An All-Round Successful Marriage

Transcription

1 Technology An All-Round Successful Marriage Very few manufacturers proclaim the importance of the tire for the artistic synthesis that makes an excellent automobile as clearly as Porsche does. By Dirk Vincken; Photos by Dieter Röscheisen Elsewhere, they crouch in dark wheelhouses, unnoticed and forgotten. They do their job unflinchingly, mile after mile, with a never-questioned sense of duty and purpose. They withstand all weather conditions, never complain, and put up with even the worst treatment. And what thanks do they get? Most owners barely notice them. They do everything that their masters demand, really sacrificing themselves: They climb high curbs, speed far too quickly through curves on Sunday drives, swallow rain water, and keep unwanted noise at bay. Long before powerful springs, sensitive shock absorbers or upholstered driver s seats have been called upon to soften a rough road, they will have absorbed the roughest part of it into themselves, keeping it away from both car and driver. They show their profile right down to the end. And as the wages of pain, they settle for a blast or two of compressed air only, like a man dying of thirst, they usually get this urgently needed ration much too seldom and much too late and unenthusiastically, at a service station. Tires so what? 42 Christophorus 301 Never tired: The tires certainly can t complain of a lack of attention if they get into the hands of the Porsche test team 301 Christophorus 43

2 44 Christophorus 301 Everything is a matter of the definition: The right set of tires is always part of a sports car s character building Let us depart this sad workaday, at least in our minds. What a life! What a view! How lucky the others are! By that we mean the divas among these high-profile stars. Even their names give the promise of their intentions: from Italy comes the fiery Zero Rosso, from France the elegant Michelin Pilot Sport, and from Germany the distinguished SportContact. They sit impressively enthroned under massive, artistically curved metal temples that only boors would call fenders. These others have found a home in which they are loved and valued. A Porsche! What better could happen to a tire than a joyful and passionate career under a sports car from Zuffenhausen? To take up firm rim designs in its middle, to nestle itself protectively like a ring around the best brakes in the world? Porsche has always carried out elaborate, year-round tire tests somewhere around the world, always on the tracks of as it moves on, between the expanses of Texas and the highlands of the German Eifel mountains. Traditional racetracks are just as likely to be the stages on which this passion cast in rubber is performed, as are secret special tracks. The tires that others test can, at such runs, show with pride what they re made of. At Porsche, they have to show that they are the best, that they are tires that can get everything out of a 911 Turbo or a Cayenne, a Carrera or a Boxster. In short, they have to show that they that can make a real Porsche of it. Hardly another element of the artistic synthesis that is a sports car marks the character of the vehicle as a Porsche tire does. It proclaims and promotes the qualities of heart, body, and soul of the automobile. The tire as a character-builder what other auto smithy would grant the Magnificent Four such a role? While other manufacturers consider the tire an accessory that they would just as soon abandon to namelessness, Porsche publicly celebrates the tires it chooses, giving them recommendations after they pass their test, and announcing openly which are the best as in this issue of Christophorus. It is an open secret that high-performance sports cars define themselves, to no small degree, through those high-tech rings woven of a complex synthesis of rubber, steel, fabric layers, nylon bands, copper wires, softeners, oils, zinc oxide, catalysts, The run of things: The same requirements as for all other tires recommended by Porsche apply to the Cayenne, too and antioxidants. The skillfully measured combination of these ingredients, under heat and boiler pressure, and the development, with the aid of secret chemical conversion processes, to the top quality that comes out of the vulcanization mold, doesn t have very much in common with the usual view of what a tire is all about. One man s furrowed rubber ring is another man s crucial bond between road and car. The Porsche driver is this other man. If he weren t, he might not have chosen a Porsche. Now, the persuasiveness of an imposing 265/35 ZR 18 tire may be more obvious than that of a pitiable 155 R 13 T version. But in form and 301 Christophorus 45

3 Authorized tire manufacturers as of model year 2003 wheel manufacturer profile specifi- abbre- short size designation cation viation description 16 inches Bridgestone S-02 N3 B3 all-around SportContact N1 C1 comfort Michelin MXX3 Pilot SX N2 M2 sports P Zero Direzionale * N3 P3 sports P Zero Asimmetrico ** N3 P3 sports okohama AVS S-1Z N1 1 comfort 17 inches Bridgestone S-02 A N4 B4 all-around SportContact 2 N2 C2 sports Michelin Pilot Sport SX N2 M2 all-around P Zero Rosso N3 P3 all-around 18 inches Bridgestone S-02 A N3 B3 sports SportContact 2 N2 C2 sports Dunlop SP Sport 9090 D0 all-around Michelin Pilot Sport SX N1 M1 sports P Zero Asimmetrico N3 P3 sports P Zero Rosso N4 P4 sports okohama AVS Sport N1 1 all-around * only for front axle; ** only for rear axle Only one manufacturer and one specification number (N1, N2...) may be mounted to vehicle; otherwise, driving performance may vary significantly. Summer wheel/tire combinations as of model year 2003 wheel model dimension offset tire Boxster* Boxster S 911 Carrera/4 911 Carrera/4 911 Turbo dimension 911 Cabrio/4 911 Cabrio/4 911 Carrera 4S through as of model year 2001 model year J x /55 ZR 16 B3, C1, M2, P3, 1 7J x /50 ZR 16 B3, C1, M2, P3, 1 7J x /50 ZR 17 B4, C2, M2, P3 B4, C2, M2, P3 B4, C2, M2, P3 7J x 17 50/55 205/50 ZR 17 B4, C2, M2, P3 8.5J x 17 48/50 255/40 ZR 17 B4, C2, M2, P3 B4, C2, M2, P3 9J x /40 ZR 17 B4, C2, M2, P3 B4, C2, M2, P3 7.5J x /40 ZR 18 B3 **,C2, D0, M1,P4,1 B3 **,C2, D0, M1,P4,1 B3 **, C2, D0, M1, P4 8J x 18 50/52 225/40 ZR 18 B3, C2, M1, P4 8J x /40 ZR 18 C2, P3 9J x /35 ZR 18 B3 **,C2, D0, M1,P4,1 B3 **,C2, D0, M1,P4,1 10J x /35 ZR 18 B3 **, C2, D0, M1, P4 10J x /30 ZR 18 B3, C2, M1, P4 11J x /30 ZR 18 C2, P3 * 18" approved for Boxster only for 98 models or later; ** release in preparation Corresponding tires: See column abbreviation under table Approved tire manufacturers as of model year Christophorus 301

