My new Gen 2 2020 Macan Turbo

[spook]

Hello Brian,
I was of course already aware of your on track experience with the PSCB on your Macan Turbo before I added the official Porsche piece in the December PP, which I though might provoke discussion!
I reckon that apart from venturing to the Scottish Highlands next year to drive some of your favoured routes, it would be good idea to align the trip with the PCGB annual track day at Knockhill.
I'll then be able to see by way of comparison, just how well the normal steel brakes on my new GTS perform on a few hot laps!
Also of course it would be great to have the opportunity to perhaps meet up with you and any other "local" Macan owners north of the border.
Mike
Macan RS
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2021 Macan GTS - Awaited
2019 GT3 RSWP

 

[Brian_Innes]

Clive, Jeff, and Mike.
In fairness to Porsche, Knockhill circuit for those well practiced is notoriously hard on brakes. There is one BIG STOP approaching the hairpin, 100+mph on my Macan in the wet, down to 35mph for Turn 7 the hairpin. I never had any braking issues at Knockhill with my 718 Cayman GTS on PCCB's. No fade, no smoke, consistent firm brake pedal. My Cayman was topping 123mph approaching the hairpin in the dry.

As you say Jeff, the Macan is a very heavy car and not at all suited to being hustled around an undulating twisty track such as Knockhill. Particularly at the speeds I am capable of.

On the public road I have no issues with the PSCB on my Macan. The feel of the brake pedal at normal road speeds, including descending steep hills, does indeed mimic the feel of PCCB's. I have no doubts at all that Porsche development engineers throughly tested the PSCB on their Weissach test track, and came to the conclusion that for 99.9% of owners the performance of these brakes would exceed most driver's expectations.

I would be delighted to meet up with any PCGB members who intend doing a Knockhill track day. Advice on lines and turn-in points will be freely given on request. Likewise I shall be pleased to meet any PCGB members touring the Scottish Highlands who happen to include the Moray Coast on their tour itinerary.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

I have cleaned and inspected my summer wheels and tyres. No kerbing marks yet!

Tyre tread depth after 3750 miles including Knockhill track session is, front 6.0mm, rear 5.0mm, spread evenly across the tread. When new, the tyre tread depth was 7.5mm.

The wheel alignment geometry has not been checked yet, but I see no signs of the feathering usually associated with mis-alignment. Now that I have the 20" wheels on the car, I shall arrange for a geo check at my local Michelin specialist for information purposes.

Thus far, I can not detect any noticeable difference in ride quality with the 20" wheels compared to the 21". Tyre sections and profiles are similar, with winter front being 265 x 40 x 20, exactly the same as the summer tyres. It's only the rear 295 section tyres that move up a profile, from 35% to 40%. Steering feel is unchanged.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

Summer tyre Front.

 

[Brian_Innes]

Summer tyre Rear.

 

[Brian_Innes]

During the wheel swap, I had an inspection of the front air suspension set-up on my Macan. Unlike anything I have ever seen before in suspension geometry.

The extensive use of light alloy components is clearly evident. This was one of the updated features on the Generation 2 Macan air suspension system. In my experience so far, Gen 2 air suspension has my unreserved approval. I like it, and consider it a very worthwhile option due to its versatility in concert with the Sport Chrono option.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

The winter wheels and tyres are now fully run-in and everything is hunky-dory. I quite like the look of the 20" Turbo alloys in the satin platinum colour. They blend well with the Sapphire Blue body. As I previously mentioned, I detect no difference in ride quality with the smaller 20" wheels. The tyre profiles are practically identical as with the 21" wheels, only the rear tyres are changed from a 35% aspect ratio to 40% on the winter rubber. I'm looking forward to testing them on snow at the first opportunity. They are certainly big winter boots, being 265 Front and 295 Rear tyre sections.

