[911-32]

Questions playing on my mind -

1. My tyres are the wrong size being 225/40 and 255/35 4S Michies. I have 4mm at the back and 6mm at the front. They seem to work ok, so I think I just burn another mm or two on the rear and replace for next summer. Any huge objections to using the skinny M3 size tyre for now? And for road use, is there anything worth thinking about other than 4Ss? Like the Contisport6, for example? If I went Cup2s - not much more expensive, so tempting - realistically, how long do they last on the road? Its quite possible I take the CSL on a 3000+ mile trip next summer, so that's a factor. I am using Kumho PS91s on the 987 as I couldn't get Michies in the right size and needed tyres urgently for a trip and they are surprisingly decent in a close-to-Supersport-but-softer kind of way. And I have Supersports on another car and over the years used PZeroCs, Cup1s, 888s D98Js and SO2s on 911s. So those are my reference points.

2. I am still not totally convinced on how to drive the SMG. I had one ex-owner message me to say never lift on upshifts. I read other stuff in other places. I know its not one size fits all. It seems mechanically unpleasant to "no lift" at light acceleration and mid revs. But kind of ok at really high revs. Advice?

3. Bluetooth phone and music. I want a non-invasive solution to work with the basic business radio/cd. Seems like a Parrot type solution professionally fitted would be the answer. Anyone have experience with that? I don't want to try and get a modern bells and whistles set up, just basic music streaming and hands free.

4. The car feels solid and stiff, but still well damped and not crashie at all on the horrid roads round here. Its described as being fast road set up, so I am going to have to investigate that in due course. As it feels decent, I am not in a hurry, but will look to hunt down fast road alignment settings and KW V3 settings. Its much stiffer and newer feeling (bush firmness/lack of play) than the 987 despite also being on coilovers and being 20k miles newer. Thoughts on set up?

A couple of other random thoughts. The brakes are awesome. Front pads are yellow, the rears aren't. Whatever they are, they work better than the 987 with CL race pads running over bigger front discs. Ignoring a bit of wear inside (and the expensive carbon bits are all lovely, just other bits have some light wear and tear), the car feels like new thru the primary control surfaces. Very together and very nice underneath me. Can't say I feel very confident just yet to push really hard, but the traction control has caught my deliberate provocation so far, so the safety net feels reassuring.

Last thought - I read the seats are Pole Positions, but these are not the same as the PPs I had for about 12 years in one of my old 911s. The shell might be the same, but the base padding is much thicker making the sides lower and less supportive, but also easier to enter. Padding feels quite different, making the seat feel quite different. Its also a fraction to high in the car and too upright. Not so far off that I feel like I must "fix" it, but not immediately feeling"right". It's close enough that I forget about it when I am driving. The top of the backrest padding in my car feels a little prominent and gave me a little backache after about 2.5 hrs, so I may be looking to add a little padding somewhere to fix that. Just a teething problem though - I have re-padded every race seat I have owned except one pair of Sparcos that was right from the start.

Enough rambling. I should really use the search button a bit.

Edit - hmm, looks like I need to resize the photos rather than link to Imgur...