1,954 miles, 9 states, 39hrs

So, firstly this will probably be a pretty long post as a warning!, here my outline on the trip and some questions about the car that I will post first. Some trip facts: 1,954 miles in 39 hrs through 9 states (FL, GA, NC, TN, KT, IN, IL, IO, MN), NC & TN had the best roads by a mile, MN has the worst condition roads, truly awful compared to the tax we pay! Averaged 24mpg and used just shy of 60 gallons of fuel, not oil and a lot of air (but more on that later). Local radio is sh*te, there are songs engrained in my brain that I will never loose, considering they all claim to �play the best variety of the last 30 yrs� I find in strange that they keep playing the same crap on a loop. Oh and did I say the 911 is a phenomenal car!, what a drive and more comfortable that the Range Rover I have that is now for sale. Issues/questions: 1. Washers didn�t work, found out yesterday on looking that the T piece for the fluid line had come apart, pushed it back together and it works fine. One question though, this looks like some sort of valve, but mine had the innards removed, is this correct? 2. Passenger window screeched when coming down 3. Handbrake needs adjusting 4. Voltmeter instrument backlighting didn�t work the first night but works now, any ideas? 5. Centre console lid needs a firm push to lock, is that nor mal or can it be adjusted? 6. Temp sensor in the center of the dash creaks 7. When driving at all speeds I get a slow rhythmic droning from the back of the car, its not linked to the road conditions, is it the harmonics of the engine?, tires need balancing? Or a wheel bearing? So on to the trip: I collected that car from Gil at Domani Motors and firstly have to say that these guys are great, Gil has been really helpful, professional and a genuinely nice bloke. He collected me from my hotel and took me to the dealership, the paperwork, and car were all ready and prepped with a full tank of gas, didn�t the paperwork and left, no meeting 17 staff or trying to sell me various finance or warranty options (Lard Rover and Mercedes take note!). Car looks great, fully detailed, new mats, new brakes�I�s a happy man. Were off reset all the gauges, First stop in north FL, time for fluids and some junk food! First 300 miles thoughts: � The German gene pool must have developed with much fleshier elbows that the English as the padding on the door armrest feels non existent!, something I get used to and doesn�t bother me by the end if the trip � Interior plastics and quality is poor for a high end car, again once I drive through the Blue Ridge corners and hear that engine roar I don�t really care for the quality of the indicator stalks as long as they don�t fall off. � Its loud! � � I start getting paranoid at varius stages, sure I can smell coolant or oil (Obviously from other cras), and spend anxious seconds scanning all the gauges, but it is fine  � Engine also seems real slow to turnover, doesn�t help my paranoia All you need to keep going (I never normally drink this stuff) In 1,954 miles I never tired of looking at that rear wing  83F nice!, cant wait for the MN summer! Suns beginning to set and I am well into GA 480 miles In NC, rain has started to come down, just heading up to the Blue Ridge, it�s around 11.30pm The drive up to my stop over in Robbinsvilles was scary to say the least, some great roads leading up to the 129, but the rain/storm was torrential some of the worst rain I have driven through and after 14 hrs of driving I need some rest. The car is all over the road, aquaplaning over standing water, it keeps me awake at least. I stop at the last gas station to tehe hotel and dump some air in the tires to ensure I can set them correctly tomorrow, about 5PSI at a guess. 797 miles get to the hotel at 12.45am. I am wired after the drive and struggle to get to sleep, I have a quick scan on the manual before sleeping for the tire pressures New day, thank god it�s stopped raining, up and out at 7.30am, I check the car over and more importantly the tire pressure, NS front 36PSI, OS front 28PSI, NS rear 36PSI, OS rear 23 PSI, I am shocked and horrified, no wonder it felt like crap driving in the rain and was so loud, surely the dealer didn�t hand it over like this (I�m pissed I didn�t check before I left the dealer), I then worry I have picked up a puncture. Find a garage and fill the tires straight away, everything else about the car checks out fine. Blue Ridge/Tail of the Dragon (Pics say it all) This car is brilliant, awesome roads (Smooth and grippy) I love it, love it, love it. I want to live hear Obviously a bad storm last night judging by the branches and downed trees on the route, I don�t like driving over them and having them clatter the underside of the car  TN and KT was great, flowing roads and beautiful scenery, still a long way to go! ID, IL, IO the drive is getting boring, straight, flat and worsening road, only redeaming feature is that you can let the speed creep up a bit! Arrived at 12.15am, MN really has the worse roads, and it was snowing, which kept me on my toes for the last hour. Cant wait for the summer 

Glad you arrived alive. You went through one of the worst tornadoes storms in history.

