2003 Porsche Boxster (986) Oversteering
 

Today I was involved in an accident because my 2003, 2.7 liter, Porsche Boxster went into an oversteering condition accompanied by oscillations after accelerating into a left turn from a stop. It happened in about two seconds, so I could not have been traveling faster than about 30 mph. Could there be something wrong with the car that led to this condition? I purchased it in early October 2006.

Bill Keicher

I did the exact same thing when I first got my BoxsterS.
It was parked on the right side of the street. Pulled it out of
parking spot and made a very quick left
snap...
a complete 180 in a blink from a standing start.
It never happened again.
It was about this time a year Mid November and my tires I suspect
were worn a bit too thin and the air presure was proably too low.
Add to that cold tires and it went past the grip level.

Below 40 degrees, N rated summer tires are dangerous.

its happend to me also...did you floor it from stop and hook the left turn? probably. the tires are worn, causing it to skip. n too much power n turn from start.

Same thing happened to me. Only I was on the entrance ramp leading onto a highway during a light rain when I spun out and hit the wall.

Is it the fact that we are mid engine and 50/50 that we seem to spin like this?

I suspect it's helped by the fact we have a lower moment of inertia than a lot of cars because of the mid-engine, so Boxsters can spin easier (whether you want them to or not). As far as balance, technically boxsters aren't 50/50 (46/54 IIRC).

I'm assuming the non-rain-assisted accidents were cars without traction control?

-David

986 oversteering
 

My son has the same problem, he has Avon tyres fitted on his 986, and I have a 987 with Michelin tyres I have no problem, but his car is poor in the cold and wet conditions no problem in the dry. He is changing to Michelin. Anyone using Michelin on a 986 ?.Your comments would be welcome.

I have Pilot Sports that are 2 months old on a 986 S, but I only have experience with them in the dry. As long as you're not doing hard starts, the tires have been solid... in Socal anyway...

-David

I doubt that there is anything wrong with your car. As mentioned in the numerous posts, this is a character trait of the Boxster. I've spun my car on and off the track and it has always been caused by me driving too agressively.

I don't believe Boxsters spin easier than most cars. I do believe that there isn't much feedback from the car prior to losing control which gives the perception of being easier to spin. Drive a BMW at an autocross and then hop in your Boxster and you'll know exactly what I mean. You'll be faster than the BMW with the Box, but the BMW will be easier to drive on the edge because of the feedback.

Thanks for that Sammy, That is what I thought, however he seems to have no confidence in the Avon tyres and says he gets no warning. I have just read your second post and think you have hit it on the button. I will get him to read your post.
Regards Phil.

I've experienced this also. Only in the winter. I can also attest to the lack of warning, which gets your attention fast! Thankfully I never went 180 degrees, and was always able to bring it back in line pretty quick. First couple of times it happened I thought there might be something wrong with the car, as I had driven it much more aggressively during the summer with nothing but fantastic grip in the corners. My tires were brand new, so it wasn't tire wear. I came to believe it was due to the low winter temps causing the Z rated tires to be pretty hard. I take those immediate turns from a stop more slowly in the winter now. Eventually I'd like to get some wheels with winter tires.

As someone mentioned, most performance tires are very dangerous when the temps are below freezing. Mine is an every day driver and I get the Blizzaks on when the temps start down. Then I have to adjust to the fact grip is much less with the Winter rubber and they can break loose quite easily if not carefull. Having driven 911's in the cold I would say the Boxster is MUCH better in winter conditions but it's definately not like warm weather driving.

I will also add that I don't have experience with Avon, but by replacing them with Michelins (unless the Avon's are worn out) it will only move the driving limit slightly (unless you are going from a tread rating of 400 to 200). Do you really need to get a little more grip for everyday driving or would it make more sense to simply slow down a little bit?

My Goodyears were a huge improvement over my Michelins but it was because the Michelins were worn out. Yes, even Michelins get crappy when they have a lot of miles on them. With the worn out Michelins I had to adjust my driving because of the problem you experienced with the car wanting to spin.

All this goes out the window if you track the car or do autocrosses. If you do these types of events buy a second set of wheels/tires as wearing out a $1000k set of regular tires seems a little silly when you can buy 17" race tires for $500 and throw them on $500 worth of old rims.