718 GT4 Recall - November Builds

[geoff lane]

Hi Ralph,

I do not understand why Porsche won't accept responsibility and agree to have the cars collected, why should we have to lie to get Porsche Assist out . Did you tell Porsche Assist the truth when they arrived ?

I have been told the same by Porsche OPC but don't see why it should be up to me to lie to get the car to a dealership to have a recall carried out. This should be as per the recall letter from Porsche GB, we contact the OPC and they do the rest but at present it appears that Porsche GB won't get off the fence and authorise.

Geoff

 

[ralphmusic]

I don’t know why people want to assert that I am a liar. The AA man told his dispatcher that he could smell petrol.

 

[ralphmusic]

As an aside, the Stop Notice was issued to Centres on January 17.

 

[geoff lane]

Sorry Ralph I was not saying anything derogatory, its just that if its a recall Porsche should take responsibility and accept there is a cost to resolve or alternatively confirm it is safe to drive to the dealership.

If the centres were notified mid January then why did it take both the OPC's and Porsche GB a full month to inform owners, not really what you would expect. Does anyone know if there has been any engine fires ?

Geoff

 

[ralphmusic]

No problem Geoff.

The delay by Porsche GB between Stop and Recall for existing owners is completely unacceptable.

There is also a question in my mind about Centres who knew about the Stop and who they’d delivered cars to. In their defence, these matters (remedial and associated costs) are tightly controlled by Porsche GB (no trailer for this being a case in point) but you would have thought they might have made the connection and been chasing Porsche GB and warning owners on the quiet (if you can trust owners promise of non-disclosure). However if my car had caught fire my solicitor would be filing against both Centre and Porsche GB.

Hopefully everyone will get the recall done without spoiling our enjoyment of these great cars. I’m on track at Goodwood a week Saturday so as I will be staying within the 4k rev limit, I’ll be maxing cornering speeds and working the brakes hard to offset the rev limit.

 

[geoff lane]

What do you think of the car so far ?

How does it compare to you previous Cayman and have you still got it ?

 

[ralphmusic]

Geoff,

I’ve only driven the car on a couple of longish journeys and otherwise back and forth to Exeter Centre so at 850 miles. For me the LWB seats are comfortable and I have fitted a set of Crazy Eddy’s bolster covers to stop wear resulting from getting in and out. I have a set of silver/black seat covers in Pepita coming in a couple of days to relieve the otherwise unremitting black. The navigation and entertainment systems are poorly integrated with AppleCar Play and generally difficult to use. It has one less 12v power point and one less USB socket than 981 which isn’t great to drive the multiple devices I run on track.

I was talking with Rick at Highgate this afternoon as I’m looking for some over-car stripes but I gather he mainly gets his designs from a USA design house. I might just get a selection from another USA supplier and drape them over the car to see what (in my view) looks best.

The drive train seems very good, albeit I have not pushed it beyond the running-in level. It is not easy to understand how it makes sense to immediately go from 4K revs to 8k upon achieving 1,800 miles however I haven’t yet felt the need to go over 4K revs in normal driving. I find the gear change to be a little agricultural until warmed up and with my shoulder history, changing from the 3/4 plane to 1/2 plane is not altogether comfortable. I know people go on about a rifle bolt like change - I’d hate to have my Lee Enfield bolt action like that in a battle.

The ride is better than the 981 GT4 but not quite as good as my ‘special’ which had higher spring rates and benefitted from DSC damper controller. The ride height and rake is probably similar to the last GT4 but much higher and level, respectively compared to my ‘special’ which also ran with a lot more camber. No spirited cornering yet but I’ll see how it behaves on track. I have a lot of business and vacation travel coming up so I can’t get up to Centre Gravity until June, the day after it’s second track day Silverstone.

Based on my PEC drive, the engine is keener to rev than the 3.8 version but with a manual, I suspect I will not regularly be taking it right up to 8k whereas with my ’special’ I would leave PDK to run up to 7.6k red line at every opportunity. It seems to have a useful torque profile for road driving, which will also be helpful pre-1,800 miles on track.

Exhaust, for me is better as I can get on more tracks, as my special’s exhaust system included a 200 cell cat manifold and thus was rather loud. I don’t find the car’s exhaust sound to be disappointing.

My old car was sold by Williams Crawford in August and now lives in the North West with a Club member.

Geoff, How did the Litchfield coating work out and what were the process steps?

Ralph

 

[geoff lane]

Ralph

I agree with your comments on the comparison between the new and the old, I think the new car will be a better road car and I really like the chassis and steering. I must admit I like the gear change and don't find it a problem at all. I also don't have a problem with the clutch, yes it is light compared to the 981 but it is okay for me.

I would be interested to hear how you get Centre Gravity to set your car up and what you look to achieve as once mines run in and settled I intend to let Chris have a go at it.

The Litchfield spray coating I am really pleased with so far but it is early days, the process is prepare bodywork, remove lights, badges etc, spray film, ceramic coat and replace lights etc. You really struggle to see the work and as I said to others it really is a bit like the Kings new clothes I did wonder if I had paid for nothing. If your around Chudleigh give me a call and pop in and have a look.

Geoff

 

[ralphmusic]

Porsche Assistance (AA) arrived to collect the car at 08:15 and Exeter called to confirm safe arrival at 09:35. Some pictures of loading; the driver had to use his two standard AA ramps plus an extra "personal" one he kept on board just in case.

I am fortunate as the garage is higher than road level so it was just pushing it out and wrestling with no power assistance for the steering (just with ignition on to release steering lock). I did think about inflating the tyres to 40psi to make it easier to push but it wasn't necessary going down hill. My advice is be prepared, have some lengths of wood available if the driver doesn't have an extra third ramp in his truck.

