718 'running in' period - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Guys Can't bring myself to read the documentation, but would like some advice if there is a run in period for the 718? Read somewhere to keep it under 4k for some set amount of mileage... but would like some general guidance (as opposed to a multipage argument on 'drive like you stole it' vs 'driving miss daisy'). Thanks!

Read the manual, read previous threads on car forums and make your own mind up.

mid-life-718 said: Can't bring myself to read the documentation, but would like some advice if there is a run in period for the 718? Don't want to read what Porsche say, but want advice from forum? lol

Is this a wind-up?

no seriously... is the recommendation to take it easy for a bit or not? last car I bought brand new I had to drive it lightly for 400 miles.

mid-life-718 said: no seriously... is the recommendation to take it easy for a bit or not? last car I bought brand new I had to drive it lightly for 400 miles. I dont suppose taking it easy will do it any harm will it....as opposed to redlining it from brand new. It might also depend whether you bought it outright are keeping it past warranty period, or if its a PCP/Leased dump and run or trade back in after 3 years... Either way, personally i would run it in for a 500 miles gently if it were mine. Andy

FourPotPorsche said: “Herr Koop, you do not understand (that I already knew). When we do our engine test, the metals inside the engine never reach the temperatures they would when driven on the street since the test session is fairly short". Ah, so best to give it more welly when the engine isn't up to operating temperature then? I'd previously thought it best to allow the engine, and oil, to heat up as a cold engine, and oil, promotes more wear. Discuss?...

mid-life-718 said: Guys Can't bring myself to read the documentation, but would like some advice if there is a run in period for the 718? Read somewhere to keep it under 4k for some set amount of mileage... but would like some general guidance (as opposed to a multipage argument on 'drive like you stole it' vs 'driving miss daisy'). Thanks! You've spent £50k on a new car and you can't be bothered to read the manual? Wind up.

Soov535 said: mid-life-718 said: Guys Can't bring myself to read the documentation, but would like some advice if there is a run in period for the 718? Read somewhere to keep it under 4k for some set amount of mileage... but would like some general guidance (as opposed to a multipage argument on 'drive like you stole it' vs 'driving miss daisy'). Thanks! You've spent £50k on a new car and you can't be bothered to read the manual? Wind up. could have read the whole manual by now

From memory when I got my new 981 Cayman, the recommendation was to not exceed 4k revs for the first 1250 miles (2000km) The general recommendation is to not exceed 4k revs until the oil temp is at least 80 degrees, which in a 2.7 doesn't get to down the road too fast and is probably the reason why I keep getting overtaken by cyclists and milk floats on the way home from work!!

My opc told me not to worry about it..........having said that I have gone easy on it and will do until I've done @ 500 miles. cannot do any harm. oh, and I haven't bothered to read the manual either - there's no need.

markst said: oh, and I haven't bothered to read the manual either - there's no need. I can't see that, cars are so complex today that you cannot possibly understand all the facilities and options your car has. Having spent a pretty vast sum on the car I'd want to be sure that I was getting the best value out of it. If the car in question was a Ford Pop or Caterham then I might think I wouldn't miss anything, but it's inconceivable now unless you've had a similar car before. To give an example, unless you've had a Cayster (or perhaps 911) before would you really know where the bits were to deal with a puncture? When I was buying my car a private seller only found out there were storage compartments behind the seats on a Caymen when he was cleaning it to sell it!

You do all realise the OP can't be bothered to read any of these posts.

