by John Glynn | Apr 23, 2016 | Porsche Cayenne, Porsche News
Porsche is amongst a group of manufacturers who have issued voluntary recalls for a total of 630,000 vehicles across Germany to address irregularities with diesel emissions systems, after being listed as real-world emissions offenders by the German goverment.
Porsche sells a variety of diesel engines in the Macan and Cayenne SUVs: two model lines which now make up 70% of all Porsche sales. The Cayenne Diesel’s 3-litre V6 Turbodiesel produces 262 hp at 4,000 rpm and the Cayenne S Diesel’s 4.2-litre V8 Turbodiesel produces 385 hp at 3,750 rpm. Both are EU6 compliant. The TDI option in the Porsche Macan S Diesel is the 3-litre V6 making 254 hp at 4,250 rpm and a collosal 580Nm of torque from 1,500-2,500 rpm. This Porsche Macan diesel engine is now subject to emissions recall in Germany.
Cayenne Diesel pulled from US sale by Porsche Cars North America
No mention has been made of the Cayenne’s V6 TDI, which achieves the same excellent torque output, but which Porsche Cars North America voluntarily removed from sale at the end of last year, after it received a notice of violation from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the 2015 Porsche Cayenne Diesel. Audi declined to follow Porsche’s example and left all of its 3.0 V6 TDI models on sale.
Figures shared by Autocar magazine says that the recall includes 32,000 Macan diesels. As in the case of the VW diesel issue, early murmurs on Macan forums suggest that a number of owners will not have their cars corrected. This is despite a series of tests carried out by ADAC in Germany which show that the Porsche Macan S Diesel emits over four times more NOx in the “real-world” WLTC emissions test versus the the NEDC test used by EU officials.
Australia sues over Porsche 3-litre diesel emissions
Since the dieselgate emissions scandal broke, Volkwagen has repeatedly claimed that its 3-litre V6 TDI engines are clean and compliant, despite the engine’s withdrawal from sale in the US. Despite these assertions, Australian lawyers representing more than 13,000 VW owners in a class action suit covering almost 100,000 VW diesel cars sold in Australia from 2009 to 2016 added the 3.0 V6 TDI to its lawsuit at the end of 2015.
“Volkswagen has made denials that have subsequently proven to be untrue every step of the way,” said class actions lawyer, Jason Geisker. “It denied the initial test results that uncovered this global scandal and also denied that its 3.0-litre vehicles sold in the USA were affected, before later admitting that these engines did have defeat devices fitted.”
NOx Emissions causing 50,000 premature UK deaths per annum
The latest emissions recalls in Germany are based around how emissions outputs are recirculated ‘post-treatment’, with some manufacturer systems venting them to air above a certain ambient temperature, rather than pumping them back into the engine. Manufacturers including Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Fiat, Ford, Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz and Renault are also implicated. So far only Audi and Opel/GM have stated that they will apply the updates on every affected car in Europe.
The official line is that no single authority is forcing Porsche and these other manufacturers to bring their most heavily polluting diesels back and sort out their emissions systems, but it is impossible to believe that manufacturers would spend money to do this voluntarily. Given that WHO research data now suggests that NOx emissions cause as many as 50,000 premature deaths per year in the UK alone, there is also a question mark over the actions of VW, Porsche and other marque owners who choose not to have the software corrections applied to reduce the NOx emissions of their vehicles.
Owners opting not to apply emissions-reducing software fixes
Owners who choose not to apply software that reduces poisonous gas emissions from their vehicle tailpipes are breathing the same air as everyone else, but justify overlooking these excessive emissions by claiming that the software updates would make their cars less powerful and damage engine internals. The fact that the recall has been left as voluntary by the German authorities means that the manufacturers can sidestep their legal responsibilties to reducing air pollutants, while also claiming that owners have not been disadvantaged and do not deserve compensation, as they like how their cars work. All that money spent on political lobbyists by car manufacturers across the EU this continues to pay off, but meanwhile, children are forced to breathe highly polluted air.
