Porscher 2021 05

Voice of the Vancouver Island Region - Porsche Club of America

Volume 24 Issue 3, May 2021

In This Issue 25 Roads April Update and Photos, New T-Shirts, Road Trips, Black Rock Latest, Pedro’s Garage & more!

Porscher Advertiser Index

000 Magazine

Porsche Centre Victoria

Villamar

Jason Good Custom Cabinets

900 Degrees Pizza

HAGERTY MotorsportReg

Garage Kings Victoria Please show your support for these companies by giving them the opportunity to serve you.

Also mention that you saw their advert in Porscher so they know their money is well spent.

The display of adverts does not constitute an endorsement of the company by VIR or PCA

CONTACT : Members are invited and encouraged to submit articles and photos that would be of interest to the Club. Photos in JPG or PNG formats. Please send submissions via email to the Newsletter Editor at: Newsletter@virpca.org NEWSLETTER DEADLINE: The deadline for the next issue is the 23rd of the month.

PHOTO CREDITS: Paul Rossmo, Steve Cropper and Steve Fairbrother. Others are credited in articles. If we have omitted anyone, our apologies, please advise us and we shall credit you next month.

Click here for our Facebook Group page

Advertising Rates $210 Outside back page $200 Inside front cover $190 Inside back cover $150 Full page $ 90 Half page $ 50 Quarter page $ 30 Business card Please contact the Editor for more information VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

www.virpca.org

Porscher is the official publication of the Vancouver Island Region of the Porsche Club of America and is published approximately monthly.

EDITORIAL: Statements appearing in PORSCHER are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Porsche Club of America, the Vancouver Island Region, its Executives or the Editor. All articles and photographs are copyright the author or contributor (unless otherwise noted). Permission for reprints or reproduction of the contents must be granted by the Editor and the author or contributor.

Copyright © 2017-2021 by Porsche Club of America, Vancouver Island Region. All rights reserved.

MAY 2021 Page 3

THIS MONTH’S CONTENTS VIR EXECUTIVE

5

EXECUTIVE COMMENT

6

25 ROADS APRIL UPDATE

11

25 ROADS T-SHIRT

13

YOUR 25 ROADS PHOTOS

14

BLACK ROCK 2021 UPDATE

19

ROAD TRIPS

21

PORSCHE MAGIC

27

25 YEARS AGO

29

PORSCHER PUZZLER SOLUTION

30

PEDRO’S GARAGE

32

DISCOUNTS & USEFUL WEB SITES

36

CLUB CLASSIFIEDS

37

AROUND THE BEND

39

Cover Photo East Sooke Regional Park By The Editor VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

MAY 2021 Page 4

President Tim Evans president@virpca.org

Vice President Garth Webber Atkins vicepresident@virpca.org

Secretary Ross Mosher secretary@virpca.org

Treasurer Trevor Ross treasurer@virpca.org

Director—Up Island Wendy Woodley upisland@virpca.org

Director—Mid Island Dan Bourlet midisland@virpca.org

Director—South Island Imogen Burr southisland@virpca.org

Newsletter Chair Steve Fairbrother newsletter@virpca.org

Webmaster Chair Dave Nickel webmaster@virpca.org

Membership Chair Dan Schuetze membership@virpca.org

Rally Chair Klaus Kreye rally@virpca.org

Competition Chair Vacant competition@virpca.org

Tech (Classics) Chair Paul Rossmo paul.rossmo@prhistorics.com

Past President John McGurran pastpresident@virpca.org

VIR Business meetings are normally held on the 2nd week of every month, refer to “Around The Bend” for dates and places. Meeting minutes are available upon request from the VIR Secretary VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

MAY 2021 Page 5

By VIR President Tim

Evans

S

(details in this issue of the Porscher) May 16–30: Anniversary Hats June 1–15: Anniversary Polo Shirt

ince the latest public health travel restrictions will continue until after the May long weekend, our Black Rock event has been cancelled. This is very disappointing and all we can do is look forward to 2022. Members registered for 2021 Details about the hats and were sent an email to advise them of the the polo shirts will be recancellation. leased soon.

