Anyone ever have a "bad Porsche day" like me?

[chrisbruck]

And I'm not talking about something breaking and leaving you stranded....

I'm talking about where you get stuck in traffic all day, the clutch / tranny gets on your nerves, it smokes more than normal, seems to ride rougher, blah blah blah....

Don't get me wrong, I love my car, but today I wish I drove my Land Cruiser.

[emac]

Chris I think we all have part of the beast. That's why I hate going through Chi town
Ernie 81sc

[manbridge 74]

Traffic and 911s go together like oil and water.

[Palum6o]

I learned my lesson the hard way. I thought I could drive my car daily and it is totally possible, but you have to consider the type of driving you're involved in. I know driving these cars often truly helps them... but if you're stuck in traffic - forget it. I brought my car out to San Fran thinking I could drive it every day, which I did for several months, but my back began to kill me, modulating the clutch and driving 2 mph royally sucked. Best advice, just get a designated crappy commuter for daily abuse - keep the Carrera for weekend use or pleasure driving.

For me, the 997 was the answer, seats are more comfortable, and much better in traffic... in fact I could sit in that car all day - but I miss my 911 more than anything.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by chrisbruck

And I'm not talking about something breaking and leaving you stranded....

I'm talking about where you get stuck in traffic all day, the clutch / tranny gets on your nerves, it smokes more than normal, seems to ride rougher, blah blah blah....

Don't get me wrong, I love my car, but today I wish I drove my Land Cruiser.

I hear you, but after driving grain trucks in my youth, any amount of trans/clutch action in any passenger car is hugely pleasant by comparison.

All a matter of perspective, I guess.

[manbridge 74]

Also, traffic and 911s go together like F1 cars and long waits on the grid for the flag.

[Chuck.H]

I daily drive my 911 (almost) but I do the best I can to plan my day around traffic - I live in Florida and work in Atlanta, so I'm up there almost every week. It's important to time the arrival and departure so you're sure the 'shields are open' and you can keep moving. Likewise, when to and from the office in Florida I tend to take my 911 in the morning, and, if I stop at home for lunch take a vehicle like your land cruiser if the weather is hot or excessively rainy in the afternoon.

Add crappy pressure switch brake lights to your mix and you're a sitting duck in traffic waiting to get rear-ended when your brake lights don't come on!

Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 350k miles

[ejp]

Originally Posted by Chuck.H

I daily drive my 911 (almost) but I do the best I can to plan my day around traffic - I live in Florida and work in Atlanta, so I'm up there almost every week. It's important to time the arrival and departure so you're sure the 'shields are open' and you can keep moving. Likewise, when to and from the office in Florida I tend to take my 911 in the morning, and, if I stop at home for lunch take a vehicle like your land cruiser if the weather is hot or excessively rainy in the afternoon.

Add crappy pressure switch brake lights to your mix and you're a sitting duck in traffic waiting to get rear-ended when your brake lights don't come on!

Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 350k miles

This reminds me - I need to search the forum for a fix for brake lights that don't go on until the pedal is halfway down (harder than I would normally brake in stop/go traffic).

[tirwin]

I'd been meaning to put a can of BG44k in the gas tank and take a long drive. Well the other day I needed to drive about an hour away so I thought it was a perfect opportunity. Some rain came in and the bottom really dropped out at one point. Traffic was all snarled up, visibility was poor and I was thinking to myself "why did I do this?" After putting in so much work on the car and finally getting it back on the road, I was just a nervous wreck that some duffenschmirtz was going to hit me in the rain.

But then last night I went for a drive and my daughter wanted to ride along. With the windows down, the sunroof back and the stereo cranked up on a beautiful spring night, all was right with the world.

[chrisbruck]

The evening drives are the best.... Not as hot or sunny, car seems to drive the best then.

My drive home was better with my 7 yr old daughter today... Especially when she tells my to switch lanes and make it go fast!

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by chrisbruck

And I'm not talking about something breaking and leaving you stranded....

I'm talking about where you get stuck in traffic all day, the clutch / tranny gets on your nerves, it smokes more than normal, seems to ride rougher, blah blah blah....

Don't get me wrong, I love my car, but today I wish I drove my Land Cruiser.

I have a term for that: "Porsche pain". It happens quite a lot over the course of decades of Porsche ownership. But I assure you, the Porsche pleasure outweighs the pain.

[tijnes]

"Porsche pain" I like that.

Drove home to the city one Sunday night in the summer 90f at 10PM. Got stuck in summer traffic on the grand central. Sore leg from the clutch, engine temps climbing in the red because I didn't have a fan for the cooler. No AC so I was sweating like a lobster in the steamer. I hated my car that night. Ended up driving laps at Laguardia airport to cool it down.

Martijn

[Rodsrsr]

Originally Posted by ejp

This reminds me - I need to search the forum for a fix for brake lights that don't go on until the pedal is halfway down (harder than I would normally brake in stop/go traffic).

There's a switch on the back of the brake pedal. Take it off and you'll see an adjustment screw. I just did this on my car.

[tirwin]

The evening drives are the best.... Not as hot or sunny, car seems to drive the best then.



My drive home was better with my 7 yr old daughter today... Especially when she tells my to switch lanes and make it go fast!

I'll drink to that! My daughter is 13. Enjoy every second of it while it lasts. Tonight my son and I washed the car.

[911SauCy]

The first couple years my smiles per gallon was quite low with my 911.

As I've gotten it sorted the SPG is going through the roof.

I did have a bad Porsche day last summer, went to grab a sandwich and meet the wife for lunch. A 30 minute round trip turned into 2hrs 12mins because of highway sweeping traffic...ARRGG

[Chuck.H]

Originally Posted by Rodsrsr

There's a switch on the back of the brake pedal. Take it off and you'll see an adjustment screw. I just did this on my car.

Yes on the early cars there was a normal, functional switch. On later cars like my '89 Porsche used pressure switches screwed into the master cylinder, in what must be the worse design flaw of my car (ok, tied with the HVAC system). With a little fabrication you can mount a real brake switch on the brake booster in the Targa top storage area and have your brake lights come on with as little as 1/4 movement of the brake pedal.

An easy way to test the switches is see how much force it takes on the brake pedal to disengage the cruise control...

HTH,
Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 350k miles

[Rikao4]

do it all the time..
south TX with no A/C
I choose not to be part of the Altima or Camry herd..
pinch myself & smile..
I'm driving ..albeit slowly sometimes...
my Porsche..

Rika

[TWOZTER]

Drove the Porsche every day for about six months to work through rain, crappy roads, crappy traffic.... got kind of tired of it and eventually bought an old BMW 540i to be the "commuter".

I eventually sold the 540. There is no substitute.

[Josh D]

I daily drive my SC in all conditions of traffic and weather. Somedays it seems noisier, looser and underpowered. Other days it is smooth, taught, making perfect noises and feels like it has an ubundance of power. Just like my 42 yr old body!

These cars have soul. They have good days and bad days, just like us.

[chrisbruck]

I think Josh D summed up my feelings perfectly....

Originally Posted by Josh D

I daily drive my SC in all conditions of traffic and weather. Somedays it seems noisier, looser and underpowered. Other days it is smooth, taught, making perfect noises and feels like it has an ubundance of power. Just like my 42 yr old body!

These cars have soul. They have good days and bad days, just like us.