Today, I had a drive to nearby Burghead, a coastal fishing port which offers stunning clifftop views across the Moray Firth. It's very much a working harbour with fishing boats coming and going. There is also a "resident" common seal often seen fishing in the harbour. "Flipper" was busy feeding today as I walked out to the end of the harbour breakwater, his head suddenly appearing above the water and doing a quick 360 scan of the harbour. Fascinating to watch and also guessing where he will appear next.

I have changed my car insurers from Marsh to Manning UK. After many successful years with Marsh Premier Solutions, at this year's renewal I was transferred across to Marsh Commercial. The renewal quote took a huge leap in price and the terms of cover offered less than I had been accustomed to. After shopping around I settled on Manning UK who provided a very efficient service with a competitive premium including European Breakdown cover, Legal Expenses, and track day cover should I require it. I pay less than £550 for the Macan Turbo including a maximum of 12,000 miles per annum. I consider that a perfectly reasonable annual premium.


A few photos of Burghead follow.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

The former quayside storage sheds at Burghead are now converted into residential flats.

 

[Brian_Innes]

A view from the Pictish Fort site looking west to Burghead beach and Roseisle.

 

[Motorhead]

Some excellent photos as usual Brian, but the memorial to the Brochers has thrown me. I’m aware of the Pictish Broch round towers, having last year visited an impressive example on the Isle of Skye, but can’t understand the reference to Brochers lost at sea. Any ideas?

Jeff

 

[AndrewT]

Jeff,
According to the following website Brocher is a term for people from Burghead.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/78866

Brian really makes me envious with all those lovely locations he visits. Whenever I think of going for a pleasure drive I get put off by the thoughts of all the traffic I’ll encounter on the way and all the people who’ll be crowding the destination I choose ??

 

[Motorhead]

Thanks Andrew ... it seems my musing was wide of the mark!

Although the traffic conditions here in my less densely populated area of North Beds generally aren’t as bad as in the south of the country, like you I’m envious of Brian’s choice of driving routes and locations. As a regular visitor to the Highlands for something like 40-years I’ve always enjoyed the freedom of driving in that part of the country, but as Brian is always at pains to point out, you need to pick your time to visit since the roads can at times become very congested.

Jeff

 

[Brian_Innes]

Some excellent photos as usual Brian, but the memorial to the Brochers has thrown me. I’m aware of the Pictish Broch round towers, having last year visited an impressive example on the Isle of Skye, but can’t understand the reference to Brochers lost at sea. Any ideas?

Jeff

As Andrew T has correctly stated, "Brochers" is a local term for people from Burghead. "The Broch" is also referred to the fishing port of Fraserburgh, on the north east coast of Scotland, 25 miles to the east of Banff and Macduff. This north coastal region is the beating heart of the fishing community in Scotland, with Peterhead being the main fish market town in the north. Generally, this coastal region is not on most tourist trail routes. That's the way I like it. Uncrowded roads, and beaches where you can walk along the golden sands in relative solitude. Living up here with these surroundings close at hand, has made this horrendous year a little more bearable.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

Back on the car topic, I've been reading the posts elsewhere on this section of the forum regarding water ingress problems on the Macan arising from sunroof drainage malfunctions, and faulty roof rail seals. Some of the problems are apparently due to factory production line faults or blocked drainage channels.

I am keeping a close eye on any signs of water ingress on my car, with weekly checks of the interior carpets and also the luggage compartment cavity under the loading bay floor. My car is always garaged. I also shun automatic car wash facilities, preferring to wash the car myself by hand with the aid of a pressure washer set on medium water pressure. I also dry the car carefully with soft towelling afterwards.

Hopefully, the production faults causing this fairly common problem will have been addressed in the case of the Generation 2 Macan. I shall however, remain to be vigilant regarding this problem. This shouldn't happen on any modern car, especially on a premier model such as the Macan.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

Returning to the topic of jacking the Macan Turbo. Readers may recall I had difficulties safely raising the car to a sufficient height to remove the 21" wheels. The limiting factor was the maximum lifting arc of the trolley jack hydraulic arm.

