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Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner MegaDork
1/12/17 11:13 a.m.

"Square left in 50 caution ocean" was an actual pace note from the Frenchman's Cove stage of Targa. It's a short downhill chute that's really rough and has a very wet escape route. Although when I think about it, it was actually square right.

Here's what happens when you get it wrong, a 944 goes for a swim.
Square right in 50 caution oh berk

Our in-car from 2011. Janel didn't use those exact words that year, but we both knew the corner. Her #1 goal for the race was "don't go in the ocean". In-car video

Here's 2008. You can't hear her properly. 2008 in-car

Fully on topic: Those two videos are an interesting comparison of the same car in two different modes. 2008 was a tuned four cylinder that had a very S2000 power curve (without the last 2000 rpm that comes from VTEC, yo). 2011 was a 5.3l L33, crappier tires (thank you rulebook) and some more spring rate on the same shocks. The V8 was faster and more relaxing to drive because I could be more conservative in the corners (and had to be due to the much lower grip), the four required more commitment due to the higher cornering speeds but slow acceleration. Go to my YouTube channel and you'll find pretty much the full 2008 and 2011 races uploaded. Good comparisons are Garnish (2008, 2011 and Bobby's Cove (2008, 2011).

On track, the four was unburstable fun. I would hammer on it and hammer on it and wind that engine out to 8000 rpm. It was a quick momentum car that was super-easy to drive and playful. Outsiders who drove the car loved it. It was all the good Miata stuff, just more so.

With the current V8 (up 100 hp from the videos), it's definitely harder on the car. More consumable use. Brakes are a much bigger concern and you have to use your brain when rolling on to the throttle. It's hot and noisy inside. It's still got the same nature thanks to an upgraded tire package, but now it's really freakin' fast. I don't let many people drive it, but when they do it mostly breaks their preconceptions. They expect evil, but what they get is a very friendly, easy car to drive that makes you laugh with the sheer lunacy of it and the joy of running down 911s in a straight line. I enjoyed the four cylinder version a lot, but I love the eight.

wspohn
wspohn HalfDork
1/12/17 7:24 p.m.

Must say I like a 4 cylinder option - retain under hood appearance and eight balance and you can get the output like a small V8. My street Solstice runs 375 bhp and 375 Tq and is very conservative. Well into the 400s is possible with a bit larger turbos. And they have more torque than the S2000 does, but starting at 2000 and have as much as the S2000 ever has (peaks at 6,000) by only 3,000.

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