Getting Your Porsche Ready for Summer
From Mulholland to the Crest, It’s Time to Dial In Your Porsche for Peak Summer Performance
If you’re lucky enough to pilot a Porsche in Southern California, summer isn’t just a season, it’s the call of the canyon. The air gets thinner, the traffic lightens up early, and the sun turns familiar blacktop into your personal test track. Whether you’re a backroad warrior carving corners on Angeles Crest, a coastal cruiser running the Pacific Coast Highway, or a late-night outlaw storming Mulholland under moonlight, your Porsche deserves more than just a full tank.
Before you drop into third and dive into that next apex, there’s some prep work that separates the seasoned driver from the weekend warrior.
At HOUSE Automotive, we live for this kind of driving. Here’s how to get your Porsche ready for the summer sprint.
1. Tire Pressure: The Forgotten Performance Metric
Hot tarmac and long stints can easily push tire pressure into the red zone. Overinflated tires reduce grip, wear unevenly, and kill road feel, especially on twisty terrain like the Crest. Underinflated tires? Say hello to sluggish turn-in and overheated sidewalls.
Check your tire pressure cold, and if you’re swapping to summer compounds, recheck after your first spirited drive. We recommend adjusting +1 to +2 psi from your baseline if you’re loaded with gear or coasting the PCH for extended stints. Don’t forget to inspect the tread. Dry-rotted or heat-cycled tires can be a silent killer.
2. Brake Service: Trust Your Life to Your Left Pedal
You don’t need carbon ceramics to understand that a Porsche’s braking system is built for serious work. But even the most finely tuned caliper setup can underperform if neglected. Before heading up into Angeles Crest, make sure your brake pads have enough life to survive aggressive descents, and flush that fluid if it’s been over a year. Moisture in your lines can turn your pedal to mush right when you need it most.
Pro tip: If your rotors show heat spots or you’re getting shudder through the steering wheel, get it handled now. High-speed canyon runs expose flaws fast.
3. Oil Temp and Summer Heat: Keep an Eye on the Lifeblood
Porsche engines are bulletproof until they’re not. With high ambient temps and aggressive throttle input, summer drives can elevate oil temps to the danger zone quickly, especially in older models or air-cooled classics.
Watch your gauges. If oil temps start creeping above 250°F, it’s time to back off and let things breathe. Now’s also the right time to ask when your last oil change was. If you’re tracking hard or canyon carving regularly, shorten those service intervals. Oil is cheap. Engines aren’t.
4. Cooling System Check: The Unsung Hero
Modern Porsches rely on sophisticated cooling systems to stay in the sweet spot, until a cracked hose or tired water pump ruins your day somewhere above 6,000 feet.
Inspect for coolant leaks, make sure your radiators are free of debris, and don’t overlook expansion tanks. A simple pressure test can uncover small issues before they become side-of-the-road emergencies.
This isn’t just for the water-cooled crowd either. Air-cooled cars benefit from clean cooling fins, proper airflow, and a solid oil cooler. Mulholland’s switchbacks demand endurance, not just speed.
Bonus: Plan Your Route Like a Driver, Not a Tourist
The right road brings it all together. That’s why we’re launching a new video series, Top 3 Drives, highlighting Southern California’s best Porsche routes. In our first episode, we’ll feature:
Angeles Crest Highway: High elevation, sweepers for days, and views that rival the Alps. Just beware early morning cyclists and late afternoon squids.
Pacific Coast Highway: Iconic for a reason. Low effort, high reward. Sunset runs from Malibu to Big Sur don’t get better.
Mulholland Drive: Legendary, gritty, and downright cinematic. Hit it late or early for a dose of old-school LA car culture.
Keep an eye out for the video drop. It’s the ultimate visual prelude to your next drive.
Don’t Just Drive, Dominate
Summer driving isn’t just about good weather. It’s about extracting the most from your machine with zero compromise. That starts with service you can trust.
Schedule your Porsche’s summer inspection at HOUSE Automotive today. We’ll check every detail, from brake wear to oil viscosity, to make sure your next drive is exactly what Stuttgart intended.