just drove a 2004 c4s tonight on the backside of 84 in woodside. my friend drove down from four corners and then back up initially. that ride was whatever, it was his like 2nd or 3rd time on the road, in the dark, i was not expecting a wild ride. the car was very stable and performed well, but nothing crazy.

i ask to drive and he said okay.. this thing only has 600 miles so i had to keep it below 5k. i think i went up to 5.5 max. but no more than 70% throttle. i head down and the first few turns i was scared shytless. the car was not turning in at all, and it was phucking shaking mid turn as i exited. i was scared. it felt like one of the front tires lost pressure or something.

we decide to turn the traction control off. PSM they call it. i still dont know what it stands for. the car no longer wobbled after that was turned off. funny thing is that there was no light telling when the system intereferes. i believe that the system just cuts power to the front wheels, or maybe even applies brakes, resulting in the wobble. this is not cool while trying to push the car at 75% ability. it really messes with u.

now i have driven sti, and on this road, the sti is god. this road has a lot of sweepers, switchbacks, but also some mid speed hairpin sweepers *my favorite* (entry at around 45-50, exit at redline in 2nd)

i have thrown sti into these turns at wild speeds coming down from 80mph, and the awd just sticks the thing to the road. i cannot say the same for the c4s.

turn in is shakey. turn in and the rear wants to move, no matter how gentle u are with the weight transfer. after u go for the gas, the car will straight up SHIFT a few inches before it hooks and starts to blast. the car will grip, but when u get off gas and on gas, the car does not tuck in, but rather the rear end moves. perhaps too much front grip? not enough rear? its hard to be smooth with throttle as max torque comes in around 4250. i was unable to go past 5k rpm, so im riding most of these turns in 3rd. granted dats not the best gear to be in, but if its already so twitchy with the power in 3rd, i dont want to feel what it will do in 2nd. it does not feel as solid as sti at all. the sti power is linear, it has torque that helps with intial grip after turn in, but afterwards its all horsepower.

the brakes of course are the bomb. i probably only used 20% of the braking abiltiy, was not able to get fast enough on the straights to use anymore of the braking power. this thing will straight up lock the tires if ur not careful.

gear box is tight, had factory short shift, and the clutch has a very stock feel. flywheel seems a bit heavy, it did not rev match very quickly, and required more throttle than most cars. i may be wrong about this, as i was unable to get a good driving position. the telescoping steering wheel did not extend far enough for my preference.

suspension is very stiff. it is so stiff that mid turn it feels like u could turn in harder and just full gas and the car will slide on all 4. the rebound of the suspension is a lil wild. its designed for high speed so i guess dats why its a lil too stiff, but the rebound occurs way too quicky, i could see people getting into trouble on the switch backs. a set back from the balance porsche aims for between performance and everyday driving.

steering is very solid. u are one with the road. a lil too much actually. a bit too much vibration for my taste. takes away confidence in the car's ability. the steering is somewhat tight, but not as sharp as the sti, this maybe caused by weak performing tires, but the sti feels like the steering ratio is closer.

the car was shipped from NEW YORK state so it has performance michilin radials on it. car was matched with tires that were suppose to see snow and rail. they are not super high performance, and are probably why the car DID NOT GRIP AT ALL!

i was unable to give a full evaluation due to not being able to redline the car and not having performance tires. but it has a lot of torque, so i think with even the best the car will be somewhat twitchy. should be rewarding with better tires, but i was not satisified with the speeds i was getting out of the stockers. some will say that the suspensoin will act the same way with better tires, just at higher speeds. i would say yes and no. the better the tires, the less twitchy the rear should be, resulting in more stable turn in and exits.

sti comes with high performance tires, the tire and horse power is perfect for the stock suspension. or at least i think so, i have yet to drive a aftermarket coilover equiped sti hard.

996 has too much technology. messes with the driver a lil too much. not as raw as the 993 (my favorite generation. 993 c2s please) supposidly the new 997 is less forgiving than the 996, and even quicker than 996 TT around the ring.

overall i am dissapointed, the car is simply not designed to handle mountain racing. high speed stability and speed are excellent. we were able to go from 100-140 in a matter of SECONDS. not even full power in 5th. the thing holds ground like nothing. sti would be left behind.

hm.. okay can't think of anything more to say. enjoy the review!

 

ttiwwop

 

Maybe its just driver error Rear engine cars do handle a little differently from front engine ones.

 

Aren't you the guy who wrecked when trying to keep up with Davon on Mt Hamilton? or was it Calvares?

 

Well POrche is a different bread of animal altogether. I would think that with the right tires, and some adjustment you could have a very capable car.

Also as far as conering there was a great article in the SCCA sports car mag last month on tail braking into corners. I will need to give it a try on MT Ham!!

 

Big breaking capability means faster track time....go much faster break harder and later into turn. Porsche has this mastered.

My buddies 1996 911 handled like it was glued to road...and we tossed that thing. Great excelleration, awesome breaks. Didn't feel any vibration/shaking like you described....perhaps the break rotors were warped or maybe wheels out of alignment? Simple things like that will mess up a ride big time.

lol I used break instead of brake...now i can't remember which one is right....I suk at spelllig.

 

err,

320hp, 273tq and 3,400lbs is excellent?

I read this story with a smile because I showed a owner of a C4S my tailights 2 weeks ago on 13. Wasn't even a challenge.

My EVO is modified, but not that much.

 

haha At least the C4S shifter feels good
right bryan?

 

My dad had an 02 GT2 that would make grown men **** their pants. It was way to fast for the street and the only reason I liked driving it was because I looked like P.I.M.P. Call me a pussie but that thing was too fast. I would make it my ***** today though.

 

i don't blame the way you feel. haha i wouldn't care what people thought. why? cuz i'd be driving my gt2 lol

 

tougefriends..

i am friends with some of those guys. yeah.. i guess i dont know how to drive a car. it must be driver error.

 

its not super fast.. i will tell u that. but high speed on teh freeway is wild. try taking that thing on a high speed track..

 

so....u wrecked behind davon, right?

 

On the internet means its a joke.

 

no that wasn't me.

funny u mention, another i-clubber did wreck behind me going down 84 on the side going towards 280. that was a shame... but there is no shame in wrecking. not everyone is a race car driver at birth.

some of u guys on here may be more talented then others, but if ur are talking about real racing, then all of you would be blown away in real racing situations against real race car drivers. so why act like little children everytime someone crashes while attempting to follow someone else?