How to Find the Limit of your Porsche Safely

Daily Slideshow: Driving cars really fast is an art form that takes patience, understanding, determination and a fined tune sense of where the tires will break loose. So, how do you acquire this sense?

By Christopher Hurst - August 14, 2018
How to Find the Limit of your Porsche Safely
How to Find the Limit of your Porsche Safely
How to Find the Limit of your Porsche Safely
How to Find the Limit of your Porsche Safely
How to Find the Limit of your Porsche Safely
How to Find the Limit of your Porsche Safely

Anticipation

One of the biggest things you need to be doing when you drive your 911, Boxster or Cayman is to stop reacting and start anticipating. This advice comes from thousands of hours of seat time and will definitely save your tailpipes more than once. As you go into a corner, be aware that you could lose traction at high speed. Step 1 is to understand it will happen and that it can happen at either end of the car. 

Take Advice From Your Tires

You might not think your car is talking to you, but it is. It’s actually giving you advice about where the limit is and how fast you’re approaching it. This advice is called tire squeal. Everyone knows the sound when they are about to spin because the tire noise is unbearably deafening. If you can hear your tires you are now approaching the limit. Proceed with caution. 

>>Join the conversation about learning to tame your Porsche safely right here in Rennlist.com.

Loading Up

Physically speaking, your body will start to feel g-loads as you increase cornering speeds. Learn to use the physical feeling of blood moving around in your body to know what it feels like when the car is about to give up on you. This is why it’s so important to be smooth with your feet and hands: the smoother you are the more progressive the g-loading will be. That will make it much easier to predict when it’s going to step out on you. This is how you look like a hero.  

>>Join the conversation about learning to tame your Porsche safely right here in Rennlist.com.

Know your Equipment

Remember how your tires talk to you? Well, not all tires are chatterboxes that want to hear tell you how they feel.  Here’s where things get challenging: racing slicks make very little noise compared to street tires. Finding the limit on a race tire can be much harder as they produce more grip and make almost no noise until it’s too late. This is where “loading up” comes into play. When you can’t hear a tire you have to rely on your other senses to find the invisible point or no return. 

>>Join the conversation about learning to tame your Porsche safely right here in Rennlist.com.

Get Instruction

Something funny happens when someone faster drives your car: you usually subsequently get faster. How is that possible if you’re not the one driving? Your brain has a little mechanism in it that subconsciously understands the concept of “anything you can do, I can do better.” Watching someone else drive your car can instantaneously ramp up your sensitivity to the limit. Sometimes taking a step back is the best way to move forward and see the big picture. We get caught in our own heads too much at the track. Let a hot shoe drive your car, sit back and take notes. You will get faster and you will find the limit quicker.  

>>Join the conversation about learning to tame your Porsche safely right here in Rennlist.com.

Summary

Use every tool at your disposal to find the limit. From your body to your mind and even your physical equipment there isn’t one way to find the limit. It’s a process that takes years and years to master. Dedicate yourself tirelessly to the craft and you will be that guy who can jump in anything and wow the crowd. Ignore these tips and you’ll be another chump in the dust. Study hard and try to keep up until next time.

Hope you enjoyed reading this one.

>>Join the conversation about learning to tame your Porsche safely right here in Rennlist.com.

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