Another point for rural locations, the AA did not provide my driver with truck-suitable navigation devices, he called ahead and I was able to tell him to miss the shortest route recommended by the sat-nav which otherwise would have caused him to be stuck for several hours down a Devon lane.

Ralph

 

[Nick_USA]

Cheers Ralph,

Personally I hate the AA, if I was forced to use them and they sent a truck that was unsuitable I'd be on the phone to Porsche assist. Try having that much space and time in central London.

I understand Devon lanes really well, narrow, one car wide and the green stuff either side hides a sandstone wall that bites.

Are you planning on collecting the car yourself?

I have no smell of petrol in the car or my garage and live 20 minutes from my centre. I will follow the advice in the recall letter. Plus for my piece of mind I have one of these in the car: https://www.f-e-v.co.uk/product/novec-1230 much more effective than a 1kg Porsche dry powder.

Nick

ps. I hope you notified the VTS guys or disabled the tracker as trailering would have alerted the monitoring service.

 

[Motorhead]

Ralph,

Good to hear that collection went smoothly. Hopefully Exeter will get the job done today without problems.

Looks as though you could be in trouble when confronted with an unexpected speed-bump ... that's quite a distance between the wheel centre-line and the front edge of the splitter. It's a shame that the front axle lift system available on the 911 isn't an option on the mid-engined cars.

Jeff

 

[ralphmusic]

Nick,

Porsche Assistance is subcontracted to AA. You just need to ensure they send the lowest loading truck they have. “My“ AA man said he’d never seen a road car that was so low. It is on stilts compared with my old one (I couldn’t get an 85mm trolly jack under that) which easily loaded onto the same type of AA truck. It is the GT4’s splitter edge to axle centre line that causes the problem.

I will collect it myself Friday morning and probably pop down to Crawford Williams in Saltash for a wander through their always interesting stock - they have a 996 GT3 with a Cup engine on SOR from a prolific PH poster (I’m not in the market!)

Ralph

 

[nwc123]

Received my letter yesterday. Not too impressed - yet another generation with engine problems. Won't be letting Porsche pick it up. I'll drop it off myself and hope it doesn't burst into a 991.1 GT3-esque fireball.

 

[nwc123]

It is not easy to understand how it makes sense to immediately go from 4K revs to 8k upon achieving 1,800 miles

I'm employing a more incremental programme. I read a post on Rennlist that claims to be a quote from Andreas Preuninger, along the lines of staying below 5k RPM for 300 miles, then increasing by 500 RPM every 150 miles. Whether true or not, this approach makes sense to me and works out at 1,200 miles for 8k RPM.

I'm at around 800 miles and starting to venture beyond 5k, but will wait until around 1,200 miles before full throttle and the limiter.

 

[ralphmusic]

Received my letter yesterday. Not too impressed - yet another generation with engine problems. Won't be letting Porsche pick it up. I'll drop it off myself and hope it doesn't burst into a 991.1 GT3-esque fireball.

I don't think it is a engine problem in the same way as the 991.1 GT3 was, it is a manufacturing process issue which shouldn't happen but they do from time to time with all manufacturers. At least our cars will be fixed during the rainy season.

I don't know about others' insurance policy wording but there is enough in mine to raise serious doubt about the policy responding to a claim which could be for damage to car, injury to me, and third-party injury and damage claims arising from my driving the car with knowledge of the possibility of a fire. It's a personal judgement but my attitude is coloured by experience of many issues where legal wording is all.

I'm employing a more incremental programme. I read a post on Rennlist that claims to be a quote from Andreas Preuninger, along the lines of staying below 5k RPM for 300 miles, then increasing by 500 RPM every 150 miles. Whether true or not, this approach makes sense to me and works out at 1,200 miles for 8k RPM. I'm at around 800 miles and starting to venture beyond 5k, but will wait until around 1,200 miles before full throttle and the limiter.

I remember mattheboatman reporting on rennlist his meeting with AP in Stuttgart in 2015 when AP said that PDK would be available for the 981 GT4. Since then and in the light of other direct quotes I have never given much credence to anything AP is quoted as saying or says. However I think your approach of incremental rev increases based on mileage is perfectly rational and more sensible than "floor it at 1,801 miles" although whether the increments are appropriate I wouldn't know. I have taken the cautious approach on the basis that it is a new engine, albeit with the same cylinder bore coatings, injectors, etc as the 3.0L turbos, and knowing that the ECU is logging rev conditions that might be used to question any engine-related warranty claim.

 

[ralphmusic]

Just a thought.. is it not odd that it affects only bank 2? Does bank 1 have different parts, is it not assembled using the same automated torque wrench?

 

[Motorhead]

Ralph,

To quote your post #6:

It may not be possible to guarantee that the fuel high-pressure line on cylinder bank 2 will not leak due to a manufacturing error on the screw-in flange for the high-pressure sensor.

Maybe there's only a single sensor which is on bank 2 or the fuel lines are handed, so the problem hasn't occurred on bank 1?

Jeff

 

[ralphmusic]

I have just received a call from Exeter to say recall work has been completed and the car is ready for collection. Pretty fast work by them from my email late Thursday last week to today. I’ll collect it tomorrow.

I hope others’ experience will be equally painless.

 

[Nick_USA]

I have just received a call from Exeter to say recall work has been completed and the car is ready for collection. Pretty fast work by them from my email late Thursday last week to today. I’ll collect it tomorrow.

I hope others’ experience will be equally painless.

Ralph,

Would be good to see a photo of the offending part, and if there was indeed a leak from it.

Nick

 

[ralphmusic]

I will ask for a photo but suspect evaporation will have compromised evidence of fuel leak.