Any suggestions for breaking in a new TT. The owners manual says not to exceed 4200 rpms for the first 2000 miles. Isn't that a bit much? I have about 500 miles so far ... being good ... but the temptation is begining to overpower me.

How did you guys break your cars in?

 

i did about 1K miles...2K is a lot especailly since someone might have alreayd taken you car out on the Autobahnd up to max speed as a quality check...they also dyno test each engine anyway so it has been in a way already 'floored'
Congrats, enjoy the TT and welcome to the club....

 

This may sound crazy, but, I have always followed break-in and have been rewarded with a stronger car after. Break-in is best on long trips, highway driving that is easier on the new engine. When breaking in my car, I go on highway trips, keep my speed at 65mph and shift gears between 4th, 5th, and 6th every 10 minutes. You can also keep the car in the same gear and increase and decrease speed every 10 minutes in the same gear. My old C2 was quite a bit quicker than all the other 2002+ C2's I have ever driven. Everyone who drove my car felt the same. Any car that I properly break-in always feels quicker to me than like cars not broken-in properly. Also, Porsche does in fact run your car hard before releasing it, however, that is one 10-15 mile run, repeated deviation from the break-in can't be good, or Porsche wouldn't recommend break-in. Most manufacturers of high performance cars recommend a break-in, BMW says 1200 miles on M cars. I dunno, just my opinion, but, I would stick to the break-in interval for at least 1200-1500 miles. I personally would do the entire 2000 miles, but, I know how that temptation goes. Good luck!

Lou

 

there was a link i remeber reading that said break it in HARD!!! e.g on a dyno or somehting....

 

I followed the break-in for the first 1000mi. Then I modified it by keeping below 5200rpms for the last 1000mi. I have been rewarded with a much lower than average oil usage (about 1q every 4-5000 miles). I have heard others with lower oil usage after a reasonable break-in period.

 

I plan the be good at least until 1000 miles but I can't send this sucker to EVO until it's broken in ... can I?

 

I waited until I had 4K on it before I chipped it just so I could get an idea of how reliable it was going to be before I changed anything. If the car requires alot of warranty work you may want to wait to mod it. This depends on the philosophy of your dealer of course.

 

I would wait until at least 2500 miles before modding, just to be sure. Let the car get good and broken in before doing anything.
Stephen from IA told me as such, since I asked about modding my 04 when it comes in.
Lou

 

I followed Porsche's recommendation. What do you have to loose?

 

There was a fairly extensive article on this subject in Excellence a couple issues back, in the technical section. It explained what gets broken in during the mfg.'s run, and what else gets broken in during the longer owner break in that Porsche recommends. Without going into details, different parts break in (seat themselves) at different rates, and this all takes engine run-time and patience. The rewards should be a better-running, longer lasting engine. I went to 4,000 miles, gradually increasing rpm's from 3,000 to 4,0000 and varying engine speed while cruising mostly during the first 2,000 miles and less so during the next 3,000 miles. Between 3,000 and 4,000 I tried not to exceed 5,500 - 6,000 rpm's, probably staying a little more conservative than really necessary.