I currently have 1,300 miles on my 2014 Carrera 991 and have not exceeded 4,200 rpm in any gear. The owner's manual states to follow this procedure until you reach 2,000 miles. Has every one adhered to this break-in period or not. I am chomping at the bit to let it rip. Is 1,300 miles close enough especially if I don't get near redline?

 

This is just one of those common sense areas..

The thing to understand is that nothing magical happens between 1999 and 2000 miles. Most of the main breaking in occurs in the first few hundred miles. After that the impact is much less. Also note that if you drove it like you stole it from mile 0, it isn't like the engine is going to fail. It just means that the engine will have a slightly shorter life. So like all things, especially maintenance you are doing it for the guy who owns your car at 100K miles.. If that is you it makes sense.. If you keep your cars for only a couple of years or lease the return on your effort is essentially wasted.

So if I'm leasing, don't worry about it.. If I'm going to keep the car for years (which I do) then I'm a bit more careful with the breakin..

Most of the breakin is occuring in the first 500 miles or so.. so during that period I personally avoid WOTs or launch control. Definitely keep the throttle below 4500 RPM. Basically just take it easy on the car.

Between 500 and 2000 you can be progressively more aggressive. By the time you are at 2000 drive it how you want to. But that doesn't mean you can't try Launch control once or twice once you get to 1000 miles.. It is a matter of degree and common sense. But even if you started going WOT at 100 miles.. it isn't like the engine is going to fail. You are just introducing a little more wear that would not have occurred..

That said I did follow the break-in and kept below 4500 for the first 2000 miles. I just didn't worry so much about it once I got to 1000 miles and I was much less concerned when I did hit 4500 RPM.

 

I largely agree with Scatkins, although I would hold off on the launch control launches because I think they're a bit tough on the drivetrain. You're not just breaking in the engine but also the transmission, the brakes, etc.

Where you are now, I'd agree, most of the critical time has passed. Start running the RPMs up, maybe up to 4200 (partial throttle) this weekend, 4300 next week, 4500 next month, etc. For those of us with proper manual transmissions, don't speed shift and/or dump the clutch.

Me personally, I'm more concerned with making sure that the oil temperature is over 200 degrees Fahrenheit before I go anywhere over 4K. Heck, I don't exceed 3K until I've got some heat in the oil. Once that oil is fully warmed up, the tires are warm, the tranny is warm, the brakes have some heat in them, then you can start to exercise the car a bit. You'll do a lot more damage to the engine running it up to 4500 RPM when it's cold than you will running it to 6500 when it's warm.

 

I don't plan to keep my car beyond its 27 month lease period even though PCNA has issued an extra year on the normal warranty as my car was a "demo". It had 89 miles on it when I took delivery. I did not follow the recommended break-in procedure simply because I know the first 50 or so miles were probably driven hard due to test drives. When I test drove it, I hit the rev limiter. I assume others did as well. Having said that, I probably would not follow the break in strictly in any case as keeping cars a long period of time is not in my DNA.

 

Personally I always follow manufacturer break-in procedures since they know best.

I agree it may accelerate when wear would occur, and might make for more powerful engine at 1000 miles than say, 1900 miles, but why do that when at 2100 miles the result is the same?

 

Drive it like to stole it!

 

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments. With only 600 miles left to reaching 2,000 I think I will continue to follow the recommended break-in period and then let it rip.

 

Thats the great thing on forums is you will get a broad spectrum of thoughts which I am not saying any are good or worse than the other, manufactures are pretty good at recommendations as they built it and have nothing to gain by their recommendation except a good running car. if you look around, I do not believe you will find and situations posted of problems due to improper break ins and the cars having problems. Ie: engine stumble etc happen no matter what the break in was. Enjoy your car and drive it.

 

Yeah there is no question it makes sense to stay close to the manufacture recommendations... But there is always a common sense element to everything be it your doctor or mechanic.. Recommendations are generally simplistic things that are intended to be easy to communicate and understand by everyone.. ( much more than giving a "if this.. than that.. except if..." Which is really usually the case).. So instead hey give generalizations that are broad enough to cover 99% of the situations..

But I think anyone who is involved with developing products will also tell you that a lot of things are arbitrary.. But you still have to give your customer an answer when they ask, because "doesn't really matter" isn't always acceptable.. Thus you create simple recommendations and guidelines which are conservative.. Another example is the 10000 mile oil change..

Certainly doesn't hurt to follow the letter of the recommendations, but with all things in life (medical, technical, legal) there is a spirit or intent.. The more you understand a subject.. It tends to arm you with a better understanding of where you can be a little less literal and what really matters since few things are really black and white..

As you mentioned it is unlikely any of the nuisance type failures you might see with a Porsche (or any engine) are due to a minor variation between driving as you would normally after break in a little early.. And any catastrophic failure is really about faulty parts or design...

That said a porsche engine is indeed a high performance and mechanically complicated animal, so a longer 2000 period isn't unreasonable to follow..

But then again if you are leasing and keeping the car for less than 20k miles do you really want to loose 10% of driving it like it was built?

 

I did it. It's just me.


The car seemed to pick up speed after 2000 miles.

 

Interesting article in the current issue of Excellence magazine about the mechanics of DFI engines which has some insights into break-in procedure as well -- check it out.

 

Thanks. I will definitely do that.

 

I followed the recommended breakin procedure pretty closely. I don't know which way is right or wrong so I went with what the owners manual said. Having said that, I recall reading in different threads that people that picked their cars up at the factory were told there is no breakin period. Instead they were just told to vary the revs, and were encouraged to hit the autobahn as soon as they liked. I find it odd that US customers are told to follow a breakin procedure but those in Europe are not. I always wondered why....

 

My dealer told me to keep it below 4500 rpm for the 1st 700 miles then it was all yours. It is a Porsche, drive it like a Porsche.

 

Are the owners manuals different? Different fuel or oil?