EmailA Simple Tip to Increase the Gas Mileage in Your Porsche
July 30, 2008
Today’s post comes from guest blogger Andrew Granieri. You may remember Andrew from his great set of posts that outlined the detailing and transformation of the paint on his Porsche 944. As a refresher, Andrew is a student at Miami University, studying Technical & Scientific Communications with a double Minor in Marketing & Entrepreneurship. He enjoys maintaining his 1986 Porsche 944 and joy-riding in his father’s 997 whenever possible. Here’s what Andrew had to say…
Drivers rejoice! The price of oil recently dropped significantly, but we all know fuel prices are wildly inconsistent day to day, week to week. A poll was posed a couple months ago on this blog, asking drivers if they changed their driving habits in these strange times, when $3.89 is considered a great deal for a gallon of gasoline. I didn’t think of changing my habits much when the poll was created, but now that I commute from Cincinnati to Cleveland on the weekends, I’ve reconsidered. Over the past two months, I’ve experimented with my driving style and found that small changes can in fact, make a profound impact on my mileage as well as my wallet.
I feel I should note that I have always supported the idea of driving a car as it was designed to be driven. While (sigh) slow by today’s standards, my normally-aspirated 944 wasn’t designed with puttering around in mind. In the past 3 years that I’ve owned it, 80% of the time I’ve been behind the wheel was time spent really driving it; shifting at or past 5,000 RPMS (once up to temp, of course!), spirited down-shifts, etc. Perhaps this accounts for my catastrophic ring and pinion failure earlier this year? – nah…
Gas mileage is great for a Porsche
That said, one would think my mileage on the road is about as poor as it is on the track. Not so! I did some rough calculations from last season and found my track mileage to be in the neighborhood of 7-12 mpg, which is pretty bad! However, on the street, as enthusiastic as I am behind the wheel I’ve found I consistently get between 22-27mpg, depending on my city-highway driving ratio. While that mileage doesn’t put a Prius to shame, it’s certainly respectable for a Porsche. But I knew from the way I drove that it was capable of more, and my job in Cleveland gave me the perfect opportunity to try out a few things.
My Oxford apartment is about 260 miles away from downtown Cleveland, which makes for a lot of freeway driving. However, my daily commute to work is from a suburb 40 minutes outside of town, often in stop and go rush hour traffic, so I’m still getting a fair amount of “city” driving in as well. 944’s came with a surprisingly large 21.1 gallon fuel tank, and I fall into the elite (read: poorer than they look) group of people who can say they drive a Porsche and fill up with 87 octane at the pump. I’ve now gone through several tanks of fuel, with dramatic results, with only one major change to my driving style: throttle control.
As hard as it is to resist the urge to drive a bit faster, I’ve managed a few thousand miles this summer not shifting higher than 3,000 RPMs and surprisingly, the difference in fuel economy has been astounding. Now for some quick and dirty math: if I average my range, mentioned above, of avg. mpg — 22 and 27, I get 24.5 mpg with my typical driving style. Assuming I drive until the car’s almost empty and consume 20 gallons of fuel, the MPG comes out to 490 miles covered — very respectable, even if it’s in part to the large fuel tank. Twice now since I started driving less aggressively, I’ve put 20.2 and 20.1 gallons in with the odometer at 565 and 540 miles respectively — that’s roughly 28 and 27 mpg!
32 Miles per gallon in a 944
Not bad, you say, but my record — and this is ASTOUNDING — a touch under 640 miles and I filled the tank with 20 gallons and some change — that’s close to THIRTY-TWO miles per gallon! I’m convinced I’ll never be that lucky with fuel economy, as there were a few extenuating circumstances that week; I’d left Cincinnati for my job in Cleveland job at 2 am, which left me with ZERO traffic to slow down for so my speed and fuel consumption was slow and consistent for the 250 mile drive up and during the week I also was very fortunate to avoid the brunt of rush hour traffic. I have all my receipts to prove fuel purchases, but didn’t document the miles and forgot to snap a photo of my dashboard before resetting my odometer — should I repeat the same feat with as much success as 32 mpg I’ll be sure to take a photo, even if it’s from my camera phone. I will admit with fuel prices starting to come down, it may be hard for me to continue this thrifty driving style; time will tell.