You may regard this as an overdramatisation, but a 2010 exercise to monitor London’s air pollution illustrated the scale of the emissions problem most effectively, when the UK capital used up its annual allowance for NO2 emissions in the first three weeks of measuring. A 52-week allowance used up in three weeks, and diesel engines that are now an average of nine times more polluting against permitted standards means there is no excuse for owners of affected vehicles to sidestep the emissions fixes.
We are still in the early days of this emissions scandal. There can be no doubt that diesel engines and car manufacturing as a whole will face a lot more scrutiny in the months ahead – unless the industry hires even more lobbyists.
by John Glynn | Apr 22, 2016 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Porsche has just added a bunch of new N-rated tyres to its list of approved rubber for older Porsche sports cars. The fact that Stuttgart’s release considers anything pre-2005 as classic is something we’ll gloss over for now – not going there on a Friday afternoon.
Porsche N-rated Tyres on Classic 911s
The Porsche tyre N-rating system is a subject of much discussion amongst classic 911 owners: probably in the top three conversation starters along with “what oil should I use?” and “I once turned down a 964RS for £20 and a half-eaten steak and kidney pie.” Not fitting N-rated tyres to your old Porsche won’t make it fail the MOT or invalidate your insurance, but there may be some comfort in fitting tyres which Porsche has tested on your classic. It also leaves you with plenty of headspace to worry about the engine going bang or whatever people worry about these days.
Pirelli, Continental, Michelin and Bridgestone all have rubber on the latest classic Porsche N-rated tyre list. As impact bumper 911s are closest to my heart, it’s nice to see that Continental Sport Contact tyres continue to be available in 205/55 and 245/45 ZR16 for 7- and 9-inch Fuchs wheels as fitted to my Carrera 3.0 (albeit the Sport Contacts on my car at present are not N rated). For those who follow a Porsche-approved lifestyle, 959 owners are stuck with Bridgestone RE71s (plenty noisy at 80dB), 964RS drivers have a better choice of Sport Contacts, Michelin Pilot Sport 2, Pirelli P Zero Rosso or Trofeo R compounds, while 924 Turbo drivers have the Sport Contact, Pilot Exalto 2 or P Zero Rosso to choose from.
Porsche Tyre Test Drivers
Porsche invited Walter Röhrl along to help with approvals, the former World Rally champion offering input based on a long history of driving classic Porsche models. Many of the current works drivers also have a classic 911 tucked away somewhere – would be interesting to see one of them drifting a pre-’73, abusing a set of N-rated tyres (Pirelli CN36 or P6000 if you must have the N). It is also interesting to see Walter leaning on a pair of P7Rs (sexiest tread pattern ever IMO) but those tyres are not on the Porsche approved list as far as I can see: P7 Cinturatos yes, but not P7Rs.
“The driving properties in the early years were not as full or balanced as they are today,” says Walter. “The new generation of tyres is more fitting than ever to the driving style of a challenging sports car.” Porsche tyre tester, Dieter Röscheisen, said of the newly-approved tyres: “The new tyre releases will make it possible for classic models to follow the curve into the modern era with exceptionally good and balanced driving properties.” (I imagine it is more likely that a PR person said this. My hope is that Dieter was overexcited after spending an afternoon shredding 993 RS rear tyres and couldn’t elucidate.)
I don’t have N-rated tyres fitted to any of my five old Porsches. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest, as my cars are eternal works-in-progress and only one of the Porsches is currently road legal (a classic 2004 SUV model). I have a set of part-worn 205/55 16 Bridgestones for the 924 Turbo, which will be next to go on the road. I like Sport Contacts on the 911, but tend to lean toward Michelins as my overall tyre brand of choice: they drive so well, right down to the wear bars. All that will go out the window if you can now get P7Rs to fit the 911, as they are soooo s-e-x-y.
