[masraum]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

I wouldn't, please re-read a tad slower ;-) I'm just questioning the "common wisdom" that it's a terrible thing when, after it happened to me by accident, it made *no difference at all* to the cornering. And I could not explain to myself why it would be so bad from a pure physics standpoint, based on what I know of tires/handling/circle of friction.. (aside of added controllability of the weight transfer you get from the gas pedal )

Just a simple physics question, looks like having the car on either side of coasting (slight power, slight decel) changes nothing in this case. In no way would I recommend driving like that, controlling the car on the gas is a great option to have.

Common wisdom is worth understanding sometimes... The first year I owned a 911, I was terrified of even getting off the gas (let alone brushing the brakes) in any turn situation, even at low speeds, because I'd read so much about them spinning backwards. Track days quickly disabused me of that notion and established the SC as an understeering pig, that would only spin if you completely screwed up or reacted by surprise at the limit. You actually drive these fast with the gas pedal/brakes more than with the steering wheel, so it's worth digging into common wisdom sometimes !

Yep. I was also a bit scared about lifting in corners. I started slowly probing, first at low speeds, by backing off the throttle and lightly hitting the brakes. But at low speeds it's not much of an issue because the grip from the rear is so high. Then I started at higher speeds, nearer the limits, by modulating the throttle. That's where I really noticed the ability to steer. I also tinkered with getting into the gas in corners to initiate more understeer. It was very cool. One one occasion, I was a bit crazy in a 270º on-ramp. I went in at ~60mph, right as I turned the wheel, I reverse-blipped the throttle, let completely off and then got right back into it. It was pretty cool, I drifted around about half of the on ramp. I had a few occasions over the years that I was driving where I went into a corner hot and had to reduce speed.

What really surprised me was that when I sold the 911 and bought a miata, the miata was about as easy to steer with the throttle as the 911. On at least one occasion, I had the miata catch me off guard and step way out because I'd let off in a corner. The main difference was that it caught itself since it didn't have the lump in the back like the 911.