On the positive side, our 25 Roads for 25 Years challenge got off to a fabulous start and you can read more about it in this issue.

The Facebook posts have been interesting and the pictures have been fantastic, so please keep them coming! With the current travel restrictions, we’ve been told to stay in our local area, so members will need to figure out which drives fall within this parameter or can be tied in with essential travel.

In spite of the current Covid-19 regulations, we continue to plan for events and once we are able to travel again, we will be ready to roll out our event schedule. We’ll make sure we keep you up-to-date via the calendar on the website, on our group Facebook page and through email. In the meantime, you can always drive to the grocery store, medical appointments and other essential destinations to enjoy your Porsche!

We recently distributed the first piece of clothing from our 25th anniversary collection release – the black and silver anniversary Tshirt was well-received, with 77 T-shirts sold.

Our upcoming clothing release schedule is: May 1–15: 25 Roads for 25 Years T-shirt

Let’s hope the current regulations bring the numbers down and we can gather again soon.

By Porscher Editor Steve

Until then, please take care and stay safe.

Fairbrother

I

f you are a new member to the Club, you may have wondered what is the Motorsportreg.com website? The Club uses it to publicise our events and make it easy for members to register for them. It also does all the back office tasks for us to ease our burden of administering events. You only need to create a free account there once and add us as your Club, then you can easily join all the other members when we are able to gather at events (hopefully) in the near future. www.motorsportreg.com Also new Porsche owners, it is a tradition to wave to other Porsche drivers when seeing each other on the road, so next time you see a fellow Porsche driver, safely give them a wave!

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

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By PCA Zone 6 Representative Mark

Prusynski

Zone 6 May Update Our dry, warm Spring has been perfect to get the Porsches out in anticipation of a near “normal” diving season. We’ve already had a few autocrosses and tours in Zone 6 and social functions limited by the everchanging rules regarding COVID. I’ve had a few questions about what

PCA’s “procedure” is now that various jurisdictions in Zone 6 have loosened their restrictions and some of us have been vaccinated. It’s quite simple: follow your local laws.

Also, if a business, for example, wants patrons to mask up, even though the local jurisdiction may not have a mask mandate, wear your mask as requested.

We recently attended a social function where masks were not required and I felt somewhat uncomfortable. It might take awhile to get that comfort level back, and that should be understood and accepted. I hope we get through these next few months without a spike.

Treffen Scottsdale is on the horizon and we have quite a few Zone 6 members attending.

We’ll see how things go after a year of limited Porsche activities. Linda and I also plan to attend the Inland Northwest Region wine tour in May. We missed it last year, but have attended at least 20 of them and it’s often our first trip outside Silver Sage.

The Canadian border is still closed, so Black Rock on Vancouver Island will be limited to Canadians (Editor—no, it was only VIR members). It’s a great event that everyone should try to attend. We hope the border is open in time for the British Columbia Regions’ anniversary parties in the fall. Meanwhile, I hope to attend a tour with the Oregon Region in June and the Porsche Parade in French Lick, Indiana in July. Treffen and Porsche Parade registrations are probably indications of PCA members’ COVID fatigue. Zone 6 will be well-

represented. Linda and I will be driving to Indiana in her Macan and returning via Route 66. That will be an early birthday celebration and our longest trip together since we traveled out here looking for a place to settle down in 1978. They say the TSD Rally at Parade is a good test of a relationship.

The calendar is filling up. I hope we have a year without cancellations so I can say hello again. Don’t be offended if I am hesitant about shaking your hand. I’m out of practice.

Stay safe.

Mark VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

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By Membership Chair Dan

Schuetze

Membership Report April 2021

V

ancouver Island Region has 571 members. We have 349 primary members and 222 affiliate or family members.

PCA has 89,652 primary members, 48,577 affiliate members and 17 life members for a total of 138,246 members.

New Members to VIR — Welcome!

Member

Co-Member

Location / From

Vehicle

Howard McIntyre

Dian Seguin-

Victoria

2018 Carrera GTS

Jimmy Tran

Central Saanich

2015 GT3

John Shaw

Nanaimo/Canada West

1968 911 T

McIntyre

Renewals: Lapsed: Transfer in/out:

16 0 1/0

Membership Anniversaries in April – Congratulations!