Very nice write up! Thanks for sharing.

great post!!! gl with your new toy.

congrats on your trip. very cool pictorial of your travels. Good thing you didn't get caught in some of that horrible Tornado weather that has moved thru the midwest. If you're going to do some detailing yourself, inspect the car fully, get a good feel for what fluids/components need changing or fixing. Is the pass window still screaching? you may want to address that before it gets worse. As for the creaks and groans, look into some lube or abrasion protection for some of that great German Interior Engineering.

very nice pics and story................ thanks for sharing.

Great post, thanks.

Jealous! Tail of the dragon, awesome... It sounds like you might be up for a new set of rear tires, or at least have the current ones checked out.

great pics and story , thanks!

Congrats on the 40 year edition. Very nice car... Thanks for posting pictures of your trip. A lot of us chose to fly and drive ours as well. My trip started in NC and ended in Miami. Crap roads compared to Blue Ridge but really a great way get familiar with a new car. Good luck and enjoy..

Great pics and write up. I am itching to take mine out of winter storage and take a long trip!!! So for now, I will live vicariously through you. Good luck.

Great adventure and a great post!

enjoy!

Super cool trip! Glad you made it safe and did this. Love to read stories like this Congrats!

What a great post. I appreciate you taking the time to chronicle your trip and share it with us. I just got back from cars and coffee and this capped off my morning. Welcome aboard.

What a great way to get familiar with your new Porsche. Thanks for the pics and your 2k mile journey home. Was the sound due to improper tire inflation?

What a great trip and a perfect way to get to know your car! Enjoy!

Thanks all, I have lots of questions to post....sorry. Regarding the tires increasing the pressure made a negligible difference to the noise, but I took the wheels off today to clean them and the rear tires are absolutely shot, the one with the real low pressure looks awful. I will drop another post on this. I checked the wheels for play and felt nothing so I think the bearings are fine, I think my noise issue was tire related.

Is it worn on one side only?

Great story, thanks for sharing.

Great story and great trip. The Tail of the Dragon is a wonderful drive. If you are going to be driving it in MN in the winter you should seriously consider a set of winter tires/wheels. Hi-performance summer tires can be deadly in the winter/snow.

Great pictures and story!

I really enjoyed your report. It was as though I was along with you on the drive. New tires and balancing hopefully should solve the droning sound.

Long-haul trips are so exciting in the Porsche! For such a high performance car, it's an extremely comfortable, fun, and very reliable way to travel.

Great story! Enjoy the new p car!

Thanks for posting your great trip - and welcome!

So, what number is your 40th?

No. 454 If only this snow would go and the weather warm up to drive it a little more!

" The German gene pool must have developed with much fleshier elbows that the English as the padding on the door armrest feels non existent!" HA! Hilarious! I feel the same way!

Great story and pictures. Thanks for sharing. I did a Dragon trip from Ohio back in October '11........ one of the most memorable and enjoyable times of my life so far.

Boy this is getting me even more excited about flying to Dallas on Friday to pick up my cab. My 1500 mile plan is to leave Friday by 3-4PM and be home Sunday for dinner in PA. I can't wait and the clock does not seem to be moving.

91 mph and the gas guage on E. LOL! Great story and pics. You probably learned more about your car in 36 hours than I did mine in the first month. Sounds like it may be new tire time, and it's probably a good idea to get it realigned while you are at it. I know that sucks, but the car will drive better, be safer, and you will enjoy it more. As for the center glove box lid, you have to give it a good push to shut it. That's normal.

Yes sir those baseball and softball sized hail storms luckily missed you on your travels. Looks like it was enjoyable. The tire pressure trick for heavy rain is to have the pressure up a little so that the water forcing against the rubber is less prone to bend the treads off the road.