Porsche Trivia

It’s been two and a half years since I started this Porsche blog. I’ve kept writing daily, and before I knew it, I’ve published over 700 articles. Wow, that’s a lot of writing. Recently, even articles I wrote a long time ago or had forgotten about have been getting a lot of views, making me often think again, “Oh right, that’s what Porsche is all about.”

So today, I want to revisit some of the most popular articles I’ve written in the past about things you should know about Porsche.

Tire Grinding Noise on Cold Winter Mornings

First, this is especially relevant right now. On cold winter mornings, when turning the steering wheel slowly at low speed, you might hear a grinding, crunching noise from the tires. When I first experienced this “grinding noise,”

I panicked, wondering if I had run over something or if I was driving wrong!

Back then, my car knowledge was even more limited than now, so I just thought, “Noise from the tires = something’s broken.” When I asked my husband, I learned this grinding noise is not a malfunction.

Porsche uses a “parallel steering geometry” instead of the commonly used “Ackermann steering geometry” in its steering system. Because of this, on cold winter days at low speeds, you often hear grinding or crunching noises from the tires.

Parallel steering geometry is a steering mechanism designed specifically for sports cars and race cars to enable smoother cornering at medium to high speeds. So, hearing this noise means “Porsche is a true sports car”.

By the way, my husband said,

“AMGs can make this noise sometimes too. Also, depending on the tires you use, this grinding noise can be reduced.”

(For a detailed explanation, see the article below.)

低速でハンドルをきった時、ポルシェのタイヤがゴリゴリ音がするのは不具合？

Brake Squeal

Even brand-new Porsches can sometimes make a “squeaking” noise when braking. In our case, the Panamera didn’t squeal, but the Boxster’s brakes squealed quite a lot.

At the time, I thought, “The brakes squeal because of worn parts or something wrong,” but for Porsche, this brake squeal is not a defect.

Porsche’s official YouTube channel even posted a video explaining that brake squeal is not a malfunction, so it must be a very common question or complaint.

Porsche brakes are said to be the best in the world, and to ensure consistent braking performance in any situation, Porsche designs its brake discs significantly larger than those on typical cars.

By maximizing the contact area with the brake pads and increasing friction, Porsche ensures safe stopping at all times. Also, even when the contact temperature varies widely, the high-quality brake discs and pads maintain strong friction levels.

When the friction surface is large, a phenomenon called “stick-slip” occurs. This causes vibrations that generate noise, and resonance with the brake rotors amplifies it, making the squeal sound loud like a speaker.

While most cars don’t produce brake squeal, the fact that Porsche brakes squeal is actually proof of their high quality and performance. (More details are in the article below.)

ポルシェのブレーキの鳴きは不具合か？いや、それこそポルシェのブレーキの証だ。

The Unknown Side of Porsche

I myself have only been interested in Porsche for a few years and have driven only a few models, so I feel there’s still so much I don’t know about Porsche. The more I drive, the more new discoveries I make, and each model has completely different characteristics.

This year, I hope to drive as many Porsches as possible and deepen my understanding of Porsche and the fascinating world of cars.