20 Years: 15 Years: 10 years: 5 years: 1 year:

Roy Thomas, Tristan Thomas, Connell Ashby, Adrienne Ashby, Eric Jackson, Gretchen Tobin Harvey McDougall, Spencer McDougall Terry Brown, Pattie Brown Murray Brown, Jan Brown, Jason Leslie, Dorota Geode Iain Rose

Dan Editor — In the last issue I erroneously listed Laura Ferreira, Stephen Titus, Sheila Ramsay and Bruce Ramsay as 25 year members, they were in fact 20 year members. Thanks to Gary Glover for pointing that out and my apologies to Dan S, as he did have the correct years in his text to me. Doh! VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

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By Trevor

& Sonia Ross

25 Roads for 25 Years Challenge–April update The 25 Roads for 25 Years Challenge got off to a great start in April. As of this update, there are 36 teams registered and over 70 drives completed.

Check out the VIRPCA Facebook page and #virpca25roads on Instagram for some fantastic photos and stories. At last count, there were over 50 posts related to the Challenge on Facebook alone, with lots of photos from our fellow members. I’ve enjoyed reading all of them and getting to see so many of the cool Porsches we have on Vancouver Island. Teams Gary987, Cayman Islander, Goose, Dempsey and Brard have certainly gotten a lot of miles under their Porsches from the get-go.

At the time of writing, there are new travel restrictions related to COVID-19 that may impact how the challenge progresses, such as holding off on visiting our more remote communities for now unless of course that is where you live. Please see the President’s Message for the latest news, and rest assured that prizes will be awarded for more than simply completing all the roads.

As a reminder, all you have to do to register is come up with a team name and email it to me at 25Roads@virpca.org. Make sure to take photos during each drive and send them to me so I can keep track of everyone’s progress. Complete rules and instructions can be found on the VIRPCA website (under Events, 25 Roads Challenge) and in the Driving Log you should have received in the mail. We are updating maps and guides on the website, as well as adding a Challenge tracker, so stay tuned!

As part of the 25 Roads for 25 Years we are releasing our second Tshirt which is now available through MSR. Orders will be taken for the next two weeks so order now so you don’t miss out. Full details are in this issue of the Porscher on page 13.

Photo by Tim Evans/Marilyn Sing, on Road # 1

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For anyone driving the roads, whether you’ve entered the Challenge or not, make sure to check out the PDF links in the Road List on the VIRPCA website, which you’ll find under the “Road Name” column. These were compiled with information from Gary Glover and friends, and contain driving notes and suggestions for fuel, food and points of interest. Lots of great ideas to enhance your driving experience and they will be updated periodically.

Thanks to all the Teams that have been providing information on the Roads they’ve driven.

Please remember to make the roads your own and that it’s not critical to follow the maps exactly. For example, if you are on Road #16 on Denman Island you probably want to stay off of Pickles Road unless you’re driving an SUV (thanks Team COVID for that update). And Team Westcoast Ghost reported we have an error on Road #9 and have a couple of unnecessary loops; we’ll fix that one. The important point is to follow the spirit of the challenge, i.e., if you live in Beacon Hill Park you still have to go through Cordova Bay before you take a picture of the Mile Zero marker. Another frequent comment is that many of the drives begin and end at coffee shops or gas stations. This was done primarily for group drive purposes, so if you’re on your own and want to begin or end at a more scenic site, feel free to explore and share with the rest of us.

Our intention is to highlight a few of the exceptional photos in the Porscher, who knows you may even get on the cover.

Good luck, stay safe and see you out there.

Trevor 25Roads@virpca.org Team: Old Red, Older Blue

If you are selling or looking for something Porsche related, PCA members can advertise for free in Porscher.

Send your classifieds to newsletter@virpca.org VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

Photo by Franz-Albert Burgund, on Road # 10

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Here is the matching accessory for your 25 Roads Driving logbook!