4 Authorized tire brands for the Cayenne S and the Cayenne Turbo wheel dimension offset tire dimension speed index* type of profile manufacturer profile designation** specification 235/ R H T winter all terrain Dunlop Grandtreck WT M2 (L) Scorpion AT (Sy) Cayenne S wheel 8.0 x Bridgestone Turanza ER30 (Sy) 255/55 R V all season 4x4 Contact (Sy) Scorpion Zero (Sy) 235/ R H T winter all terrain Dunlop Grandtreck WT M2 (L) Scorpion AT (Sy) Turbo wheel 8.0 x Bridgestone Turanza ER30 (Sy) 255/55 R V all season 4x4 Contact (Sy) Scorpion Zero (Sy) Design wheel 9.0 x /45 R P Zero Rosso (A) Sport Design wheel 9.0 x /40 R Michelin Diamaris (A) SportContact (A) Michelin Diamaris (A) Sport Techno wheel 9.0 x /40 R SportContact (A) * maximum speed (v max ) T = 190 km/h H = 210 km/h V = 240 km/h = 300 km/h ** note on mounting A = asymmetrical Sy = symmetrical L = directionally dependant The Tire Authorization for the Third Porsche With respect to tire authorization, a Cayenne is which was not at all a matter of course for this right set of tires, your experience of winter road subject to the same strict criteria as any other type of vehicle. conditions will be a completely new one. But Porsche. And the Cayenne developers have What is a matter of course, however, is the please remember that a Cayenne, too, should turned the trick of breathing that special Porsche service offered the Cayenne customer: Thus, all roll through the winter on authorized winter tires. feeling into an SUV. Porsche-authorized tires bear a special code on We have quite consciously avoided the increas- A Cayenne, be it an S or a Turbo, drives, their flank. A combination of the letter N and a ingly common bad habit of SUV manufacturers of steers and brakes as only a Porsche can. This is number guarantees the customer that the tire providing all-year tires with an M+S seal. no coincidence it is the results of a brilliant interplay of the vehicle and the tires. In close coordination with Porsche, the tire manufacturers have managed to do justice to such special requirements as speed and load capacity. Furthermore, special attention was directed to maximum driving safety, precise handling, and driving characteristics resembling those of a sports car, 48 Christophorus 301 has passed the high-demand Porsche tire test with flying colors. So next time you buy tires, be it in or in winter, make sure this marking is present. And while we re on the subject of winter: A vehicle as unusual as the Cayenne gives unusual pleasure even in the cold season. Thanks to allwheel drive, great ground clearance and the our nearest Porsche center will be happy to advise you on your tire choice. Please check the above table to see which tires will give your Cayenne the best contact with the roadway.

5 Headline 30pt Subheadline 12 pt/24,5pt für 1. Zeile folgende Zeilen ZAB 14,5pt Geometry of a marriage: A Porsche and its tires must form a long-term working relationship, even under rough conditions 50 Christophorus 301 function, both are brothers and partners of the automobile that they serve. Porsche does not choose tires merely for their sporty appearance. The car simply needs a strong partner. It gives its all, and demands exactly the same. Narrow-track candidates, charlatans or curve-wimps would never stand the ghost of a chance of making the tough test team s short list. So a tire that can grace a Porsche wheelhouse has already had an eventful life. First, it has been one among many, then the best of the good ones, and finally it has left most of the others behind, to join the ranks of the superstars. The king of the rubber rings, set to rule the racing rings, will be found many test miles later, and several profile millimeters shorter. And be certified by a letter of recommendation with the seal of the Weissach test team. The chosen one raises the 911 GT2 to the braking master of all classes, lets a 911 Turbo make friends with all road surfaces in this world, and gives a Cayenne both climbing virtues and driving joy and comfort. A Porsche is not broken down into the car and the rest. It is a total performance package, the unity of all parts, a bond of sworn partners. This principle, the Porsche principle, involves the tire, rather than only including it. ou may like to give a good partner a hand. In the case of a Porsche, however, you can try right under the fender.