993 handling in the rain...

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Well, it was bound to happen. I spun my 993 on Sat. No damage, no injurires, no soiled shorts. But it was quite a rush. After a light rain, I was making a right turn onto an empty road. No one was around, so in 1st gear, I floored it in the turn, rear end immediately broke loose and I found myself in a spin. I immediately put both feet in and actually enjoyed the split second of wondering what was gonna happen next. I ended up exactly 180 deg. turned around, parallel to and about 1 ft. from the curb. Before I could do my K-turn to get out of there, a few other cars came around the corner and sure looked a little funny at this Porsche facing the wrong way on the wrong side of the road. I thought these cars were supposed to be a little tougher to break the rear end loose than on the Carreras. This one felt exactly the same as when I had my Carrera on the skid pad at the track. Do I need to install LSD when I DIY a tranny rebuild in Marcesq's garage?

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

Now you know why people like 275/40 & 315/35

Only prob, is that when the let go you are going a lot faster.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Bill, that brings me to my next question. I don't remember what size Kuhmos I have on my 17" wheels right now, but they are clearly not as wide as they could be. BTW, they have almost no wear on them (at 3k miles) and I had about 250 miles of hard hwy driving on them that day just before I spun. My dad was looking at my wheels and said that if I went with wider tires, they would spit up gravel and tear up the edges of my fenders. I haven't noticed any paint wear on other 993's in this area with wider tires. So can I just get the phattest tires possible and not worry about this?

Another question - I was checking out a local C4S for a Rennlister from Chicago last week. It had nice 18" wheels. When we went for a ride, I detected no difference in ride smootheness from my 993 with 17" wheels. Others have told me 18" would make a rougher ride, but I didn't notice it on the C4S. Would it be different on my mere C2?

john_colasante · 07-14-2003, 08:21 AM

Bigger tires wouldn't help you in that situation, or at least not in a useful way. It sounds like you just punched the gas to abruptly. If you fed the throttle in more gradually (but quickly) you could have induced power oversteer in a more controlled manner.

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

The problem is similar to that on 911s. I have chosen not to worry about it. The guys over on Rennlist are far more familiar w/ those cars, what fits, what works. When I find the right one i'll be asking you guys.

Gotta agree w/ JC about throttle application I was just kidding w/ my response smoothness is always key, even more so in the wet.

Anyone have a lead on a white or silverm over black 993RS(DOT/EPA approved)?

john_colasante · 07-14-2003, 08:26 PM

You mean like this one Bill? Sorry, it's not DOT approved. When you figure out how to import one of these let me know...

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

Yeah John, just like that, except for the rear spoiler. A bit too boy racerish for me.

billh1963 · billh1963's Garage

Can't comment on the rain driving...my C4S is rock solid even in the heaviest downpours!