Clink on the link below to view/purchase the Club’s brand new Drive-the-Island T-shirt, $20 each. All the details about the shirt (material used, logo etc) are shown at MSR. http://msreg.com/Drive-Island-Tshirt Women’s Style

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

Men’s Style

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Here are just some of the great photos from our Facebook group page you submitted as part of the 25 Roads for 25 Years challenge. Keep ‘em coming.

Road # 12

Roads # 2, 3 or 9

Photos posted in Facebook by:Norm Smith, Imogen Burr, Henry Choy, Frank Jaerschky, Jacquie & Al Sherwood Road # 6

Road # 1

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Road # 1

Seen In Comox Road # 2

Road # 6

Photos by:Jane Kettner, Frank Jaerschky, Steve Peers, Gary Road # 1

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

Glover, Ron Dempsey MAY 2021 Page 15

Road # 19

Road # 5

Photos by:Sonia Ross, Didier Moinier, Gary Glover, Jim Mills, Mark Titterton

Road # 1

Road # 7

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

Road # 10

Road # 11

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Road # 20

Road # 1

Road #15

Photos by:Joe Godard, David Hay, Dean Road # 5

Aikenhead, Ron Dempsey, Bruce McCallum, Tim Evans

Road # 2

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

Roads # 5 & 8

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By Mid Island Director, Dan

Bourlet

I regret to inform you that Black Rock 2021 has been cancelled.

Due to new Provincial Covid travel bans on non-essential travel, and at the request of the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort and the community of Ucluelet, we have decided not to visit their town during this restrictive period.

Unfortunately, had this event gone ahead, this year would have had a very different appearance, as we were limited in attendance to only 50, we were not allowed to have meals together indoors, no beach BBQ or group gatherings for the fireworks and no track events.

If members had reservations at the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort, they should contact them at 1-877-762-5011 to cancel the room reservations. They have offered either a full room refund or opportunity to re-book at a later date.

We have not processed any registration fees through MSR so there will be no refunds necessary. If members ordered a VIRPCA 25th Anniversary polo sport-shirt or 25th Anniversary Bag, we will process those orders and deliver them to you as soon as they arrive.

I would like to thank all of you for registering and supporting this continued, great charity event.

I would also like to thank the Black Rock committee for all their efforts over the past five months of planning, raising sponsorship and their time commitment. The help was greatly appreciated.

Take care & stay safe

Dan

If you are looking for or selling something Porsche related, PCA members can advertise for free in Porscher.

Send your classifieds to newsletter@virpca.org VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

MAY 2021 Page 19

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

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By VIR Technical Chair, Paul

Rossmo

As mentioned in last month’s article “I will be building and developing products to enhance

the Cayenne for overlanding. My focus will be on the reliability, economy and the equipment that addresses real world travel in North America.”

My design philosophy has been heavily influenced by my own Overland Travel experiences.

As well as travel in my Defender, I have owned a number of BMW G/S (Gelande / Strasse) motorcycles since 1999. I always enjoyed their balance of off-road / on-road performance. It is that balance I am aiming for in building my interpretation of a Cayenne GS, I want it to be simple and purposeful. It needs to provide great performance on twisty backroads in any weather including heavy snow. It also needs to be at home in forest terrain and excel in desert sand and Slickrock.

For a prototype, I have purchased a 2004 Cayenne V6, referred to by Porsche as the 955.

I chose the 955 as I feel this is an ideal generation to develop as a dual-purpose vehicle.

The 955’s came equipped with a transfer case, which provides low-range gearing crucial to off -road travel. Beyond this, the standard features include a Centre-Lock Differential, complemented by PTM (Porsche Traction Management) and ABD (Active Brake Differential).

The car can also assist the driver with programs that manage power, torque and braking to each individual wheel, optimized to the prevailing conditions. The body of the Cayenne is exceptionally rigid, employing High Strength Steel in 60% of its construction. The 3.2 V6 is exceptionally reliable, and with some upgrades to the cooling and oiling systems, the V6 should provide faultless operation overland.

Often overlooked by ‘Overland Travelers’ is the high value of vehicle features that come into play in truly adverse weather conditions. For example in heavy snowfall the Cayenne has front and rear window defrosting, mirror defrosting and heated windshield washer nozzles.

