Car Care in the NW

[Jamie]

I think the 0-100 km/h is about 3.2/3.5 for that car? It's hard to get the 0-100 times down due to traction and the fact these cars have such high gear ratios. On the dyno they are getting about 90 kg/m of torque and about 780-800 hp. The hard part is getting the transmissions not to slip or break the center diff. Seeing these cars in prices what really becomes apparent are the differences in build and engineering quality. The 911s are built to a much higher standard than the Caymans and what really sets Porsche apart is the massive cooling capacity. We see the intake temps are lower at 300kmh than at 200.

It's the ecu tuning that makes these cars super car DDs. But, one reason for the prices of those cars is that you are getting that kind of power with a warrantee.

The shop mostly does German/Japanese cars, so I rarely see anything like a Ferarri.

[kdh]

Getting those acceleration numbers requires "launch control" in the new cars. A programmed blastoff. I'm sure it would scare the shit out of me.

My car, even as the 4th owner, has a warranty through 2017 and free service through 2019. It just came with the car.

[Jamie]

Getting those acceleration numbers requires "launch control" in the new cars. A programmed blastoff. I'm sure it would scare the shit out of me.

My car, even as the 4th owner, has a warranty through 2017 and free service through 2019. It just came with the car.

The syvecs ECUs used are full race ECUs which can read OEM canbus locations - which means it has a faster operating cycle than the Porsche OEM, is fully configurable and can trick the car into thinking it's the OEM ECU. You want 3 stage anti-lag to keep those turbos spooled? You got it. You want launch control for different conditions? You got it. But at some point, no matter the kind of launch control, you just start running out of grip at 90 kg/m.

That's a great deal on the warranty and service. My personally feeling is one reason the Porsche is so reliable because of the effort and engineering put into the cooling capacity.

[BeauV]

Jamie,

That Lotus looks like the closest you can get to a 3 cyl. Kawasaki Motorcycle engine powered 500cc shifter cart I once drove. Utterly and Totally Terrifying!!

That Lotus was one of the most frightening cars I've driven because of its light weight: about 900kgs.


Yes, those are km/h. The 0-100 time is not so special, but the 100/200 km/h is pretty fast for a street car. Much faster than a stock 997.

The NSX looks bland, but will DD and is such a sweet drive.

My lovely Admiral's Tesla has a (timed by me) 0-60mph time of 3.4 sec. Not so hot from 60-120mph, but it has more grunt from 0-30 than my 996 Turbo with the GT-2 motor kit.

[BeauV]

Getting those acceleration numbers requires "launch control" in the new cars. A programmed blastoff. I'm sure it would scare the shit out of me.

My car, even as the 4th owner, has a warranty through 2017 and free service through 2019. It just came with the car.

The syvecs ECUs used are full race ECUs which can read OEM canbus locations - which means it has a faster operating cycle than the Porsche OEM, is fully configurable and can trick the car into thinking it's the OEM ECU. You want 3 stage anti-lag to keep those turbos spooled? You got it. You want launch control for different conditions? You got it. But at some point, no matter the kind of launch control, you just start running out of grip at 90 kg/m.

That's a great deal on the warranty and service. My personally feeling is one reason the Porsche is so reliable because of the effort and engineering put into the cooling capacity.

My 996 Turbo was NOT a reliable car. Over 90,000 miles: Power assist clutch failed twice (not disk the power assist crap), front dif. died at 30k miles, AC failed at 45k miles, rear suspension suffered some weird failure at 64k miles.... My Mini is a LOT more reliable than the 996 was, of course, it's not quite as high a state of tune. But, given the price, I expected the 996 to be a much more solid car.

All this said I did drive the shit out of the car. It made at least 6 trips from SF to Jackson Hole and back, across the Nevada desert. It did at least 50 track days. Replacing the clutch plates weren't on my list of failures, I did that over time and take the blame. Having one of the strut/links in the rear suspension crack - that's on them; and the power assist clutch failures... give me a break...

[Jamie]

Getting those acceleration numbers requires "launch control" in the new cars. A programmed blastoff. I'm sure it would scare the shit out of me.

My car, even as the 4th owner, has a warranty through 2017 and free service through 2019. It just came with the car.

