by John Glynn | Oct 15, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche Cayenne, Porsche News
Stuttgart recently released its latest list of Porsche approved ‘N-rated’ tyres. The approved list won’t surprise too many people, but the pic below of a Porsche 356 Coupe close to vertical on the Continental ContiDrom banking in testing might raise a smile.
Porsche’s N rating is regularly updated to keep abreast of progress made in tyre development, including tread design and compound changes. Tyre fitter legend has it that, once a tyre is granted an N rating, it cannot be altered without losing approval. The budget brands don’t feature in the Porsche lists, but is that due to money and marketing? Who believes these N-rated lists?
Porsche’s N rated approval lists don’t mention tyre price premiums or brand discounting on tyres supplied with new cars. Instead, the lists are said to come from extensive tests carried out by “Porsche tyre experts” over several weeks. This year, the test team used the aforementioned 356, an impact-bumper 911 2.7 Carrera, a 911 Turbo (930) and a first-gen Porsche 986 Boxster. No mention of front-engined cars or the 964/993 series with 17″ and 18″ wheels, but they do feature on the N rated lists.
The forum jury is well and truly out as to whether Porsche-approved tyres are that much better than non N-rated tyres. I have used both N-rated and unrated tyres on my own classic Porsche cars and been happy with examples from each camp. That said, my 911 is currently on non N-rated tyres that do have a version on the Porsche approved list and they have proved excellent. I am not saying that the N rated list is fallacy, just that there are other tyres out there that seem to work well on older Porsches.
N rated Porsche Tyre Prices
A set of new N-rated tyres for my 911 costs around £400, so it’s not saving a huge amount of money over five years (or however long you expect tyres to last on a car doing 2k miles a year) to pick a set of tyres costing a hundred quid less. Not that I ever buy new tyres for my own cars, and the argument changes if you use your Porsche daily: Ferdinand’s 10 year-old Cayenne S will happily demolish two sets of part-worn Continental tyres in ten thousand miles.
I started my classic Porsche career on Kumho tyres, and have also used Falken, Goodyear Eagle F1, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup and Continental ContiSportContact to name a few I recall. Friends use Bridgestone S-02 (approved), S-03 and Toyo R888 on track cars. I like driving on the Bridgestone S-02s but find the 888s to be very noisy and hard work in heavy rain. I’ve driven too many 911s on Michelin TB5 and TB15 to list: not my favourite tyres but they do look good on wide wheels.
My own preference thus far is for Pilot Sport Cups, but ignore what I am telling you. They are super expensive, will scare you a bit in torrential downpours and won’t last more than 2,000 miles if you’re lucky. That said they look drop-dead gorgeous and the grip is amazing. My last set of Pilot Sport Cup rubber expired about four years ago and I’ve been on ContiSportContact ever since: grip is great, long tyre life (as I don’t go anywhere) and superb in the wet.
N-Rated Tyres on Classic Porsche Cars
ContiSportContact and SportContact 2 are N rated tyres. The SportContact is also an F-rated tyre: Ferdinand recommends them 100% based on the fact that we’ve used SportContacts for more than 5k miles and didn’t die in a blazing inferno due to skidding off-piste. ContiSport Contact 3 is not N rated but they are also great: been using them on my E36 BMW M3 for a couple of years and they are superb, but not N rated and not available in 245/45 16 to fit 9″ Fuchs. Both sets of SportContact rubber replaced GoodYear Eagle F1s, which must be the worst tyres I have ever driven on: Kumhos included.
The Porsche N rated tyre lists include approval for:
- Porsche 356: Pirelli P6000 (would not look great IMO)
- Porsche 924: P6000, Continental ContisportContact and Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 (I have P6000s on my 924 Turbo)
- Porsche 928: Pirelli P Zero Asimmetrico, ContiSportContact, Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
- Porsche 959: Bridgestone RE71
- Porsche 964: Pirelli P Zero Rosso, Bridgestone S-01, Bridgestone S-02A
- Porsche 986 and 996 add ContiSportContact 2 and Pirelli P Zero Direzionale.