Give us some feedback
But proving to the world that a 22-year old four-banger can be fuel-efficient wasn’t my intent with this writing. I want to ask fellow Porsche owners — what’s the highest MPG you’ve achieved in your car? I’m also issuing a challenge — spend a few weeks not riding to the red line, I know these cars were made to be driven, but if you are fortunate enough to say a Porsche is your daily driver, it is worth the patience to investigate your fuel economy — you might surprise yourself! Post your MPGs in a comment below and don’t forget to let us know what you’re driving!
This may be followed up with me attempting something similar with my old man’s 997 C4S, which I believe averages 19.2 mpg according to the on-board computer – but for me to conduct such a test would require him to willingly relinquish his keys.
How did they do that? Porsche’s Profit Exceeds Revenue!!
July 28, 2008
Porsche’s fiscal year ends on July 31st 2008 and if a report from Der Spiegel is to be believed, then it’s been a very, very good year. Unlike most other car manufacturers, Porsche is not losing money. In fact, for all intents and purposes, they might as well be printing it. You see, expected numbers are to show that Porsche’s profits actually exceeded their revenue. You read that correctly, THE AMOUNT OF PROFIT THEY WILL RECOGNIZE IS LARGER THAN THEIR REVENUE.
How can this be you ask. Quite simply, shrewd management and excellent investments. More specifically, Porsche’s 30 plus percent stake in VW accounts for more than 90% of the expected 11 billion Euro in profit (that’s $17 billion dollars at today’s conversion rate.) Revenue is expected to come in around 8.6 billion euros. For anyone that is mathematically challenged let me do the math for you: 11 billion in profit on 8.6 billion in revenue means ONE HUGE BONUS for Porsche’s management team!!!
Oh, and before I forget, Porsche would still report just shy of 10% profit or 1.2 billion euros without the VW numbers. That’s not too shabby on its own.
Wiedeking’s Payday Proportionate to Porsche’s Profit
It was reported last year that Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking took home almost 60 million euros for his pay package. If the numbers above are correct, some are speculating he could earn as much as 100 million euros this year. Well deserved if you ask me.
I follow a lot of internet forums with regard to Porsche. On each of these forums, any move made by the Porsche management team is scrutinized, dissected and arm-chair quarter-backed to death. It’s like each one of us (yes, I too am guilty) is smarter than the Porsche management team collectively. If these numbers are right, them my hat is off to Wiedeking and the rest of his group. No more second guessing. If anything, I’ll be working on a shrine to worship their good fortune (and yours too if you happen to be a shareholder.)
[Source: Der Spiegel, Dow Jones Newswire]
Understanding Porsche N spec Approval when Choosing Tires
July 25, 2008
For those of you that have been long-term readers you’ll remember a post I did some time ago where I offered my research services to answer any Porsche related question. That post, “I’m not a Porsche Expert, but I Play one on the Internet” continues to generate a number of questions and I want to do my best to keep answering them for you.
In my opinion, it’s a win-win situation. You get great content to help research a specific Porsche topic and during my research I learn even more about Porsche Cars, Products and LifeStyle. Please feel free to keep sending your questions in by simply commenting on this article or any other on the site (I see them all.) If I don’t answer them directly, here on the web-site, I will email you back personally whenever possible.
Today’s question has to do with finding the right tire for your Porsche. More specifically:
“What does it mean for a tire to have a Porsche N spec approval?”
A Porsche N spec approved tire is one that has passed a series of difficult and diverse test designed by Porsche engineers to ensure maximum performance and safety under a wide range of driving conditions. To qualify for this approval and “to be an Original Equipment tire provider on a Porsche vehicle or be approved by Porsche for the replacement market requires the joint product development efforts of the tire engineers working alongside the Porsche vehicle engineers.” In some instances specific tires will only be approved for specific Porsche applications or models.
