How Do You Enjoy Porsches on Public Roads in Australia?

[Shedpest]

@luzzo  that SPS is one cool bike.

Probably shouldn't have bought the bike subject up.

Shitty photo from 1996 when I picked up my 95 916, that was were the Italian love affair started, now the whole house is full of them.

Still like giving them a punt but all on the track now

[tomo]

23 hours ago, LeeM said:

 Yeah it was mate. I raced my Yamaha TRX850 at the Buell Rolling Thunder meeting at Mac Park, South Australia and got 3rd overall 

  

There's stil a few limping old blokes that race at the park, They have some classic bikes within the crew.

[Shedpest]

1 minute ago, tomo said:

There's stil a few limping old blokes that race at the park, They have some classic bikes within the crew.

I raced there 3 weeks ago in the "Old Farts " meet

[tomo]

2 minutes ago, Shedpest said:

I raced there 3 weeks ago in the "Old Farts " meet

Would have been over for a look , But us vicys have the boarder ban

[LeeM]

4 minutes ago, Shedpest said:

I raced there 3 weeks ago in the "Old Farts " meet

 Howdya go? 

[Shedpest]

7th in the Moderns and 6th in the 45-60 age so didn't bring a sheep station home.

Just good to go out and have a punt and get away with the boys for a weekend.

[Fishcop]

I recently sold my late Uncles P3 CYB77 racer - seems no one is racing the really early stuff much anymore and it seemed a shame to keep it under the house...

[Fishcop]

Well Jkay, I reckon we've really speared your thread right off course now  

 

[LeeM]

2 hours ago, Fishcop said:

Well Jkay, I reckon we've really speared your thread right off course now  

 

 No idea why you'd think that! Very good unlike PFA threads 

[Jkay]

21 hours ago, Fishcop said:

Well Jkay, I reckon we've really speared your thread right off course now  

 

Yes I need to get everyone banned now 😅😅…. 

Im all for it! Enjoying anything on the roads is a good thing to me lol 

[mhh]

Living in Adelaide is better than Sydney and Melbourne for road driving thanks to the Hills and the ease of getting away from populated areas by heading north, south and east. The Red Centre offers thrills of a different kind and a bunch of us truck our cars to Alice once a year for a long weekend drive to the Rock and Kings Canyon etc. But for the best sustained driving experiences on the road in Australia, a berth on the Spirit of Tasmania is required. And a manual gearbox.

[Goon]

Agree with all the sentiment here, I haven't been enjoying my cars so much these days. In the past it was more about enjoying the flow of the road and staying within the limits without being a d-head. Now I find myself hitting the brakes and glancing down at the speedo every time I see taillights parked on the side in the distance on a lonely country road. I've been out a few times with the Cayman S, but I haven't been able to feel comfortable or or enjoy the road I'm on without thinking "I don't want to end up on Highway Patrol". Say what you will about the draconian laws, but its pretty obvious from this thread alone, they are having an effect on the driver-enthusiast psyche which really is crushing the enthusiasm for cars and the desire to explore far flung towns outside of cities. Perhaps the 'slow car, fast road' approach has merit!

I still enjoy the very odd trackday, but on track, I feel obliged to go a fair clip all the time, and the wear and tear, plus the costs adds up quick!

 

Circling back to the original question. Your best option is either slow car-fast road, get the release out on track or pick your timings on quiet roads. All have significant trade offs. Or just hire a car and hit the 'Ring every couple of years.

[Jkay]

59 minutes ago, Goon said:

Agree with all the sentiment here, I haven't been enjoying my cars so much these days. In the past it was more about enjoying the flow of the road and staying within the limits without being a d-head. Now I find myself hitting the brakes and glancing down at the speedo every time I see taillights parked on the side in the distance on a lonely country road. I've been out a few times with the Cayman S, but I haven't been able to feel comfortable or or enjoy the road I'm on without thinking "I don't want to end up on Highway Patrol". 

I still enjoy the very odd trackday, but on track, I feel obliged to go a fair clip all the time, and the wear and tear, plus the costs adds up quick!

Circling back to the original question. Your best option is either slow car-fast road, get the release out on track or pick your timings on quiet roads. All have significant trade offs. Or just hire a car and hit the 'Ring every couple of years.

Yes I have to sadly accept that things are not going to change for the better anytime soon. I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say. As I've said repeatedly, the speeds I do overseas would get me on every TV show from a current affair to HWP and a lifetime ban, and thats just when we are "cruising" on our way to the twisties before we even get started. 

The search for a "slow car fast" begins

[FZP]

Hi all.

A couple of weeks ago about 10 of us went for a blast in the Yorkshire Dales. Everything from a GT3 Touring down to a Boxster, and everything in between. I thought it was going to be a snippy drive. Nope, it was a flat out sprint. If I drovelike that in Aus, no doubt would be spending some time at the Silverwater Hilton. There is a mandatory pic that is required from this area. I want to say that pic was taken about 9pm

[Jkay]

19 hours ago, FZP said:

Hi all.

A couple of weeks ago about 10 of us went for a blast in the Yorkshire Dales. Everything from a GT3 Touring down to a Boxster, and everything in between. I thought it was going to be a snippy drive. Nope, it was a flat out sprint. If I drovelike that in Aus, no doubt would be spending some time at the Silverwater Hilton. There is a mandatory pic that is required from this area. I want to say that pic was taken about 9pm

Ah that’s lovely mate…. I don’t know that part of the country well but can just imagine what it would have been like…

Can’t say I’m not slightly jealous 😀

[Jedly]

On 21/06/2021 at 00:13, FZP said:

Hi all.