These coupled with large front and rear wipers mean a trip on a snowy day becomes a pleasure. The body sealing is outstanding, resulting in outside water or dust remaining outside. High quality seating and a comfortable interior environment reduces driver fatigue and makes the journey more enjoyable.

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Porsche has a long history engineering 4WD. After winning the Paris-Dakar with the Porsche 959 this technology was immediately introduced to their road cars.

Even NASA consulted Porsche when developing the Lunar Rover. (In case anyone is planning a trip to the Theophilus crater)

The first area I’ll discuss is weight. The Cayenne is a ‘Porker’, weighing in at over 2500kg.

The old joke people said about Porsches, was along the lines that “you can’t make a race car from a pig” Porsche has proved they can build some “really fast pigs”. That said, weight is still the enemy when traveling on or off road. Beyond that, it is also where the weight is located that determines a lot of the outcomes. Porsche engineered the Cayenne to provide outstanding performance, based on the assumption the vehicle would not be altered or loaded beyond the scope of the designer’s parameters.

If you have to add weight, you want it as low, and as close to the centre of the car as possible. This helps maintain the cars centre of gravity, which is needed for stable cornering and side slope performance. Weight on the roof degrades handling, side slope performance, mileage, and adds aerodynamic drag and noise. Weight on the back end as seen in tire mounts is a lesser evil but still affects the ‘polar moment of inertia’, which can change handling on slippery surfaces.

Unsprung weight consists of your wheel and tire plus 50% of your suspension components.

A rule of thumb is that 1 kg of unsprung weight is equivalent to 4kg of sprung weight.

Looking at off-road builds online, most are following the ‘Big Lift’/Big Tire’ school of thought.

Impressive, but let’s do a bit of analysis.

If you lift a Cayenne 3 inches and install 33” VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

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Pro’s

Con’s

5” additional ground clearance Larger tires offer more grip off-road Looks “The Business”

Degraded handling Reduced side slope capability Reduced acceleration Reduced braking Increased road noise Increased fuel economy Increased mechanical wear

diameter tires what are the pros and cons?

The Transsyberia race trucks were arguably the most efficient iteration of an off-road Porsche Cayenne.

They featured the Porsche air suspension that many Cayennes are equipped with and ran on 18 inch diameter wheels. They could lift themselves 56mm for additional wading ability, but if 30km/h was exceeded they lowered themselves to a 26mm lift up to 80 km/h at which point they lowered themselves again to standard height.

A ‘Big-Lift/Big Tire’ truck will perform well only at a low speed in extreme terrain, in every other way it will be as agile as an ‘Elephant wearing Platform Shoes.’

A high lift causes the drivetrain to operate at angles beyond what it was designed for, stressing the components and reducing reliability.

The 33” tires add approximately 30kg to the unsprung weight which will be felt as a 120kg addition to the sprung weight of the truck. In addition, a 33” spare tire weighing approximately 25kg will have to be carried usually on the roof rack or on the back, the locations where you least want to add weight. **Note the Transyberia had two spares mounted internally, an option not practical for most people.

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Larger tires also cause additional loads on the brakes, as well as substantially raising the gear ratios causing sluggish performance.

It is notable that to my knowledge the TUV in Germany still requires all production cars to be able to meet TUV requirements after being raised or lowered by 50mm. They are envisioning many owners will tune their cars.

The GS Project - Three iterations of the Cayenne.

GS Adventure – optimized for travel with up to 4 people.

GS Rally – light overland travel and TSD rallying for 2 people, but retaining the rear seat.

GS Overland – built for 2 people for extended Overland travel to remote sites.

The first truck will be a GS Rally configuration.

Using a coil sprung truck we will lift it 27mm utilizing a TUV approved lift kit.

This will have several benefits with no adverse effects on handling.

Increased evacuation area between the tire and the inner liner clearing sand or snow more easily.

Enhanced takeoff, departure and breakover angles, and a slight improvement in wading ability.

