The Smoking Tire Podcast — Episode: "A Wheel Problem; Zack's Religious (Car) Experience; Taycan GTS"
Date: December 23, 2025
Hosts: Matt Farah & Zack Klapman

EPISODE OVERVIEW

In this episode, Matt and Zack deliver a fully-packed conversation about Matt’s Porsche Taycan GTS review and how it compares to his older Taycan 4 Cross Turismo, Zach’s transformative first real drive of a hot-rodded air-cooled 911 (which he describes as a religious car experience), updates on Matt’s NSX auction, and a crowd-sourced science experiment about Porsche’s spinning wheel crest. The show is peppered with automotive insights, price talk, and the usual banter—plus, audience interaction via Patreon.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. Matt’s NSX Auction and Vespa Upgrade Plans

[05:04 - 07:11]

• Matt’s pristine Acura NSX is up for auction on Cars & Bids with an extended 11-day auction window to avoid ending on Christmas.
• The car’s immaculate condition is highlighted, with special emphasis on its nearly untouched undercarriage ("Your control arms are like as clean as silverware." — Zach, [05:55]).
• Matt is planning to use sale proceeds to consider new toys like a Vespa 310, noting the gap in quality and performance versus his older 300.
• Discussion of luxury/collector Vespas—some costing over $100,000.

2. Porsche Taycan GTS vs. Taycan 4 Cross Turismo

Review & Comparison Segment: [08:28 - 29:30]

• Exterior Updates:
  The Taycan GTS facelift features minor visual tweaks, such as new headlights and a more aerodynamic nose, but is mostly similar to Matt’s 2022 Cross Turismo.

  • “If you open the door and sit in it…the answer is zero [difference].” — Matt, [09:12]

• Driving & Value:
  Used Taycans provide significant value compared to the $196,000 GTS tester, with 80-90% of the experience retained in older models.

  • “That’s a crazy thing…that I can get 80%, 90% of this current one for my car, at least when it’s used…” — Matt, [09:35]

• Active Ride Suspension:
  The showstopper is the Active Ride system—“the real game changer”—which provides exceptional body control and comfort, muting even unpredictable road imperfections.

  • “Active ride can do both at the same time. Which is…game over for a daily driver type of car...” — Matt, [13:34]
  • “It feels like an advancement similar to what Mag Ride felt like…just go, wow.” — Zack, [12:14]

• Brakes & Charging:
  The GTS brakes, especially with performance battery plus, stand out in pedal feel and stopping power, though Matt notes he doesn’t need ceramics for most driving.

  • “My brakes kind of suck.” — Matt, [14:47]

• Infotainment & Interior Differences:
  Improvements include 100% reliable proximity sensors and a ‘hard’ CarPlay button, but climate touchscreen control still irks Matt.

  • “The new one 100% of the time [unlocks with the key]…The screens infotainment a little bit faster…” — Matt, [23:53]
  • “The touchscreen climate control vents I still fucking hate.” — Matt, [25:13]

• Charging & Range:
  Performance battery plus offers much higher capacity—up to 105kWh—meaning real world range of 280-300 miles, a considerable improvement.

  • “My car if you’re chilling is like 220. That’s a big difference.” — Matt, [27:08]

• Commuter Utopia:
  The ultimate daily driver for handling city streets, adverse pavement, and long commutes.

  • “There is no better commuter…” — Matt, [25:57] (re: a Greenwich-to-Manhattan drive)

• Verdict:
  “If I was gonna get another Taycan after this one…Active Ride and Performance Battery Plus.” — Matt, [21:34]

3. Zach’s Religious (Car) Experience: Air-cooled 911 Hot Rod

[30:10 - 48:44]

• Background:
  Zach, long inexperienced in air-cooled Porsches, is encouraged by Marco at TLG to sample a standout example: a '72 911T with RSR-style flares and a 3.8-liter 993 RS engine (making 305 whp).

• Driving Impressions:

  • Astoundingly connected steering, ultra-precise shifter (with a Wevo shifter mod), and manual brakes—all sharpened to a degree he’d never experienced before.
  • “I totally understand why people spend all the money on this…everything’s so precise, the car talks to you really well.” — Zack, [35:11]
  • “The steering…it was how good the brakes were, the shifting, all the things you talked to were so good.” — Zack, [37:58]

• Technical Details:

  • Shortened lower gears for lively accelaration, highway fifth for cruising, tractive adaptive shocks without sway bars.
  • “It’s weird, but I could not tell. This car didn’t have sway bars.” — Zach, [34:00]

• Cost Breakdown:

  • On-air phone call with Marco: A build to this spec today would cost $250,000-300,000 ($60k of that for the engine).
  • “What you had was the greatest $150,000 driving experience possible…but it actually cost 300.” — Matt, [41:07]

• Reflections:

  • Discussed opportunity cost, the pros and cons of building from scratch vs. buying done, and why these cars—despite the price—make sense for the experience junkie (if you can afford the “buy in”).
  • “It didn’t cost you 200 grand, it actually cost you 12. But you had to park 200 grand.” — Matt, [46:12]

• Verdict:

  • Zach calls it “a great education,” and urges anyone bored with new cars to pursue making an old car feel this alive and connected.

