Owning a performance vehicle is a challenge, especially in today’s world where prices keep going up and life increasingly gets more and more costly. You may be pleasantly surprised to know that a Porsche is actually a fairly reliable vehicle – outranking Mercedes in some surveys. Everyone has their ‘life hacks’ little tricks that they use to make life that much easier. Possibly also lighter on the pocket. So here are our top five when it comes to Porsche.
1. Oil Services
This is the holy grail of any car maintenance. If you change the oil regularly the engine wear is significantly reduced, saving you a costly rebuild. How often is often? Good question. If you’re set on keeping your Porsche, we suggest that you take the manufacturer’s recommended interval and halve it. Yes, that’s right. So, it’s that mileage or every year. Oil degrades with exposure to the atmosphere. So even if your car is sitting in storage, it will still need its oil changed when put back into service.
2. Active Driving
A car is like a pair of shoes – it wears according to the way it’s driven. If you want your vehicle to last longer, there are a few things you can do about how you drive it. The majority of engine wear takes place during the warm-up period so how you drive it immediately after you have started it is important. Unlike what your grandad used to, it’s better not to let a modern car warm up by idling it. Start and drive, but drive conservatively until the engine reaches operating temperature. By operating temperature, we don’t mean when the heat gauge reaches the normal mark. Your coolant heats up quicker than the engine oil. So, resist temptation a little longer after it has reached normal before snapping the throttle wide. We recommend keeping the revolutions below 3000 for the first couple of miles until both the engine and the PDK transmission are warm.
3. Attention to Detail
Nothing looks more shabby than peeling and cracked paint or flaking clear coat. One of the best ways to keep your Porsche pristine is by careful interior and exterior detailing. A good detail takes time if you are going to do it yourself. It’s worth it since the UV protection that is provided by good quality auto wax will pay itself in the money you save by not visiting the paint shop. Inside is as, if not more important than outside. Careful treatment of the leather interior will prevent it from cracking and nothing looks worse than brittle or deteriorating interior fixtures.
4. Battery Voltage
Although we’re not focusing on the Taycan in this guide, battery health in any Porsche is important. Electronic systems are about as fussy as a devout vegan when it comes to juice. They demand the battery voltage to be within a specific range and do use a very tiny amount of current even when they are ‘off’. If this voltage drops, they start losing their minds… Not unlike Murdock from the A-Team. When this happens, they can often become permanently damaged and fail, resulting in large repair bills. The best way to prevent this is by buying a cheap battery maintainer. Have your favorite auto shop hook it into your car’s wiring and just plug it in the next time you head off for Hawaii.
5. Know When To Hold ‘Em
One of the most important things with vehicle maintenance is knowing when to cheap out and when not to. For example, always fit an OEM or better oil filter. You can get away with aftermarket wiper blades. One place where ‘cheaping out’ is a bad idea is tires. Rather spend a little more on decent wheels as this will ensure that your transmission, suspension, and steering components all wear evenly. Not only that, but your own safety depends on your Porsche’s road holding.
By now you’ve got a good idea of how to take care of your Porsche. If we could give you one final bit of advice – don’t let it get in the way of your enjoyment of the vehicle. Porsches are made for the road and meant to be driven. When it comes to maintenance, do the best you can but enjoy the ride.