Is this bad?

[PlayersExpress]

Originally Posted by Boxster101

Blinkwatt,
You are an idiot. You give all Porsche drivers a bad name. Forget the fact you don't have the skills of Michael Schumacher in the event of an emergency, you don't have the right to put the lives of others in danger. Grow up, or stay home.

Boxster101, personally I think he doesnt give Porsche drivers a bad name, we ALL do it and those that say they dont/never have are ignorant... as they say: Ignorance is Bliss.

On the matter of putting lives in danger, you do it every time you step in any car under any conditions. The most dangerous thing a normal person can do is get in a car... but we all do it anyways. Im not saying there is no logic in bringing up a skill level and what to do in an emergency at a high speed or hard turn, but when there's no one around i feel its perfectly fine because the results of your actions would be your own.

Ohh btw, Germany is doing just fine with the Autobahn.

[mikefocke]

Someone else is either paying your medical expenses or sharing in them through the rise in medical insurance premiums.

Someone else is paying to dig you out of your car and your car out of the woods.

And the taxpayers pay the police expenses of the required investigation.

And if the car is hurt, I'm sure you'll be wanting to collect on insurance.

This of course assumes that there is no one else involved.

I'm 62, just bought my first Porsche, a new to me 1999 Boxster, and immediately took it out on the most winding mountainous road I could find and pushed it to my limits. The car is so deceptively fast that I've found myself at over 100 mph on several occasions thinking I was only going 65. I've tried, unsuccessfully, to break the rear end loose by going 65 through a notoriously hairy 20mph turn at Point Reyes and the car never even squeeled the tires. Sobering reality came to me a couple of weeks ago when I was coming home from a docent party at PR, had the top down on a warm starry night, with the moon rising, and was cruising at 65 on a long, open stretch of road by Nicasio Dam. I was just ready to put my foot into it and open it up when two full grown deer jumped in front of me. I can't begin to tell you all the things that went through my mind at light speed including the memory of a high school friend who hit a donkey at night in Mexico in his 914 and it decapitated his girlfriend in the passenger seat. I braced for impact and put the binders on and was just ready to duck down so the deer would hopefully slide over the top of me when the car stopped so fast and so straight my teeth almost came out. The deer hadn't moved and were so close to the front that I could see their eyes. They strolled off into the brush and the story has a happy ending due to the incredible design of the Porsche breaking system. Point is no matter how familiar, deserted or safe you think you are we live in a populated world of humans and animals and any one of them can come out of nowhere and change the course of lives. Do I still want to take my car to the limit of my ability? Every time I get in it but I will do my radical driving at the track from now on and enjoy the performance of my car on the street within the limits that are required for safety of myself and others. My opinion and not posted to criticize or influence the opinion of others.

[2K3_Boxster_S]

Originally Posted by onshore

I'm 62, just bought my first Porsche, a new to me 1999 Boxster, and immediately took it out on the most winding mountainous road I could find and pushed it to my limits. The car is so deceptively fast that I've found myself at over 100 mph on several occasions thinking I was only going 65. I've tried, unsuccessfully, to break the rear end loose by going 65 through ....................................

I have to agree with you. Even on closed race course you are taking a risk, but that risk is Greatly reduced by the fact that it is being done in a controlled environment. Therefore making it a bit safer. It really is dumb to go flying 133mph down a public road regardless of the time of day or congestion. Not to say that I havn't done it. I have turned towards AutoX and Closed Circuit Courses for pushing the Boxster past legal freeway speed zones.

Also, back to your comment "I've tried, unsuccessfully, to break the rear end loose by going 65 ............"

I am assuming you have PSM turned on when you tried this? It is fairly easy to get the back out with PSM turned off. I would not suggest trying at speed of 65 mph. I keep it off for lower speed autocross.

Originally Posted by 2K3_Boxster_S

I have to agree with you. Even on closed race course you are taking a risk, but that risk is Greatly reduced by the fact that it is being done in a controlled environment. Therefore making it a bit safer. It really is dumb to go flying 133mph down a public road regardless of the time of day or congestion. Not to say that I havn't done it. I have turned towards AutoX and Closed Circuit Courses for pushing the Boxster past legal freeway speed zones.

Also, back to your comment "I've tried, unsuccessfully, to break the rear end loose by going 65 ............"

I am assuming you have PSM turned on when you tried this? It is fairly easy to get the back out with PSM turned off. I would not suggest trying at speed of 65 mph. I keep it off for lower speed autocross.

My Box doesn't have PSM so I've been attributing it's traction to the PZero tires that are on it. The turn I mentioned also has a very wide hard packed dirt ramp next to where the car would slide into and not impact anything if it did break loose. I'm going to the SR Autocross this Saturday for the first time and expect it to be challenging enough to give the car, and more importantly myself, a test. I want to come away with a better idea of how to drive this great piece of machinery.

[schnellman]

I drove the autobahn every day for ten years and there are three reasons why it is relatively safe: (1) German drivers spend months, sometimes years learning to drive before they are issued a driver's license. (2) Germans are the most disciplined drivers in the world. They always signal their intentions and they understand lane discipline. It's a driving violation to not get over for a faster car. (3) Most (not all) of their cars are designed to run safely on the autobahn.
Having said that, they also have some of the most horrendous crashes in the world with dozens of cars and dozens of fatalities in a single incident. The most frequent cause of these accidents is fog. Drivers often don't slow down enough and since you can't see enough to gauge your speed, drivers often speed on into the fog and then into each other.
Giving a 15 or 16 year old a driver's license after they pass a simple written test and drive around the block is ridiculous at best and criminal at worst. Just look at the statistics.

Just my 2 cents!