How to drive a Porsche 911

[fitz]

Hello to any and all on this Bulletin Board,

I'm new to this site and a new Porsche 911 owner. I've read a few of the threads and find that there is a wealth of information on this board. However, I have a real basic question and you all may think I'm dumb, but I need to ask....What is the right way to drive a Porsche 911?

To give you all some more information, a month ago I find and bought a Ventian Blue with creme colored interior, 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet with 147,000 miles on the chasis and 92,000 on the engine. The owner I bought this from kept the car in great shape and it shows. Since I was 17 years old I've dreamed of owning a Porsche 911 but never thought I would actually get one. Well, with my supportive wife and children I actually own one now. The car is great but I don't think I'm driving it the correctly. The reason I ask this question is that when I first got the car I felt like I was holding back a race horse from going into a full stride. My fear of the speed (and a ticket) prevented me from going any faster.

Now that I've had the car a month I've driven the car daily in heavy traffic for 40 to 50 minutes (stop and go for 30 minutes) each way. Also, after I took the car to get a major tune up (including a valve adjustment), I 've notice the car doesn't really feel like that race horse as much. Additionally, I heard some where that I should shift well over 3000rpms, and so I've been shifting between 3500 and 4000rpms. Sometimes the car feels like 3000 is the height of the power curve well other times 4500+rpms seem the height of the curve.

One other question, before I took the car in for a major tune up I heard mainly the muffler noise (that great vroommmm race car sound). Now I hear that noise (vroom) and the valves ticking, is this normal? I ask this question because on a website I notice that all I sould hear is the vroommm noise and if I heard the valves ticking this might be bad news.

Anyways I could go on, but I just want to make sure I'm driving the car correctly to ensure a long life for the engine. Any tips or help on how I can better drive this fine racing machine, I would greatly appreciate.

Fitz

[A Quiet Boom]

First, welcome to the joy of owning a 911 Now onto your problems. Of main concern is the valve ticking sound, sounds to me like the mechanic incorrectly adjusted them, have him fix it or find a better shop. As for the rpms at which to shift 4000rpms IMHO is the bare minimum. At or near the redline would be best because these motors pull strong all the way to the redline, none of that "nosing over" like a stock V8 after 5000rpms. Generally peak HP is right up near the redline so to take advantage of it you need to rev it. It's also been said to use the lowest gear possible for the most available torque at any given time, I rarely let my 1981 3.0 run BELOW 3000rpms and shift between 5000 and 6500 depending on whether I'm accelerating easy or hard. These cars were built for extended high rpm usage on the German Autobahn, reving them out won't "hurt" them like other cars you may be used to and it helps to keep the carbon from building up in the combustion chamber.

Others may be of more help than I since I've never owned your particular engine, but these engines are all very similar with the exception of the S and RS early cars which needed to be reved even higher due to high rpm cam profiles. We've all gotten used to today's overdrive transmissions and economy gears which result in most cars rarely running above 3000rpm but remember back in the muscle car era there were plenty of 4.11 geared V8's running around a 3500+ rpms on the highway, my 3.70 geared truck for example turns 3000 at 60mph with no overdrive about the same or a little lower than my low-geared 911 at the same speed. In short the power is up high go there to find it.

[michigan]

My suggestion is to just drive it but, always be a safe driver. It is true that the Porsche is made to run with high revs. My 1977 2.7 liter doesn"t even begin to make horsepower until around 4000 rpm's. As far as your feeling of loosing something after the tune up, well thats a horse of a different color. I have found that finding someone to do work on these beasts is most difficult and, because of this, I would rather do the work on it myself and know that I am getting the most for my money. Even if you have the money, finding someone who knows what they are doing seems to be the problem. I have an older 1977 911s. I believe that because these cars don't have the computer chip in them to help diagnose the problems, these new breed of mechanics have a bit more savvy to call on that they just don't have. I think they call that experience. In any event, good luck on your new venture into the world of foreign cars and most importantly, the Porsche. Pay particular attention to this board. I have the utmost respect to the guys who take the time to share their experience and knowledge and have learned a lot just reading it from day to day. Yours truly,

[89911]

If you are content on driving your car in traffic, then it really doesn't matter how to drive your car. If indeed you really want to see the capability of the 911, attend driver educations in your area. Ask around for an instructor who has a similar car as yours and have him take you for a ride in his car. Tell your instructor what you want to get out of your car. This is the only way you will approach the handling limits of your car. You just can't duplicate this on the street.

[Wine Red 82 911]

Do yourself and your car a favor and get out of traffic and into the twisties. There is no substitute!!!!!!!

