PORSCHE 911 GT3 2004 5.G Owners Manual

Exercise ExtremeCautionwhen
Working onyour Vehicle

A
Warning!
Ignoring thefollowing instructions may
cause serious personal injury.

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The engine compartment ofany motor vehicle
is apotentially hazardous area.Ifyou arenot
fully familiar withproper repairprocedures, do
not attempt theadjustments describedonthe
following pages.
This caution appliestothe entire vehicle.

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Only work onyour vehicle outdoors orinawell
ventilated area.

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Ensure thatthere arenoopen flames inthe
area ofyour vehicle atany time when fuel
fumes mightbepresent. Beespecially cau-
tious ofsuch devices suchashot water heat-
ers which igniteaflame intermittently.

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Before working onany part inthe engine com-
partment, turntheengine offand letitcool
down sufficiently. Hotengine compartment
components canburn skinoncontact.

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Bealert andcautious aroundengineatall
times whiletheengine isrunning.
If work hastobe performed withtheengine
running, alwayssetthe parking brake,and
make suretheshift lever isin neutral position.

140
PracticalTips,Emergency Service
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Inparticular, bevery careful toensure that
items ofclothing (ties,shirt, sleeves etc.),jew-
elry, long hair,hand orfingers cannotget
caught inthe engine-compartment blower,fan,
belts orother moving parts.
The radiator andradiator fansareinthe front
of the car.
The fans canstart orcontinue runningasa
function oftemperature, evenwiththeengine
switched off.
Carry outwork inthese areasonlywith theen-
gine off,theignition switched off,and exercise
extreme caution.

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Your Porsche isequipped withanelectronic ig-
nition system. Whentheignition ison, high volt-
age ispresent inall wires connected withthe
ignition system; therefore, exerciseextreme
caution whenworking onany part ofthe engine
while theignition ison orthe engine isrunning.

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Always support yourcarwith safety stands ifit
is necessary towork under thecar.

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When working underthecarwithout safety
stands butwith thewheels onthe ground,
make surethecar ison level ground, the
wheels areblocked, andthat theengine
cannot bestarted.
Remove theignition key.
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Donot smoke orallow anopen flame around
the battery orfuel.
Keep afire extinguisher inclose reach.

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Incomplete orimproper servicingmaycause
problems inthe operation ofthe car. Ifin doubt
about anyservicing, haveitdone byyour au-
thorized Porschedealer.
Improper maintenance duringthewarranty pe-
riod may affect yourPorsche warranty cover·
age.

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Supplies offluids, e.g.engine oil,brake fluidor
coolant, arehazardous toyour health.
Keep these fluidsoutofchildren's reachand
dispose ofthem inaccordance withtheappro-
priate regulations.

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Some countries requireadditional toolsand
special sparepartstobe carried.
Please makeenquiries beforedriving abroad.

lires/Wheels
The original equipment tiresandwheel rimson
your Porsche complywithallapplicable Federal
Motor Vehicle SafetyStandards.

For your safety remember thefollowing:

- Wheel rimsandwheel boltsarematched tofit
your Porsche.
- Ifyou intend touse other thanoriginal equip-
ment wheels, besure thatthey conform to
Porsche specifications foryour model.
Only tires withthesame makeandwith the
same specification code(e.g.
"NO", "Nl"..
J

can bemounted.
- The useofwheel rimsandwheel boltsthatdo
not meet specifications ofthe original factory
installed equipment willaffect thesafe opera-
tion ofyour vehicle.
- Before youplan onexchanging wheels,or
snow tiresalready mounted onthe wheel rims,
consult yourauthorized Porschedealer.Your
dealer hasthetechnical information necessary
to advise youwhich wheel rimsandwheel bolts
are compatible withtheoriginal factoryinstal-
lations.
A

Warning!
Risk ofloss ofcontrol andserious personal
injury.

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Ifwhile driving, yourvehicle experiences asud-
den vibration orride disturbance, and/oryou
suspect thatpossible damagetoyour tires or
vehicle hasoccurred, youshould immediately
reduce yourspeed without excessive useof
the brakes.