I’d be interested to know who is using non N rated and how they have been doing – add thoughts in the comments. Anyone who believes Porsche cars should only run on N-rated rubber can rest assured that we understand the arguments in favour but are happy to deviate from that advice.
by John Glynn | Oct 10, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
Porsche Cars North America has announced that Rennsport Reunion V (RR5) will be held at Laguna Seca from September 25-27, 2015, four years after Rennsport Reunion was first hosted on west coast USA. Note that this is an amended date from the original 9-11 Oct 2015, as that clashed with 919s running in WEC at Fuji.
Previous Rennsports were run out east: once at Lime Rock and twice at Daytona. The feedback from my trusted sources was that Daytona topped Laguna for spectacle, and of course Daytona has heavy links with Porsche history, so was perhaps a more appropriate location for a Porsche racing heritage event.
However, with the heaviest concentration of Porsche collections anywhere in the USA, a high proportion of American Porsche owners living within reach of the circuit and the corporate side of Rennsport requiring the dry and sunny Monterey climate, California was deemed to be a better location.
There’s little doubt that Rennsport Reunion V will outsell previous events, and this will satisfy US sales and marketing. I don’t keep up with new Porsche cars so not sure where it fits with model releases, but no doubt a new car will slot in somewhere. Meanwhile, many European enthusiasts will be asking if Rennsport is worth the effort. The faithful will journey to Monterey, but would the average UK or European enthusiast gain enough from a trip to California to justify the considerable expense?
September 25-27 does not tally with any half-term private or public school dates that I can see in the UK, so taking the kids away for a couple of weeks is unlikely to work. European holidays are not much different, so it looks like a grown-up deal only. This is probably no bad idea, as only the most Porsche-obsessed wife and kids would enjoy it for more than an hour or two.
Flights and Accommodation: Rennsport Reunion V
Flying to Monterey is best done direct into San Francisco, but Los Angeles often offers better prices, and then you have the PCH rent-a-car drive to enjoy. Hotels around Laguna are good, and the R Gruppe Porsche crowd normally stay at the Hyatt Resort on the outskirts of town: there will be a block booking going on there. However, there is a PGA tournament going on during the same weekend, and room rates are now sky high.
Having previously stayed all around the region, Pacific Grove is my choice of overnight halts: great prices and the sound of the ocean within earshot. If standing beer-in-hand with Porsche freaks in the car park late into the night is your choice of bedtime, then grab a room at the Hyatt. I will do the standing around of course, just without many beers in hand and with a short drive back to my digs.
If your visit is only going to be about hardcore track action featuring rare and historic Porsche racing machinery, remember that this is largely an exhibition event with rare cars coming out of collections. Do not forget all the real Porsche racing we enjoy here in Europe. Whether it’s the 917 in the hands of Gary Pearson at Silverstone Classic, 962s racing at the Spa Classic, or 935s and RSRs at Oldtimer GP or Classic Le Mans, there is great historic racing on this side of the pond. Don’t feel bad if you can’t make it to Rennsport.
by John Glynn | Sep 29, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
2014’s hottest Supercup hot shot has picked up a Porsche works drive for the 2014 Petit Le Mans. New Zealand’s super talented Earl Bamber is set to join Patrick Long and Michael Christensen in a factory 911 RSR.
Petit Le Mans is run at Road Atlanta in Georgia. A ten-hour race run to ACO regulations, class winners receive automatic entry to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Petit Le Mans is the final race of the 2014 Tudor United Sportscar Championship. The highest-placed Porsche driver in GT Le Mans is Michael Christensen (excellent) who is 30 points down on the leader, Jonathan Bomarito. Porsche boys Leh Keen and Cooper MacNeil head to Georgia with a shout of taking the GT Daytona title, just four points behind leader Dane Cameron.
Porsche Works Drive for Earl Bamber
The drive is great news for Bamber, but as Sportscar365 reports, it has sadly forced the retirement of NGT Motorsport from Petit Le Mans for the second year running. Last year, the team pulled out following the tragic death of Sean Edwards while instructing on a track day in Australia.
