still has thread)I ordered up a set of Michleins pilots. I also found out that I have 17s on it.

[Root_Werks]

I also have 17's on mine, that is a good thing. 255's are a lot of meat to put on the ground.

TC= Traction Control. It defaults to on, if you push the little TC button it lights up and a little orange light that says TC comes on, which means you turned if off. I acutally wish Porsche wouldn't have put this option on the boxster. I preffer without.

Is yours an "S" model? The extra power will play a part in keeping your tail end under control.

Also, the compound of your tires makes a HUGE difference. I opt'd for Yokamaha AVS Sports with a treadwear of 180. Anything under 200 should be a decent sticky tire for the street. Anything above 200 will be hard, not warm up well and just want to slide around, not grip.

[Old Soldier]

I guess I need to read that little book they gave me! Thanks for your help Root. Happy driving...

[Black968]

TC is short for Traction Control. If your car has it there will be an on/off button on the dash. An electronic module senses speed on the wheels and cuts power to the wheel. This eliminates the rear slide. You should do as the previous post states - find an empty parking lot and experiment. This will give you real world experience so you know how to get yourself out of trouble.

[Old Soldier]

After reading my book and looking over my car, I do not have TC or PSM!

[Old Soldier]

I should have done my homewoprk better, I don't have either option according to the local Porsche dealer ( real nice guy) so new tires is the best i can do for now, still love the car though!

[Porsche_Daddy]

IT sounds like you just have a very heavy right foot when you are turning. Try using less throttle if you don't want the rear of the car to spin and see if that helps.

[Old Soldier]

This was the first time I've driven the car, it's faster then my old 914 but doesn't handle nearly as well, I think I'll leave the driving to the wife!

[Ferrara_racing]

OS,

It's suprising to hear the Boxster is disapponiting you in handling. I found mine to be even better than the 944 which was the best handling car I ever drove. Hopefully the tires will restore this for you, good luck.

[ChrisC(atlanta)]

There's a racer's learning visual that says: Pretend there is a string connecting your foot and your hands on the steering wheel. The more you turn the wheel, the lighter the pressure on the throttle.

There are likely a lot of contributing circumstances here (i.e. cold tires, cool ground....) but the reality is you need to be smoother with your inputs.

[Root_Werks]

I actually find I can drive the boxster faster on the streets than just about any 914 I have ever owned. I have owned 5-6 914-6's too. 914's do well on nice roads or tracks, but get them on real world streets and they loose much of thier grip. They bounce around a lot. So far, I have been nothing but impressed with my 986.

[Eli at Pelican Parts]

I slid the rear end out after being stopped at an interesection. PSM was on but the main contribution I believe to this day was the lack in tread I had on the tires. I was less than 500 miles away from a replacement set.

Be careful and let off a little when hitting those corners......

-Eli