Just some observations and clarifications regarding the GT cars vs. older, lower horsepower cars:
GT cars are a blast to drive and are amazing. I’ve driven a couple of GT4’s, a couple of GT3’s from different years and a 2016 GT3RS. I’ve driven them from 7/10’s to 9/10’s and I find that they are incredibly adept. I’ve driven them with the nannies on and with them turned off. Throttle response is great, they handle really well and the brakes are unbelievable. They do talk to an experienced driver quite well and let you make adjustments without too much interference as long as you’re below 95%. I know from experience that you can turn a high to mid 1:5X.XX at CVR in those cars when driven properly.
In my mind, the GT4 is a little more fun to drive, due to a better balance of handling, hp and I really like the manual shift. I just feel more connected to the car and let’s face it, the PDK in the GT3 feels like cheating. I think Dan A’s experience with his GT4 is enhanced by his many years of experience driving an early 911. He is attuned to the feel of a car and knows when he’s at the limit and is able to keep the nannies from interfering too much. I also think that after driving the Gulf car back and forth to the track with no creature comforts to speak of, he really likes the comfort of the GT4. Who wouldn’t?
Now that we’ve established that the GT cars are fun and fast, let’s talk about the meat of this thread. Can you learn to drive at the limits of one of these cars without getting into a nanny free, lower horsepower car? The definitive answer is....No (1% margin of error factored in.). Every really fast driver I know in PCA, POC, SCCA, etc., learned to drive without nannies. They learned in go karts, 914’s, 944’s, Miata’s, pre-997 series 911’s, hopped up Japanese imports and similar cars.
The advantage of ABS, PSM, PASM, and the rest of the nannies is incredible. The sophistication of these aids renders them practically undetectable to most drivers and very subtle to the rest until they really need to kick in. This leads a lot of drivers to believe that they are actually driving the car at a higher level than they are. Throw most of those drivers in Dan A’s Gulf car and you’ll hear grinding gears, see a ton of smoke from the locked up tires and most likely see spins more suitable to Olympic ice skating as they go off the track.
Diane Cafferata nailed it in her article and it’s something that many of us have discussed for years, increasingly so in recent years. The best way to learn to drive at the limits is to learn in a lower horsepower momentum car. The reasons are numerous. The majority of people driving a $100k+ car will not have the confidence to throw it around to find the limits of the car. I don’t care who you are, it’s a lot easier to take a $10K to $50K hit than it is a $100k to $250K hit to your bank account.
It’s easier to find the limits in a car with limited horsepower. Everything moves slower. You have more time to think. When you make a mistake, the car lets you know and you have plenty of time to think about it as you slowly build your speed back up. When you get things right, it works the same way. You have more time to think about what you did right. It’s easier to find the line when you have more time. You have to drive the correct line to go fast in a slow car. You have to use the entire track because “the speed is in the corners”. There isn’t 500 hp to get you to the next corner quickly.
It’s very satisfying to drive faster than someone else is in a “faster car”. If you’re in a 944 and you’re passing people in the red run group, that means you’re doing things right. If you’re in a 944 and everybody is passing you, that’s ok, they’re supposed to be passing you. There’s no down side.
If you really want to track your progress, regardless of what you’re driving, look at the BRI. You should work on getting into the top 10. Assuming there’s a full field of drivers doing timed runs, a top ten finish in the BRI means you drove well. Ideally you should be within about 2 - 3 seconds of the top BRI finisher. More than 5 seconds over that means you had bad tires, your brakes failed, the sun was in your eyes, a lizard ran in front of your car or some other excuse that prohibited a strong finish.
Ultimately this is about having fun. You can just go out, drive your car at your comfort level, and have fun. Some of us like to push our limits and try to become the best driver we can. I’m one of those and get a sense of satisfaction every time I do well compared to my peers. It’s not for everyone and I respect that.
Go out, be safe, have fun and I’ll see you at the track.