The withdrawal of the Momo-sponsored NGT car takes away a fantastic opportunity to watch Bamber racing in the same team as his closest Supercup rival, Kuba Giermaziak, but gives Porsche a chance to see how Bamber handles the North American mayhem. Stuttgart is slightly under pressure for Petit, withdrawing one of its three-car entry as Richard Lietz is out with injury and altermative works pilots are committed elsewhere: Marco Holzer with the Falken Petit car and Fred Makowiecki in Thailand’s Super GT series.
Bamber has been absolute mustard this year, thrilling spectators with total commitment in Supercup. Despite stiff competition from established names like Giermaziak and experienced Porsche Junior, Klaus Bachler, it is Bamber on a Cup Scholarship drive who tops the points: five ahead of Giermaziak with two races remaining, both to be held in America. Earl has already stitched up the rookie championship, but is well placed to win the overall title. Brave money bets against him doing the job.
So far in 2014, Bamber has claimed two wins to Giermaziak’s three, but two fastest laps to Giermaziak’s one. Interestingly, the 991 Supercup has set no new fastest times in 2014: all the current fastest laps for tracks used prior to 2014 were set by earlier 911s. Who else would like to put Earl in a 997 RSR and see how much faster he could go around Spa, where he took pole and fastest lap this year? Awesome performance in a rookie season.
The current Porsche works driver line up is the biggest it has ever been. LMP1 squad has six members: Bernhard, Dumas, Hartley, Jani, Lieb and Webber. The GT squad has eight drivers: Bergmeister, Christensen, Henzler, Holzer, Lietz, Long, Pilet and Tandy. There are four Porsche Juniors: Bachler, de Philippi, Müller and Riberas.
Bamber is like a Kiwi barbecue, turning up the heat on illustrious names. Bamber/Tandy/Holzer in a factory RSR for 2015 – or maybe Bamber/Tandy/Lietz. Would be cool to see Christensen in LMP1 next year. Fantasy Porsche Works Team racing app anyone?
by John Glynn | Aug 22, 2014 | Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Porsche News
The Mexico Blue Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0 has just sold at JZM Porsche. Finished in what might be the ultimate paint-to-sample shade, the lack of decals is what most people I spoke to seemed to bring up – that and the price, of course.
For sale at a heady £350,000, people were always going to talk about the advertised price. “That’s not us driving the market,” say the sellers, “that is what the owner decided would convince him to part with it. The last RHD 4.0 RS to sell was a more common white car, which sold at £320k. The market has jumped since then and our customer was happy to keep this low-mileage one-off if his return wasn’t worthwhile.”
Such is life as a dealer: balancing customer sentiment with market activity. And it’s not always positive. Agressive dealers keen to push the market up for other 911s have dragged others with them, hurting everyone’s prospects as a consequence. One particular specialist known for scary prices has been listing 911 Turbos – mainly 993s – at huge money this year, forcing other sellers to list cars beyond their comfort zone, to prevent more realistic prices from inferring poor condition. I’m not saying dealers are scared of pushing prices, but there’s a fine line between market top and madness.
JZM has since re-priced its low-mileage Porsche 993 Turbo to what it believes is a more realistic level. Further down the price scale, I’ve spoken to a number of other dealer friends this week who, fed up with silly prices for projects, have been bidding much lower then the asking price and not coming home empty-handed.
One dealer who recently inspected a 1970 911 for a customer valued the car at just 60% of asking. “It was up for one price but with non-matching numbers, rust to repair and no shortage of issues to point at, I offered much less than the advertised price and told him to try and do better. A few days later, the phone rang to say come pick it up.”
What would a potentially slowing project market prove? Not much we don’t know. Prices for good cars are one place, prices for projects are somewhere else entirely. Few people want to buy huge amounts of work as most specialist repairers are pretty booked up, and restoration prices are climbing as parts get harder to source. At some stage there may be a tipping point: if it comes, I’m assuming it will be interest rate related.