The syvecs ECUs used are full race ECUs which can read OEM canbus locations - which means it has a faster operating cycle than the Porsche OEM, is fully configurable and can trick the car into thinking it's the OEM ECU. You want 3 stage anti-lag to keep those turbos spooled? You got it. You want launch control for different conditions? You got it. But at some point, no matter the kind of launch control, you just start running out of grip at 90 kg/m.

That's a great deal on the warranty and service. My personally feeling is one reason the Porsche is so reliable because of the effort and engineering put into the cooling capacity.

My 996 Turbo was NOT a reliable car. Over 90,000 miles: Power assist clutch failed twice (not disk the power assist crap), front dif. died at 30k miles, AC failed at 45k miles, rear suspension suffered some weird failure at 64k miles.... My Mini is a LOT more reliable than the 996 was, of course, it's not quite as high a state of tune. But, given the price, I expected the 996 to be a much more solid car.

All this said I did drive the shit out of the car. It made at least 6 trips from SF to Jackson Hole and back, across the Nevada desert. It did at least 50 track days. Replacing the clutch plates weren't on my list of failures, I did that over time and take the blame. Having one of the strut/links in the rear suspension crack - that's on them; and the power assist clutch failures... give me a break...

Ooops! Sorry to hear that. For what it is, and for the power it develops, that's actually pretty good. You probably know better than I that most exotics with that kind of power never get to 90k miles without some kind of trauma. Just yesterday I was looking around at some boxes of engine parts and we could tell just by looking at the casting quality which rods were Nissan GTR vs the Porsche and the GTR is nothing to sniff at in terms of quality. But let me ask: how many Porsche owners properly warm up those nice OEM Mahle forged pistons before putting load on them? My guess is very few.

My lovely Admiral's Tesla has a (timed by me) 0-60mph time of 3.4 sec. Not so hot from 60-120mph, but it has more grunt from 0-30 than my 996 Turbo with the GT-2 motor kit.

Peak torque at 0 RPM and direction rotational mass is something the internal combustion engine will never be able to compete with.

[BeauV]

Jamie, you're absolutely right about warm-up. I have friends with Porsche and Ferrari engines who don't give a hoot about the oil temp.

One of the most significant changes in my thinking as I drive the Tesla is to accept that it doesn't need to "warm up".

[floating dutchman]

Jamie, you're absolutely right about warm-up. I have friends with Porsche and Ferrari engines who don't give a hoot about the oil temp.

One of the most significant changes in my thinking as I drive the Tesla is to accept that it doesn't need to "warm up".

Really? Guys care enough to put down good money on a refined piece of machinery, then drive it hard from cold?

That Tesla: think about this, you bought you wife a car that does 1-100Kph in under 4 seconds, I don't care what the thing is powered by, that's just insane!
My new to me, reasonably powerful (also a four door) car doubles that time, and I still call it fun to drive.
Not too many years ago you would have never driven a car that fast to the supermarket!

Jeroen

[kdh]

My lovely Admiral's Tesla has a (timed by me) 0-60mph time of 3.4 sec. Not so hot from 60-120mph, but it has more grunt from 0-30 than my 996 Turbo with the GT-2 motor kit.

Internal combustion engines are on a path to obsolescence. My 2013 naturally aspirated 4.58 liter Pininfarina Ferrari I view as a nod to the past, the end of an era.

[BeauV]

Jamie, you're absolutely right about warm-up. I have friends with Porsche and Ferrari engines who don't give a hoot about the oil temp.

One of the most significant changes in my thinking as I drive the Tesla is to accept that it doesn't need to "warm up".

Really? Guys care enough to put down good money on a refined piece of machinery, then drive it hard from cold?

That Tesla: think about this, you bought you wife a car that does 1-100Kph in under 4 seconds, I don't care what the thing is powered by, that's just insane!
My new to me, reasonably powerful (also a four door) car doubles that time, and I still call it fun to drive.
Not too many years ago you would have never driven a car that fast to the supermarket!

Jeroen

Well, the batteries work better cold, they are power limited as they warm up and driving them warms them up. There is no transmission, thus no oil or bearings. The only "oil" to warm up are the main motor bearings and the wheel bearings. So, by the time I've driven the 10 blocks to anyplace I can actually use all that power, they are "warm". The estimated lifetime on the mechanical drive train is about 300,000 miles, and so far early indications are that Tessla's are doing that.

It's really just an overpowered golf cart perfect for going to the store. My wife re-charges about once a week and loves the car.