4. Science Experiment: Does the Spinning Porsche Crest Resemble a Swastika?

[51:05 - 55:00, 93:03 - end]

• A fan performed a drill-based experiment to see if the black-and-white Porsche center cap creates a swastika illusion when spinning.
• Results: With the monochrome cap, it appears so (but not with the gold or colored versions).
• Discussion veers into animation techniques (zoetrope vs. rotoscope), color contrast, and both hosts’ skepticism about the factory’s intentions.
• Later in the episode, more historical detail: Porsche’s “Classic Hubcap” is available in monochrome, originally for models from 1965-73.
  • “For real. The monochrome one looks like a swastika when it’s spinning.” — Matt, [101:20]

MEMORABLE MOMENT

“There's no way you don't know what your logo looks like.” — Matt Farah imitating bong podcast reaction, [96:11]

5. Car Market Talk & Audience Q&A Highlights

[Various, starting c.54:58 and especially after 56:12]

• Dumbest Performance Models:
  Matt roasts "street trucks" and “badge-only” AMGs, while Zack jokes about "Nismo Ariya" and performance-badged crossovers.

• Cars They’d Daily If Reliability Was Guaranteed:

  • Zack: Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio
  • Matt: “The answer is Ferrari 355 and will probably always be Ferrari 355.” — [59:47]

• Manuals for Under $30k:
  Extensive rundown includes S2000, Mustang GT, Boss 302, M2, 370Z, 230i, and more.

• Porsche’s Expensive Air-cooled Builds:
  Cost explosions; why buying a sorted car can make more sense; relative value proposition vs. “cheap thrills.”

  • “Highly stressed, small displacement NA engine power is expensive. It’s just…this is why Ls’s are great.” — Zack, [43:55]

6. Bonus: Random Fun Bits

• Discussion of entry-level luxury workhorses (ES350, Genesis).
• General car-buying math: “dollars-per-mile” wisdom and depreciation.
• Safari vehicles and the new INEOS Grenadier, complete with quail rig geekery.
• Grumbling about early '90s airbag steering wheels and a PSA about Gen 1 airbags being more dangerous than helpful.
  • “You probably should deactivate your Gen1 airbags if you have a car that has them. And maybe even change the steering wheel.” — Matt, [50:18]
• Matt (colorblind) on logo contrast: “Nice, subtle swastika. No, like, I’m just saying, like, maybe…it’s way, way more subtle. The fact that like black and white, nice, subtle swastika.” [100:06]

NOTABLE QUOTES & MEMORABLE EXCHANGES

• On Porsche Active Ride:

  • “Active ride can do both at the same time. Which is…game over for a daily driver type of car…” — Matt Farah, [13:34]

• On the Air-cooled 911 Experience:

  • “I totally understand why people spend all the money on this…when it’s done well and the car is kind of restored.” — Zach, [35:11]

• On Cost of Building Air-cooled 911 Hot Rods:

  • “What you had was the greatest $150,000 driving experience possible…but it actually cost 300." — Matt Farah, [41:07]

• On the Spinning Porsche Crest:

  • “For real. The monochrome one looks like a swastika when it’s spinning.” — Matt Farah, [101:20]

• On Opportunity Cost:

  • “It didn’t cost you 200 grand, it actually cost you 12. But you had to park 200 grand.” — Matt Farah, [46:12]

TIMESTAMPS FOR IMPORTANT SEGMENTS

• NSX Auction / Vespa Chat.....................................[05:04-07:11]
• Taycan GTS Review (Active Ride, Value)...........[08:28-29:30]
• Hot-rodded Air-cooled 911 Experience.................[30:10-48:44]
• Cost of Porsche Hot Rod Builds..............................[38:41-41:07]
• Porsche Crest Swastika Experiment....................[51:05-55:00, 93:03-101:20]
• Q&A (Performance Cars, Daily Driver Dreams).......[57:05, 58:45, 85:46-87:27]
• Random Car Nerd Debates / Market Talk...............[71:26, 84:43, 86:22]

CONCLUSION

This episode is classic "Smoking Tire": sharp and irreverent, yet deeply nerdy about driving, ownership math, and the joy of old and new cars. Whether you want insight into the latest Taycan GTS, need to hear the religious experience of a sorted air-cooled 911, or just enjoy mythology-busting (and meme-worthy) Porsche logo science, this show is for you.

Patreon shoutouts, sponsor reads, and some extensive listener Q&A omitted for focus on main content.