How to drive a 911?

[Victor]

Do not drive faster than your mechanic can send bills.

[Por_sha911]

I think my car runs better when I drive it hard. It seems to run a lot smoother after we've had it up there around 5-6K. When I only drive in the 3-4K range, it is not a smooth. If you have only driven American cars, it takes some reprograming of the brain to accept that its OK to be up there in RPMs.

[dmcummins]

Well I just got mine on the road last weekend and the rev limiter does work. I didn't buy the car for transportation. I bought it to play with. Now if I can just get that back glass in so stuff stops flying out.

[nostatic]

baby it until the oils warm, then red line is fair game. I like to stay up around 4K as it seems happy there, with no shifting before 5K unless I'm loping along. I tend to be in 2nd gear alot, and 3rd gear on the freeway.

[Bob's Flat-Six]

How do I drive it ?
I know where all the good turf is on the way to the market the bank and there's that parking lot where I get breakfast sometimes. A 911 will encourage you to find these routes, I can't help it if the back end doesn't stay perfectly planted on them

[rogwilson]

once warmed up i tend to cruise around the 4000 rpm, shifting anywhere from 4500 to 5500 rpms. the previous owner's mechanic who serviced the pcar for 22 years advised me to redline the engine in the first three gears once a month to maintain the health of the engine.

not sure of the logic of the treatment but i have been compliant (at least through the first 2 gears) and have greatly enjoyed keeping the pcar in good heath.

roger

[geof33]

hard and fast... simple as that!!!

[keithdog72]

what is the point of having a Porsche, if you aren't going to enjoy it for what it is? Drive it fast, drive it hard !!!!!!!! But go easy on the tranny

[Tim Stevens]

Drive fast and take chances…… Is there any other way?

So put me down for choice # 2 please.....

[RarlyL8]

I just hate to see a cool car driving slow in heavy traffic.

[stealthn]

What do you mean how do I drive my car? Like everyone else...cocktail in left hand, steering with knees, right hand free for tuning radio, dialing cell phone, and groping the wife...not necessarily in that order.
Is that wrong?....

[Oracle]

I can't help it... I just can't drive the Porsche gently.
Unlike my ford exploder on which I'm a gentle driver with the car and passengers. With my Porsche my wife complains about my hard driving seems like cheers to get even harder on the next turn... yeah!!
-J

[geof33]

just to add... I'll run mine in second as long as I can around 60-70mph, just to burn off carbon. Do a DE or autocross and your car will run better Gar-un-teed...

Nothing like the sound of a 911 3.2 running at 6000 rpms through a tunnel or closed underpass!!!

[dfw911]

I tried that conservative driving thing for a while but it didn't work out very well for me or the car.
We are both much better now

[dd74]

Woo hoo, my kind of thread.

Because of my gearing, the weight of my car and the 3.0, it is hard for me to keep it below 4,000 RPM at start up/warm up. Plus, my engine runs extraordinarily cool: I have yet to get it above 180 degrees.

Therefore, I drive it very hard. Once the needle moves a smudge, I usually wind it out to between 5,000 and 6,000 RPMs between shifting.

Traffic being as it is in L.A., it's hard to drive it this way at times. Yet, when given the opportunity, I try not to cruise below 3,500- 4,000 RPMs as that is when the torque kicks in with my set up.

If the engine can withstand 2 yrs. of this type of use, I figure I must be doing something right and the engine is quite sound.

[jmz]

I beat the snot out of mine. It only gets driven once in a while though.

[Danskman]

Interesting thread. About 20 years ago I had been working at a P-car dealer for a long time. I had driven dozens and dozens of Porsches, all models. Then one day I had the opportunity to drive a Targa at Laguna Seca. That's when I finally realized the potential that these cars really had. Until then, I had never really driven one really fast - track fast, not street fast. Amazing machines, these 911's. Goes like snot, and sucks your eyeballs out on braking. I'm not advocating "track fast" street driving, but just mentioning the capabilities so that even if driven "hard" on the street, you're still no where near the car's true potential. Drive it however you want to - and if that's a redline banging, hair on fire, baby crying style, the car will take it and keep coming back for more.

That's why we like 'em.

[RSBob]

Drive it like you stole it! That's what they are made for, regardless of age (the car's, not yours)

[Lothar]

I had a small oil leak before my last track event where the tensioner oil line enters the chain housing. I drove a weekend at VIR, and voila: the leak went away. Tha car has been sitting in my garage since then and the leak has returned.

What do you think my car is trying to tell me?.....

"I WANT MORE TRACK TIME"

And it shall have it. I must serve the master. Three more days at VIR coming up.

[dd74]

Originally posted by Lothar
I had a small oil leak before my last track event where the tensioner oil line enters the chain housing. I drove a weekend at VIR, and voila: the leak went away. Tha car has been sitting in my garage since then and the leak has returned.

What do you think my car is trying to tell me?.....

"I WANT MORE TRACK TIME"

And it shall have it. I must serve the master. Three more days at VIR coming up.

Hmmm...I think this is indicative of what keeps a 911 healthy - and that's as much daily hard driving as can be given to it.

A good comparison for the 911 is an athlete, and how they have to work out on a daily basis to stay in shape.

Oil leaks? I've found the more the 911 is driven the less it leaks. This defies mechanical science - but who says these rear-engine cars that belie a classic front engine rear drive layout should at all stick to traditional mechanical science?