Track day fans on my 911 forum at impactbumpers.com use a load of different non-N-rated tyres on long road trips and pretty intense driving conditions and no big problems reported there. Bridgestone S-02s have long been a good choice for spirited ’74-’89 911 driving if you can get a set to suit: you can still buy 205/55 and 225/50 16s in Porsche N3 rating from places like Camskill, but I don’t think 245s are easily available.
by John Glynn | Apr 13, 2016 | Project Cars, Porsche Cayenne
My much-loved 2004 Porsche Cayenne S (4.5 V8) behaved itself for most of this winter just gone, apart from a couple of minor hiccups. The first required a battery change, but the other was a little more challenging.
I should have seen it coming when the Cayenne would very occasionally take a few of seconds of cranking to get started when hot. I assumed it was some sort of fuel boil-off to do with the LPG system, but then it was a random occurrence and perhaps also happened when running on petrol.
Porsche Cayenne Poor Running
A few weeks ago, I filled up with LPG and was just driving away when I was forced to do an emergency stop. The hard braking caused the Cayenne to cut out and it was a bit of a pig to get started again. Eventually it did start, but would not pull away from junctions cleanly once I got it going. I thought it might be something to do with the emergency braking system (an Audi I once drove had something like this) so I pulled over, reset the systems and drove off, apparently cured.
The next day, the problem was back, with poor acceleration on the school run. I emailed Chris at JZM and asked what he thought. There were a few suggestions, but he could stick it on their Porsche PIWIS the following day to be sure. Next morning, I dropped the kids to school and headed for Kings Langley, where we plugged it in and read the fault codes.
There were a few things on there (as usual for any Cayenne), but one I had been looking for: crankshaft position sensor fault. The ECU said it had last happened at 41k miles, but first happened at 63k miles even though the car was now on 157k miles. I couldn’t see anything else. Mike had a good look through everything – bit of a pain as the Cayenne takes ages to give up its codes and the PIWIS diagnostic walk-throughs only work on post-2006 cars – before deciding to do a master reset, run it again, then read the codes and see what was showing.
Cayenne Crankshaft Position Sensor Failure
Having done the reset, the Cayenne wouldn’t start. It would crank and crank but no start. Complete failure in the best possible place: a decent independent Porsche workshop! We left it a while and then like magic it started fine. As the last major fault code had been for crankshaft position sensor, we agreed this was the first thing to change. I borrowed a courtesy car and Mike changed the sensor the following day, which seemed to cure the problem.
Thoughts since the change? Wow, what a difference. Things the Cayenne used to do which mildly annoyed me have all disappeared. It starts first time, every time, and pulls cleanly from anywhere in the rev range: easily the smoothest it has been in my 40k miles of ownership. Still needs flicking down a gear when you really want to get moving, but a huge improvement overall.
If you’ve got a 955 Cayenne with 100k miles or more and it’s on the original CPS, get it changed and bring your Cayenne back to full health, before it leaves you stranded. Will be a bit of a nightmare job, as the plug is in quite a tight spot behind the top of the engine, but “it’s not that bad” according to Mike. One tip on where to get the part: as official Bosch agents, JZM bought my crank position sensor straight from Bosch and saved me quite a few quid. Good work!
PS: I collected the Cayenne and brought it home. That night, this happened (above). I was not pleased! Three other cars around it were also keyed so it wasn’t an anti-Porsche thing. My Polo was parked in front of it and that was not keyed, so it wasn’t an anti-me thing either. Such is life.
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by John Glynn | Apr 3, 2016 | New Models, Classic Porsche Blog
The all new Porsche 911R is one to forget for most Porsche would-be buyers, as Stuttgart continues to apply a policy of limited production range-toppers, which instantly doubles prices once the cars are flipped on to the used market by speculator purchasers.
Marketed as ultimate driver’s cars, the irony is that the majority of the nine-hundred and ninety-one 911Rs to be built will not be driven by their first owners. Most will either be mothballed on delivery and stuck in pension-fund car collections or sent straight back to market at up to £200k more than the UK cost new of £136,901.