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Stop thevehicle assoon aspossible, andin-
spect thetires.
If you cannot determine thecause forthe dis-
turbance, haveyourvehicle towedtothe near-
est Porsche ortire dealer tohave yourvehicle
or tire(s) inspected.

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Continuing tooperate thevehicle without cor·
rection couldresult inaloss ofcontrol and
serious personal injury.
PracticalTips,Emergency Service
141

Unifonn TireQuality Grading

Quality grades canbefound where applicable on
the tire sidewall between treadshoulder andmax-
imum section width.

142
PracticalTips,Emergency Service
Example

All passenger cartires must conform toFederal
Safety Requirements inaddition tothese grades.
Treadwear

The treadwear gradeisacomparative rating
based onthe wear rateofthe tire when tested un-
der controlled conditions onaspecific govern-
ment testcourse.
For example, atire graded 150would wearone
and ahalf (1-1/2) timesaswell onthe government
course asatire graded 100.
The relative performance oftires depends upon
the actual conditions oftheir use,however, and
may depart significantly fromthenorm duetovari-
ations indriving habits, service practices anddif-
ferences inroad characteristics andclimate.

Traction AA,A,B,C

The traction grades,fromhighest tolowest, are
AA, A,S,and Cand they represent thetire's ability
to stop onwet pavement asmeasured undercon-
trolled conditions onspecified government test
surfaces ofasphalt andconcrete.
A tire marked Cmay have poortraction perfor-
mance.

A
Warning!

The traction gradeassigned tothis isbased on
braking (straight-ahead) tractiontestsanddoes
not include cornering (turned)traction, accelera-
tion, hydroplaning orpeak traction characteris-
tics.

Temperature A,8,C

The temperature gradesareA(the highest), Band
C, representing thetire's resistance tothe gener-
ation ofheat anditsability todissipate heatwhen
tested undercontrolled conditions onaspecified
indoor laboratory testwheel.
Sustained hightemperatures cancause themate-
rial ofthe tire todegenerate andreduce tirelife,
and excessive temperature canlead tosudden
tire failure.
The grade Ccorresponds toalevel ofperfor-
mance whichallpassenger cartires must meet
under theFederal MotorVehicle SafetyStandard

No. 109.

Grades Band Arepresent higherlevelsofperfor-
mance onthe laboratory testwheel thanthemini-
mum required bylaw.

A
Warning!

The temperature gradeforthis tireisestablished
for atire that isproperly inflatedandnotoverload-

ed.

Excessive speed,underinflation, orexcessive
loading, eitherseparately orincombination, can
cause heatbuildup andpossible tirefailure.
Tire
pressures

A
Warning!
Incorrect tirepressure causesincreased tire
wear andadversely affectsroadhandling.

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Always useanaccurate tirepressure gauge
when checking inflationpressures.

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Donot exceed themaximum tirepressure list-
ed onthe tire sidewall.
Please observe thechapter "VEHICLE IDENTI-
FICATION, TECHNICAL DATA"onPage 179.

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Cold tireinflation pressure means:alltires
must becold, ambient temperature maximum
68°F (20°C), whenadjusting theinflation pres-
sure.
Avoid sunlight strikingthetires before measur-
ing cold pressures, sincethepressures would
rise from temperature influence.

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Valve capsprotect thevalve fromdustand
dirt, andthus from leakage.
Always screwcapstightly down.
Replace missingcapsimmediately.

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Donot use commercially availablesealantor
tire inflating bottles.
Tire
traction

A
Warning!
When driving onwet orslushy roads,a
wedge ofwater maybuild upbetween the
tires andtheroad. Thisphenomenon is
known as"hydroplane" andmay cause par-
tial orcomplete lossoftraction, vehicle
control orstopping ability.
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Reduce speedonwet surface toprevent this.

Tire life

Tire lifedepends onvarious factors, i.e., road
surfaces, trafficandweather conditions, driving
habits, typeoftires andtirecare.

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Inspect yourtires forwear anddamage before
driving off.Ifyou notice uneven orsubstantial
wear, wheels mightneedalignment ortires
should bebalanced orreplaced.
Practical Tips,Emergency Service

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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