Rear axle steering

Do you have rear-axle steering, or have you ordered it, or do you plan to order it?


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thenaimis

thenaimis

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On the Taycan, it makes very little sense imo, except for the turning radius at slow speed.
Why do you think that it makes very little sense specifically on the Taycan?
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r553

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I read somewhere that when the car is equipped with rear axle steering the front steering rack has a different ratio. From the pictures the rear axle steering is implemented with what looks like steering rack with an electric drive motor.
 

DQLAV

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For a daily driver it's a great addition for small parking spaces etc.
I don't have it ordered on my 4S because i prioritized options for myself and unfortunately the budget didn't allowed it to take.
Especially in the city it is definitely recommended, if you drive long distances on the highway or quiet areas, it is not a must, so it is the case with us.
 

DaggieBe

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Why do you think that it makes very little sense specifically on the Taycan?
There are 2 use cases for RWS:
  1. Turning ratio in cities or small parking spaces: if this is important for your daily life, then by all means, get it. I never perceived this as a problem, so I believe the added value is little. In my honest opinion, it's a bit of an artificial problem (which does not imply it will not become something obvious in the future).
  2. Cornering stability and steering response: when you drive a GT3 very fast through fast corners (eg. on a racetrack), RWS will make the car feel more planted and easier to drive. However there are many more factors that will aid in cornering fast, like understanding (under / over) steer, the right tires, tire pressure, brakes, tarmac condition, temperature, finding the perfect brake point, finding the correct steering angle, changes in the car as the temperature of the tires / brakes change, etc .... Unless you track near the limits of your vehicle (which I believe very little amateurs ever do), RWS is not going the shred a second of your laptime. And a GT3 is a track-focused car. A Taycan is a heavy road-biased car (and a brilliant one at it). So in that regard, one might argue the Taycan will feel more sporty and alive without RWS.
A lot has been written on the topic of 'performance' options and how they often get in the way of generating the feeling you are driving a sports car. I'm not here to convince anyone of anything. I just wanted to share my opinion. For what it's worth, my 991.2 GT3 is a manual because I believe the involvement is larger than on the (faster) PDK equiped cars.
 

bangersandmash

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There are 2 use cases for RWS:
  1. Turning ratio in cities or small parking spaces: if this is important for your daily life, then by all means, get it. I never perceived this as a problem, so I believe the added value is little. In my honest opinion, it's a bit of an artificial problem (which does not imply it will not become something obvious in the future).
  2. Cornering stability and steering response: when you drive a GT3 very fast through fast corners (eg. on a racetrack), RWS will make the car feel more planted and easier to drive. However there are many more factors that will aid in cornering fast, like understanding (under / over) steer, the right tires, tire pressure, brakes, tarmac condition, temperature, finding the perfect brake point, finding the correct steering angle, changes in the car as the temperature of the tires / brakes change, etc .... Unless you track near the limits of your vehicle (which I believe very little amateurs ever do), RWS is not going the shred a second of your laptime. And a GT3 is a track-focused car. A Taycan is a heavy road-biased car (and a brilliant one at it). So in that regard, one might argue the Taycan will feel more sporty and alive without RWS.
A lot has been written on the topic of 'performance' options and how they often get in the way of generating the feeling you are driving a sports car. I'm not here to convince anyone of anything. I just wanted to share my opinion. For what it's worth, my 991.2 GT3 is a manual because I believe the involvement is larger than on the (faster) PDK equiped cars.
okay
 


Genau

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Quick story. I remember few things from when I was four years old, but a singular event is how frustrated I became when my Red Flyer wagon tipped over when I pulled it around a corner with a curb. That's when I discovered the major drawback of fixed rear steering. Now that I'm so much older, I also see the value of parallel rear steering at higher speeds. This gets the rear end out of the way during quick lane changes. So far it seems like you all are fixated on the ~1 meter reduced turning radius at lower speeds and ignoring the benefits of parallel rear steering at higher speeds.
 
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thenaimis

thenaimis

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In retrospect I probably should have had options for "have it, wish I didn't" and "don't have it, wish I did" in the poll. While it appears I can edit the poll still, I'm not sure there's a compelling reason to do so at this point (and I suspect editing the poll will reset everyone's votes which I don't want to do). Thanks for everyone's input. I think my decision is going to be "if it doesn't delay my order significantly to change it at this point, I'll add it".
 


bangersandmash

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In retrospect I probably should have had options for "have it, wish I didn't" and "don't have it, wish I did" in the poll. While it appears I can edit the poll still, I'm not sure there's a compelling reason to do so at this point (and I suspect editing the poll will reset everyone's votes which I don't want to do). Thanks for everyone's input. I think my decision is going to be "if it doesn't delay my order significantly to change it at this point, I'll add it".
Agree, why not add it:)
 

felixtb

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The amazing thing with the rear wheel steering is that the car feels and handles like its the seize of a golf! Truly astaunding, you are in the car and its small, you step out and you're dumbfounded of how long and wide it actually is.........
 

ron_b

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Regarding RWS and PDCC I have been trying to finalize my 4S build for a freeze in a week or so.
I now have all Performance Package option except PDCC (I added PTCV+ today convincing myself its also a safety feature...)
So now for only $1490 I can add PDCC a $3590 option by getting the Perf Pkg in the USA.
Note: RWS was a no-brainer for me, totally agree with @felixtb, it makes the car small.
RE: PDCC
Pro: Flat in corners, can take them faster without thinking.
Con: Many claim it's unnatural and can make especially passengers quite sick.
RE: PTV+ I am still on the fence (+0.1), as the Taycan has base PTV so PTV+ is getting you an Electronic Rear Differential Lock letting you power out of corners and have better behavior in foul weather (according to Porsche rep).

I was scanning for videos and such on PDCC and ran into this one on a 911 showing PDCC & RWS. The interesting part is that it's from 2016. So I do not fear these are some new fangled technologies Porsche is working out, they are quite refined.
 

ray23

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I read somewhere that when the car is equipped with rear axle steering the front steering rack has a different ratio. From the pictures the rear axle steering is implemented with what looks like steering rack with an electric drive motor.
Correct, if you spec the rear axle steering option the car automatically comes with a "sharper" front steering rack ratio, making the car even more agile. This is possible as RAS keeps the car stable at higher speeds.
 

Jayjay

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My dealer told me that the regular turning radius is already very good and reccommends rws only if planning to track the car which i wasn’t, so i didn’t order it.
 

ray23

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depends - turning circle is reduced by approx. 0.5 meters , but RWS makes the car more nimble when driving around in the city, on a country road, on the highway, on the track... so basically more or less in every situation :)
 

TAYC4N

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I don’t have it on mine nor have I driven one with this so I have no idea if I needed it or am missing it :)
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