Living With a Porsche - Redux (1)

Well, it's been over a month of ownership for the 964 and a couple of weeks for the 993. I' working to sort some things on the 993, so I've been commuting (about 100 miles a day) in the older 964. Rain, sun, dark, light, you name it.

How do I feel about the car? Do I still like it? Do I still enjoy it? Am I going to keep it? How does it drive in real-world traffic? Well.. read on!

How do I feel about the car?
Still enjoy it as much as the day I test drove it. FUN. The novelty is wearing off (but by the looks of other drivers on the road.. for them it's still interesting to see one on the road in daily use). Despite the novelty issue, I still in love with the car!!

Do I still like it?
See above. It's a real treat!!!

Do I still enjoy it?
Hm.. I guess I'm really hammering on this point. YES. I ENJOY THE CAR. OK.. I think that is covered. It's a sweet driver! In fact my newer Mercedes is *still* parked, un-driven in the back of my driveway. Not only do the kids NOT like that car any more.. I'm sort of done with it too. Nothing wrong with the car, I just find that I like manual transmissions instead of autos. Always have, always will.

Am I going to keep it?
How long do I keep anything? Those who know me, know I'm not attached to things mechanical. At least, not in an emotional way. They stir emotions, sure. But even those vehicles I've owned that are often seen as vehicles that one should *never* part with (such as my Ducati Superbike I sold this year), are not immune to my chopping block. It's all for sale, at any time, for any resonable price. That said.. I plan to keep this baby for a long time (a long time for me at least). Very happy with my purchase VERY VERY HAPPY!!!

How does it drive in real-world traffic?
I'd think this is what anyone would really like to know about. So here is the scoop.

In stop and go traffic, the transmission gear ratio is such that putting along in 2nd gear is the norm. Only when the traffic is at a complete stand still, do I drop into first gear. Even then the smoothness of the engine and the gearing make it very VERY livable.

Unlike other cars I've had, it's not jerky or abrupt at the gear change. It's easier for me to drive in heavy traffic than the auto in my Benz. Really. Honestly. No joke. The 964 shows NO sign of running hot. The 993 on the other hand does in traffic. This is one of the things I'm sorting out on it. I think the oil cooler fan is shot or otherwise disabled. Not a biggie in our climate here but I like having my cars in PERFECT running order so I'm slowly working though this to see what the deal is.

At speed on the highway. It's ON RAILS! Germans know how to build cars. Period.

Well, not all German cars are built well (we had VW Jetta for a while that was a big stinky pile of crap.. thank goodness that went with the ex-wife!!). Digressing. Most of the German autos I've owned have been close too or north of the 100,000 mile mark. WELL USED. Yet these cars drove better than *any* other brands I've driven when new!

German cars are amazing. Solid is the word I used for these cars. Very VERY solid. The fact I'm commuting in a sports car is totally lost on me. It does not feel like I have made any compromise beyond loss of cargo space. It's easy to drive, in every situation. And fun to drive fast.. very fast... but that happens on the track and other closed courses, right?!?!

Yes, it's been a VERY short period of time but Porsche ownership is treating me very well. Now, if only I could get the passenger seat heater in the 964 to quit buring my friend's butts when the ride with me, all would be right!

First upgrade parts for the 993 ordered today.

H&R Springs

I've been thinking about lowering the car and tightening up the ride a little bit. Today I stumbled across a listing for H&R lowering springs for the 993 at a very good price. So I bought them. Used but really.. as soon as you install new ones, they are used too. Worth the gamble IMHO.


Also added to the queue...


Zimmerman rotors

These parts are new. I recently paid $300 + shipping for the same types of rotors on the 964. The 993 has larger rotors so when I spotted a set online for $200 + shipping it was a no braininer (I still need to order some rears).


The march into oblivion, continues.

Parts, tires, oil.. OH MY!