Using 255/55 18 BF Goodrich K02 tires allows me to maintain the recommended diameter and keep the standard 18” spare tire. This is the tire Porsche used in the Transsyberia.

On all my trips throughout North America the bulk of my driving has been on twisting backroads.

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

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“Sybil” (the voice on my Garmin) has strict instructions to ‘avoid highways’ when calculating routes, which has led to some amazing detours. Sybil considers this a road, bless her.

The K02’s fitted on my Defender have been outstanding at handing both types of surface.

Other tire brands and sizes will be used for the different builds, including 17 inch wheels on an the Overland truck to allow for a higher aspect ratio tire.

I’m looking forward to building the Cayenne and all the upcoming trips post Covid.

If the border opens, I’m thinking the Alvord Desert would be a good first run.

Right now, I’ll get to work on driving the VIRPCA 25 Roads challenge, and maybe Klaus will invite me to another PCA rally.

More to follow.

Paul paul.rossmo@prhistorics.com

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

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By VIR Member Al

Kyle

I imagine we can all recall that first moment when we each recognized we were attracted to that "something" that is the Porsche magic. For me it was when I was 13. I was taking a rest during an arduous accent on my 10 -Speed over a winding back road in rural San Diego to take a photograph from a viewpoint, when I became aware of a driver obviously having fun using the engine and gears of an import car to assault a series of uphill switchbacks below my resting spot.

- and lucky me, he also had a factory built 911 race car he brought back from Germany and he enjoyed having me around as a surrogate kid brother.

Over the years, like so many, I kept putting off doing that "someday" thing we hope to do. Then in 1990 I did it. I bought my Porsche. It was a 1984 944 with 68K With anticipation I awaited the arrival of the miles on the odometer. After 14 years it had source of the rising crescendo being pro135k miles of "fun and great memories" on duced by the mysterious mechanical orchesthe odometer as I approached retirement. tra and its conductor and in a flash it passed by with the music fading away with each There are stories I could tell about the fun successive switchback further up hill. That is experiences I had with that car, but I will when I knew I wanted to have the fun that leave those for another time. driver was enjoying.

Suffice it to say, I passed the 944 on to anLater that day, as luck would have it, I again other owner and bought a 1986 951 - a 944 saw that car and ended up chatting with the Turbo - on my first day of retirement in Eddriver - it was a 356SC and it turned out he monton on April 1, 2004. lived a few blocks from our house. That was the beginning of my introduction to Porsche

Photo by Al Wyman

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Ernie Kowal helped me find the car in Cold Lake Alberta. We searched Craigslist and PCA regions for two years until exactly the right car turned up. I bought it with 122k miles on the odometer, which now reads 268k miles - with all the miles I put on car being road trips over back roads and byways, with a few autocross and DE events tossed in for fun.

sponse gremlin. It worked. This led to discovering a previous owner had removed a vac line component to enable the car to use the California grade of fuel when it had a performance chip installed. This eventually led in turn to the realization on a road trip, after a tank of Chevron 94, that the engine did not like 91 octane fuel anymore! The last gremlin was now dealt with. In short, the car runs better than it ever did and the fuel The 951 is still all original, except for a re- economy has improved. paint at 170k and an engine overhaul and So, if you see me smiling as I gaze at my rebuilt turbo at that point in time.

Porsche, just know I am likely recalling some As some of you know from chatting with me, wonderful moments of a past road trip or an Gary at Forward Automotive and I have had autocross or a PCA Parade or VIR event. the fun of chasing down performance gremlins over years as the car does not have a di- Once one has had a turbo it is hard to conagnostic plugin port - we have had fun test- sider not having one's personal LRT — light ing ideas and notions - quite old school and rapid transit, for daily enjoyment! fun but frustrating at times.

So, I trust you enjoy your ride as much as I One of the last "fixes" being to replace the do mine. wiring harness and to clean out the Throttle Positioning Switch to solve a throttle re- Al Kyle

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From the May 1996 issue…….

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By VIR Member Ron

Dempsey

Here is the solution to last month’s Porsche Puzzler. Thanks again to Ron.

