tkerrmd

Well, had my car at dealer for tech inspection. Only have 2k miles on car since I got it. New MPS's on back 315/25/19's. Ok have TWO DE's on these tires. (yea I know need a set of track wheels and tires, working on that) Well dealer tells me inside of BOTH rear tires are "split" and ruined!! Had them less than 2 months and they want me to buy a new set cause had car at DE and thats not what street tires are for!
I told them then the other 90% of people with their street cars that enjoy driving to the DE and home in the "performance" car that bought do the same thing.
Dealer told me this car was ONLY MEANT TO BE DRIVEN ON A STREET AND IS NOT FOR ANY TRACK USE. MSRP of 168k new. Well I continue to be disappointed about any track experience with a car other than a dedicated track car. Guess I'll just drive this 450hp car to work once in a while and see if I can hit red line in 1st gear, oh boy!
Ok my venting is over....thread was to share MPS tire experience FYI

tom

TT Surgeon

Sounds like your dealer is being a hardass about the track/DE. Maybe find another dealer, or ( what I do) only take it in for routine maintenance / warranty work and find a good independent shop to do your tech/DE/track work.
If you ask them flat out about tracking the car, they will almost all say the same thing to cover their asses.
BTW, you do need some sport cups!

Gary (Fl)

I just put on the same size MPS tires last week... Hope they do better than that.. They sure know what to charge for them...

PS: you can redline it in 2nd too Tom....

JPschnitzer

Gee, what about all those pictures of customers driving street cars at the "Porsche Driving Experience" on the track!

RXDOC

Tom:
I feel your pain, I know that we share the same passion for tracking our "street" car! You have had a rough start to tracking in your TT. My Porsche warranty was up Dec.1st, and to me it was a relief. As you could tell from all my previous responses to your posts, I am disillusioned and dissappointed with my tracking the TT. I am driving a $127K car, which is now worth $77K and will be $57 when the 997TT comes out, and it's too fragile to track!
All I ever got from the two dealers in Atlanta was BS and more BS. One dealer even sponsored track events AND gave you a free Pre-track event inspection.
I am just about to give up on my next track day with a TT. And I always looked forward to every DE! I am looking at buying the cheapest Boxster S or 996, making it a track-only car, and tracking the heck out of it. With depreciation and mods, I have (and will continue) to lose more money in my TT than the cost of two (2) used Boxster S's or 2 Evos or 2 WRXs, bought, tracked, run into the ground and left by the side of the road!
I give up.

tkerrmd

Chris, thanks and I am going to do exactly what you said, no more dealer "tech inspections" at far as they are now concerned I NEVER TRACK THE CAR!

Gary, I'll let you know, I thought these were the tires to get, hope you have better luck, hope to see you soon at some kind of something! pm me!

JP you are still my role model and no matter what happens I bought this GD car to run the hell out of it because I THOUGHT that was what Porsche built it for!

RXDOC....your post depressed me the most!!! You feel the same as I and I had and have the same thoughts. You are still my closest role model so dont stop tracking the TT!!
I have spent almost 10k on NON PERFORMANCE **** at my dealer in 3 months! Obviously I have made a bad choice. I cant justify a car like this to sit in the garage or just to drive to work. I need it to do what I bought it for, DE's and all round street excitment!! I refuse to believe this car cant deliver.......so for now I will persist....new wheels and tires for the track, suspension mods and continue to run the he!! out of this car or DO I JUST GET RID OF IT AND GET A CAYMAN??????????

Thanks guys for the input, suggestions and therapy session!!!

Oh and try to have a happy holiday......hopefully at a track somewhere......just dont tell anybody (my new plan!)


tom

Bob Rouleau

Tom,

Two issues at play here. First the tires. Did you put a track alignment on your car? If so, street driving will wear the inside edges of the tires very fast. Of course if you have a street alignment, the outside shoulders will be worn to the cord in a few days of DE. This is not a fault of the tires and whoever suggested Cups surely did not mean to suggest they will last longer because they won't. The Cup has much better "stick" but wears faster. I do not suggest R compound tires for people without considerable experience though. One last thing, the design of the rear suspension of a 996 seems to promote loss of alignment, especially the camber and toe settings. Either of those could be responsible for the wear you have. Get the alignment checked - some get it done before every track event and have discovered that the alignment had gone off by a lot. Oh,m and as a group we've discovered that the average dealere cannot align the car properly, so go to a race shop.

Secondly - the dealer. There seems to have been a change at PCNA, in the past we were encouraged to enjoy our cars on the track and it was customary for dealers to provide free track inspections. Not only that, but warranty claims were honored by those dealers even if the car had been tracked. Heck they did the pre-event inspection.