PARTS:
The 964's Euro pre-cat arrived yesterday. Ah... can't wait to get that installed and see how much weight it saves (that and.. well.. you know why they are *good* upgrades). Right now the Mercedes is in the dry dock so it's going to be some time this weekend before I get around to attempting the install. At least this FabSpeed piece looks like it's manufactured the right way. That's a bonus.

TIRES:
I do believe I coverd this before, but with the Toyo Proxes installed on the front of the 993 it fixed most of the weird little wandering and vibration the car had at highway speed. It still night need a front steering overhaul (rebuilt rack, new tierod ends, etc.) but for now it's quite pleasant to drive! Althought I'm not sure how good these tires are supposed to be. With a 280AA treadwear... how good *can* they be? I'm suspecting they will be no better than the ES-100's on the other car, and Toyo Proxes (S and R) are notrious for having very soft sidewalls. Maybe the soft sidewall makes the car seem just a tad more loose than the 964 with it's ES-100's. What might be an interesting experiment would be to swap the tires on the cars..... ah.. like I havn't already made more work for myself.

OIL:
Yikes. Well.. not really too bad to be 1/2 quart low in a system with 13 quarts of oil. I found out last night that I'd not checked the oil level properly on the 993 and it was actually low! I had a quart of 15-50 Mobil 1 handy in the boot, tossed that in and good to go. Oil tank gauge showing midline to high when warm. Good! What is really not full is the PS fluid! Ya know.. when a dealer does a PPI one would ASSUME they would check this sort of stuff! Makes me wonder if they did much of anything at all for $250.

So, the 993 is parked today until I make time to go to the parts store and get some more PS fluid. Thought I had some at home but could not find it this morning. Better to be on-time to work in the other car than futz around with trying to find a $2.00 bottle of hydro. Plus the rear tires are at 30PSI. Much lower than I want to run them. More stuff for me to do tonight..... plus the car needs a bath something fierce. Yellow really REALLY shows the dirt (maybe more than black). Plus I want to toss on a coat of Aeroshell polish. It sure did make the 964 look even better!

A better photo of the hot sisters.

After completing some work in the 90 (964) I pulled it out next to the 95 (993) that was going in the shop next to get a pair of new front tires. Snapped a quick photo of the two for now. Can't wait to get the competition suspension on the 964 and the 19" wheels I'm considering for the 993. The 18's on the 993 will become competition rims since they have quite a few blemishes on them at the moment. Power-coated black or.... red... might look good.. or might look so garish as to invoke gastrointestinal evacuations... for now though... this is enough fun-with-bank-accounts to keep me busy every night.

Yokohama ES-100 - el JUNKO!!!

I just completed the second event on the Yokohama AVS ES-100 tires. Without qualification I can honestly say with clarity of soul and purpose. THEY SUCK! Termine la materia fecal. Nicht gut!

For a street tire that seems low to perhaps moderate use. They are probably fine. But when used in a sprited fashion they show serious limitations. When used competitivly.. they are completely inadeqate and bordering on dangerous.

Following 2 70 second runs on the course, the rear tire sidewalls were rolling over. My instructor had me increase tire pressure twice, finally ending at 47 PSI, to keep the shoulders of the tires from chunking. The rear tires were getting incredibly hot. Trying to power out of a turn became impossible due to constant wheel spin. It was not really enjoyable.

In conclusion: I'll have some used ES-100's for sale to anyone with a Porsche garage queen. Any other purpose would not be suitable for these tires.

TWO THUMBS DOWN!

Car running normally again + a cool little mod

Yippee!! Drove the car almost 200 miles yesterday without a single issue. It even started up and idled smooth from a cold start. Back to normal it seems. I do need to get out and order those parts (which is a reminder that I can do that over my lunch break right now ..).

In addition to the good news about the car working again, I orded up some Germain license plates from Europe for both the 964 and the 500E. I think it's a nice little update. So far the State Patrol has not cared to hassle me about it but you know I'll post if/when they do!