What went wrong here?
 

Disclaimer: I'm super new to MT and driving anything with more power than a 2000 Subaru Forester. :o

Second day of driving my Box I did EXACTLY what this guy did while making a left hand turn (driving hard obviously). What went wrong? I think I lost traction when I shifted into second while turning or something? Came close to wrecking - wound up 180 in wrong direction finally stopped next to the other cars turning left in the opposing target lane.. Super embarrassing too! :confused:

I did not watch the video but sounds like you upset the balance of the car mid-turn. If downshift to a lower gear that excessively raises rpms when you reengage the clutch, it's known as "engine braking" & has same effect as pulling the hand parking brake.
As you prepare to enter a turn complete all braking & shifting while the car & steering wheel are pointing straight. This allows you to go slower into the turn & faster out, which is the fastest overall strategy & incidentally safer if that's important to you.Get you & your Box out to a autocross where you can practice car control while only risking killing some cones. Boxster is one of the best street vehicles ever made to do what you direct it to do. Unfortunately if you give the wrong directions it follows those also without prejudice. ;)

You are driving a rear wheel drive car with a decent amount of power. If you apply too much power during a turn, you can break the rear tires loose and lose traction. When this happens, the back end will step out. If you don't know how to correct for it, the rear end will come around and you will spin out, which is what happened to you.

As BYprodriver said, time to learn some car control.

I spun my Boxster in the first week. At that time I was in my third season of autocross, previous car was FWD.
If there's any moisture on the ground and you're sloppy with the throttle it can break loose without warning.
The one downside to mid-engine car...the whole polar inertia thing...

it's a lot worse in the 911 .

I spun out on a Boxster test drive accelerating slightly in a left turn from a stop in rain, all this in the middle of downtown Chicago and ending up backwards.

I knew about apexes, when to slow down and accelerate but was still surprised I broke traction. Never drove a Mid Rear engine before though, I thought they would have more traction in the rear due to the weight being there.

Thanks for the input - next step is to find somewhere local to get some training. I'm about 1:45 away from Sonoma Raceway.

If I apply almost any power during a turn...my rear end gets sloppy. And I've done some autocrosses before so I have a little experience - but it's perplexing why it's always doing it even with just medium power applied on dry even roads. Tires are Michelin pilot super sport and in great shape.

First off wow, the guy driving the Porsche at about 7:40 in that video... If it ain't broke enough, keep driving it so it brakes more! That must have been a police chase.

Anyhow, I spun my Boxster at my first DE at Thunderhill. I was entering a sharp left turn and downshifted too early into 2nd gear. Traction broke and the whole car went for a spin. No damage and no harm thankfully, but I certainly learned where the limit is on how hard one can turn in these cars. This was about three months into owning my Boxster.

I recommend taking it to a safer track list Thunderhill where there is nothing but green on most sides of the track, rather than Sear's Point where there are lots of tires and guard walls to slam into. AX is another great option for learning the ropes on your P-car.

Seriously dude, take an advanced drivers course.

And always drive with your second most favorite organ.................not your first.

TO

You tried to turn and accelerate at the same time beyond the limit of rear tire traction. In other words, you broke the rear tires loose by accelerating hard in a corner.

Then, once the car started to rotate beyond the turn, you got behind in your steering and did not react fast enough to "catch it". Net result, you spun it around.

Nothing that a few track days can't teach. :)

And the 911 isn't worse, it is just "different". The Boxster rotates much easier and faster but is generally easy to catch using a majority of steering inputs. That's why people say that its "easier" to drive at the limit. But you need quick hands in a Boxster or you'll spin.

On the other hand, the 911 rotates more slowly but that rear end has a lot of momentum so it takes a lot more effort/skill to halt the rotation and reverse it and usually requires both steering and throttle inputs to do it right (which is technically more difficult than just steering alone).

Truer words we not spoken....I haven't spun my Boxster...yet but my old 911 used to love to swap ends. God help you in the rain.

Just saw your intro post, does your 2004 have PSM switch in center of the dash?

In addition to the good advice a bout about braking and downshifting before the corner, you have tu understand WHERE in a turn you can apply hard throttle.

Every turn consists of two phases, the first, when you turn the steering wheel in and the second when you unwind thenwheel the wheel back to center. Any hard application of throttle as you are turning in and you will spin. That's what you see most of the guys in the video doing.

Now, as you start to turn the wheel back to center you can apply increasing amounts of throttle all the way to full throttLe, as you come closer and closer to getting the steering wheel back to center.

Try this. Go to a safe parking lot on a wet or snowy day and as you make a slow speed turn, around 25-30 mph, hit the gas hard as you turn the wheel. You will spin. Do the same turn but this time, wait until you are unwinding the wheel and progressivel hit the gas hard as you keep unwinding the wheel. The rear tires will spin up but the car will not spin, ,you will exit the corner with the car perfectly straight, in control and the whole maneuver should not should not induce panic at all, in fact, once you get the hang of it, it's a blast. Be safe.

Cool, thanks for the advice with Thunderhill- I'll check into that!

No, don't have the PSM option on this Box. :/

Thx San rensho, byprodriver, and thstone for the insight!

I don't think I can drive with my liver.

Can someone please acknowledge this was way too funny. Or am I the only one loosing it here.... I almost pissed my pants after reading this

(off to work... can't stick on this forum... hurts)

Honestly.....where you are at now....go to your local indoor/outdoor carting place and spend some money. Learn about what it feels like to loose and gain control in a very safe environment. It's a place where you can drive *as fast as you can* and not cost yourself and arm and a leg if something goes wrong. You need to learn the fundamentals of car control. You're driving a Porsche. Respect that.

My own '02 BS is having issues with cold weather where the PSM goes to sleep until the car is warm. I thought the warning light was a bunch of BS. I was wrong. Came around a nice fun corner in the wet last weekend and gunned it and I lost the car. It took me *spinning* the wheel...not a correction...but full on spinning the wheel once in each direction until I managed to get her under control....right as I came into view to a police car. Oye. Lesson 1032 learned in life.

Learn car control. It's a biggie.