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I am getting several PM's about the "how to's"of our trip and others here such as @petepv at this moment are taking great road trips in these terrific cars which is great to see - so last night I thought I would cover fully some of the tips. But first, I have often thought about the over generalized word "provenance" bandied about in the car world. I think of provenance simply as the documentation and a description of how, in our case, cars came to be and what experiences they have had. The history of ownership alone is just one piece of the total history of a vehicle. When fully explored, that same record of ownership could and should include the origin (when, where, by whom / for whom it was made) and the experiences had including race history, epic trips etc.Essentially, we are talking about the legacy of the car - the noteworthy experiences in our Porsche cars.Truly that is the real value of our Porsche car - that is its "provenance".
After a year of waiting, I finally took delivery on an olive green 2018 GT3 Touring on December 17, 2018. Being as thorough as possible, I assembled every single of piece of documentation associated with the purchase including all emails which included correspondence about my allocation with my sales associate etc. I made sure my owner’s manual had the dealer stamp and date for the pre-delivery inspection, delivery day photos, all paperwork dealing with the purchase, a record of the transport ship name (Viking Queen), my sales associates name, my original proof of insurance, the temporary dealer plates, the “window sticker”, Porsche marketing book and even a copy of the bank check used to purchase the car and more. I was in the very early stages of adding to the provenance to my GT3 and like any birth there was similarly plenty of paperwork involved in taking this baby home. These documents are important to be certain but like the birth of any child, the experiences yet to come would be priceless. Although a 991.2 Porsche GT3 isn't particularly rare and not a car typically used in the same conversations regarding "provenance", it would be driven well, and it will have experiences and provide priceless enjoyment and it deserves a record of this.
My eldest son and I decided would we would take an epic road trip that would start in Houston and would end in San Francisco. We would then fly home for a week, so I could catch up at the office and then pick back up a week later in Portland, this time with my wife in the passenger seat. Over 4,000 miles would be covered and would require arranging for the vehicles transport from San Francisco to a Porsche of Beaverton Oregon and back to Houston from Seattle. The plan was that a week later, my wife and I would fly in and pick the car up for a ten-day tour of the Pacific Northwest, and then leave it at Porsche of Bellevue (Seattle) for return shipping back to Houston.
Almost all Porsche dealerships will have direct relationships with shippers or shipping brokers. I started with them in my search of shippers assuming that the dealers would have a vetting process covering insurance requirements etc. although I certainly would and did confirm. My first conversation was with Porsche of Beaverton. I explained that I need to get my car to them and they recommended a shipper that they use frequently whom I contacted. I also contacted a shipping broker recommended by my local dealer and explained to him that I needed to ship my GT3 from Porsche of Bellevue WA to Houston and they took care of this leg of the trip. Some dealers require a service to take the car in and others don’t. Not a problem - it would be good to dump the break in oil anyway and have the tire pressure checked. On the return I planned on having Porsche of Bellevue perform an alignment which is by the way recommended by Walter Rohrl after one year anyway and by the end of this trip my GT3 would be pushing 7,000 miles total. However, they happily helped me without the expectation of spending on services that weren’t needed. Total shipping would cost $3,500 for the two legs.
So, touring in a GT3 Touring with centerlock wheels. Yes, I had concerns about this. – Indeed, I had “centerlock anxiety”. To alleviate my overactive imagination, I decided to assemble an emergency kit just in case a flat tire ensued. Packed in the frunk we set out with a Precision Instruments ¾ torque wrench found on eBay for $250 which would allow for wheel removal and installation with 444 foot lbs. of torque (which is a very high torque setting and not a wrench most tire shops have or need). I also packed the correct moly grease required to lube the centerlock, a wheel alignment tool, a full set of instructions and tire patch kit. This wouldn’t necessarily allow me to fix a tire on the side of the road because the car has to be off the ground, but it would give me a fighting chance to avoid being stuck in Timbuctoo for days provided a flatbed could haul the car to the next town. Other modifications made were installing a Carbonio front license plate holder, so I wouldn’t have to drill holes in the bumper to get across the Canadian border and replacing the Michelin Cup2 tires with set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S N spec tires which are a bit quieter and much safer in the event we hit rain along the way. Make sure you have them filled with nitrogen! You will have drastic altitude changes and temperature changes and if you have air vs. nitrogen in your tires you will experience wild pressure changes.
