2004 PORSCHE 911 GT3 Owners Manual

Tirewear

The original equipment tiresonyour Porsche have
built-in tirewear indicators. Theyaremolded into
the bottom ofthe tread grooves andwillappear as
approximately 1/2in(12 mm) bands whenthetire
tread depth isdown to1/16 ofan in(1.6 mm).
When theindicators appearintwo ormore adja-
cent grooves, itis time toreplace thetires. We
recommend, however,thatyoudonot letthe tires
wear down tothis extent.
Worn tirescannot griptheroad surface properly
and areeven lesseffective onwet roads.
In the United States, statelawsmaygovern the
minimum treaddepth permissible. Followallsuch
laws.
PracticalTips,Emergency Service
/!\

Warning!
Driving onworn tirescanresult inloss of
control ofthe vehicle andcould cause severe
personal injuries.

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Donot drive withworn tiresortires showing
cuts orbruises asthey mayleadtosudden
deflation andloss ofcontrol whichcouldcause
severe personal injury.

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Specialized highperformance tiresonhigh
performance sportscarsexhibit morewear
than those onafamily sedan, oreven ahigh
performance sedan.
Therefore, itis important tocheck yourtire
pressure andcondition atleast every two
weeks.
If you notice thattires arewearing unevenly, con-
sult your Porsche dealer.
Uneven wearmaynotalways bedue toimproper
wheel alignment. Itcan bethe result ofindividual
driving habitssuchascornering athigh speeds. If
the tire pressure isnot checked andadjusted
regularly, abnormal tirewear canalso occur.
Tire
care

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Avoid damaging tiresandwheel rims.

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Ifyou must driveoveracurb orother obstacle,
drive slowly andatan obtuse angle.

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Check tiresforuneven wearanddamage
before driving off.

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Remove imbedded material.

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Replace wornordamaged tiresimmediately.

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Keep oil,fuel, brake fluid,etc.away fromtires.

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Replace missingvalvestemcaps.

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Keep tiresinflated correctly.

Tiredamage, puncture

t>
Check tiresforimbedded material,cuts,punc-
tures, cracks andbulges (sidewall)before
driving off.
In case oftire damage, whereitis uncertain
whether thereisabreak inthe plywith allits con-
sequences ortire damage causedbythermal or
mechanical overloading duetoloss ofpressure or
any other priordamage, werecommend thatthe
tire bereplaced forsafety reasons.
If one faulty tireisreplaced itshould benoted that
the difference intread depth onone axle must not
exceed 30
%.

Handling inconsistencies mayresult.

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Perform avisual inspection ifnecessary.
Tire replacements
If in doubt, contact yourPorsche dealeror
Porsche Importer ofyour country.
Use only tiremakes andtypes tested byPorsche.

If you donot use aPorsche recommended
replacement tire,make surethatyou
purchase yournewtires from areputable
tire dealer andthat thedealer complies with
all manufacturers warningsforthose tires.
Only tires withthesame make andwith the
same specification code(e.g."NO", "Nl"... )
can bemounted. Before
mounting newtires, check withyour
Porsche dealeraboutthecurrent release
status.
Use tires with"ZR" quality standards.
There
are currently nostandards concerning tire
strength atspeeds above150mph (240 kmjh).
Tires should bereplaced noless than onone axle
at the time.
Only tires ofthe same makeandtype must be
used. Mixed tiresarenotpermissible.
Initially, newtires donot have theirfulltraction.
You should therefore driveatmoderate speeds
during thefirst 60-120 miles (100-200 km).
If new tires areinstalled onlyonone axle, anotice-
able change inhandling occursduetothe different
tread depth ofthe other tires.
This happens especially ifonly reartires arere-
placed. However, thiscondition disappears asthe
new tires arebroken in.

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Please adjustyourdriving styleaccordingly.
Installation ofnew tires should onlybedone bya
qualified tiretechnician.
Valves

Rubber valvestems mustbereplaced everytime
a tire isreplaced.
For metal valves, theinstallation andreplacement
instructions mustbeobserved.
Use only genuine Porsche metalvalves.
Parking atthe curb

/!\
Warning!
Hard impacts againstcurbs(ortraffic
islands) aredangerous andmay cause hid-
den tiredamage whichisnot noticeable until
later. Suchdamage canresult inaccidents
at high speeds causing severepersonal inju-

ry.

Depending onthe force ofimpact, theedge
of the rim can also bedamaged.

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Ifyou areindoubt, havethewheel checked by
an expert, particularly ifyou suspect damage
on the inside.

