Bummer about the tire. Did you have wheel/tire insurance? A must in NJ where there are no roads, just patches of asphalt connecting the potholes.

 

what happened with the tire? Glad you caught it during the inspection since the damn car doesn't have a spare! Did the tire pressure monitoring system alert you at all to needing a new tire?

 

Why I hate Car Washes

I love to keep my cars in pristine condition and one way or another, I get them washed once a week. Sometimes, I would do it myself, sometimes go to a hand car wash and sometimes... go for a quick fully automated car wash.

And this is where I got victim of my ignorance as I only found out about the issue during the inspection: it looks like my nice big and wide rear wheels... are in fact too wide for my local car wash(es) conveyors. This was not noticeable when the car went through the car wash and I can not even tell at which car wash it happened since I have already been to 3 or 4 different places

Here's a pic of what we found out when we put the car on the lift:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60293300@N06/6796080930/
The inside of the rim was scratched and big chunks of rubber had been ripped off the tire. There was no way I was going to the track with a tire in this condition. Right now, it looks like only the Porsche dealerships have the 991 20" tires (P-Zero's) in stock and my local dealer fixed this promptly.
FYI, the retail price of the tire is about ~$560 + installation , but we could make it work out OK.

While I was at the dealership, I could see that my previous ride was nicely waiting for a new owner in the showroom:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60293300@N06/6796327700/
I also appreciated the comment on the sticker: "Customer added many extras"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60293300@N06/6942443341/

 

Oh boy that sucks.
But it's a good thing ya found this when you did, could have been real bad if you went tracking with that.

Is the rim OK?

 

Rim is intact (scratches were very superficial) and yes this could have had very bad consequences on the track (there were even bigger chunks of rubber missing, and this all around the tire's circumference). There's a reason why track inspections are mandatory, even for cars that are only a few weeks old!

 

Nice black rims... seen on a Panamera Turbo S today at the dealership.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60293300@N06/6942441533/
Sticker said "911 Turbo II 20" wheels" but does not look to be the case. Not sure these rims are OEM... HRE's? Other?.

 

Glad it worked out.
Re Panamera rims, definitely not stock, looks like 22".
A little too much for my tastes.

 

You are right for the rims size, I did not check, but definitely more than 20".
I think that 20" is already big, including on the 991. Not sure I would not rather go for 19" instead for aftermarket wheels.

 

multi spoke design and thinner spokes, fits nicely with the blacked out look.
i wonder as well if these are OEM, but i don`t think so.

 

Checked with the dealership. Rims are "innsbruck" wheels in matte black by Victor Equipment. I'll enquire about pricing for 19" and 20"...

 

Getting on the track in 20 minutes. Counting down seconds

 

Oooooh you're a lucky guy!!!
Give us your feed back when you're done.

 

First, be safe out there. Second, let us know how the 991 does on the track. I have a track day planned for mine in June at Thunderbolt in South NJ.

 

Thanks, I was safe and, wow, what a car

OK, I am obviously biased, but first, let me just share how amazed I was by 911's in general. The track days are organized at Road Atlanta by the local BMW chapter, so there were of course more Bimmers than any other cars there (and I am not picking on BMW, I love cars like the M3 and the event is great). The point is that 911's, whether it was the 991, a bunch of 997's and a few older models were all going faster than other cars on the track (BMW's M series, Aston Martin and various other stuff...).

A friend of mine was running his 997.2 C2S and, to be honest, we did not go at a very different pace around the track -there were 20+ cars per session so there was a lot overtaking that kept slowing us down too...-. This should reassure those that are still hesitating between a 997 GTS for instance and a 991S. At the end of the day, you would need to be a great driver to use 99% of both car's potential and get a significantly better time in the 991S BUT the 991S will get you there without breaking a sweat. The stability of the car is impressive, brakes -not PCCB- stay effective lap after lap and the PDK in Sport Plus mode sometimes anticipate your own moves. I'd say that you could only do 30% of the shifting manually if you wanted. It does not mean that you are necessarily less involved, but you can be more focused on your trajectory.

The only slightly negative point is a little too much body roll, especially in long high speed curves. I'll get the suspension tuned with springs and sway bars as soon as aftermarket parts become available, but for those of you who are still working on their build, INCLUDE THE PDCC (and drop something else if needed!).

I am back on the track tomorrow morning and will have pictures and videos ready over the next couple of days/weeks, but here are a few iPhone shots in the meantime:

Our basecamp (991S, 992 C2S, M3 -not on the picture):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60293300@N06/6804826890/
The 991S ready to run:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60293300@N06/6950939997/
...on the grid:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60293300@N06/6950940939/

 

Got the pricing and these forged wheels are stupid cheap (<$500) and very light. I'll probably give it a try in 20" for a while (I'll just buy a set and transfer my P-Zero on them).

The friend of mine running the 997 C2S had bought the same wheels over the week end (had not talked to him but he was at the wheels shop and liked them too) and got them mounted in 19" on his car:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60293300@N06/6950940621/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60293300@N06/6804827654/
The wheels are covered with brake dust and the pics are not very good, but they look great in reality. Most of the guys we saw were asking if they were P40's . My buddy was pleased with the wheels on the track. One more reason to give t a try...