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Did you ever make it to Oregon?!?!? We've had some snow. That is an understatement. :-)
Yes we did - thanks for asking! I’ve been intending to do a quick write-up of our little mid-winter trek
up the coast.
Starting in Vegas we dropped down to a GPS indicated altitude of -240 ft, then up over a couple of 4000-5000 ft desert passes, into a near blizzard over Tehachapi Pass and through a driving rainstorm in the Central Valley - all in the first day. I had the dealership throw on a set of winter tires (N-spec Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4). We would have been okay without them but they took away any concern over snow covered roads. The forecast was way worse than reality. The T handles beautifully even with the winter rubber. I can’t wait to see how it does on the summers (I won the PS4S lottery!) that are currently sitting in our garage.
The best roads of the trip were in the desert although 101 and 1 were fun as well - even with the occasional icy spots. I love this engine. I didn’t exceed 4000 rpm until the last day of the trip but even “lugging” it up the desert passes at 2000-4000 rpm never actually felt like lugging it. The engine just pulls and pulls. You guys all know this already but it was a real surprise to me. I can’t tell the engine is turbocharged. My other car is a stage 3 S3. I never thought it was really all that laggy but there’s no way it’s engine would have been that flexible.
The carbon ceramics are incredible. I can’t imagine a better brake setup. I took some time to beak them in the first day and after multiple 70-10 runs they got even better. Standing on them will break your neck if you’re not prepared.
Second day out we passed around the Bay Area and up to Arcata. We got pulled over by CHIPS just south of Eureka doing 71 in a 55. I hadn’t noticed that the limit had dropped down from 65 and I was behind a pickup going the same speed. The cop loved the car. Asked me all about it, asked my son if he was having fun and then let us off with only a verbal warning. He clearly just wanted to check out the T and make sure we were legit!
I think I figured out how to drive a manual again somewhere on that north coast. I even used 7th for a few stretches of 101. The hardest gear to engage was reverse. Took a few tries the first time to get the shifter over to the left. Man that thing is stiff!
2nd morning we woke up to a heavy frost/ice on the car. I think Porsche should offer headlight defrosters for such occasions.
Funny thing when the best weather of the whole trip is on the southern Oregon coast. Crystal clear skies and low 60’s. We wore t-shirts and ate fish and chips by the bay in Bandon.
The 4-ways are great. My son loved getting to control a power seat for once. It took me a few hours the first day to get used to how much they grip your upper body but after that they were perfect. I never got fatigued the entire trip (around 26 hrs). I attribute this partially to the sport-Tex fabric.
The best roads of the trip were in the desert although 101 and 1 were fun as well - even with the occasional icy spots. I love this engine. I didn’t exceed 4000 rpm until the last day of the trip but even “lugging” it up the desert passes at 2000-4000 rpm never actually felt like lugging it. The engine just pulls and pulls. You guys all know this already but it was a real surprise to me. I can’t tell the engine is turbocharged. My other car is a stage 3 S3. I never thought it was really all that laggy but there’s no way it’s engine would have been that flexible.
It's a masterpiece. Some don't want to hear it, but I think it's one of Porsche's best engines in terms of character and usable power of the last 10-20 years at any price point. Certainly top ten if not top five. Just a lovely thing for those who don't need more power and won't dismiss an engine on an NA-only philosophy (which is just fine, but man are they missing out in this case...and a couple of others).
Originally Posted by Nathing32
The carbon ceramics are incredible. I can’t imagine a better brake setup. I took some time to beak them in the first day and after multiple 70-10 runs they got even better. Standing on them will break your neck if you’re not prepared.
^ Yep. Let someone drive my Carrera last night and he almost put two of us through the windshield nearing the first stop sign. He apologized profusely. I just smiled, and said "The very best brakes in the world, but everyone does that the first time."
^ Yep. Let someone drive my Carrera last night and he almost put two of us through the windshield nearing the first stop sign. He apologized profusely. I just smiled, and said "The very best brakes in the world, but everyone does that the first time."
