I always hear that Porsche’s are technically off balance due to the motor being behind the rear axle. If this is true and I would assume causes a lot of oversteer, then how come in all types of races, you see an obscene amount of 911′s? You see some Ferrari’s and Corvettes, and BMW’s but nowhere near the amount of 911′s. Why is that?
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Porsche has done an amazing job of minimizing the oversteer inherent in the rear engine (Yes, it’s true.) setup of the 911. One automobile magazine even put it this way: “Engineering trumps physics.”
Also, many newer 911s are all-wheel drive (Mine is, and all Turbos since 1997 and all 911s that say 4 or 4S on the back are all-wheel). That further kicks the oversteer problem.
The flat six engine design of the 911 is inherently superior for cornering. The low center of gravity means the 911s stay flat and in control in hard turns, when heavier and higher cg V8 cars are leaning and losing tire contact with the road surface. And remember, it’s not just absolute power that rules in the straights, but power to weight ratio. Porsches are light compared to many V8 cars.
That said, Porsches are not easy to drive. And really consumate drivers usually run rear drive only 911s because they weigh even less than their all-wheel counterparts. Racing is both driver and car. If you’ve got the real driver, she or he can handle a real car — the Porsche 911.
Added:
I forgot to mention that the cars don’t break. Running an Enduro is hard on driver and machine, and Porsche engineering is near “bullet proff” on the track and on the road.
there are so many 911 because of the fact that scince there only a boxter engine, they weigh less than a v-8, or a v-6. there also rear wheel drive so that kicks the unbalanced thing out the window.
There are many reasons, and which one is the deciding factor will probably have as much to do with the particular racing series… but consider:
Porsche has always been involved in motorsports, going back well before the company was formed and Dr. Porsche was involved in the Mercedes racing program and as a designer of the amazing Auto Union racers. Porsche cars have been, since day one, designed with that experience and background and are well suited to such use.
Porsche currently offers, and has offered since the 1950s, extensively well developed race cars at extremely competitive prices with very high levels of support. GT3 Cup Cars are seen in so many series as they are beyond competitive, very reliable, and very cheap to buy and run (at least when compared to other offerings, let alone the cost for a racer to try and develop his own package). Likewise in recent years for the GT3RSR and RS Spyder offerings. The same can be seen looking back in time at cars like the 962, 917k, 935, 911ST, RS60, and so on.
Porsche has not only been involved in motorsports, they’ve been very successful. As such, many fans of Porsches are also fans of racing. Thus Porsche ownership often leads to racing involvement and Porsches are naturally favored cars.
Because Porsches have such extensive track records, there still an active market in development and support for older cars, making these prime choices for vintage and amatuer racing (combined with the same virtues of reliability and speed that made the same cars attractive for racing when new).
Which all adds up to having many Porsches in racing.
Now, as for the rear engine issue: the basic design predates modern aerodynamics when it was considered an acceptable trade-off in order to help maximize rear traction. This led to a car which is difficult to drive, but when in the hands of a skilled driver, was capable of things that other cars were not. For all of the faults of the layout, it also produces a car that steers very quickly, having a front end with a very lower polar momentum and a pivot point that directly corresponds to the front axel! But is still more stable in the rear than low polar momentum mid-engined cars (which spin much easier, though are also easier to put back straight).
Oversteer tends to only be a problem for drivers that panic and lift off the throttle at the wrong time, which can send the car around quite quickly. The early cars can feel very nervous as well, making such a panic reaction even more likely… however, given trust in the car, oversteer is seldomly an issue (understeer in slow corners is more more problematic, as with most cars, but very easily solved in the 911 by inducing oversteer with the help of that weight in back).
However, most of that is reflective of older cars. While the newer models are still slightly more sensitive than some other cars, it is only a slight amount. When I’ve done laps in 996 and 997 model Porsches, it takes me quite a few laps to get comfortable with how aggressive I have to be in order to get the back end to break away compared with the older vintages I am more used to. I would characterize this as very very close to the same as many other sports cars.
The Porsche 911 has developed a new type of engine and its mid now so there no tail drag on the track plus they have gave it a big weight reduction so it goes allot faster even though it has very low horse power compared to other track cars. Last but not least the all wheel drive and the ceramic brakes make unbeatable on the sharp turns.
Between me and my husband we’ve owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I’ve settled down to one line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun to use the underappreciated (and widely mocked) Zunes are.
Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.
Between me and my husband we’ve owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I’ve settled down to one line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun to use the underappreciated (and widely mocked) Zunes are.
Sorry for the huge review, but I’m really loving the new Zune, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.
I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)
Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.