My 2 tonne trolley jack was originally purchased for jacking low-slung Cayman models with -20mm lowered sports suspension systems, and the Halfords low profile trolly jack suited this purpose ideally. Even then, I had to drive my 718 Caymans onto a couple of spare floor tiles to raise the car 10mm which was enough to locate the jack safely under the jacking points.

In my garage I had a length of 30mm thick laminated kitchen worktop lying around. I cut a section of this worktop material comfortably wider than the jack footprint, and screwed a trimmed section of spare floor tile to the base to provide a secure nonslip surface for the jack to sit on. The result is a plinth 35mm thick to raise the jack base sufficiently to allow a safe lifting arc for the hydraulic arm.

Hopefully, this jack plinth device will provide enough clearance for the 21" wheel sitting on the skateboard to align with the hub of the Macan when the time comes to refit the summer tyres.

A photo below of my fabricated jacking plinth.

Brian

 

[vitesse]

I absolutely love this combination of hi-tech car with self made joinery using whatever's lying about in the garage??
Personally I have always used some leftover concrete building blocks when I' ve needed the extra height.
I just hope you've allowed enough extra length for when the trolley jack rolls forward under the Macan under the geometry involved without falling off at the end,Brian.

I use a large piece of galvanised steel sheet when jacking cars on the front lawn for jobs I can't do in the garage width & it is surprising how much a jack travels either up or down.

 

[Brian_Innes]

Colin,
Your comment is noted.

I am aware of the trajectory path of the trolly jack when lifting the car, and also when lowering it. I'm planning to do a test lift soon to check safety margins in that respect. If it transpires that the jacking plinth is too short, I shall have to start all over again by cutting another longer piece from the leftover kitchen worktop, lengthways this time.

Brian

 

[Lancerlot]

Hi Brian,

Whilst I admire your enthusiasm, stacking up a jack to increase its lifting height can be fraught with potential disaster. Why not just invest in a low profile, high lift trolley jack that will do the job for you?

If you google "high-lift trolley jacks" you will find there is plenty of choice in a range of budgets and you will then be able to complete your work easily, safely and it will be a good investment for all your future work. []

Regards,

Clive

 

[Brian_Innes]

Thanks Clive,

You advice is also noted. It'll be a few months into the new year before I swap back to the summer wheels and tyres, so I have plenty of time to consider my options. The purchase of a new higher lift trolley jack is already in my mind, as an alternative to faffing about with plinths.

I'm looking forward to the snow arriving in the Highlands, forecast here for the end of this week. With the best Michelin winter tyres on the Macan, I'm relishing the experience of exploring the capabilities of 4WD on snow covered roads well away from the over-salted trunk roads. I'll be seeking out the more remote, high-level roads in my locality to test the Macan's traction on snow, and whether the Macan shares the benefit of switching off the traction control in snow as was the case with my Caymans. I always found the throttle and brake interventions with PSM engaged over intrusive and actually inhibited progress. I preferred my own intuitive PSM with the right foot more adept at coping with snow covered ascents than that of the electronic programming. I'll be reporting back in due course.

Brian

 

[Brian_Innes]

Now that we're back online, I can report that snow has been scarce here on the Moray coast. Crestfallen but undaunted, I shall keep hoping.

The recent cold spell in the Highlands did not bring snow anywhere close to my locality unfortunately. Winter is but in it's early stages, and hopefully I shall be able to appraise the Michelin Alpin 5 winter tyres on snow in the coming weeks. The tyre's wet road performance is excellent, and there have been plenty of opportunities to appraise that lately. Resistance to aquaplaning in standing water is much improved compared to the Michelin Latitude 3 summer tyres, and the road grip on wet surfaces is equally impressive. I cannot detect any perceptible changes to steering feel or ride quality between the two types of tyres, or indeed the difference in wheel sizes. I would guess the increased weight of the Macan, combined with 4WD, dulls the connection with the road compared to the agile, and tactile steering feel of the Cayman. Yes, I am still missing that GTS.

Brian