Tires may be specified for a particular vehicle or range of vehicles and must successfully pass the tire company’s laboratory tests to assure that they would be capable of adequately supporting the Porsche vehicle while allowing it to reach its top speed on the German Autobahn. Additional laboratory, test track and race track tests are conducted to confirm that the prototype tires meet Porsche’s noise, hydroplaning and handling requirements. Prototype tires will also be evaluated to assess their high-speed durability, uniformity and serviceability. Upon test completion, the tires will be released for production.
Let’s look at some of the tests required by Porsche for N spec approval:
- SPEED: The tire must be capable of safely handling the Porsche vehicle at any speed while allowing it to reach its top speed on a track or the German Autobahn.
- NOISE: As tires continue to grow in size and width, noise suppression becomes more and more important. Generally speaking, Porsche performance tires are low profile and very soft. This makes it even more difficult to manage road noise. You can rest assured that those tires with a Porsche N spec approval will be as quiet as possible.
- HYDROPLANING: The focus in recent radial tire development for Porsche vehicles has primarily included optimum handling on dry surfaces and the safest possible behavior on wet surfaces, even at high speeds. Tires developed by various manufacturers, in concert with Porsche, offer a specific set of wet grip properties which few, if any, other automobile manufacturers demand in equal measure from the tires they use on their vehicles.
- HANDLING: I’m not sure this particular heading requires any additional explanation. Your tires provide the grip that keeps your Porsche “stuck” to the road. Poor tire construction, soft sidewall, tires that are too firm, etc. all these things will lead to reduced handling and possible safety concerns that can be avoided by choosing a Porsche N spec tire.
Once a tire has been approved by Porsche it is branded with the N spec approval. The N-specification brandings include: N-0 (N-zero), N-1, N-2, N-3 or N-4. These markings on a tire’s sidewall clearly identify them as approved by Porsche for their vehicles. The N-0 marking is assigned to the first approved version of a tire design. As that design is refined externally or internally, the later significant evolutions will result in a new generation of the tire to be branded with N-1, N-2, N-3, etc., in succession. When a completely new tire design is approved, it receives the N-0 branding and the succession begins again.
It is important to note that certain tire manufacturers may produce the exact same tire in name, size and speed rating as those that have the N spec approval. However, if they are not branded with the N spec approval than it is very likely that they do not adhere to the same rigid production and quality requirements demanded by Porsche.
According to a recent Porsche owner’s manuals, if you do run Porsche N spec approved tires on your car, it is always recommend that your tires be replaced in pairs (one axle at a time.) In the event of tire damage such as cuts, punctures, cracks or sidewall bulges that cause a single tire to be replaced for safety reasons, the remaining matching tire on that axle must not exceed 30 percent wear. If the remaining tire has more than 30 percent wear from new, it should also be replaced. Handling inconsistencies may result if this is not done.
Here’s a list of some of the more popular Porsche N spec approved tires:
- Pirelli PZero Rosso Tire
- Michelin Pilot Sport Rib Tire
- Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 Tire
- Bridgetstone Potenza (various models)
There are many, many more tires, than those listed above, that are Porsche N spec approved. If you are researching tires, one of your best bets is to check out The Tire Rack as you can look up your vehicle by make, model and year. The resulting list of tires will provide you with various information including whether the tire is a Porsche N spec approved one.
As a conflicting and interesting end to this post, I recently replaced the tires on my 1997 Porsche 993 C4S. After days of research I ended up selecting a tire that was NOT Porsche N spec approved. At the end of the day I received an excellent tire that performs as well, if not better, than the N spec approved tires the car was originally equipped with. Here’s a review of the Sumitomo HTR Z III tires I chose.
Don’t forget, if you have more questions you would like researched and answered, please ask below or by sending me an email to ask at 993C4S dot com.
