986S vs 987S steering feel

[Jacques79]

Originally Posted by Hops

I don't think that is true. If anything, I think the 987S communicates less to you. But, as I mentioned in my last post, it is as if the 987S suspension takes care of more for you and doesn't bother to tell you about things you don't need to know. It's kind of like an agent acting on your behalf.

However, as the previous posted noted, the 987S is more responsive to driver input. So, the car is telling you less about the little details of the road, but it is very perceptive to the instructions you are telling it.

A car with higher limits and lower feedback ordinarily is a dangerous combination, especially in a mid-engine design, but the 987S gives you clear messages when things are getting close to the edge, and I have found that it isn't too hard to control near the limit. I've only had PSM kick in once, and it was by choice. I intentionally pushed it past the limit on an on-ramp with lots of room for error.

So basically:

986S= Better steering feel, steering wheel follows the road more and doesn't go back to center automatically: more like an E30 M3

987S= Better steering response, quicker turn in, but steering feels more numb and isolated from the road: more like a Honda S2000

[Hops]

I haven't driven the S2000, but from what I've read, the 987S is more similar to the later model S2000, which are less apt to bite the driver for mistakes in weight transfer. The point being that the early S2000 models didn't communicate problems well enough. In comparison the 987S is often held up as a car that is easy to push hard. There is probably some truth to your comparison.

Comparing M3 vs. Boxster is tough because they are very different cars. I guess if you try to isolate steering feel, I agree with your comment. So many other factors make that a tough thing to isolate. To me, M3 is all about the engine, with the suspension and handling intended to manage the power. The Boxster is a car that frankly "overhandles" compared to the power it makes. It could easily stand up to 350-375 HP without getting tough to manage. In general, the mid-engined Boxster seems to have much better balance. Making these general comments just to explain that I do not find the M3 an easy comparison...