Weng

Had the unpleasant experience of having to tow the car 200 miles back to Singapore on Saturday. Had a great session on the Malaysian F1 track. Car was performing fine on track. Ambling along in 2nd gear in heavy traffic 50 miles into the drive home, the engine started to misfire and wouldn't allow for more than 2,500 rpm under throttle. Put it in neutral and the car didn't want to idle. Coasted for about a 1/2 mile and it died all together. Starter cranks but the engine wouldn't fire up. Temperature and oil pressure were fine and no fault readings were immediately registered. My initial suspicion was bad fuel but I had driven almost half a tank on the same batch without a problem.

Mechanics are currently looking into the fault and suspect a wonky "crankshaft sensor". What on earth does this device do? Will keep you posted on the actual cause. A bit frustrated as I was bragging to my track passengers about how reliable these cars are. Hope that the breakdown doesn't turn into a recurring theme as I have also just heard that the 3rd MY04 GT3 delivered here (mine was the 1st car) has just come into the shop with an engine problem.

Hubert

Tells the ECU the position of the crankshaft.

Christian K

Sorry to hear. I have had a similar experience. I took a couple of friends on a fast drive along some country roads, bragging about the reliability of the car (my ex. -84). The next I know, the clutch breaks down.

So, we can all learn a lesson here, never brag about the reliabilty of your car.

cheers

Christian

1990 C2
ex. 1984 Carrera

Marco Polo

I had a similar failure at 100 miles on the odometer that turned out to be a defective fuel pump. Symptoms were the same as if I was running out of fuel: hesitating/stumbling under throttle, then difficulty idling, finally unable to start.

sjsharks

Oh my, I'm not wanting to hear this.

Marco Polo

This is a new model for very limited production. And, unlike almost any other street Porsche in modern times, it is not so much a high-perf version of an existing street model as a de-tuned version of a race model. However undesirable may be the glitches, they are not entirely surprising.

sjsharks

Rattles.
PCCB Brakes.
2 out of 3 cars at one location returned.
Defective fuel pump.

Seems like a fairly high incidence of problems.

Would the turbo be the better choice if dependability is a high priority?

yongster

Hope it's not an "epidemic". Nonetheless, a GT3 is still the best Porsche since the 993's in MHO.

Marco Polo

Anecdotal evidence is the least dispositive, and it is the most common on web chat boards. Unless you have reason to believe that you are reviewing a representative expression of the full range of experiences and incidents pertaining to the issue, you are relying on something that is closer to rumor than fact.

skl

Anyone doubt that many of these cars are driven a "little" harder than even the "average" Porsche?

Cupcar#12

Weng any progress on your car?
didn't you just sell your Silver MK1 GT3? - I saw it last weekend at the Charity Rally - Really trick setup on that one

Weng

Fault has been diagnosed and rectified - a kinked fuel line that caused insufficient fuel pressure. PAG replaced all of the fuel lines under warranty.

Rob, what were you doing in Singapore? A bit far from Washington huh? Yup, the President of Porsche Club Singapore bought my mk1 and drove it in the Charity Rally. I was away on holiday in New Zealand that weekend.

Cupcar#12

i was there on "Business" and just missed Sepang by a day (I arrived from India on Sat Morning). Hopefully i will be at one of the track events next year as long as i can make my travel schedule work out. I ran the Rally with Dennis Goh in his 964 - great time - of course we were having too much fun to pay attention to the rally and miss the Prizes at the end (which were really good). I'll let you know when i am coming next time, hopefully we will be hooking up with a few P-Club members for Chili crab and a few jugs of beer.
Glad to hear you car is Ok.

Also I heard that you were the Pride of the Club - turning faster lap times than the Ferrari club consistantly.

Weng

Car is running well again. However, I discovered a new problem when I picked it up from the shop. The brakes were beginning to judder a bit at the last track outing and I got the shop to check them out. Guess what? Numerous cracks (>5mm ) on the steel rotors - particularly the fronts. A bit of warpage on all 4 rotors. All this after only 3,000 miles - albeit with a bit of spirited track use in between. I'm a bit annoyed as I was chewing through the mk1 rotors quite quickly too. Seems that the high heat conditions over here, racing pads, and a track which is tough on the brakes will combine to boost my consumables expenditure. Have to wait a while for the new rotors to be shipped here as the dealer didn't think they would need to stock them so quickly.

Fongster

Weng

If you want to, find a US dealer and drop ship it to my place in SF, I'll bring some back for you.....