I thought this was due to their initial bite compared to steel. From what I've read braking distance is about the same. Is this not true?
I thought PCCBs strength is in having zero fade on the track.
It's a masterpiece. Some don't want to hear it, but I think it's one of Porsche's best engines in terms of character and usable power of the last 10-20 years at any price point. Certainly top ten if not top five. Just a lovely thing for those who don't need more power and won't dismiss an engine on an NA-only philosophy (which is just fine, but man are they missing out in this case...and a couple of others).
I agree. I've had cars with more power but none have had the usable power that my T has.
I thought this was due to their initial bite compared to steel. From what I've read braking distance is about the same. Is this not true?
I thought PCCBs strength is in having zero fade on the track.
Higher initial coefficient of friction, or, in regular language, they're grabby—or "bite-ier." Together with the ultralight V10, small diameter flywheel, etc, this is what makes the Carrera GT's PCCC tricky for newcomers even if the theory is exactly the same as a Chevy pickup's clutch—it's just a matter of muscle memory. You quickly account for it in your ankle flex.
PCCB strengths are many: fade resistance (effectively endless brakes no matter what you throw at them), unsprung/rotational mass reduction, lack of visible corrosion (ditto for their mounting hardware), and very little in the way of brake dust (none by comparison). The only downsides are cost (up front, replacement, and if damaged) and wheel clearance with the 410mm setup in factory 20-inch wheels. I think most of Porsche's standard brakes are very good for track work, though the turbo 3.0 has put some of the current setups to the test. I would probably still do "steel" rotors on a regular track day car, but I just love PCCB on punishing back roads. Brakes are one of those things I never want to worry about. And no dust is a huge advantage for someone who likes silver wheels and used to clean his wheels every day in high school but doesn't have time for that in this chapter of life…
Nice thing with the Carrera T is it has gray wheels, which really hide brake dust well. I'd have to think a bit about which way I'd go.
I agree. I've had cars with more power but none have had the usable power that my T has.
That's a good way of putting it. A vastly underrated flat six, and probably will remain that way for people who can't get past 1) it's turbocharged and 2) it "only has 370 hp."
Nice thing with the Carrera T is it has gray wheels, which really hide brake dust well. I'd have to think a bit about which way I'd go.
+1 on this. I get my Titanium Grey 20” Carrera S wheels back on next week. They really are remarkably good at looking clean at all times! In addition, I’m sure that Porsche are coating their wheels with something these days. Both sets of wheels (summers & winters) are really easy to clean on my Carrera T, as were the 21” 911 Turbo wheels on my 2017 Panamera 4. Almost feels like they’ve been ceramic coated at the factory.
I went with steel for mainly the lower up front cost. I also worried that with PCCB, if anything did happen, I'd be out a few grand at least.
I agree, it's nice to have the grey wheels hiding the brake dust.
That's a good way of putting it. A vastly underrated flat six, and probably will remain that way for people who can't get past 1) it's turbocharged and 2) it "only has 370 hp."
Their loss...
Agreed. This power plant is very sweet and well matched to T. Still can’t get over how naturally aspirated it feels especially as revs climb. People also forget about torque these motors make compared to NA motors. Also throttle response mid turn is similar to NA. Isn’t like typical turbo where you have to time throttle response. Can actually adjust throttle mid turn.
It's a masterpiece. Some don't want to hear it, but I think it's one of Porsche's best engines in terms of character and usable power of the last 10-20 years at any price point. Certainly top ten if not top five. Just a lovely thing for those who don't need more power and won't dismiss an engine on an NA-only philosophy (which is just fine, but man are they missing out in this case...and a couple of others).
I like to save a glossy brochure along with the window sticker for new vehicles I buy. I found the brochure for the T on the Porsche website as a PDF. Called the dealer where I bought mine to see if they had a print version I could have. They did. Didn’t realize it was bound as a hardcover book. Nice.
03-08-2019, 03:25 AM
