<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I ordered a Cayman but have never owned a Porsche. I would like to get some feedback on the normal maintenance cycles for the engine. The recommended oil and air filter changes are 20K miles under normal driving conditions – what’s normal for a Porsche? These intervals seam too extreme. What do some of you boxer owners practice as far as oil changes? Also would like hear about what normal oil consumption should be. The manual suggest shorter oil changes in a hot humid environments. I live in Houston, Texas – not much options but humidity.[/quote]</div>
I spoke to some of the PCNA training staff about the length of time between oil changes. Their response was that 20k miles is what the engineers had recommended & that was the schedule that was followed during road tests - with absolutely 'no visbile wear on pistons & rings ' when the engine was torn down for evaluation. You can change the oil more frequently if you desire, but why increase your maintenance cost if you don't really need to,
Of course you must check your oil level frequently, oil consumption is normal - what is average? Depends on how you drive, where you drive & milage
Enjoy your Cayman & congratulations on owning your first Porsche.
Welcome to the club. Youve asked some good questions & Im sure some of our long time Porsche owners will give some interesting replies. When do you expect your Cayman?
It is coming in March. I ordered it just before Christmas.
One of the service techs at the dealership suggest 10K but said it was my option. I will probably follow that advice. I usually cut in half the manufactures recommendation but as I said I have never owned a Porsche. Also I dont understand how the air cleaners can last that long. I hope that is something that can be changed through the top engine hatch.
Probably the main factor in these long oil change intervals is the introduction of the synthetic oils now used in the cars. This has been a long standing subject of debate on the PCA tech Q&A forums too. When the new generation of engines came out in the late 90's the change intervals whent from 10k to 15k miles, and now they're up to 20k. In the older Porsches I've owned, I've been changing oil at 7.5k miles, depending again on usage... if you use the car for autocrossing or on the track, you should probably shorten your intervals some, in the older cars people who did were recommending 5k miles.
In the newer cars, with the Mobil1 0-40, most people who know say 10k or at least once a year depending on the usage is probably a good, safe interval. Since I both autocross and put my 2002 turbo on the track occasionally, I get the oil changed about every 6 months regardless of milage, and have it also changed when I bring it it for the usual service intervals. I also flush and bleed the brakes every year instead of the recommended every two years.
I also recommend that if you'd like to learn a lot more about the mechanicals of your upcoming car, that you join PCA (
www.pca.org
) and take advantage of the tech information on their site... I thik you can read the tech section without being a member, but you have to be a member to ask a question. It's a huge amount in tech info that's organized by model type and subjet (like engine, suspension, etc.). The folks that answer the questions are some of the best Porsche mechanics in the country. In particular, check out the boxster sections obviously, but many of the same things apply to the later model 911s, too. They also have a great search function that you can search for 'oil change' and get three or four years' worth of Qs&As on the subject.
brad
As someone who has changed his oil about every 4K on other cars - but not in a Porsche, I'm not sure what I will do either.
The use of synthetic oil is a true difference and it will not break down nearly as fast as regular oil. Even as it does breakdown it retains more than enough lubricating properties to properly work in the engine.
The other main difference is the much larger size of the air filter than compared to other cars. This also should cause the it to last much longer before the airflow begins to be compromised or restricted.
To some extent it may depend on the amount or air pollution or dust and particulates in your part of the world.
Actually beez just said it much better - I didn't see his post till after I had posted mine.