A couple of weeks ago about 10 of us went for a blast in the Yorkshire Dales. Everything from a GT3 Touring down to a Boxster, and everything in between. I thought it was going to be a snippy drive. Nope, it was a flat out sprint. If I drovelike that in Aus, no doubt would be spending some time at the Silverwater Hilton. There is a mandatory pic that is required from this area. I want to say that pic was taken about 9pm

Ahhhh , home …..I do miss the single lanes and dry stone walls when going flat out !

….and yes you can get away with a lot more in parts of Uk . took me a lot of adapting to the roads here when we emigrated …. Well 42 points on my Uk licence on my temp visa (on the old system where they couldn’t ban you) in first three years … 🤦‍♂️ 
 

 

[Jkay]

22 hours ago, Jedly said:

took me a lot of adapting to the roads here when we emigrated …. Well 42 points on my Uk licence on my temp visa (on the old system where they couldn’t ban you) in first three years … 🤦‍♂️ 
 

 

Took me somE adapting as well. First moved to Melbourne in 2010 and cruising on the Nepean “Highway”

Ill admit I wasn’t sure what the speed limit was so I was doing to me what I thought was a leisurely cruise, 70MPH, which is just over 110 kmh as it felt like a suitable speed … It honestly felt like a slow cruise. Little did I know lol

Anyway, speed limit there is 80kmh, and I got booked doing exactly 112kmh (69mph) by some random unmarked car by the roadside (didn’t even know those things existed until I moved to Australia. 

Instant loss of license as it was (according to them) an EXTREMELY dangerous speed, and had I not been stopped, the streets would have been lined with body bags . That has been, to date, my only speeding fine in Aus, and hopefully the last 

[FZP]

On a trip back home I got caught by the cops doing 90kmh in a 60. They didn't get a reading but knew I was speeding. I'd been back 3 days and told The policeman as such and that I drive everywhere at these speeds back in the UK and was struggling to drive so slowly. I think he was so caught off guard by my honesty, he let me off with a telling off.

[tomo]

90 k in a 60 The copper must have been high to let you off.

[Coastr]

Don’t you know the likes of the USA, uk and Germany it’s hard to get up to speed for all the wrecked cars and dead bodies everywhere, caused by people driving 10mph over the limit.

[Jkay]

Got back to Aus in the last couple of months and have had to completely re wire my brain where driving is concerned …. 
 

Overtaking in particular is interesting …. Overseas, I’d check all is clear, drop a cog or two, change lanes and accelerate about 20-30kmh more than the vehicle I’m overtaking and pull back in front of them a safe distance ahead and get back to whatever the cruising speed is. 

Back here it’s change lanes and try and inch past them about 2( 3kmh tops)faster than them, not going ah faster  for fear of getting done or receiving hate, and IF I manage to get past, try not get too close when I get back in front of them

If they decide to speed up even 1-2kmh while I’m trying to pass tho, it’s all gone lol 

[sleazius]

I’m no saint on the roads yet I’ve never been booked. It’s all about picking your spots….. and living on the edge of the city helps too 

[LeeM]

4 hours ago, sleazius said:

I’m no saint on the roads yet I’ve never been booked. It’s all about picking your spots….. and living on the edge of the city helps too 

 Same here.

 I'm not into top speed stuff, in fact I can't remember the last time I went over 110kph in a 110 zone, yet I understand why a lot of owners love to open them up which is fair enough, though I've witnessed some real fkn idiots at warp speed which is just an accident waiting to happen. 

 Coming from many years riding bikes, I just expect the unexpected on country roads (cows, horses, kangaroos, fallen trees, locals with their tractors, Camry drivers with tissue boxes on the parcel shelf etc), and I also need my license for work.

 I have the Adelaide hills a short distance from home, and most of the best twisty roads where I think the real driving fun is are 2nd and 3rd gear that are sign posted at 80kph. I don't think I'm slow in the hills, yet I stick to those areas and my own lane as much as possible just in case theres secret cops sniffing for some revenue.

[sleazius]

6 hours ago, LeeM said:

yet I stick to those areas and my own lane as much as possible just in case theres secret cops sniffing for some revenue.

My system is this:

1. If I don't know the road or the area I don't break the speed limit by more than 10% (unless I'm off in the boonies with zero other cars around).

2. Don't be a goose in traffic

3. I've also had to add to this since the advent of those stupid unmarked private speed cameras which is any car on the side of the road is suspect, especially if in an area I don't know

Seems to work for NSW, or has for the past 25 years anyway. That 10% marker probably wouldn't work south of the border though 

[OZ930]

7 hours ago, LeeM said:

  yet I stick to those areas and my own lane as much as possible 

This is something that I have been doing for years too.  Reducing your “ useable” road increases the sensation of speed and increases the need for accurate, smooth driving.  In the olden days, when the metric system was being introduced,  the speed advisory sign would be converted to imperial ie, if the sign said 35kph then this would be read as 35 mph (60kph roughly) thus giving you a challenge.  With metric speedos, some simply doubled the number.  Not so easy in an old Holden or Ford.