Anyone Have Any Info?

I apologize as I know that the question may have been asked before, but I've some research and I'm still questioning the maintenance interval for my 08 CS. I bought the car w/ less than 5,000 miles on it in april of 2010, and now, at just about a year after purchase, I've put approximately 1500 miles on the car for a total that's still under 7K. The Service light came on about 3 weeks ago and I figured that it's because the car gives a notice for it's yearly maintenance/checkups, but on this site quite a few people are saying that it's maintenance shouldnt be done until about 20K miles. If that's the case, why does this notification pop up? I plan on going to the dealer to see what it's about, however, (A) should I let them know to do a "full check", just check the oil, or what? (B) How often do you take your P~Car to get maintenanced, oil changes, or whatever else? Supposedly these cars can go quite a while without oil changes, but if that's the case then I'm wondering why notifications like that one that I'm seeing pop-up at less than 8K miles. Should I expect to see this notification annually? Thanks alot guys, it's appreciated!!

Follow the schedule in your owner's manual. Generally everything is based on mileage or the calendar, whichever happens first.:cheers:

I'm following the 20K/2yr maintenance schedule recommended in my owner's manual (2006).

+1 to that. For an oil change on my 2011 it's one year or 10,000 miles . . . whichever comes first. (Some people do oil changes more often than that.) I also got a dashboard message on my 2007 when it was time for service. When you go to the dealership go armed with information. If you just walk in and ask them what to do you could get a complete rebuild. (Okay, maybe that was extreme but they will sell you every service that they can think of.)

Thank you very much guys...I'll be sure to have info at my side when I walk in. BTW, no one probably remembers but my 08 CS that I bought last year was my first manual car and I was completely clueless in terms of driving such an awesome car (although I DID have a motorcycle, so clutches weren't completely new to me I guess...). I just wanted to say thank you once more for all of the great guiding advice/info that this site provided for such a newborn to the P~World!! Driving with complete confidence is so much more relaxing than trying to avoid any stop signs on a hill hilarious:now it's funny, but back then I was terrified lol). The only thing that I'm still trying to get over is to stop being so paranoid over burning the clutch. On smooth launches from a red light or stop sign I gradually release the clutch while keeping my rpms below 1K with no problem, so I doubt that I'm wearing it out too much at all like that. However, when you need to really "take off" from a red light do you raise your rpms to a certain limit with a completely disengaged clutch before totally releasing/engaging it? If so, (a) what do you keep your rpms at, (b) how damaging would you guess that this actually is to the clutch and (c) do you "drop" the clutch or gradually release it? Thanks once more! :cheers:

LoL thanks for the info fellas!! Anyone out there care to drop a bit of info w/o picking at me for asking?

I'm almost 65. I've been driving a manual transmission since I was 16 and for the life of me I don't think I could tell anyone else how to do it. So I went to Google and typed in "technique for driving a manual transmission" and I got some good hits. Don't type in "technique for driving a straight drive" because you will get golf sites. Here is one site - How to Drive Smoothly with a Manual Transmission - wikiHow There are dozens more. Good luck!

As far as the manual transmission question I can't answer it because I have tiptronic but I can tell you there are tons if videos on YouTube. Just type in something like "how to drive a stick shift". Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I apologize as I suppose the question was presented improperly; I've had the manual for over a year now and I believe that I've got all of the basics down packed. Starting from a red light, driving up a hill, starting on a hill, upshifting, downshifting (can't do the heel-toe method, or, rather, I haven't tried it...I stick to rev~matching)...all of this comes natural to me now. The only thing that I had questions about was how to really "take off" from a stop. I can do a smooth, casual launch from a complete stop, but if you needed to really take off from a stop how would you get going in terms of control of the clutch/acceleration? Say you were at a stop sign before the entrance onto a highway and you saw an entrance into a lane that you knew you could easily make, but you couldn't casually enter into the highway lane in the same manner as you would if you were at a simple red light that turned green. How would you get that "quick pick-up and go" acceleration w/o damaging the car in terms of clutch control and RPMs??

There are several ways you can launch a manual car. Which way you choose depends upon the circumstances and well, how much wear/tear you are willing to subject the car/drivetrain too. One way is to take off like you normally do letting the clutch out with revs around 1K then once the clutch is fully engaged smashing the gas pedal to the floor. This is the way I use when I need to accelerate the car smartly. (I might add that my 02 Boxster's clutch is original and has over 241K miles on it.) Another way is to raise rpms and release the clutch rather slowly, slipping the clutch to avoid stalling/bogging the engine yet still moving the car off the line pdq. This technique is imho very hard on the clutch. There is considerably slippage and at high rpms. Yet another way is to raise rpms and drop the clutch. To get the car to launch cleanly without bogging or without excessive wheel spin (and possibly wheel hop) takes practice and as road/weather/tire conditions change the right amount of rpms is variable. This technique subjects the car/engine/drivetrain to considerable stress. One thing you have to consider if you're in your situation entering a busy road you have to be aware you may mishandle the launch, encounter some slick pavement, gravel, or other low traction conditions, and in the worst case scenario stall the the engine. Traffic laws vary but in some areas if your car is struck in this situation and your car is not fully in the lane you are held at fault. Also, you can't expect oncoming traffic to be able to violate the laws of physics to avoid hitting your car. It is up to you when pulling into traffic to do so in a way that does not require another driver in a vehicle to take evasive action to avoid hitting you. Sincerely, Rockster.

I had the same approach and have been driving manual most of my life but mainly VW and Audis. The CS clutch is definitely tighter so it is easier to stall, wheel hop, or jerk start if the timing of clutch engagement and RPMs are not in harmony. I found through practicing in a big parking lot that the sweet spot is around 1K rpm with out 1/4 travel clutch release. Afterwards I do not stomp on the gas but mainly quick push down as I fully release the clutch. When you get that harmony, the continuous pull is exhilarating without showing other cars around you that you are an obnoxious drag racer. I do this in normal mode and with Sport Chrono. With Sport Chrono, I feel more like a rocket though. What is more critical after you get started is shifting into 2nd and 3rd for that continuous pull. Between 3.5K to 5K depending on how much straightaway is available and traffic. Also build into your situational awareness of continually checking 360 whenever you are stopped and moving (naturally). LEOs can sneak up casually which can blemish an otherwise pleasant driving experience. Have fun and be safe.