There’s no harm in sellers making hay while they can if that what the market is willing to pay. Hurts that genuine enthusiasts are being blown out by investors, but let’s see how it all plays out.
by John Glynn | Aug 16, 2014 | Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Porsche News
Enjoyed a run in this sweet used Porsche 997 GT2 for sale earlier this week: a 2008 registered/2009 model year car with the full Manthey M600 power upgrade and some other fun bits. The car arrived for sale and was sold soon after to a keen driver and regular customer. Small wonder when it is such a special machine.
JZM is the UK Manthey agent and built this car from new for the original owner. The factory spec is comprehensive enough, but this GT2 also runs: M600 engine upgrade, Manthey MM1 magnesium wheels, KW HLS2 nose lift system and Nürburgring-approved Manthey carbon bits including front spoiler, front arch Gurneys, sill trims and rear wing extension.
Inside it has even more carbon with PCM3, black leather sports seats and Schroth harnesses as well as the normal seatbelts. Upgrades to the six-speed manual transmission include a Manthey short shift and gearbox overhaul with a few tweaks at Frikadelli Racing. Manthey replaced the upgraded 890 Nm clutch in April of this year. It shifts like a dream, and needs that upgraded clutch pack.
Standard power in a GT2 is 530 bhp, but only a stone cold example holds on to those horses. As heat increases so power is lost, with the plastic-capped intercoolers soaking up heat and frying intake temps. Manthey solves the problem with bigger all-aluminium intercoolers, also adding adding 200-cell cats and an all-new Akrapovic silencer.
As intake temperatures are now much lower, and the gases can exit the car freely, Olaf’s boys remap the better-breathing GT2 on their 850 bhp Maha dyno, taking power to a dependable 600 horsepower (hence the M600).
On the road, the car is a pussycat. JZM’s Steve McHale took us up the nearby A41 for a few miles, exploiting gaps in the traffic to best advantage. An older Porsche with this much power on a wet greasy road would be a proper handful, but even when the traction light flashed at 5,000 revs in fourth gear, the car never deviated from the straightest of lines.
Noise is my only complaint about modern 911s. They all make a stunning amount of noise through those massive rear tyres, and the M600 GT2 is no exception. Trying to make a hands-free phone call on a grainy road surface like this English dual carriageway would be somewhat frustrating, but talking on the move is no problem.
All too soon, our twenty mile spin is over. The car gets a clean bill of health and I tick another 911 off the bucket list. A police car out front on the return leg kept our speeds fairly sensible, but the Manthey Porsche 997 GT2 M600 will top 203 mph where limits allow: 200 reasons to open your wallet.
by John Glynn | Aug 16, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
Either I am following most of the Californian Porsche population on Instagram, or everyone else is at the first Werks Reunion at Carmel on the Monterey Historics weekend. My feed has been a parade of 356s, early 911s and latest Magnus Walker video exploits for the last few days.
Not seen many pics of this little beauty, though. It’s Joey B’s 1977 Porsche 911 S in Minerva Blue, which I shared a few weeks ago. Joey has now applied his meticulous attention to detail to what was already quite a nice car, and created something quite remarkable.
“Hey Johnny, hope you are well,” says his email. “Just wanted let you know this middie (what we call a ‘mid-year’ Porsche: post-1973 and pre-SC) is all buttoned up & ready for the prom this Friday at the 1st Werks Reunion in Carmel. Hope you approve of the changes, some more subtle than others.”
Changes obviously include a coat of wax! I spy 15″ Fuchs (of course), some period sounds and a retrimmed steering wheel. That Cork & Pascha interior is just right – makes me think I’d love to see some tan suede or Alcantara centres on early impact bumper Recaro sports seats.
Outside, that no-sunroof narrow body looks sharp with the black H4 headlamp trim rings and single door mirror. “I decided to stay with the 2.7-litre CIS engine with 10k miles on the rebuild,” says Joey and looks like a great decision to me. I see some yellow fog lamp bulbs, too. What a superstar classic!
Who has more pics to share from the Monterey Porsche Werks Reunion? Owner driver Porsche pics like this suit me perfect – we’re not about the garage queens. Drop me an email via the contact page.