mid-life-718 said: Guys Can't bring myself to read the documentation, but would like some advice if there is a run in period for the 718? Read somewhere to keep it under 4k for some set amount of mileage... but would like some general guidance (as opposed to a multipage argument on 'drive like you stole it' vs 'driving miss daisy'). Thanks! Not to put too fine a point on it but to pass over the only real authority on this running in business -- Porsche and what it offers in the owners manual -- and instead solicit the advice of "net-experts" is frankly crazy. As a "net-expert" but with the desire to help you maximize your enjoyment from your Porsche for as long as possible I'll try to keep this as short/brief as I can: Generally you treat the car with a modicum of empathy for the fact it is a complex assembly of parts that to deliver their best without risk of degradation or damage should be up to temperature. So no WOT blasts from cold. A new engine's biggest problem is friction. With friction comes heat. So for a while -- in the USA I think the "break in" period is 2K miles but here I would insert the advice to consult the owners manual -- avoid high RPMs for whatever break in miles are given. This does not necessarily mean you drive the car like "Miss Daisy" is in the passenger seat. Once the engine is up to temperature a bit of load -- as long as this does not involve lugging the engine -- is beneficial as this puts pressure on the rings and forces them against the cylinder walls to facilitate the break in process. (Essentially controlled wearing in.) The idea is to give the engine a blend/mix of different types of loads and RPMs so the wearing in occurs with no localized overheating or excessive wear. Another problem for a new engine is a new engine sheds metal. From every internal surface. The concern is say under high RPM high load conditions the pressure of the rings coupled with high temperature and some compromise in the oils' ability to protect due to contamination (which a new engine is also prone to do) will result in a large fragment of metal coming loose from the cylinder wall. This large fragment of metal can damage ("score") the cylinder wall or damage (even fracture) a ring. The RPM restriction also gives the cam lobes and lifter bucket faces to develop surface finishes that can resist any wear for hundreds of thousands of miles. And properly broken in these engines can last a long long time. I essentially followed the above with my new 2002 Boxster and here it is 14 years later (soon to be 15 years -- I bought the car in Jan 2002) and with over 306K miles the Boxster engine (in fact the entire car) still runs just fine, consumes a reasonable amount of oil, and still is a pleasure to drive. Lab and field tests have confirmed this break in process is real and continues for thousands of miles beyond the nominal break in period. But with a proper initial break the engine is safe from pretty much anything other than sheer stupidity the owner can throw at it. Last but not least unless forbidden by the owners manual I recommend an early oil/filter service. As I touched upon above the new engine sheds lots of metal. There is a filter but there is a concern that when the engine is started up cold and the oil pressure is high this filter may be bypassed and unfiltered and dirty oil is routed to the engine. This ain't good. Also, as I touched upon above a new engine's oil suffers from heavy levels of contamination. (An oil analysis of my Boxster's oil with just 4K miles found around 7% water in the oil. 7% is nearly a half a quart of water in an approx. 9 quart volume of oil. This water was from combustion contamination. BTW, this level of contamination caused me to adopt a 5K mile oil/filter service schedule which I think has helped the engine resist the ravages of time and miles.) An early oil/filter service removes this contaminated oil which helps ensure the break in process continues with no unhappy surprises arising from contaminated oil.

Yes Rockster very sensible advice. I spoke to the workshop manager at my local PC and he said if it were his vehicle he would do an annual oil change. I will follow this advice as my Cayman will be a weekend car doing approx 5K even though the first change is at 2 years or 20K per the service schedule. After spending £60K on the car why would you not spend a relatively small amount of money on an oil change after 12 months ?

mid-life-718 said: Guys Can't bring myself to read the documentation, but would like some advice if there is a run in period for the 718? Read somewhere to keep it under 4k for some set amount of mileage... but would like some general guidance (as opposed to a multipage argument on 'drive like you stole it' vs 'driving miss daisy'). Thanks! Bought a 50 grand mota. Can't spend half an hour reading the manual...... f k me!

Manuals are too long (see what I did here?). The'yre meant for reference not for reading cover to cover. For the majority the 718 is unlikely to be their first car so a handover from the salesperson should suffice. I asked the OPC if I should have an early oil change. Was told that it wasn't necessary and only owners of higher stressed cars do it occasionally. I'm going to ignore this and have an early oil and filter change because it can't do any harm and makes me feel better.

I might give some insight although no 718 experience directly. I had a break-in period on both of my cars last year, one is brand-new turbo (VW TSI 2.0 Turbo) and other one is rebuilt 986 2.7 NASP engine. Been told for both engines, a bit different instructions for break-in periods but the general common sense for both of them was "keep under 4000 rpm as much as possible, in the first 2000 miles) and try to avoid frequent but short trips anything less than 10 miles ideally. For VW, firstly, I have been told turbo engines benefit from higher cylinder pressures to seat the piston rings, so first few hundred miles variable RPMS but not much abuse. Mixed journeys necessary, both motorway and urban. After break-in period, then run the car on really high revs if possible to avoid carbon buildup! For 986 2.7 engine, I have been told strictly keep rpms below 4000, first 2000 miles again, and really monitor the oil consumption. This came from my engine specialist who has built several m96 engines and race/cars before. After the first oil changes and 2000 miles, run the car with varying RPMS, enjoy it but again try to avoid frequent short trips. For both cars, I had to change the oil/filter in the first 5000 miles to see how its performing. Interesting part, VW TSI engine consumed a bit more oil than porsche in the break-in period but currently both cars settled, oil consumption is extremely low. I agree with ownership period though, if you are not gonna keep the car more than three years and if its under-warranty, all these might be a bit too much.

BE57JAM said: OP. I’ll read the manual and give you the highlights as soon as I can. I would imagine that the OP's car is already run in by now. Doubtful that he waited more than a year for you to volunteer reading the manual for him.