Traveling through the southwest United States is rewarding due to long stretches of empty freeway but can be very hot. I highly recommend installing the best quality ceramic window tint possible including on the windshield even though not legal everywhere. I don’t like dark windows and opted instead for a tint product made by Xpel with a 70% clarity. The percentage listed for window tint is the amount of clarity and not the amount of “tint” so the higher the percentage the clearer the tint. For example, a 70% tint is rather clear and doesn’t black out the windows. Given the high-quality ceramic nature of the film, it made the cabin very comfortable even when traversing the hottest place on earth - Death Valley. Speaking of Xpel, it is highly recommended that the front half of the car get a clear film for paint protection applied. Both Xpel and Suntek make very high-quality films and most large metropolitan areas have competent installers. Make sure you have the headlight lenses covered too. Sand and rocks kicked up by tractor trailers can etch the plastic headlight lenses. One other nice thing to invest in is a tracking device so you can see where your car is during shipping. I like one of the tracking devices made by Spytec and it gave me piece of mind to see where the car was at all times.
Packing for a trip required some planning. I found that a 60-liter Patagonia duffle is perfect because it will fit 5 days’ worth of clean cloths and you can stack two of them packed full in the frunk for a Porsche 911 plus a small side bag, drone or camera bag. I normally kept my camera bag behind the front seats for ease of access. My wife and I are the spontaneous type and often would pull over for photos and an excuse to stretch our legs. Phone charges… you must get this right or there will be issues! A Porsche 911 has one USB port in the center console which allows an iPhone to interface with the vehicle. For the passenger it will be necessary to have a cigarette lighter USB adapter. There are two spots in my car for installation of this adapter and only one in the passenger footwell for cars spec’d without the “smoking package” which my wife confused for me when mentioned. I digress.
Radar detection is a topic that has been covered by many experts on the internet and I will not try to cover the vagaries of radar detection except to say that I had a Valentine V1 radar detector hardwired in and combined with using the app Waze, I was able to detect almost all peace officers monitoring traffic speeds. I would recommend this combination and, in my experience, believe that it is about as good as you can do. If you are going on a long haul, having this detection in place provides piece of mind, confidence and is worth the investment - although not fool proof!
Along our drive we stopped at small stores and gift shops at the major locations covered in search of a small sticker mementos that could be applied to the bottom side of my car’s frunk hood as a reminder of where the car had been which added to the fun and became almost a scavenger hunt. Also, at the end of the trip, I assembled the best photos which included our GT3 and printed photo pages that would go in the cars record binder as a memento of the enjoyable trip that our 911 provided to us, again adding to the provenance of the car. We look forward to planning our next trip and I can say that a road trip in a Porsche 911 is truly special. In over 4,000 miles of driving I never dozed off or drifted - not even once. It was a thrill and a privilege and added so much to the memory of the trip and the memory of all the places we visited. One day our family GT3 will be sold but not anytime soon. When it does, the next owner will have a vivid record of where our GT3 has been and how much it has been enjoyed and cared for. The watch company, Patek Philippe likes to say “you never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation”. I feel the same way about our GT3 Touring. I would love to own it long enough and drive it far enough to see its first engine and gearbox overhaul and I hope my kids enjoy it too. I also am looking forward to spec'ing a 992 GT3 as well....
Great info and pics! These cars are such amazing every day cars and road trip cars. It's awesome seeing others using these cars on road trips and documenting it.
Yeas. Love the pics (and the Instagram ones, too).
My center lock anxiety resulted in a .... plug kit. I was thinking maybe, just maybe that could help. I think _buying_ the stuff helps prevent punctures. Don' quote me on this on next trip....
Such a cool experience and a great write up. I like the stickers on the trunk lid. Wish I had thought of that during our Euro delivery! Glad too we played a small part in your experience.
Such a cool experience and a great write up. I like the stickers on the trunk lid. Wish I had thought of that during our Euro delivery! Glad too we played a small part in your experience.
I’m glad you mentioned it. I didn’t for courtesy reasons. Meeting up with you was one of the highlights of the trip. We really enjoyed it and thank you again for reaching out and the hospitality!
I saw you and your car when dropping off my GT3RS for service at Beaverton Porsche. That green is such a pretty color in person.
I was surprised you skipped the drive through Oregon as it’s beautiful. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself—you were in the middle of a conversation with one of the service guys. Thanks for posting!
08-06-2019, 04:40 PM
Thoughts on Long Road Trip in a GT3 - Photo heavy
Love the pics (and the Instagram ones, too). 