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Ifyou must driveoveracurb orother obstacle,
drive slowly andatan obtuse angle.Exercise
care when parking alongcurbs.
Practical Tips,Emergency Service

Wheelalignment, wheelbalancing

As aprecaution, havewheels withsummer tires
balanced
in
the spring, andthose withmud and
snow tiresbefore winter.
Unbalanced wheelsmayaffect carhandling and
tire life.
Only thespecified weightsmaybeused forwheel
balancing. Self-adhesive weightsmustnotcome intocontact
with cleaning agents,sincetheycould dropoff.
A wheel should always bebalanced afteratire re-
pair.
Uneven treadwearindicates wheelimbalance. In
this event, thevehicle shouldbechecked atan au-
thorized Porschedealer.

/!\.
Warning!
If, during ajourney, unevenrunning orvibra-
tions occur thatcould becaused bydamage
to tires orthe car, thespeed mustbere-
duced immediately, butwithout braking
sharply.
If you continue yourtripwithout havingthe
cause ofthe fault remedied, youmight lose
control ofyour vehicle whichcouldcause se-
vere personal injury.

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Stop thevehicle andcheck thetires.

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Ifno cause forthe fault canbefound, drive
carefully tothe nearest authorized Porsche
dealer.
Practical Tips,Emergency Service
Removing
andstoring tires

c>
After changing, adjusttirepressure andtorque
wheel boltsdiagonally to94 ftlb (130 Nm).
Please observe thechapter "CHANGING A
WHEEL" onPage 150.

Tires mustalways remain onthe same side
of the vehicle.

When wheels areremoved, thedirection ofrota-
tion andposition ofeach wheel should bemarked.

Example

FR (front right), FL,RRand RL.
Wheels mustalways befitted inaccordance with
their marking.
The preception thattiredurability andperfor-
mance areimmune tothe effects ofstorage and
age isunfounded.
Chemical additives, whichmaketherubber elas-
tic, lose their effectiveness inthe course oftime
and therubber becomes brittleandcracks.

Therefore, thetires should beinspected
from timetotime. Note

Under nocircumstances shouldtiresolder than6
years beused onyour Porsche.
The ageofthe tire can beobtained fromthe"DOT"
code number. If,for example, thelast four num-
bers read 1203, thenthetire was produced inthe
12th week of2003.

c>
Store tiresinacool anddryplace.

Snow tires

For abetter griponsnow andice,useradial M+S
tires withstuds.
Check withyour local Motor Vehicle Bureaufor
possible restrictions.

/!\.
Warning!
Risk ofloss ofcontrol anddamage tothe
vehicle aswell assevere personal injury.
The standard tiresprofile andrubber mix-
ture areoptimized forwet and drydriving
conditions, andmay notprove favorable for
snow conditions.

c>
Therefore installM+Stiresbefore driving in
such conditions.

Beforemounting snowtires, consult with
your Porsche dealer.Hehas thetechnical
information necessarytoadvise youon
wheel andtirecompatibility.

Snow tiresshould havethesame loadcapacity as
original equipment tiresandshould bemounted
on allfour wheels.
Snow tireswithstuds should berun atmoderate
speeds whennewinorder togive thestuds time
to settle.

/i\
Warning!
Tires withbadly worntreads andstuds are
very dangerous andcould cause accidents
resulting insevere personal injuries.

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Make surethey arereplaced immediately.
Do not drive avehicle equipped withsnow tiresat
prolonged highspeed.
Snow tiresdonot have thesame degree oftrac-
tion ondry, wet orsnowfree roadsasanormal
tire. Furthermore, snowtireswear rapidly underthese
conditions.
Snow tiresdonot fulfill their purpose ifthe tread
depth isless than 5/32 in.(4mm).

Comply withallstate andlocal laws
governing snowtireand tread depth
requirements.
Snow
chains

/i\
Caution!
Risk ofdamage tobody, axleorbrake com-
ponents.

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Fitsnow chains onlytothe rear wheels, and
only withthetire/rim combination listedinthe
Technical Data.
To ensure adequate clearance betweenchain
and body, Porsche recommends onlytheuse
of fine-link chainssuchasthose approved by
Porsche.

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Follow instructions issuedbythe supplier of
the chains.
Different statesandcountries havevarying statu-
tory requirements regardingmaximum speed.
Check withlocal authorities forpossible restric-
tions.

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Remove chainsassoon asthe roads arefree
of ice and snow.
Tire
designations

Due tonew speed andload ratings forradial tires,
new designations havecome intoforce forsnow
tires foryour Porsche.
The designation tobe used forZRtires ise.g.,
255/40 ZR17(Z
=
code letterforradial tiresfor
speeds above150mph (240 kmjhl.
Practical Tips,Emergency Service

A-Front
jacking point
Lifting theVehicle withaLifting
Platform orGarage Lift
The carmust beraised
only
atthe illustrated jack-
ing points.

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Please observe thechapter "CHANGING A
WHEEL" onPage 150.
Practical Tips,Emergency Service
B
-Rear jacking
point

A
Caution!
Serious injuryand/or serious damage tothe
engine orthe vehicle mayoccur, ifyou lift
the vehicle improperly.

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Never liftthe vehicle atany other place than
the jacking points.

