Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Took my mate for a drive in the 924 last night with him mocking me about how I drove like Miss Marple. We were just coming off a roundabout & the back end went like nothing I have experienced before. Spun two & a half times with him saying "Jaine we are spinning, Jaine we are spinning" Really! In the end went up the kerb, onto the grass verge, slid along that & came to rest about a metre from the metal barrier. Me scared!
Started him up & drove to the petrol station up road & apart from him looking like a rather impressive rally car did not seem to be damaged although will have to check him properly in daylight.
So;
1. I have never driven a RWD in the wet (or dry) so think I need some serious instruction
2. Car has superstar tyres which my mate insisted were made of plasticine & we find a 24hr tyre centre to change at once

I will get the tyres changed today as I was not even hacking it last night & the way that thing went was like bambi on ice.
Jaine

Eeek

Sounds like you got away with it thankfully. Definitely get some better rubber, and avoid pirelli p6000s too.

As for RWD tuition the most important rule is that the more throttle you apply the more likely you are to oversteer, eventually losing the back end.

If you do find yourself in that situation then apply opposite lock on the wheel, but not too much or you'll end up fishtailing

HTH

Sounds like a combination of ching-chang-chong tyres & too much welly, may have been a bit of oil or diesel dropped to assist as well.
Had the Jag side ways on a roundabout in Bracknell the other day , not particularly quick but I had a suspicion of diesel being dropped there, comparison later with a BMW M3 colleague he had the same thing

RWD is basically practise, I started when I was 14 around my fathers garage in various RWD cars, not conducive to passing your test at 17 but great apprenticeship for later higher performance stuff

I got a similar rude awakeing with RWD years ago when I went from a Nova to MR2. I had the back end out quite allot in the first few weeks

Like the others have said cant recommend good rubber enough, my current tyres were bought for long haul and I need to change them if I want to have a serious play. In the wet especially mine are useless.

Toyo TR1s are a very good shout for 944/924 tyres, but I prefer Continental Super Sports. A wee bit harder wearing and much grippier in the wet.

I bet they only come in >= 16'' rims though..

You might be on to something there.

It's a PITA 'cos I quite like the teledials (yes I know I'm in a minority )

I like them too

Glad your ok! I started with reading the police drivers handbook. You can find it on amazon. It explains the basics of lift off oversteer & RWD stuff. Early hours of the morning being a hoodlum in the supermarket carpark. (Or whatever you can find) after reading the basics should do it. (Wet is best.) But use the naff tyres for that. Then invest in some new tyres. Probably Falcons on the 924 will help. But once you know what your doing it's not a problem. You can book a couple of hours on the skid pan if you don't fancy getting done for tearing up Tesco's. (I used Lidel to find the limits.)

had the same sort of experience (altho no offs) with the nankangs (known as ditch finders) on mine when i bought it, changed to conti's quite soon but did have some fun on quiet roundabouts first

The 944 is going to be my first RWD car and most of the roads I drive on are twisty roads in bad condition so to be honest the back end letting go does worry me somewhat.

Would be interested in doing a car control course at some point, maybe a few of us could get together and do it?

Don't worry the 944 is much more mild-mannered than most other RWD cars. It is quite communicative at the limit too

That's good to hear. I've lost the back end of my Passat on a couple of roundabouts around here in the wet but I think that's due to dead shock absorbers. A bit of counter-steer brought it back in line but once it scared the hell out of a learner who was waiting to join the roundabout lol

Well thanks for all the replies! did shake me up at time but when I checked him in morning apart from grass in the sunroof! he seemed undamaged so ordered two new rear tyres to match the fronts I got on the week before & drove back from Cambridge today in a monsoon & he seemed a totally different animal so apart from the naff tyres I think there must have been a spill. I will practice in a car park as I need to get my confidence back again.
Had a new exhaust put on (dansk) as old one was blowing & he sounds beautiful
Him after his ballet lesson other night