I am not a fan of doo-wop, but after a number of mageritas, it came to mind! Although it is a good problem, I despise the break in proceduce, especially in this S. All shifts are to be before 4,200, which is just when the power band kicks in! The car beggs for more, but I upshift! I have 500 on the clock since Friday and hope to break the 2k soon and really run this percison automobile! Even under 4,200, she is a true joy to drive, the most well balanced, all rounded vehicle, I have ever driven in my life and i have driven many a car in my 39 1/2 years. Cheers to Porsche, what a feat of engineering and true driving pleasure!

P.S. who is incharge of the smileys? We need many more to choose from to fully express ourselves!

 

There are a number of threads on here about break-in, but my advice is you can begin opening it up the power band after 500. The engines are pre broken in at the factory on a dyno. The manual suggests 2000 miles to ensure all the other parts are working in harmony together and to keep the novice driver from doing something really dumb out of the gate. Just always make sure the engine is up to temperature before you do. I have 1200 miles on mine and though it hasn't seen redline yet it's come damn close and it's a blast!

 

My recommendation is to break it in "by the book". I finally reached 2000 miles and now I am rev'ing it up!. Bye the way , the oil level is down only one bar at 2000 miles.
Probably not necessary, but I will change the oil&filter before putting it away for the winter.

 

I feel your pain as I am right there with you. I'm at about 900 miles on my C2S and haven't gone above 4200. I have mostly been shifting at around 3,000rpm for the first 1,000 miles with the occssional jaunt up to 4200.

At 2K miles I'll start to gradually increase rpm's by about 500-1000 every few hundred miles for the next 1500 miles or so.

I broke my 2005 Boxster S in this way and after 4 years and 32,000 miles never had any problems or oil usage to speak of.

Break it in by the book. Certainly no harm in doing so unless you buy in to the WOT break-in method which I don't.

I also agree that an oil and filter change at about 3,000 miles is a good idea to get rid of any metal particulates that may have sheared off during the initial break-in.

 

It's a right of passage. The engineers did such a fantastic job that it makes sense in a zen like way to sacrifice putting your foot in it for a while.

I have 750 miles and haven't gone over 5000 yet. I didn't go over 4000 until 500 miles. I'll probably go to redline after 1200 miles.

Don't forget to let the oil warm up. Don't drive any extended length on the highway at a constant rpm and when you do go higher with the rpms, do it in steps like 500 additional revs a week.

These cars are sensational. Enjoy.

David

 

Thanks guys, if most people heard what we are complaining about, we would have out throats slit!
I am already guilty of breaking the 4,200rpm a couple times, but typically shift @ 4k. Looking forward to the 2k mark, which I will break real soon. Even though this is a 4th car and one of 2 toys, I have beem driving it back between my residence and vacation home and intend to do so for a while. the round trip between the 2 is 220miles. I cant be without her!

 

Guys, you've got to run her in. Period.

The piston, pin and connecting rod have to bed themselves in: remove sharp edges, form gentle radii at each of the mating edges and form running surfaces. The components from an abused engine look obvious.

Piston rings and cylinder bores also need to conform to each other.

Trust me, I do this for a living.

 

BillyBob - this is true for new engines but not necessarily new cars. The Porsche factory breaks in the engine on a dyno and already properly seats the rings etc. I was told they run the engines at WOT for 5 straight minutes. May be exagerated but the engine is 'broken-in' by the time the customer gets it. Perhaps someone on here that has toured the factory can chime in on their process. The 'break-in' period by the manual is to make sure transmission/clutch, suspension etc. are given a chance to properly function without abuse and also to limit the driver from serious injury should a problem arise (ie. they don't want you to immediately track it and kill yourself).

 

I broke car 09 C4S in hard and she feels stronger each day.

 

ntlgnt1- what I wrote applies to new cars & engines. Every OEM does a WOT end of line test to check torque to turn, air intake flow rates, pressures and exhaust flow rates. This ensures that any issues/problems are caught at the factory, not by the customer.

An engine is far from run in after a 5 minute WOT run

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that a 5 minute WOT run was all they do to break in the engine. I don't know the specifics of their process which is why I was hoping someone on this forum could comment on it.

 

not a single factory in the world would run all new engines for a week non-stop to break it in.

 

I'm of the, perhaps misinformed, opinion that the old "they break 'em in at the factory" rumor was started by salesman like the guy I deal with locally who has told me not to worry about the fact that he just bounced the engine off its rev limiter before warming up the engine *at all* on a new car with less than 30 miles on it.

Yes, that actually happened less than 45 seconds in to a test ride/drive one time, but he is notorious for high rev's on new cars that have been parked overnight and not had the opportunity to get the oil temp gauge needle to move beyond dead cold let alone had any real break-in miles accumulated.

Ever since that happened I have always told the salesman I have dealt with for the past 5 years at my OPC that if he wants to have any hopes of selling me *this* car that he not take it above 3k rpm until the oil temp is up and not beyond 4K at any point in the test drive.

Even if I'm not planning on buying that particular car I don't want to participate in potentially shortening the engine's lifespan for the person who does end up buying that car.

Testing an engine for compression and/or oil leaks or infant mortality at the factory before installation in to the new vehicle is not the same thing as thoroughly and carefully running them in.

But I'm no expert......just going with my gut......not to mention the owner's manual.

 

You definitely don't have to worry about avoiding constant rpms on the trip out east.

I don't ever want to get out of the car either. Its a therapists couch on wheels. And cheaper in the long run.

Enjoy.
David

 

There are two theories how to properly break the engine in, both seems to have it merits. I'm no engineer and choose to do it "by the book", occasionally revving a little higher once past the 1200 mile mark, but never redlining
You just have an excuse to drive more to quickly reach the 2k on the odo