360 Switched from a Boxster to a 360 Modena. Advice for getting comfortable with spirited drives?

Actually I haven't "switched", just expanded the garage to include the dream car.

I have had the 986 Boxster for 5+ years now and am very comfortable with the car on winding and twisty mountain roads. I have gone thru several "Boxster and 360" threads on the forum, and the one thing that I have read is that the Boxster is easy to drive fast. I absolutely agree with that. The thing is just so balanced and sticks to the road when cornering at high speed. It sounds like I have things to learn to get that level of comfort with the 360.

When I drove my 360 back from Seattle a couple of weeks ago there were a few corners in the mountains that I took at speed and the car just didn't feel as planted as my Boxster. It felt as if the rear end was light - so I slowed down.

There is speed, and there is the perception of speed. My Boxster has about 210 hp, but is definitely a momentum car. Over the years I have gotten comfortable where I feel that I am at my limit with cornering. Having 400 hp available in a car now has the potential to get me into trouble.

I am sure that the 360 is a much more capable car than the Boxster for spirited mountain drives, but does anyone have advice for learning to drive it better?

Don't coast around corners? Always either be on the brakes or on the accelerator to engage the suspension?

For hitting the tight corners, what's the best method to downshift the F1 transmission? Hit the brakes hard before the corner and downshift when braking, so that I can get back on the gas once I let off the brakes?

Once Spring is here I will have an trailer so I can take the 360 to the track in Salt Lake City. I figure that will be a huge help, but until then I would love any and all advice that you guys have.

I have a drive scheduled for this Wednesday after work up the mountain to the local ski resort. Lots of twists and turns. I am really looking forward to it!

 

The car should feel responsive and confidence inspiring, not nervous and twitchy. If it feels like the latter, I would have the alignment checked. That was exactly the case on my car when I first bought it, an alignment transformed the car. Other than that, just get seat time in it and learn the car.

 

What year is your Boxster and what year is your 360? You may be feeling the difference in old technology for the 360.

I had a 2015 Boxster S with the flat 6 cylinder and now have a 2009 F430. I think the Boxster handled way better in the twistys.

 

There is a race class for boxsters called "spec box". It's a great porsche race class for a reason. Those cars can handle! Ferraris just aren't great for the track but they are fun on track because they are ferraris. Anything you learn on a track in the box will translate to the 360. The big issue is higher speeds in the 360 and that means you get to and exceed limits much quicker and have to be physically quicker and more precise to deal with all that. You can take some turns in a 200hp box at full throttle with no drama but you might have to feather the throttle with 400hp 360 and that can actually make you slower through the turn until you learn to master it. Approach to a brake zone at 110 in the box is every different from 140 in the 360.