[autobonrun]

Sounds like a great car. First, hearing some ticking at idle is normal. The amount should go down right after a tuneup of course, if they needed adjustment. You definitely should not hear ticking when you are heavy on the throttle, accelerating under load. An earlier thread mentioned checking the throttle linkage to make sure you are getting full travel. This could be causing a reduction in power. The power reduction you feel may be that you are just getting accustomed with the power the car has. I hope not because this will move you into the constant search for more HP that many on this BBS are afflicted with (including me). If you continue to get lots of ticking from the valves, I'd consider getting the opinion of another mechanic. The first could have screwed the adjustment up.

With the car turned off of course, have someone depress the gas pedal fully then see if there is any additional travel left in the linkage by moving it by hand. If so, have this adjusted for full travel. A restricted linkage will limit available power.

With respect to driving, get out of traffic. You'll never see the car's capability in traffic. Drivers training as mentioned is great, but on your own, just find some nice low-traffic roads to play on. You can still have a good time within the speed limit if they have curves. I frequently red line my car, only shifting at low rpms when I'm doing relaxed driving. Typically I shift at 4500 to 5000 rpms.

Now some don'ts particular to a 911:

1) Don't nail the throttle if the road is wet. Seems obvious, but I know someone that did it without thinking.
2) Don't let off throttle in a curve or the tail can quickly swap places with the front. Remember your car has a 40/60 weight ratio. Know your maximum speed BEFORE entering the curve and basically either keep a constant speed or accelerate through. If you realize you are going too fast and the tail does start to come around, concentrate on the driving, steer into the slide, and stay on the throttle.
3)Don't measure the oil level with the engine turned off. You'll overfill it.

Happy Motoring.

[marcesq]

Fitz:

Congrats !!! I was in the same boat last August, now I'm addicted.

The valves concern me. I have now adjusted valves on a 2.7 and 3.2. It took 2 tries the first go around. When the valves are properly adjusted, you should hear only a faint ticking like a Singer Sewing machine. If you are hearing more now than before chances are that the adjustment is too loose. The good news is too loose is better than to tight.

Loosing performance would be surprizing unless the valves are really loose. The 3.2 is controled by a brain box (DME) under the drivers seat. There are not many adjustments that can be made.

Believe everyone above when they say that the fun starts after 4000. The 3.2 has a fair amount of torque at the lower end, but wait to you pass 4000. Just be ready to shift, because 6400 comes reeeeeeealy fast.

Of course you have read the manual. The oil checking advise given by Auto should be heeded.

Join your local chapter of the PCA and sign up for a drivers ed event. You will then be bitten by the bug

If and when you have questions, this board has some of the most knowledgable 911 minds (myself not included) who can & will assist you in the future.

[fitz]

Thank you all for the comments,

All this information is very valuable to me. In regards to the mechanic, I took my car to a father and son Porsche shop. Here in Sacramento the shop is called Frank's European AutoMechanic and I believe they have been servicing Porsches for over 20+ years. The shop is very clean and has tons of Porsches in it every day. So when I asked the question about the valves I assumed Frank's knows what they are doing and I don't. Additionally, I was told by the mechanic that three things is really what you need for the engine to keep running great.
1st Oil change every 5,000
2nd Is a major tune up every 30,000
3rd Most Important - a valve adjustment every 15,000. Never
miss the valve adjustments.
Therefore, I followed his instructions, by taking the car in when I first bought the car.

As far as traffic is concern, this is my daily driver and I need to pay for the car so off to work I go in the car in traffic. However, I diffenently want to take the car out on curvey roads to have fun with it.

Regarding the power of the car, I was wondering the same thing autobonrun said. "The power reduction you feel may be that you are just getting accustomed with the power the car has. I hope not because this will move you into the constant search for more HP that many on this BBS are afflicted with (including me). " Therefor, if I'm getting use to the power my expectation now are more power, more power, more power.....creating a power hungry monster.

I thank everyone for the suggestion about driver's training. Since I got the car I've been wondering if I should look into this, now I will. I also appreciate the comments about the rpms. As A Quiet Boom has said I'm use to the newer cars that wine at 3000rpms and screem "no more please" at 3500. So, I wasn't sure if there was a difference, but now I know...Thank you.

Lastly, thanks about the checking the oil. I was fortunate that the previous owner was nice enough to show me a few things about his car before I bought it. The main thing he also emphasised was checking the oil while the engine was running. I got this part right but I still want to learn more.

Thanks again to all...Fitz

[Doug Zielke]

Fitz,
I don't know your situation (ie: garage space, tool collection, mechanical aptitude, aversion to grease, etc), but if you learn to do your own routine maintainance, you gain a lot of control over your car. Start your education here, and good luck!

[nostatic]

Part of the problem is expectations. When I first started test driving 911s, I was dissapointed in the "performance". Like others have stated, the 'merikun sports car profile is gobs of low end torque and quick 0-60 times. That ain't a 911. Once you get over that you are on your way...although you could always put a 3.6 engine in your car...that would help with the torque

I drive my SC every day to work, and even though I drive rather tame, I still tend to be around 3K while cruising. As others will say, the fun starts above about 3.5K. For me part of the fun is in being smooth with the shifts. I let a good friend of mine drive my car a few weeks back and was gritting my teeth...he shoved it into the gears and was "digital" with the clutch. Ham fisted rather than fluid...my poor 915!

