Five tips for your first Porsche drive of the season

There is always something magical about the first rays of sunshine after a long winter. When the power of the sun warms you up, the cold of winter is quickly forgotten. For us Porsche enthusiasts, the first sunny days of the year usually go hand in hand with thoughts of the start of the driving season. At the latest when the last bit of salt has been washed off the roads, we get our hooves ready to take our first tour in our beloved Porsche. To make sure that nothing goes wrong, we’ll give you a little food for thought for a carefree start to the Porsche season!

The most important thing before the first Porsche outing after winter? Check yoru battery!

Sometimes the winter break comes unexpectedly early, or life got in the way in the fall and winter. People often forget to disconnect the battery or connect it to the charger. Shortly before the start of the season, panic often sets in with the realization. Or even worse: the first time you turn the ignition key… nothing happens! We therefore strongly recommend checking the condition of the battery before the first drive. That way, you won’t get caught by surprise and don’t need to jump-start on Saturday or Sunday morning. Or worse: having to cancel your trip.

Tip number 2 for pre-season preparation: Check tire age, tread and air pressure

The four tires are the only contact with the road in a car. Accordingly, they should also be in top condition. As we learned when preparing for our driving license, you should check the tread and air pressure before setting off anyway. In reality, however, this is quickly forgotten, especially in the euphoria before the first drive. However, driving with the correct air pressure increases driving safety and protects yourself and others from unpleasant surprises.

It is also common to underestimate the age of your tires, especially with cars that are driven very little. At this point, some people wonder what role this actually plays. The answer is that tires lose certain properties over the course of their service life. Their plasticizers lose their function, tires harden. Strong UV radiation also accelerates tire aging. After a few years, the black gold can therefore become porous, which can pose a high risk, especially at high speeds.

The age of tires is often forgotten, especially on cars that are not driven much. Winter tires should not be older than six years and summer tires should not be older than eight years.

Experts therefore recommend using summer tires up to a maximum age of eight years, and winter tires only up to six years old. If you don’t pay close attention when buying tires, you could be in for a nasty surprise. According to the law, tires are considered new even if their production date is up to two years ago. We therefore recommend checking the DOT number on the tire sidewalls at the start of the season. This four-digit number indicates the week of production in the first two digits and the year of production in the last two digits. For example, DOT 45/25 would mean that the tire was produced in calendar week 45 in 2025.

Our third tip for preparation: Check the oil level

Thirdly, we recommend checking the vehicle’s oil level before setting off. It is not uncommon for air-cooled 911s in particular to lose a little oil. After half a year on the road, a few milliliters can collect under the car. In addition, the oil level is also rarely checked after the last tour before parking. It is therefore better to be on the safe side and check whether there is still enough lubricant in the vehicle and top it up if necessary. The engine will thank you for it.

Don’t plan hundreds of kilometers for the first tour of the year

After a break of several months, an athlete always needs a little time to get back to their old performance levels. On the first run after a long winter, the pace is not the same, the soreness perhaps a little more. To a certain extent, this analogy can also be applied to old cars. Not even in terms of driving performance, but in terms of material fatigue. Months of downtime can cause a seal or an O-ring to leak. Corrosion can also be an issue after a long winter.

Buch Porsche Drive – Pass Portrait – Gotthard

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That’s why the first tour of the year should perhaps be deliberately kept shorter in order to check all systems. Is the engine maintaining its oil pressure? Is there a leak somewhere? To avoid being stranded hundreds of kilometers from home in the worst-case scenario due to a technical breakdown, you should shorten the first tour a little and perhaps plan a short round trip. After all, Formula 1 teams also do a rollout during the first test drives before starting their race simulations.

Perhaps the most important tip for the start of the season: take it slow!

Not only the car, but also the driver can be a little rusty after a long winter. The routine of changing gear is not yet back. Sometimes even the line selection on the pass is not yet one hundred percent right again. That’s why you shouldn’t immediately try to speed around the bends on your drive of the year.

Get used to the car again, stay relaxed and play it safe. After all, nothing would be more annoying than making a stupid mistake and putting yourself and others at risk and thus risking a wonderful season full of great experiences. And now that you are so well prepared, jump in your car, take it for a spin and enjoy the ride!