Page 22 - KCRPCA Nov Dec 2018

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Nov / Dec 2018
Photo by Jeff Wagoner
Driving Your Car
Now, if you plan on driving the car through the winter or sparingly through the winter these are some helpful tips for that.
1. Again, don’t start the car unless you are going to drive it. No two week warm ups etc. When you do drive it, do not sit and idle to warm it up. Modern day engines, especially DFI engines, do not like not being under load. As- suming you are using the proper fluids for the temperatures you are in, the best thing you can do is start the car and drive away. Drive lightly until the car’s fluids are fully up to temperature, i.e, 3k rpms or below. The car will warm up faster when it is being driven, and far less stress on the internals of the engines. We are seeing cylinder wall scoring in many of the modern day Porsche engines; much of this is due to extended cold weather idling, or driving the car too hard before it has a chance to warm up, causing the piston coatings to flake off and damage the cylinder walls.
2. Winter tires. Winter tires. Win- ter tires. People always ask me about all season tires year round, I always say that all season tires actually means no sea- son tires. They really aren’t good any time of year, because it is a compromise every season. Once it gets below 50 de- grees, ultra high performance tires that come on Porsches do not perform well and can crack in the cold weather. They are instead made for warm dry roads. Just as running winter tires in the sum- mer heat will wear out extremely quickly due to the soft rubber. Having extra sets of tires for the two seasons we have in the Midwest is a hassle, but very much worth it when the weather turns bad. If you choose not to have a set of winter tires, please be very mindful of cold tires and roads when driving.
3. Keep the car clean. In the win- ter it is hard, but get the car washed if you get a chance on one of those 45-50 degree days. Just make sure to store it inside overnight to make sure your door seals or locks have a chance to dry and not freeze overnight. Look into a ce-