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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
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Pushed the 944 to its limit today...
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84 944, 87 Vanagon, 88 Mitsubishi Van Wagon, 1990 Audi 90 20V Quattro sedan, 1992 Lexus LS400, 1993 LandCruiser, 1997 LandCruiser, 2017 Subaru Outback. |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Issaquah, WA
Posts: 12
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A great story, told well. Thanks for sharing and reminding me why I bought a 944.
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 262
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Understand completely, glad you got to experience the car you have.........
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Registered User
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Awesome Story indeed glad to had fun! I love driving my 944s!
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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
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Thanks. Over the last couple days I've thought about how rare that chance encounter was. Were I not alone, I would not have done it. No passenger I know would have been remotely comfortable in the rain diving into sometimes 10 corners a minute within a click or two of sliding. Things were sliding around immediately, and as we got started I grabbed all the stuff that moved and tossed it into a drift in the passenger footwell. Fire extinguisher, cell phone and charger, umbrella, coat, hat, etc. And for him the same - he happened to be alone as well in a competent and powerful older car and otherwise might have come up on me hard for fun but not hung it out like that.
A few days before this happened, I finally found time to finish up a couple things. A slight dead spot on center as it transitioned from left to right turned out to be the left tie rod which I replaced Wednesday. So, the steering feel is now truly remarkable and I'm sure the coming alignment will make that even more precise. Yeah, that was amazing. For those that appreciate such things, I hardly touched the brakes, using the engine as you would in competition to control speed into corners when possible and having it in the power band. So when I came out of curves at full throttle there would sometimes be the slightest rear jiggle of a driven tire patch losing grip. He must have been holding gears in his automatic (I think those are all autos) and doing the same thing because I did not see a single lurch from a switch to brakes and back to throttle which you'll easily see at such close quarters. Hope I find a note on the car sometime this summer....
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84 944, 87 Vanagon, 88 Mitsubishi Van Wagon, 1990 Audi 90 20V Quattro sedan, 1992 Lexus LS400, 1993 LandCruiser, 1997 LandCruiser, 2017 Subaru Outback. |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 15
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Wow, sounds like a fantasic experience, great story and very competent company. People who are quick to write off the 944 as underpowered or "poor man's porsche" have never had a drive like that.
Thanks for sharing! |
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Space-time continuum
Posts: 1,101
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If you want to push a car to the limit, do it on the track. With a car that's in proper shape.
Not on the street. People could be walking around, some animal, a car part could fail, etc. |
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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
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Yes, I agree. No matter how good you are, no matter how good the car is, the street has variables that are dangerous at limit-handling which a track does not. In addition, you are forcing others to accept the risk of your behavior. That means someone's Mom, Sister, or a child. No excuses for overdriving a public roadway.
Glad you brought it up.
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84 944, 87 Vanagon, 88 Mitsubishi Van Wagon, 1990 Audi 90 20V Quattro sedan, 1992 Lexus LS400, 1993 LandCruiser, 1997 LandCruiser, 2017 Subaru Outback. |
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 206
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Great story, although a I did cringe at some of your description. Ever since I spent the better part of 5 years doing open wheel SCCA racing, my overly aggressive street driving has all but disappeared. However, last Summer I did have a similar event driving on dry roads through some great twisties on a warm Summer day. I’d describe it more as fast flowing through hilly curves at about 7/10ths. I was in my 912 closely followed by a brand new Corvette Stingray. We got to the first stop light and pulled up next to me with the biggest grin on his face and said, “thank you for that”. And then he rumbled off......
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1968 912 1974 914-6 3.2 conversion (gone, but never forgotten) 2012 Mustang |
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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
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Yep - appreciate the honesty in the 'cringe' comment. I'm in my late 50s and have a personal lifelong ethic against any vehicle racing on a public roadway, and a long automotive development career with GM, and Lexus. I routinely drove prototypes home, and carried papers in my wallet allowing me to operate vehicles that did not conform to DOT/NHTSA and other rules. Many of them were hyperfast. So it came with the territory - respect for the road.
I like the fast flowing comment - captures part of the feel of it. I think you're right about track driving and its impact on street driving. Something about human nature there. You wring out a machine on a track a few times and it makes you keenly aware of the danger and folly of doing the same on the road where there are oil patches, manhole covers, children and too many other variables to count. Makes the track feel safe, and the road feel dangerous. Which is how it should be, eh?
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84 944, 87 Vanagon, 88 Mitsubishi Van Wagon, 1990 Audi 90 20V Quattro sedan, 1992 Lexus LS400, 1993 LandCruiser, 1997 LandCruiser, 2017 Subaru Outback. |
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 206
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Quote:
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1968 912 1974 914-6 3.2 conversion (gone, but never forgotten) 2012 Mustang |
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Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
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Ooh. I tried to look it up but couldn't find a photo or similar. Couldn't, but rarely does contact occur that doesn't leave an impression.
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84 944, 87 Vanagon, 88 Mitsubishi Van Wagon, 1990 Audi 90 20V Quattro sedan, 1992 Lexus LS400, 1993 LandCruiser, 1997 LandCruiser, 2017 Subaru Outback. |
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