Balaclava's C4S European Delivery Diary
07-19-2014, 02:03 PM
#16
Drifting
Incredible. As I stated before I am planning to drive these same passes with my new Turbo Cab in September with my wife. I showed her your pictures and now she is just as excited as I am. Thanks for the info, enjoy!
07-19-2014, 07:03 PM
#17
I love that answer! Not just because it puts paid to a dread issue, but also because it shows Porsche equates normal use with flat out!
Its been a real pleasure following your photo essay. All the more so knowing you're able to truly enjoy driving your Porsche as it should be driven: careful while cold, then flat out!
07-19-2014, 07:40 PM
#18
Instructor
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Charleston, SC
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Let me be the first to congratulate you on asking this question- and taking the time to post the quoted response from Porsche, and then draw your own conclusions! A lot of people take the factory advice as gospel. Well thanks to you here is the factory gospel: careful while cold, then flat out!
I love that answer! Not just because it puts paid to a dread issue, but also because it shows Porsche equates normal use with flat out!
Its been a real pleasure following your photo essay. All the more so knowing you're able to truly enjoy driving your Porsche as it should be driven: careful while cold, then flat out!
I love that answer! Not just because it puts paid to a dread issue, but also because it shows Porsche equates normal use with flat out!
Its been a real pleasure following your photo essay. All the more so knowing you're able to truly enjoy driving your Porsche as it should be driven: careful while cold, then flat out!
Ps. I love the tip from the factory - warm it up and then all out - unless you are from the US where they have lemon laws. The Germans, gotta love em. Incidentally that's also what my sales person said!
07-20-2014, 04:49 PM
#22
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
#1: if Porsche wanted us to do the traditional break-in/babying, then one of the many computers in the car would enforce/remind us to do so.
#2: Porsche does not want bad publicity about their reliability and they do want repeat customers. A happy customer is more likely to stay loyal to the brand than one aggravated by ongoing issues. So their interest is aligned with ours on this one: a long-living happy engine.
#3: Because of #1 AND #2, we can conclude that Porsche does not know about any issues with using the engine at high (=normal operating range) RPMs from day one. (= If they knew about any such problems, they would limit RPMs in software, as that is a practically free yet much more foolproof way of doing this than asking customers to behave themselves...
07-20-2014, 04:55 PM
#23
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
I respectfully disagree. I think the gear ratios are relatively close to each other, which is nice. And I did not find it to be a PITA even when in stop-and-go "stau" for an hour today... I believe it is the best MT currently available in any new car on the market today, with the possible exception of Porsche's own 6-speed in the 981. But I do enjoy the long 7th gear and I believe today the 911C(4)S is the best new sports car available with any MT at all, so I am glad to take it as is. (Perhaps some Corvette Z06 fans would disagree with the above statement, but I doubt many of those are reading this here...)
07-20-2014, 05:54 PM
#24
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Hello everyone, this is the last installment of my ED journal - tomorrow morning I am flying back to the real world…
Sunday:
Last night the Blue ***** Music Festival was lots of fun, was shocked to see what huge crowds gathered in the streets for a local even of a small town of just 80,000 people.
Just two touristy pictures from Lucerne before we move on to car stuff. Here is a 180-degree panorama of the view from Hotel Montana:
And the famous wooden bridge:
Well, after about 90 minutes of painful self-control on Swiss highways (120km/h, 100km/h, 80km/h, still 80km/h, why oh why?), we left Switzerland to Germany to stretch out legs a bit on the autobahn. I can now testify that 150mph (240km/h) does not feel too much at all in our cars, especially when reached in an environment where drivers are trained and prepared for seeing fast-moving cars in the left lane.
Just about when we arrived to the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) area, it started raining for the first time during the trip. It was raining all afternoon, so I was more careful on the road, probably more so because of past experience in other cars and not because the 4S would have needed it at all… The grip is just amazing, even in the rain - as long as the road surface quality is good and there is no standing water around. Most German two-lane roads are really good quality... The B500 and many other small roads in the area are just great: plenty of corners but much less elevation change than in the Alps and not many tourists/RVs/slow wanders around.