PCA Test Drive

Do you know someone with Porsche ownership intentions or aspirations? Tell them about the PCA Test Drive program. For US $40 they get 6 months access to PANORAMA and defined access to browse the online PCA Mart to find their Porsche.

Contact membership@virpca.org for details

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

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Even though you think they are, they’re not the same!

I’m referring to the convertible top mechanisms in the Carreras and Boxsters. Because they shared so many parts, at least the first generation Boxster (’97 - ’99) and the first wasserboxer Carrera in ’99 - ’00, you would think that the soft tops share the same mechanism.

You would think wrong.

They’re both operated from the same switch in the dash and (at least in the first generation of cars) you had to engage the emergency brake (now you can operate with the car in motion), but in the Boxsters, an electric motor operates two independent mechanical transmissions (one on each side) via cables (see below), much like the old mechanical speedometer cables.

The clamshell or protective shroud that you see first start to raise before the top goes down is operated via the same motor through a set of rigid, ball-jointed arms.

In the Carreras an electric motor operates a hydraulic pump which sends oil to two hydraulic pistons (one on each side) which then operates the soft top. The clamshell in the Carrera is operated by a second electric motor which starts first, before the hydraulic pump starts to operate.

The systems are quite complex because they just don’t put the top up or down, they perform a series of tasks.

In the Boxster: 1. In the first generation Boxsters the handbrake needed to be engaged and the red light on the dash needed to be lit otherwise no power went to the top’s motor.

2. Then the top’s latch needs to be manually unlatched, which in turn opens a microswitch which allows the winVANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

MAY 2021 Page 32

dows to drop a few inches and at the same time sends a signal to the central locking unit (CLU - black box under the driver’s seat) to let it know that the top is unlatched.

3. Pressing the top’s switch on the dash turns on the top’s dash light. Continuing to press the microswitch through the complete cycle starts to open the clamshell and the top’s frame begins to fold on its own. Older car’s with plastic rear windows should have the plastic “helped” by hand in order for it to fold straight down the middle. Newer cars or older cars that have been upgraded have a glass rear window that obviously doesn’t fold but fits inside the top’s frame as it comes to rest over the engine.

As the top is nearing its resting place, the clamshell begins to close over it until the motor stops on its own and finally the top’s light on the dash goes off letting the operator know that the cycle is complete and that the button can be released.

This is all done in a matter of only 12 seconds!

For those that are so impatient that they can’t hold the button for that period of time, there is an aftermarket product called the One-Touch that will do it for you with a single touch of the button. It will also make your wallet significantly lighter ;) In the Carrera: When the dash button is pressed, the top’s latch automatically drops and unlatches the top’s front edge.

The windows (all four) start to drop all the way down and the clamshell starts to open.

The hydraulic pump pressurizes the system and sends oil to each of the two hydraulic pistons which start to move the top until it reaches its resting place. The clamshell then closes over the top and rests in its original place.

Because they are complex mechanisms, some of the components can and will fail with time and use and could leave you with a non-functioning top in the open position which is not good, especially here in Florida, where we only have two seasons: the rainy season and the veryrainy season ;) So, what can fail, and what can you do? The most common failures we’ve seen are: In the Carrera, leaking hydraulic pistons. These tend to leak out the oil through its seals, once they become dry and brittle from age and or lack of use.

You can know they are leaking in one of three ways: 1. The hydraulic pump runs but the top barely moves or doesn’t move at all.

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2. You can see a puddle of hydraulic oil under the corresponding side, just in front of the rear tire.

3. When the top is down you can actually reach in and feel the pistons. If they are oily, they are leaking.

If you are caught with the top in the Open position and need to close it, while pressing the top’s button, hold the front edge of the convertible top and manually pull up and forward assisting the failed hydraulics. Keep the button pressed until the latch securely closes.

Now the top is secured in the closed position but you will need to have the hydraulic piston (s) replaced. Not cheap. They can also be rebuilt for a fraction of the cost of new ones.

In the Boxster, there are various failure points.

1. The transmissions have internal nylon sprockets designed to break before causing damage by an improperly operating top.