The change in philosophy surfaced with the PCCB rotors. Porsche denied warranty coverage if the car had been tracked. To be fair to PCNA, it is a bit of a gray area since nobody would claim worn rotors after a dozen days of DE with the steel version. The fact that the PCCB cost a huge sum and were supposed to last forever was the source of the argument.

I get the impression that PCNA may have decided to focus on warranty costs in order to increase profits. In the "old days" things that failed were replaced no questions asked. No we hear the term "abuse" (your tranny) and several listers have reported that claims have been denied because the car was tracked.

I can't say that this is generalized mind you. Many dealers ignore the fact the car has been tracked and it's only when the Zone Tech Rep gets involved that things might get a little sticky. Thgis varies from region to region for now.

I am concerned that Porsche is gradually moving to a position where any track use is grounds to void certain warranty claims. The distiction between racing (nobody warrants a race car) and DE is blurring.

I really hope this is not the case. I am a Porsche fan for a number of reasons, one of which is durability. The fact that we could (can???) enjoy DE without worrying about warranty arguments is a major appeal of the brand. Changing this would be a very bad idea since we (the trackies) are the most loyal and fervent promoters of the brand. We may not buy as many cars as the ordinary drivers but we sure talk up the brand to anyone willing to listen. When we stop ... sales will fall. I want a car I can drive to the track and then drive the wheels off it. if the car breaks, I expect it to be fixed under warranty if I have one. Failing which I will by a Radical or something and abandon the brand. End of Rant!

Regards,

broskinny

[QUOTE=C4S Surgeon]Sounds like your dealer is being a hardass about the track/DE. Maybe find another dealer, or ( what I do) only take it in for routine maintenance / warranty work and find a good independent shop to do your tech/DE/track work.QUOTE]

Hi Guys,
(I'm new here on Rennlist but have been reading up on all the post. Just wanted to comment/question on this)

It sounds like the dealer technicians are actually doing a good inspection on the vehicle. Maybe they are just looking out for your safety???
How long should the tires last with this much power and seven 1/2 hr sessions at Homestead?
Would you get another track weekend out of these tires even if they weren't split on the inside?

TT Surgeon

Broskinny, I never said they were'nt being thorough, just that they know he tracks the car and are bound to refuse warranty coverage for that reason, even where indicated.

Dock

We can complain all we want about Porsche's warranty position concerning tracking/racing the car, but that's not going to change it for the cars we now own.

It's nice that there are dealers that "look the other way", but to track your Porsche without knowing how your dealer will react to these warranty claims, and then *expecting* them to honor the claim, is not a realistic approach to the issue.

Track your Porsche, but be ready to pay $$$ for any wear. If the dealer lets you off the hook then that's great, consider yourself lucky. Otherwise just pay for the fun you're having, or don't track the car.

mitch236

Best advise I can give you: NEVER TELL THE DEALER ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN NORMAL STREET USAGE OF YOUR CAR!

If you ever take your car in for serious repairs that will cost PCNA big bucks, this thread will appear printed out on your service advisor's desk and they can deny your warrantee claim. I know. Don't post pictures of your car on the track on public forums. Don't post pictures of your mods (engine) on boards. Keep a low profile. Tight lipped.

On another note, the TT is a very good track car. It is very reliable but expensive. The Cayman looks to be the best DE car Porsche has made in a while.

RXDOC

DrT has started several threads on this forum that reflect on the frustrations of alot of us (track guys)!
The point is not, a bunch of over-indulgent owners abusing their Porsches and then crying about warranty repair! It's Porsche NA selling you this image of a dual purpose car and then sticking it to you when things break.
Facts: Our local dealer advertised Free pre-track inspections!
PDE at Barber puts new Porsche owners in Street Cars on the TRACK!
The new 997 and 987 have a SportChrono option with track settings
AND a LAP TIMER - Why would anyone need a LAP Timer Function on
a street car.

Once again, I read and respect all the opinions on these threads.......But if you don't track and never plan to track your TT, your input on these subjects is sorta worthless! Don'tcha think?

Dock

You've got to be kidding.

Jean

It seems like your tires were not fresh. I use MPSC all year long on the street and track and never faced an issue with them. These tires like camber.

Dock

Then you need to read your warranty manual a litttle closer.


Facts: Porsche doesn't care if you track your car. They don't prohibit it. They don't care if you track a 997 with Sport Chrono. They don't mind giving track inspections and encouraging you to track your Porsche. WHY?? Because they aren't responsible for anything that breaks or gets worn out if you do.