@ Whoopsy : Is the Swiss owner the one with he Martini 918 ? If yes, we were together in the same group at the last Scuderia Hanseat course . He was there with his daughter . Say hi to him ( we discussed quite a bit our upcoming RS )
997.2 C2 , -20mm I 964 Carrera 4 I 991 GT3 RS
28-oct-2015 8:10:57
SportCarGroup:Mantas:SportCarGroup:
Whoopsy:
Met someone from Lithuania, I believe he has the only 918 among the Baltic states.
I guess he has the black one in Vilnius. Lithuania is my homeland, I saw a black one there couple of times.
This guy lives in Kaunas
Labas rytas :) Labai malonu matyti kad ir Lietuvoj yra tokiu dalyku.
Malonu, kad ir cia galima sutikti lietuviskai bendraujanciu zmoniu :)
Thunderstorm happening right now, and we are having lunch break waiting for the sky to clear.
@Gnil, yes that was one of the 2 owners with their cars from Switzerland
it was immense fun driving the 918 around a wet track, the car's limit is much lower and we get to explore the car at a slower 'safer' speed. But the highlight of the morning session was when I commandeered one of the instructors to give me a ride in the RS chasing the 918 group. We gives up a good 40km/hr on the back straight but around corners the RS is more than equal. He was pretty much at the limit chasing, sliding the rear of the car and play with it, he enjoys it much more than doing hot laps in the 918. This feeling is pretty much universal here, all the instructors have at least 10k on track with a 918 but they still like the 911 more on track.
Whoopsy:
@Gnil, yes that was one of the 2 owners with their cars from Switzerland
He told me his track programme, and it was basically one track event after the other for the whole season
He told me he would do the same deco on his RS as he has one the 918
Great you are having a good time despite the rain . And , yes, a wet track is actually nice to learn the limits of the car ..... specially there where you will not hit anything, only file your tires on the red spots !
997.2 C2 , -20mm I 964 Carrera 4 I 991 GT3 RS
28-oct-2015 13:44:17
Mantas:SportCarGroup:Mantas:SportCarGroup:
Whoopsy:
Met someone from Lithuania, I believe he has the only 918 among the Baltic states.
I guess he has the black one in Vilnius. Lithuania is my homeland, I saw a black one there couple of times.
This guy lives in Kaunas
Labas rytas :) Labai malonu matyti kad ir Lietuvoj yra tokiu dalyku.Malonu, kad ir cia galima sutikti lietuviskai bendraujanciu zmoniu :)
Kaip 918 tvarkos Kaune? Kaip keliai?
28-oct-2015 14:02:13
Nick, does spending so much time with a bunch of different 918s give you a different appreciation of the colours? Are you a bigger or lesser fan of some of them now that you've seen them in person so much?
Past-President, Porsche Club of America - Upper Canada Region
it was truly miserable during lunch, the rain is very heavy together with the thunder storm.
It was decided that the condition is too bad for the 918s, to go out, and Porsche had a backup plan. After lunch they are giving us hot laps in the Panamera and Cayenne Turbo S. It was a hoot to ride in them as the drivers were drifting those beast around the circuit. There was no fear of the Cayenne rolling over at all, it was planted.
Then the rain stops, but the track is still way too wet for the 918s, but good enough for the RSs and Turbo S, so we switch to those for some more lapping.
I didn't even bother going to the Turbo S, I stayed in the RS the whole time. Man was that fun, the RS is way more forgiving in the wet than the 918, the rear only comes out lazily and doesn't snap around like in the 918. Less power and less torque helps too, but after experiencing the 918 on the back straight, it was quite disappointing to wait for the RS to get up to speed. My group was a pretty fast group and with some skills, so we drifts the RS around corners just to play with it.
Then it was finally dry enough for the 918, yet I still opt to stay in the RS for a while, I REALLY REALLY doesn't want to get out of that car at all.
But soon the track was red flagged as fog rolled in:
Bummer.
Happy time!
The sun finally appears and we did more runs in the 918. Track still greasy but big improvement.
We the session is finally over, Porsche has another treat for us:
Rain tires going on the Cup cars, just in time for hot laps driving by their racers:
The GT Sports Driving School guys opt for the rides in the 918, while us 918 owners goes for the Cup car ride. Man what a rush riding in the Cup cars, those racing tires have amazing grip in the rain and their brakes are immensely more powerful than even the 918 brakes. Only thing the Cup cars give up is top speed at the end of straights, but it much quicker everywhere else.
What a day we had.
My view of the 918 has changed quite a bit after this experience.
Initially I was of the camp that the car is very forgiving because of the 4wd. But now that's only valid for dry condition. Because of the way the front wheels are driven, it doesn't do what normal 4wd car does, say in a Turbo. It doesn't quite pull a car through trouble in a turn, it is still basically a rwd high power mid engine car, and it actually snaps quicker and more than one expects. The pro-tip was that if the rear wheels starts vibrating, it's time to counter steer to save it, basically means before it even over steers. If it gets going, one might think ah I catch the first slide, but the counter one going the other way is almost impossible to catch. Even the pros gives it plenty of respect when driving, the car needs to be babied, the instant torque is just too much for the Cup2s even at speed.
Then I found out the RS is so much fun to drive even on a track, it is the perfect car! What a machine from Porsche is the unanimous decision.
Did I mention the sound? On the front straight, when the GT3s and the GT3RS flies by, if you are not looking, you would think those were race cars going by. The Turbo S is really quiet by comparison. I thought the 918 is loud from the inside, which it is, as with helmet on it is impossible to carry a conversation and the radio is barely audible. But on the fly by, it is of a lower volume than the RS surprisingly. Different note though.
Enmanuel:Thanks for sharing Nick ! seems like even with all that rain you guys managed to have a lot of fun. Did you stick with the same 918 and RS for every time you switched? seems like silver one time and white the other?
I was assigned the white 918 prototype. But I drove a few different RSs, a purple, a white and a orange.
Whoopsy:Enmanuel:Thanks for sharing Nick ! seems like even with all that rain you guys managed to have a lot of fun. Did you stick with the same 918 and RS for every time you switched? seems like silver one time and white the other?
I was assigned the white 918 prototype. But I drove a few different RSs, a purple, a white and a orange.
Which color was faster?
28-oct-2015 20:01:11
Whoopsy:sfo:ignoring the cost of each, if you had to pick the RS or the 918, which would it be?
RS. No doubt in my mind.
Happy you love this car knowing you own other great supercars.
i love mine too,but i can't choose with other cars,so is an easiest thing to do.
997TT RS Tuning stage II(sold),2011 Cayenne Turbo(sold),waiting 991 GT3 RS
Whoopsy:sfo:ignoring the cost of each, if you had to pick the RS or the 918, which would it be?
RS. No doubt in my mind.
I don't drive my GT3 often and as a result considered selling it several times. Just last Saturday I went to the Audi dealer seriously considering buying the new R8V10 Spyder (I love convertibles) and selling the GT3. But after driving the GT3 home I told my wife the car is so damn good I cannot part with it. The RS and GT3 are truly one of a kind fabulous cars. They tick all the boxes at a price point no other car can match.
Of little, to make much: That is the dream of a human life.