2. The transmission cables tend to stretch their outer shrouds and disengage with the transmission thereby rendering the corresponding transmission immobile and warping the top since only one side works.

3. The convertible’s plastic link ends (black and or red) break causing the top to open/ close one side only.

If any of these things happen, there is an emergency procedure to allow you to manually close your convertible top: Remove the black plastic link covers on the outer edge of the convertible top.

1. Using a large, flat screwdriver, or pry-bar, pry off the black-tipped link on either side of the top. This allows you to manually lift back the “clamshell”.

2. Using the same screwdriver or pry-bar, pry off the red-tipped link on either side of the top. This allows you to manually raise the convertible top.

3. After the convertible top is closed, securely latch it and then close the clamshell by hand.

4. Because the clamshell is not properly secure maintain a safe maximum speed of less than 60 mph until you can have the top repaired. Not too expensive.

For more information on cabriolet technology, please visit my website: www PedrosGarage.com.

Pedro 2014 Technolab / PedrosGarage.com

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

MAY 2021 Page 34

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

MAY 2021 Page 35

I

f you have received a discount from anywhere that you believe would be applicable to others in the Club, please advise us via email to newsletter@virpca.org and I’ll add to this list.

Note: The discount details may change after publishing, if Porscher is not advised.

Please mention that you saw their advert in PORSCHER if you visit/talk to these sponsors

Where

Discount

Lordco

Up to 30%

Mention Porsche Club of America (show PCA card)

Porsche Center Victoria

Up to 15%

15% for in-house work, 10% over the counter parts

Werks Canada

10%

Discount via VIPC16 code

Blast-It!

10%

Show your current PCA card

10%

At checkout, use code Pelican-PCA2021- followed by your 10 digit PCA MEMBER ID (not login ID).

Note: You can only use this code once.

Pelican Parts

B

Description

elow are some Porsche related sites that Club members may find useful. If you know of any others please forward them to the Editor.

Zone 6 website zone6.pca.org

Best forum for 986 owners, run by Pelican Parts 986forum.com/forums PCA Boxster register, another great resource for Boxster owners boxsterregister.org

See the PCA site for other models www.pca.org/special-interest-groups Macan Forum, everything related to Macans www.macanforum.com General car auction site https://bringatrailer.com Pelican Parts forums and classifieds http://forums.pelicanparts.com/ Below are some USED parts web sites:https://www.partsheaven.com

http://rennlist.com/forums

http://www.nineapart.com

http://malahatautoparts.com/parts-search

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

MAY 2021 Page 36

Reply to Peter Beyeler 250 752 7430

911 Air Cooled fan $200.

AC bracket Offers?

911 Fan $100 996 3.6 Intake Offers?

Boxster 2.7 Intake Offers?

Targa Braces $159. Carrera Door panel 87-89 $200 VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

MAY 2021 Page 37

356 pistons & cylinders $200 2.7 Airbox & pop-up valve $500 911 coupe Window felt (new) $50. Valve covers $50.

3.2 Heating & Fuse box cover Offers?

Boxster door handles $100. Misc parts, Offers VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

Reply to Peter Beyeler 250 752 7430 MAY 2021 Page 38

Up Island Mid Island South Island

Thursday May 6th 7pm May 23-25

Ongoing Cars & Coffee Times

2 Sat. of month, 10am—Noon, Crown Isle Plaza (next to Starbucks), 444 Lerwick Road, Courtenay.

Sundays 10am, Serious Coffee, 9-1209 East, Island Hwy E, Parksville Sundays 9am, Starbucks, Eagle Creek Village, 29 Helmcken Rd, Victoria nd

Club Executive/Business Meeting via Zoom

The monthly Executive/Business meeting will be held via Zoom conference. If you wish to join, advise our Secretary (Ross Mosher) so we have an idea on online capacity.

Black Rock 2021

This event is now cancelled, see the article in this issue for details.

Contact Ross

Contact Dan

VIR members can find our VIR logo’d clothing range at the special PCA webstore at … www.pcawebstore.org/regions/VIS Note: The PCA discount can only be applied to one order per year

Pelican-PCA2021-

VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER

MAY 2021 Page 39