Porsche 911R Factory Options
Obviously that cost new does not include the options that most buyers who manage to secure a build slot will go for. Choice of seats is standard (although there is really only one choice), as are the mechanical LSD, six-speed gearbox and ceramic brakes. But a quick look at the car configurator shows the other boxes likely to be ticked, based on the most common GT3 RS options out there (i.e. what Porsche dealers will advise customers to add), including:
- Wheels in Satin Platinum: £400
- Extended Leather: £2000
- LED headlights in Black: £2100 (or cheaper Black Xenon for £800)
- Lightweight Battery: £1500
- Single Mass Flywheel: £2024
- Front Axle Lift: £2024
- Sport Chrono: £1525
- Climate Control: £0
I pick the green stripe no-cost option, as any good Irishman should. Adding heated seats for early-morning starts means I would have to give up the 918 seats, which I wouldn’t do. So no 911R for me. Adding the DAB Radio means also adding PCM Navigation (no cost) and Telephone Module, so a £500 increase. The system won’t let you unhook Porsche Vehicle Tracking system at £1100, so your invoice total is now £147,000.
Porsche 911R Used Prices
Send in your deposit and finance the rest: don’t worry about interest. Sign your finance agreement when the car arrives at the dealership. As soon as the car is delivered, stick it in the Sunday Times at £350,000, which is the price 991 GT3 RSs were changing hands for when the first ones hit the UK and what my dealer friends expect ‘black market’ flipped 911Rs to fetch in the first weeks after delivery. Pay off your finance and buy the best 997 Carrera GTS you can find, as that is super fun to drive. Enjoy your free 911 and all that money for nothing.
What Porsche to buy if you can’t buy a 911R
Porsche must be happy for buyers to flip for profits: just look at the prices one-owner 911 GT3 RS models are selling for under the radar through its own dealer network. If Stuttgart was serious about building driver’s cars accessible to everyone, it would only make one less 911R than the market called for, and then we could all look forward to the day they depreciate to 997 Carrera GTS levels, which in my opinion currently offers the best mix of affordability, excitement and driveability in the 911 line up. I’ll have mine in white with green R stripes.
I would love to try a 911R with this six-speed transmission: no doubt the six-speed manual gearbox is huge fun in a 997 Carrera GTS and the seven-speeder is not great in a 991. By ignoring 991s and looking at Gen II 997 Carrera GTS instead, you really do not have to spend a fortune to buy the most enjoyable and guilt-free driver’s 911 of the VW-Porsche era.
by John Glynn | Mar 31, 2016 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Watched a cool project in progress at Tuthill Porsche this morning, with my ex-BTCC tech mate Chris Defriez fitting EXE-TC dampers to a Porsche 964 RS track day machine.
EXE-TC suspension is a high-end option for Porsche 911s that has been used to great effect on many Tuthill rally cars over the years, but decent suspension is just as important on road and race cars. EXE-TC kit is now available for most 911s from 1965 onwards. These remote reservoir 964 dampers are beautifully manufactured, featuring mega adjustable billet top mounts, which gave a wide range camber and castor adjustment at the top and bottom of the suspension leg on this particular 964 RS.
The kit being fitted to all four corners of this RS created an interesting challenge for Chris, as he worked out where to site the remote reservoirs. Front is not too bad, as there is a handy strut brace sitting there ready to mount damper reservoirs, but the engine compartment on a 964RS is pretty packed, so not many options in the back. I’ll head back over in a few days to see what he decided.
964RS is still the one for me – they are absolutely fantastic cars. I am another one of those who almost bought a 964RS many years ago when they were circa £30k, but decided against it. I can live with the decision but, every so often, it does niggle me that I will never actually own one of my own. Prices will never return to that sort of level.
Prices for proper Porsche 964 RS models now start circa £120k and rise to much bigger numbers for original, low mileage RHD examples, so this well used LHD track car is still worth serious money by normal standards. There are a few 964 RS models up for sale at the minute, including a 964 Cup Car for sale at just under £200k. I’m not about to remortgage my house for a 964 Cup Car, but how cool to have bought one when they could barely be given away.
