When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Why all the hate for center locks? I think they look amazing. Much better than 5 circular lug nuts that break up the look of the rim. Center locks just remind me of the Carrera GT. Yes they probably are a huge pain to take off because you need a huge bar to give you leverage, but I think they clean up the looks of rims a lot
Centerlocks require special tools and a very specific process to safely remove and install. Centerlocks also require regular maintenance. Most tire shops do not have the specialty tools or expertise to work on them them, and even if they do - Would you trust a random tire tech who has never seen centerlocks before to work on them on your car?
Centerlock wheels also dramatically reduce your options for aftermarket wheels.
The Porsche implementation of street Centerlocks does not save time or complexity over 5 regular lugs. And to me, they are the epitome of style over function.
Centerlocks are about pitstop times. Used for anything else they are poser parts that serve no purpose.
Real Porsche racecar centerlocks yes. But Porsche's street implementation of centerlocks, no. Even within the Porsche product family, they are 2 completely different designs of centerlocks - One for function (racecar), one for style (street car).
2. PDK is a more lossy transmission device (more power is wasted as heat and less of the engine’s power reaches the driven wheels)
PDK is not like the slush box in your 1973 Oldsmobile. PDK does not use viscous coupling torque conversion that is the root of wasted power in slush boxes that trace their ancestry back to the Cadillac and Oldsmobile Hydramatic. Once it is in gear it is exactly as efficient as a manual transmission.
PDK uses a wet multi-plate clutch pack. The clutch and gearbox of the PDK has more in common with a motorcycle clutch than it does with a traditional heat-generating viscous-coupled automatic.
PDK is not like the slush box in your 1973 Oldsmobile. PDK does not use viscous coupling torque conversion that is the root of wasted power in slush boxes that trace their ancestry back to the Cadillac and Oldsmobile Hydramatic. Once it is in gear it is exactly as efficient as a manual transmission.
PDK uses a wet multi-plate clutch pack. The clutch and gearbox of the PDK has more in common with a motorcycle clutch than it does with a traditional heat-generating viscous-coupled automatic.
I absolutely LOVE the 7-Speed PDK in my newly acquired 2021 GT4 in Racing Yellow.
It's the $hit !!!
They look great, but they turn a very simple 1 man job into a 2 man job.
Hows that? I've never needed help to swap a a wheel on my center locks.
I just don't get the vitriol on center locks...
Some prefer them, some prefer 5 lugs, whatever. But I can't imagine it being a deal breaker for me on a street car.
R &R'ing a wheel/tire takes me almost exactly the same time on my 911s with five lugs and center locks. The only extra tool I use is a 3:1 torque multiplier for a couple of hundred. Sure, anti-seize paste can get messy and the Porsche spec stuff is about $30 overpriced, but HARDLY the end of the world.
Perhaps there are more notable shortcomings on a track-only car I'm unaware of, but if your doing things like swapping wheels/tires/brakes before a track day, no big deal.
PDK is not like the slush box in your 1973 Oldsmobile. PDK does not use viscous coupling torque conversion that is the root of wasted power in slush boxes that trace their ancestry back to the Cadillac and Oldsmobile Hydramatic. Once it is in gear it is exactly as efficient as a manual transmission.
PDK uses a wet multi-plate clutch pack. The clutch and gearbox of the PDK has more in common with a motorcycle clutch than it does with a traditional heat-generating viscous-coupled automatic.
I am well aware of the distinction between PDK and a torque-converter automatic. In the GT3, the PDK puts between 10-15 hp less to the rear wheels than Manual, due to internal frictional losses.
The balance of performance does favor the PDK, because Porsche has gifted it with better gearing (7 ratios in basically the same spread in which the Manual has only 6 and a more capable electronically controlled LSD) and better launch performance as well as its inherently faster upshift speed. The net improvement of the PDK with these advantages over the Manual is 3 seconds over the 13 mile Nordschleife.
Hows that? I've never needed help to swap a a wheel on my center locks.
I just don't get the vitriol on center locks...
Some prefer them, some prefer 5 lugs, whatever. But I can't imagine it being a deal breaker for me on a street car.
R &R'ing a wheel/tire takes me almost exactly the same time on my 911s with five lugs and center locks. The only extra tool I use is a 3:1 torque multiplier for a couple of hundred. Sure, anti-seize paste can get messy and the Porsche spec stuff is about $30 overpriced, but HARDLY the end of the world.
Perhaps there are more notable shortcomings on a track-only car I'm unaware of, but if your doing things like swapping wheels/tires/brakes before a track day, no big deal.
Do you torque the CL's up with the car in the air or on the ground? The manual states you need it in the air, which means having someone sitting in the car with their foot on the brake. The alternative is to jam a broom handle on the pedal I guess, as long as that generates enough pressure.
It's just a misnomer when people think Porsche CL's are for rapid wheel changes at the track, when the correct procedure actually takes way longer than studs would.
Don't get me wrong, I also hate the wheel bolts that the GT4 comes with, so anything other than extended wheel studs is inferior in my mind. None of them are difficult to deal with, but I get overly annoyed when a very simple job is more difficult than it needs to be.
Do you torque the CL's up with the car in the air or on the ground? The manual states you need it in the air, which means having someone sitting in the car with their foot on the brake. The alternative is to jam a broom handle on the pedal I guess, as long as that generates enough pressure.
Yeah, i didn't consider this a special center lock tool since I've used it for many other things as well, but a $6 harbor freight bar clamp works perfectly for holding brake pressure. Just flip both ends so it pushes *out* instead of pulling in. Most other ratchet type bar clamps will do this as well...
Here's a screen capture of the HF clamp pushing a brake pedal, though obviously not on a Porsche.
I get overly annoyed when a very simple job is more difficult than it needs to be.
I totally get that. And I can absolutely see how many people could view center locks as annoying... But man, center-locks get ripped on as if Porsche had designed another engine with failing IMS bearings instead of exactly what you describe it as: A (fairly minor?) annoyance!
Yeah, i didn't consider this a special center lock tool since I've used it for many other things as well, but a $6 harbor freight bar clamp works perfectly for holding brake pressure. Just flip both ends so it pushes *out* instead of pulling in. Most other ratchet type bar clamps will do this as well...
@pfbz
How many times a year do you change your wheels? Do you follow Porsche procedure? Do you carry the necessary tools with you at all times?
I've got the feeling you don't track your car or have to change wheels at locations not optimal or climate controlled.
I do/did track my GT3 enough that I had to get the rear hubs replaced, and while I agree the paste and procedure is a PITA, I learned to live with it. I switched out stock wheels for track Forgelines 3-4 times/year ((went to the track much more than that) so maybe I’ve just learned how to do it without getting paste everywhere. And even if it did spread, a quick shot of brake cleaner got rid of it.
If CLs are a cost of doing business, the more people that pass on cars because of them is a great thing, IMO.
11-07-2021 | 10:39 AM
If it works, it works. Don't let the BMW or vette guys see this. 