At any rate, congrats on the car. Drive it every day, and try and head out after the wife and kids are asleep for a few drives in the twisties...good for the soul.

[clevy70911T]

Originally posted by fitz
[B]Thank you all for the comments,

As A Quiet Boom has said I'm use to the newer cars that wine at 3000rpms and screem "no more please" at 3500. So, I wasn't sure if there was a difference, but now I know...Thank you.

/B]

That's so true with me and combined with how loud my early car is, I am in the habit of cruising through town at 2200 rpm.

Am I really doing any damage driving the car through 40-50 mpg areas in 5th gear around 2000-2300 rpm? I always downshift to accelerate though, instead of having the engine pull from down there.

Scott
70 911T

[A Quiet Boom]

Originally posted by clevy70911T



That's so true with me and combined with how loud my early car is, I am in the habit of cruising through town at 2200 rpm.

Am I really doing any damage driving the car through 40-50 mpg areas in 5th gear around 2000-2300 rpm? I always downshift to accelerate though, instead of having the engine pull from down there.

Scott
70 911T

As long as you don't lug it at all and downshift for acceleration that's fine but do make sure to get it up on the freeway for some 30+ mile trips to keep the carbon buildup away. My 2.0E that I had previously would drive at 2300 but it much prefered 3000+ any hit of acceleration would cause it to lug or ping both are bad. However the on the side streets in my neighborhood I would run it down around 2300-2500 at like 25mph but they are all flat streets with no hills to accelerate over.

[widebody911]

Bring it by my house (I'm in Carmichael) - I'll show you how to drive it.

I need a fix - I've been Porsche-less for a week now due to the broken steering rack.

As an aside, it's true that a Porsche will get your though times without sex better than sex will get you through times without a Porsche.

You'l definitely get accustomed to the power. My car feels like a barge now, (being up on jackstands notwithstanding) but I have to wait until I get in a money way to do something about getting more power.

BTW, I've been going to Franks for a few years now.

[89911]

Originally posted by autobonrun

With respect to driving, get out of traffic. You'll never see the car's capability in traffic. Drivers training as mentioned is great, but on your own, just find some nice low-traffic roads to play on. You can still have a good time within the speed limit if they have curves. I frequently red line my car, only shifting at low rpms when I'm doing relaxed driving. Typically I shift at 4500 to 5000 rpms.

Now some don'ts particular to a 911:

1) Don't nail the throttle if the road is wet. Seems obvious, but I know someone that did it without thinking.
2) Don't let off throttle in a curve or the tail can quickly swap places with the front. Remember your car has a 40/60 weight ratio. Know your maximum speed BEFORE entering the curve and basically either keep a constant speed or accelerate through. If you realize you are going too fast and the tail does start to come around, concentrate on the driving, steer into the slide, and stay on the throttle.
3)Don't measure the oil level with the engine turned off. You'll overfill it.

Happy Motoring.

I'd like to politely disagree. I often thought this way until I became a track enthusiast. Your message is a bit contradictory also. Giving instructions on high speed turns even approaching the limits of cohesion is extremely dangerous. At this point your reaction time on whether the car is going to spin or you are going to save it is in milliseconds. I don't think you would want to even think about setting your car into 4 wheel drifts, no matter how quiet or desolate the road is. Chances are there is a guard rail or tree just waiting for you. I would venture to guess most 911 drivers who went on the track spun their car at least once. Now imagine this on a road with no runoff and hard objects in the way. PartsHeaven doesn't need anymore cars!

[Ove]

Hi, Fitz,
Give the engine time to warm up before you take it to the redline. 6000RPM directly from startup will shorten the life of your engine. Because it has not yet reached correct operating temperature it is more "fragile". In this condition the strain on the moving parts is greater, and you will reach the point where things start to go wrong (rebuild-time) sooner. When my engine is cold I rarely go above 3500 RPM!

After reaching normal operating temperature however, you should not be afraid to use the entire RPM range.

[steveW]

Like this

[autobonrun]

Originally posted by 89911


Giving instructions on high speed turns even approaching the limits of cohesion is extremely dangerous.

I need to clarify here. My guidance was not instructions on taking a high speed turn. I agree that that is for the track. My instructions were intended to describe the reaction to take if a curve suddenly became a high speed turn because an individual new to the idiosyncrasies of a 911 entered it too quickly. The reaction is applicable on the track or on the exit of a freeway. The immediate reaction is to come off the throttle. I just want to point out that if you find yourself in this situation, don't follow your instinct in a 911 because it is much less forgiving than a mid-engine or even a front engine car. I think we are on the same page.

[Axeman]

Just like this...