Hi all,

Just received my 991S Cab and decided to go through the manual to look for the running in requirements. Not sure about the US manual but the Australian one is quite light on in its requirements:

Recommendations for the first 3000kms:
Preferable take longer trips
Avoid frequent cold starts with short distance driving whenever possible
Do not participate in Club Sport events, sports driving schools or similar events
Avoid high engine speeds, especially when the engine is cold.

Now how does this differ to what the rest have done and what is in the US owners manual? Am I paranoid in taking the car beyond the 4-4500 RPM mark? Mind you the first thing my wife did when she took it out was put it in sports mode and take control of the gear shifts The girls preferred her driving to mine....... They said I didn't make the car sound as good as mum did. Go figure.........

Thanks
Arthur

 

Still waiting for my delivery (April) so don't know for sure, but from what I can see in the forum it seems like it's 2000miles and don't go over 4000rpm.

 

There's been a lot of discussion in prior posts, but I don't remember reading that the Australian owner's manual is different than the US. I think the consensus was to vary the RPM (even while on long trips) and keep it below 4,000 RPM for the first 2,000 miles. And it's best to not take very short trips (< 1 mile). But you'll also find that many have said that they ignore it. In my case, I followed it and so far my oil consumption has been incredibly good compared to the 997's I've had which were pre-owned, but I'm not sure if that is related.

ChuckJ

 

+1

I strictly followed the running in recommendations. the car consumed about .7l of oil in the first 2000 miles. I changed the oil at 2000 and again at 5000 and 10000. The car has not consumed any oil since the initial running in period.

While many have commented that they ignored the breaking in advice, i did not as it came from Porsche and was not difficult to follow. While you may not appreciate it now, but 4000 rpm in any gear is still a lot of power.

 

I am still in the break in period. I am trying to keep it under 4000 rpm. I think even if you go over 4000 every now and again, it won't have any adverse affects. Drive it and enjoy it, just don't go crazy all the time -- just every once in a while -- until you reach 2000. And don't keep the rpm constant, keep it moving between ranges. I find the PDK moves the gears so fast that it doesn't give the engine a chance to reach 4000 unless you really punch it.

 

No short trips and varying the speed during highway travel have always been the rule of thumb for the break-in procedure (even from the old Muscle Car days).

Another very important rule is: NEVER lug the engine.

 

The Canadian/US manual indicates 4200 RPM max for first 3k km (2k miles).

John in Vancouver

 

When I picked up my car my salesman who used to be a Porsche mechanic said to drive it like normal. He said that its just a marketing gimmick to sell more cars. I asked him to look at the manual and he agreed that Porsche wants a break in period...recommended. Although the factory and the dealer revs it all the way up when testing before delivery. Since this my 5th one so I follow it basically and do rev up to about 6K once in a while but not much. I followed the manual on my last 2 and blew the engine at 2K and 12K respectfully on each. They replaced both engines and said that the black box showed that I drove the car hard but was not racing so that's why they replaced it without any fuss. Go figure!

 

1mirage: your above statement is confusing as it is contradictory. You followed the break in procedure and they found that you drove the car hard?

 

Sorry that was for the engine I blew at 12K miles.

 

Arthur,
The break in period stated in the manual is 2000 miles and they recommend to not exceed 4200rpm during that period. Should not be hard to do in Melb, given the draconian speeding (revenue raising) penalties.

 

I'm not going to say where I test drove it, but I took out a Panamera and the salesman had no issue with me trying out the Launch Control. I had a blast, but my passenger friend about dropped a load in the car. I too think it's more of a recommendation.

 

Thanks to all for responding and yes I agree this has beendone to death on the forum. What I am interested in as to why the US manual recommendsthe 4200RPM limit yet the Australian one doesn't? I am capable of staying underthat yet its not as much fun, especially the PSE What I also findinteresting is they dont recommend short trips yet the stop start feature kicksin? Wouldnt this be as much of an issue as a short trip, potentially more of anissue?


Is it that the US market is more inclined to litigate against issue therefore they use this as a prevention and not worry about the rest of the world? I followed these rules for my previous cars so I can resist but it will be a pain

 

Regarding the auto stop/start I believe it is automatically disabled until after the motor has reached normal operating temp, so should be ok with it during break in. Also by avoiding short trips they mean to avoid trips so short that the motor does not fully warm up.

Regarding the later, like you I am skeptical, but sadly I doubt we will ever get a detailed answer from Porsche.

 

How does a recommended break-in period sell more cars? Just curious.