I use Centerlocks a bunch too (rotate tires after every day at track) and I find them annoying, but I agree that it’s not the end of the world and it certainly won’t keep me away from a car that I otherwise want.

 

Again... I get that swapping wheels, especially at the track, is a bit of an annoyance with Center locks... But a deal breaker?

But to answer your questions, no, I'm not pulling wheels at the track, either five lugs or center locks. Unless something goes wrong, which isn't typical. I'll do any swapping I'm doing in my garage the day before, and don't usually do 3+ day or other events that would require a tire swap. I do keep the 3:1 torque multiplier in the car at all times. It's compact and came in a blow-moulded case. I don't carry a torque wrench or brake clamp with me all the time, but do bring a torque wrench to the track. Since I have the 3:1 multiplier, pretty much any 1/2" breaker bar or torque wrench works. Also, the torque multiplier gives me peace of mind for road trips, since again, you can pretty much find a large 1/2" breaker bar or torque wrench in any shop, but 3/4" 500 pounder, not so much.

Yes, I usually do the full procedure, but if I just pulled the wheel for example and have to pull it again for some reason, I don't see any need to re-paste everything if it looks well coated.

I'm not claiming that center locks are better or easier, just that they don't justify the distaste many have for them.

If you're sweating your *** off pulling wheels in the sun at a racetrack on a super hot day, life kind of sucks no matter what. Does it really suck that much more with center locks? 6 minutes a corner instead of 3 once the car is in the air?

The torque multiplier I keep in the car, just for reference. 1/2" drive in, 3/4" drive out. 150 ft-lbs in = 450 ft-lbs out.




I'll even further admit that I often will take my 996 Turbo on track days rather than the 991 Turbo S.... But not because of the ease of changing wheels! The 2001 is just better set up right now for fun open lap days or DE's.... Not quicker, just more fun. It's more GT2 than Turbo these days. But I wouldn't avoid taking the 996 if it had center locks and still get the 991 Turbo S out to the track as well.

 

Hey @GrantG , I think I looked at the 991.2 GT3 you were selling in Denver in anticipation of your inbound 992 GT3, but you had just committed to another buyer. Way off topic for this thread, but i'd love to hear your thoughts on how you like the 992 vs 991 GT3....

 

Thanx for your response. You yourself just invalidated your own argument how others on here feel regarding CLs.

 

My issue with centre locks is not the PITA process of changing them at home.....but.....getting a flat tyre out on the road and not a garage within 200kms that has the necessary equipment to even take the wheels off. Ask me how I know!

 

Not sure what you mean...

Are you saying I can't have a valid, first-hand opinion on how difficult it is to deal with center locks because I don't swap race tires at the track every weekend? I've had my center locks on and off at least four times in the past year, by myself, with my own tools, in my own garage. With the Porsche technical bulletin for center locks and a tube of opti-moly in front of me. And had the five-lugs off my 996 Turbos at least that many times recently. Is that not enough to have a pretty damn good sense of the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Really not trying to be confrontational with you, I've seen plenty of posts from you with good input, and I get that you and many others hate center locks. But curious....

Are you saying that "how others on here feel regarding CL's" is based primarily on the additional *at the track* inconvenience which I avoid?

I absolutely do get this... I wish Porsche included a torque multiplier with the car, as finding an automotive tire shop with a 500 ft-lb 3/4" torque wrench is difficult. But just buy one yourself and keep it in the car? Just the multiplier...

Pretty much every shop will have a 1/2" breaker bar long enough to remove a CL with your supplied multiplier. Finding a replacement tire (if needed) will be far more difficult

 

Exactly!

I sometimes get the feeling that those who argue they are not a PITA live in a very big metroplex that doesn't have those limitations mere mortals might experience; especially when at a distant track location (in a boonie location).

 

But thats the point; at a track and NOT in a garage where, hopefully, you have access to every necessary tool required.

So, lets not remove the track equation. Some will apparently track a lot more than you do including at further distances.

EDIT

I look a this GT4RS as a track car. If I wasn't track my car I wouldn't look or care about CLs. But that doesn't invalidate my statement regarding CLs because I care enough about the points made by those that do and not try to convince them otherwise.

 

Sent you a PM

 

Lol... Even though you keep making incorrect assumptions about how much I track or how far I drive, I give, you win. NEVER buy a car with CL's , they are the devils spawn!

But I'll throw in an anecdote...

I have a fairly remote weekend mountain cabin. Not that long ago I stopped to help a basic Cayman S stuck the side of the road. He had a flat, big cut on the sidewall.

Cayman's of course like most modern Porsche's have no spare, no jack, no tire tools. Just a can of tire goo and a 12v inflater. I brought him to the closest (very small, rural) tire shop, they had nothing even remotely close to the correct size tire, A long flat-bed ride was his fate.

Q's:

1. If he had CL's, would his day have been any worse?
2. If he had CL's, and if the tire was repairable (or by a miracle the the local shop had a correct tire), and the owner carried a super-easy-to-stash-in-your-car torque multiplier in his car, would the additional inconvenience caused by the CL's been such a big deal?

Moral of the story:
First, carry a torque multiplier (or 3/4" wrench kit), and second, if you get a flat in the middle of nowhere, it probably won't be the CL's that are going to screw you.

 

why don’t you keep a wrench in the frunk?

 

Ok, you win and I loose.

Just can't compete with someone who keeps bragging about what they own, how much they do what, what they have come across, etc.

You're the greatest!

 

This board is full of folks that like to make assumptions about what other people don’t know.

 

Because I trailer and keep my tools in the tool box in the trailer.

 

Wow... Seriously? Have you looked at your signature line lately? Or your last few posts?

Well at least it looks like we found some common ground.
Though care or not, it seems like an overwhelming probability that the 4RS *will* have CL's,