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Never liftthe vehicle bythe engine, transmis-
sion oraxles.

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Donot damage anysensitive components in
the vicinity ofthe jacking points.
Platform
lift

Before thecarisdriven ontoalifting platform, it
must beensured thatthere isenough spacebe-
tween thelifting platform andthevehicle.

Garage lift

A garage liftmust beused
only
atthe illustrated
jacking points.

Flat
lire
j!\ Warning!
Failure tofollow theseinstructions mayre-
sult inserious personal injuriestoyou orto
bystanders.

~ Ifyou have aflat tire, move asafe distance off
the road. Turntheemergency flasheronand
use other warning devicestoalert other motor-
ists. Settheparking brake.
~ Donot park your vehicle whereitmay contact
dry grass, brushorother flammable materials.
The hotparts ofthe exaust system couldset
such materials onfire, thereby causing both
property damageandsevere orfatal physical
injury.
~ Set upawarning triangleatasuitable
distance.
A tire repair kit,compressor andpressure tester
are located undertheluggage compartment floor.
~ Please observe thesafety andoperating in-
structions onthe special sealant bottlewitha
special Porsche partnumber andonthe com-
pressor -these areessential.
Important
note
Sealing thetire with thetire repair kitisonly
an emergency repair.Evenwiththetire air-
tight, itmay beused onlyforshort journeys
in an emergency.
The maximum permittedspeedis50 mph
(80 kmjh).

~ Donot use commercially availablesealantor
tire inflating bottles.

j!\Warning! Risk ofaccident.

~ Have tiresreplaced byaspecialist workshop
as soon aspossible.
~ Avoid hardacceleration andhigh cornering
speeds.
PracticalTips,Emergency Service

WheelBolts

/!\
Warning!
Risk ofwheel boltbreakage andwheel sepa-
ration, resulting insevere personal injuryor
death.

D>
Follow allinstructions concerningwheelbolts.

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Always cleanthewheel boltsbefore fitting.

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Apply athin coat of
Optimoly TA
(aluminium
pastel onthe thread andbetween thebolt head
and movable spherical capring
(arrows).
The bearing surfaceofthe spherical cap
facing thewheel mustnotbegreased.

Practical Tips,Emergency Service
D>

Replace damaged wheelbolts.
Only usetheOriginal Porsche wheelbolts
specially designed forthis vehicle type.

Tightening torque

Tightening torqueofwheel bolts:

130 Nmj96 ftlb.

Wheel Securing Bolts

The wrench socketforthe wheel securing boltsis
in the tool pocket.
To loosen ortighten thewheel boltwith anti-theft
protection, awrench socketwiththeappropriate
coding mustbeused between thewheel boltand
the wheel-bolt spanner.

D>
When positioning thewrench socket, ensure
that itengages fullyinthe teeth ofthe wheel
bolt.
If the wheels havetobe removed atthe workshop,
please donot forget tohand overthewrench
socket forthe wheel securing boltsalong withthe
car key.
Changing
awheel

A
Warning!
Risk ofinjury. Thecarmay slipoffthe jack.

D>
Make surethatnoone isinthe vehicle when
jacking upand changing awheel.

D>
Always placethecar onstable supports ifwork
has tobe carried outunder thecar.

Risk ofdamage tothe brake discsofthe
Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake(PCCB).

D>
Always screwinboth assembly aidswhen
changing awheel.
1. Fully apply thehand brake, engage 1st gear
and withdraw theignition key.
2. Secure thecaragainst rollingaway,e.g.by
means ofwedges underthewheels onthe op-
posite side.
This isparticularly importantonslopes.

Screwinassembly aid
for
vehicles
without
Porsche

Ceramic
Composite Brake

3. Slightly slacken thewheel boltsofthe wheel to
be changed.
4. Raise thecar until thewheel liftsoffthe
ground. Please observe thechapter "LIFTING THEVE-
HICLE WITHALIFTING PLATFORM ORGARAGE
LIFT" onPage 148.
Screw
in
two
assembly aids
for
vehicles
with
Porsche
Ceramic Composite Brake

5. Remove 1or 2wheel bolts(seerespective
illustration). Removeassembly aidsfrom tool
kit and screw ininstead ofthe wheel bolts.
Remove theremaining wheelbolts.
6. Take thewheel offand putanew wheelan. 7.
Please observe thechapter "WHEEL BOLTS"
on Page 150.
Screw inwheel bolts;remove assembly aids
and screw inthe remaining wheelbolts.Initially
tighten boltsindiagonally oppositesequence
so that thewheel iscentered.
8. Lower thecar completely.
9. Tighten wheelboltsindiagonally opposite
sequence.

Immediately afterchanging awheel, usea
torque wrench tocheck theprescribed
tightening torque(130Nm/96 ftlb.).
Note

The tools required forchanging awheel (e.g.jack,
wheel boltwrench) arenotsupplied withthecar.
Practical Tips,Emergency Service
1