First time redline in first
 

Ive had my 85 Targa a few months,and finally got the nerve to stomp on it to redline from standing start,and I must say it was like a religious experience.wow.I have couple questions.Whats the reason porsche had first gear in that ratio,and how does that compare to muscle cars,and other sports cars? and would reving and poping clutch be a bad thing to do? Is it not set up for that kind of driving,I know its not a drag racer..thanks..PS..Car is dream..;)

a few months? i literally did it the first time i drove mine away from the dmv office. as far as dropping the clutch, why? all it will do is waste rubber and put stress on your 26 year old car. if you want to drop a clutch buy a $1000 beater and go to town.

Kris-you changed your avatar!


tanman-the old saying goes-"first gear is only for getting out of the pits".

First is so short it's almost uselss on the street and "banging through the gears" like in a muscle car will only shorten your gearbox life. Trust me, I learned the hard($$$$$$) way.

Don't get me wrong, I like to get a bark in 2nd now and again but I don't slam it into gear.

I get a thrill out of the acceleration you get going from 70 to ???.;)

Our babies are not designed to be dragsters no matter what you do to it, something will give, i.e. trans/clutch etc...

Like Wayne wrote, it is to get you out of the pits and hit the corners at speed.

If you want to take it to redline, put it in 2nd roll out at idle then punch it to redline to get the carbon deposits out, a quicky "Italian" tune up, you should see a ploom of grey smoke. When I did my PPI Tony Callas of Rennsport did this while I was in the passenger side and boy my heart dropped but she seemed to like it :D

Jim

part of the reason for the gear ratio is the more European racing style, no one was doing 1/4 miles, it was all about winning lemans over there. Here is a bit of a history lesson about why the porsche keys are on the left side.

Back in the day lemans had a running start, which meant the drivers started across the track and ran to there cars. Porsche put there key on the left side so that the driver could jump in his car, put the car in first with his right hand and turn the key with his left. This sounds trivial but what the Porsche drivers would do, is turn the key with the car in gear, this would cause the car to lurch forward and start rolling before the car was actually running. Then the driver would open the clutch, start the engine, release the clutch and go. Thus the clutch was always released on a moving trans. Then the driver would shift to second appropriately.

Regards
dave

and the sig. variety is the spice of life :) good to see you around again wayne.

Revving the engine and popping the clutch is bad for these cars. There is too much traction with the engine over the drive wheels, and the drive line shock is considerable.

Don't do it.

On the bright side, you can hole-shot most any front engine, rear wheel drive car.

ya, but it felt great at the time !!!

I think it was Grady who sez rev in 1st gear to about 5k and shift. The revs come really fast and you don't need to make an "expensive" mistake there. Don't bang shifts, especially in a 915 trans. These cars are very mechanical and require a gentle hand and foot for the best response. Be smooth and you will be fast.

I've only gone past 4k in first a few times. My trans doesn't seem to like going into 2nd at anything above that, so by the time I get it into gear the tack is back down at 3k again anyways :o

6k in second plenty of times though :D 3rd a few times as well and 4th once or twice ;)

Don't rev up and drop the clutch. I tried that once, Wheels did not spin and and I fried the clutch. POR rear wheel traction is just too good!

24 hours later , that extra second advantage made all the difference :<)
24 hours training with a sprint coach would give a better result.

The story of the Porsche 550 Spyder - YouTube
See comment by Lee Raskin

So when did the LHS ignition fad start? Why bother with a key at all , in a race car? Switch or button = fast , safe.

sucks when you get excited that you "finally did it" and you get flamed for it


yea, 4200 in 1st...get out
as fro dropping the clutch...i drop mine every start..but with out touching the gas pedal, you have enough torque to just let it out....get up to 4200 and get to second....then roll on the power!!!

I have only seen redline.........................EVERYDAY!!!

the left hand ignition fad began with the 917, that is the car that i heard the story based around. Here is one of the articles i found related to it. I have also heard many other similar stories.

Behind the Wheel: Porsche 911 - the key is on the left

Come on. Is there really no one here who runs their car to redline in 1st? I do it every day in the same spot on my way to work (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5k ish in 4th before I have to mash on the brake and practice some heal toe into 2nd). I don't try to spin the tires but am hitting 7,000 RPMs in 1st - 3rd. No ill effects and if you cant have fun with it why own it.

Chris
73 911 E

what he said!



if you're not going to hit redline, whenever you want to, in any gear, then the factory wasted a bunch of perfectly good orange paint.

as for drag racing, these are very strong cars. I do tend to engage the clutch then romp on it rather than rev and dump. I've used both methods, it just happens that the engage and romp method is faster. with the nitrous on I short shift in first, otherwise I'm just burning up tires.

two seasons now and dozens of runs, no mechanical issues. but if it breaks, I'll fix it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/540300-took-my-swb-drag-racing-today.html

lots more vids on my youtube.


.

My commute is barely long enough to warm the engine up. In fact, I have been taking the long way just so when I get on the highway the temp is out of the white box at the bottom of the gauge. By the time I am warmed up the roads only have 35 mph speed limits. I can get to 35 plenty fast though, haha.

"This car is not an Italian supermodel with an eating disorder; no this car is a hearty German woman named Heike, who might be able to beat you in an arm wrestling match."

Touche!

Regards,
mlfox