We stopped to have lunch when it was raining the heaviest, we got lucky again: we found a great restaurant very rural-feel, fully packed with locals, which is always a good sign.
Back in Stuttgart, our last stop was the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Now, the Porsche Museum is great, but this one is so much better. It truly shows the long and varied history of the brand as well as the deeper pockets of Daimler-Benz. A must for any car nut in Stuttgart.
Finally, dropped off the car at the Zuffenhausen Factory. Even at 7PM on Sunday, the on-site staff was helpful and knowledge.
Overall, a great experience in 5 days and 1713 kms. Looking back, I realize that we were really lucky with the weather, which is important to get the most out of your ED, especially when time is short and the schedule is tight. We enjoyed beautiful sunny weather for most of the trip, which is not something you can guarantee at any time of the year in the Alps. (If you go further south (Italy, Spain), your chances are better, but the drive is longer.)
The 911C4S turned out to be everything I hoped it would be. I am really looking forward to my first DE event with it at Sebring in September…
Thanks for all of you for reading, I wish you many similarly great experiences in your amazing 911s!
As usual, comments and questions are welcome.
Sunday:
Last night the Blue ***** Music Festival was lots of fun, was shocked to see what huge crowds gathered in the streets for a local even of a small town of just 80,000 people.
Just two touristy pictures from Lucerne before we move on to car stuff. Here is a 180-degree panorama of the view from Hotel Montana:
And the famous wooden bridge:
Well, after about 90 minutes of painful self-control on Swiss highways (120km/h, 100km/h, 80km/h, still 80km/h, why oh why?), we left Switzerland to Germany to stretch out legs a bit on the autobahn. I can now testify that 150mph (240km/h) does not feel too much at all in our cars, especially when reached in an environment where drivers are trained and prepared for seeing fast-moving cars in the left lane.
Just about when we arrived to the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) area, it started raining for the first time during the trip. It was raining all afternoon, so I was more careful on the road, probably more so because of past experience in other cars and not because the 4S would have needed it at all… The grip is just amazing, even in the rain - as long as the road surface quality is good and there is no standing water around. Most German two-lane roads are really good quality... The B500 and many other small roads in the area are just great: plenty of corners but much less elevation change than in the Alps and not many tourists/RVs/slow wanders around.
We stopped to have lunch when it was raining the heaviest, we got lucky again: we found a great restaurant very rural-feel, fully packed with locals, which is always a good sign.
Back in Stuttgart, our last stop was the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Now, the Porsche Museum is great, but this one is so much better. It truly shows the long and varied history of the brand as well as the deeper pockets of Daimler-Benz. A must for any car nut in Stuttgart.
Finally, dropped off the car at the Zuffenhausen Factory. Even at 7PM on Sunday, the on-site staff was helpful and knowledge.
Overall, a great experience in 5 days and 1713 kms. Looking back, I realize that we were really lucky with the weather, which is important to get the most out of your ED, especially when time is short and the schedule is tight. We enjoyed beautiful sunny weather for most of the trip, which is not something you can guarantee at any time of the year in the Alps. (If you go further south (Italy, Spain), your chances are better, but the drive is longer.)
The 911C4S turned out to be everything I hoped it would be. I am really looking forward to my first DE event with it at Sebring in September…
Thanks for all of you for reading, I wish you many similarly great experiences in your amazing 911s!
As usual, comments and questions are welcome.
07-20-2014, 08:16 PM
#27
Rennlist Member
A very enjoyable read.
07-20-2014, 09:02 PM
#29
Burning Brakes
Thanks for the reminder of our ED in 2011.
It was a Cayenne, and a short trip as well, but it made us loyal brand ambassadors.
Our next ED will be a Macan.
The third one will be a 911
Where did you take the 4S for washes?
It was a Cayenne, and a short trip as well, but it made us loyal brand ambassadors.
Our next ED will be a Macan.
The third one will be a 911
Where did you take the 4S for washes?