Bit frustrating no one replied with - “I’ve got a 718. I’ve read the manual. The answer you’re looking for is...” OP. I’ll read the manual and give you the highlights as soon as I can. Truth be told it’s a bit of a shame there was no serious and genuine summary of facts in this thread Edited by BE57JAM on Monday 19th March 22:21

Haha. I should have started by reading the dates. My dealership didn’t mention any break in period at all but then I didn’t ask. Obviously I want to protect my car but haven’t yet had the chance to get the facts. I was hoping for a helpful, fact based summary. I appreciate this is long overdue. All the same the above could have been more helpful.

Just read the manual. You will find no other facts. For everyone that says take it easy, someone will tell you if a reason to nail it from the off.

I will and I appreciate the response. That being said I’m surprised not one person has been able to give a quote based synopsis of what the manual says.

If it's anything like the 981 manual, it'll say limit revs for 1800 miles. In the US manual, they say limit revs to 4k I believe.

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I have found this very useful. http://www.porscheownersmanuals.com/2017-718-cayma... I believe this to be the US manual. My UK paper manual suggests 1800 miles run in. The link above can be used to access all areas of the owners manual.

Thanks you three. Much appreciated!

OO02ERO said: I have found this very useful. http://www.porscheownersmanuals.com/2017-718-cayma... I believe this to be the US manual. My UK paper manual suggests 1800 miles run in. The link above can be used to access all areas of the owners manual. Cars are being delivered without the paper manuals at the moment. Keeping mine under 4k revs per spec but it’s interesting that there is a considerable difference in redline between the NA cars and the turbo cars.

Just as important is that the first 2000 miles allows the new owner to find out how the car handles without being over stressed.

J Chitty said: Cars are being delivered without the paper manuals at the moment. Keeping mine under 4k revs per spec but it’s interesting that there is a considerable difference in redline between the NA cars and the turbo cars. All the information in the paper manual can be found in the Good To Know app The information about running in is buried within the “Same Driving Pleasure, More Safety” section. There nothing in the index for running in either

Let it idle for 27 seconds then “send it”

Some interesting reading regarding how Porsche engines are tested at the factory, and why you should run your engine in. If the OP can be bothered to read it of course. Of course by now the OP has sold the car and it's someone else's problem! https://yel.pca.org/porsche-engine-break-in/

J Chitty said: Cars are being delivered without the paper manuals at the moment. Keeping mine under 4k revs per spec but it’s interesting that there is a considerable difference in redline between the NA cars and the turbo cars. My latest came with a paper manual last week; running-in instructions are to the best of memory exactly the same as the one I bought in 2017. There weren't any NA cars back then! I'll do the same as last time and restrain myself to 4k revs for the first 500 miles, and will avoid steady motorway speed, high boost pressure, or lugging at low revs. Will start progressively increasing engine speed after that, 6k limit at 1000 miles at a wild guess. Probably won't last the full 1865 miles, or whatever it is, before it sees some genuine load and higher engine speed, but wouldn't dream of making the engine work really hard, or use high engine speeds in the first 1000 miles. The turbo cars are pretty driveable with a 4k rpm top end from this week's experience. My 981 GT4 is probably in hibernation (avoiding salty roads) for a little while now, but I bet I could enjoy commuting without exceeding 4k in that too. I'll enjoy hanging a few revs on it quite a bit more though... Liam

Mad Scientist said: Let it idle for 27 seconds then “send it” This 🤪

From my OPC We have boats arriving today and tomorrow, so I am sure we will be ready. There have been issues with the Vodafone Tracker but a software update is now available to sort out the connection problems. It is fitted to the car, your insurance company may insist on the Tracker being activated. Just let me know. Running in is circa 1,000 miles. Normal driving without a launch control would be best.

I find running in instruction very unhelpful ... as-if anybody will keep under 4000rpm for 2000Km and then rag it from there. Hence I have once the oil is warmed up, eased the engine from the suggested starting point of 4000rpm with gentle forays into higher rev ranges proportional to using full revs at the end of the running-in period. The same with throttle openings ... but once run-in I then did a gentle track day ... followed by a filter and oil change including transmission oils. At nearly 30,000 miles with a lot of track days, I probably add around 300ml between 3000 to 4000 mile oil and filter changes ... just to keep the oil at the 3/4 mark. It is very easy to over-fill the cars with electronic oil level indicators, so I add 150ml at a time, and the most I have ever added between oil changes is 450ml. This enables me to learn the car and feel the running-in progress that is being made. It also respects the fact that the engine is built to work ... and full power from a properly run-in engine is normal use. It needs this progression of work to properly run it in ! My 2p ... it has worked for me ... so far !