Took my 2006 C4 Cab in for some minor servicing (of the K40 -- it's given me nothing but trouble -- for the new car: back to my V1 -- sure wish the internal system worked -- dealer tells me "they've improved the K40" -- don't know whether to believe or not -- item for a different topic). . .

Long story short: Saw a brand new 2012 Targa 4S on the lot, drove it, dealer offered me a great deal, especially on my pristine C4. Swapped cars (well, not quite a swap). Picked it up today after the window tinting etc. was done (had it for 24 hours after I first purchased, then gave it back for the prep).

I'm pretty much in heaven. Nicely optioned. PDK with sport chrono. First time ever without a real manual and I'm becoming a believer in the PDK.

So a frequently asked question but perhaps with a dealer twist to it: Dealer says, drive the heck out of it, no need to break it in, Porsches come from the factory ready to whip. Manual, on the other hand, says (among many "Break in hints") "Do not exceed maximum engine speed of 4,200 rpm" during the first 2,000 miles!!

I've always been a believer in careful break ins of new engines. I believe that's why my Audi S4 is over 12 years old, has over 100,000 miles, and has had no major engine or turbo problems (knock on lots of wood).

Any thoughts? Won't see them right away -- I'll be driving. Didn't know about the break in recommendations when I test drove the car -- who knew I'd actually wind up with it.

Here are some pics, if I can figure out how to do this:

 

Starting with my 63 Corvette I bought new I have never broke in a car I bought new. 4 Corvettes and now my second Porsche. Last Porsche a 99 Cab I bought new just traded in on a new 2012 997 S Cab. I did break in a 56 Corvette that I restored.
None of my cars have ever burned excessive oil or had any engine problems.
YMMV

 

I have had 2 new 911's - 1993 and 1997 - and I drove them both "like I stole them" from day 1. Mind you they were different critters, but I still have that mentality today, and I'm sure I would not, could not more like it, wait that long.

 

so what stands out about PDK? can you compare it to tip?

 

I personally would recommend breaking it in and staying under the recommended breakin for 98% of the time. Red-lining it once or twice should not hurt. They car and future buyers of your used car would thank you. Most cars are broken-in on the shelf, sp you do both need extended breaking in. Enjoy the car and do tell how the pdk feels.

 

I'm pleased to give my initial impressions of the PDK. Since I've not owned the Audi tiptronic, only driven it on loaners from the dealer, I can't compare it extensively to the tip. And my positive impression of the PDK has surprised me compared to how unimpressed I was by the tiptronic compared with the Audi manual.

First, the three shifting programs (normal, sport, and sport plus) are very different from one another. I haven't explored at all speeds and all demands, but simply put, normal is gentle and kind. Feels like an automatic with really fast but smooth shifts. If you don't floor it, it tends to keep the revs between 1000 and 2500 and shifts when the revs top 4000. Suspension is what you'd expect from a non-Porsche sport car. Floor it and it picks up sportiness very nicely but "gentlemanly."

Sport mode, which is what I've been driving in mostly (to keep the revs a bit lower during break in) notches up the suspension and revs. You can hear the engine nicely during a rapid acceleration. If you're just accelerating in traffic and not asking much of the throttle, it will kick up to the next gear at about 4500. The more you ask for, the more it revs it up. (By the way, suspension can be softened if needed on really rough rides). Sport will also downshift very nicely when to you need to accelerate or when slowing down.

Sport plus tries to take the car to red-line before shifting and tries to keep you in the higher torque revs. It will aggressively downshift and the shifts up and down become a bit more noticeable. The manual says the shifts get quicker in Sport and quickest in Sport plus. Seems true. The manual also says the suspension is modified to be even sportier in Sport plus -- could be. Launch control also comes with Sport plus; meaning, you can set up so when the car takes off from stopped, the tranny will wait until the revs hit 6500 before the electronic clutch is dropped. Won't try that 'til after break in (probably).

The push paddles built into the steering wheel are great. I know many like the paddles to be stationary with respect to steering column. These turn with the wheel (because they're part of it). Works well for me. You can upshift and downshift manually at any time and the tranny will go into manual mode for a half a minute or so after you do that and then goes back into automatic. Or you can move it into full manual and, with the PDK really acts like a manual, not at all like the mushy tiptronic experiences I've had in the past. I haven't driven much in full manual yet because I've been playing with the free satellite radio and the iPod integration, so I'm having trouble hearing the shift points except when revs get up where I'm not supposed to be during break in.

Hope this is of interest. I'd be interested in hearing the experiences of people who've raced with their PDK cars.

 

Congrats on the new car.

 

congrats!! don't forget to post pics when you get them!

 

Thanks. The pic by my name is the actually car at the dealer (before tinting etc.). Would snap some today but I went out on a nice drive most of the afternoon with roads towards the mountains muddy from recently melted snow. The car is remarkably dirty and the people that installed the clear bra said no washing for a week. Never had a black car before and it really shows the dirt! Looks like someone carefully airbrushed tiny drops of mud all over the car's beautiful butt.

 

Congratulations! Exciting to see another Targa in town!. I hope you love the great open veal of the Targa roof as much as I do!

Don

 

Through this board I learned the euro manual says exact same break in rules for same car, but stated in kilometers. So if you want to go 'by the book' you could easily drop the 2k miles down to ~1k miles / 2k km

 

This post is merely opinion .. not fact . The only examples I have to back up my view is having 8 Porsches that were purchased new. Like yourself I got the same incongruous advise where the saleman said "drive it hard " and the manual said "break in period" .

I feel that the "break in period" has some grain of truth to it yet it also benefits a car manufacturer to a 2K mile pampered driven car creating less warranty repair exposure and cost . It also stretches a timeline because some owners might only drive a car 2K miles in a year .

That said .. I don't feel that hammering the accelerator on a new car is going to help in any way . In fact .. an unsecure part or item driven cautiously might hint the need to repair it wheras if driven hard it might just flat out break.

so here's what I do --
I get a new car .. take the time to get accustomed it it .. take the time to allow the car to acclamate to my driving style .. and occasionally enjoy a little sprint . It somewhat covers the middle ground and thus far I have never had a problem with my new cars .

 

great car, I loved my 4S, enjoy, she looks really nice...

 

I think the manual's procedure is indeed a protection mechanism for Porsche and not the owner. Somewhere I have a link to somebody who has a specific break-in procedure for new engines/autos, taking into account metallurgy and such. This is supposed to be the proper way to break-in an engine with with a few specific heat-up and cool-down routine intervals.

It's got nothing to do with keeping the RPM's under 4000, btw.

There isn't anybody I've personally known that has drove their new car as already broken-in right away (in a reasonable fashion) that has had any ill effects.

here is a post by "1999Porsche911" that speaks of the technique I'm talking about:

 

I agree with yrralis1, this is the approach I've always taken.