I'm curious what you guys think. How do you evaluate Porsche's recommended service recommendations when given as miles vs. time? I'm sure they're given as very conservative suggestions (requirements?), but some of them don't make much sense. Some I understand- like bleeding the braking system- even if you've only driven a few thousand miles, the brake fluid will absorb moisture over time. But things like spark plugs and air filters? They're not going to degrade much at all over time if the car isn't driven. If I'm in LA my drive belt may be exposed to much worse air quality and ozone degradation in a given period of time as opposed to living in North Dakota, regardless of miles driven and "wear and tear".
I understand meeting the requirements may be important when it comes to resale value or warranty work, but how do you look at it for your car: by-the-book, or evaluated depending upon the situation?
Not... driven...? I'm not sure I understand your question! :hilarious:
New brake fluid and pads every couple track weekends will always keep your brakes nice & fresh, too!
Porsche's maintenance recommendations for plugs is pretty conservative (the old plugs always still look brand new!), but I keep up with Porsche's recommended maintenance anyway so that I have that documentation for resale. $40 and an evening's labor for plugs every 40k miles (I think it's might be longer for your 07 than my 10) is not that big a deal. The belt PM is always "inspect". I've been basing oil change intervals on oil analysis and changing it a few k miles earlier than Porsche recommends, though; if you're concerned about it sitting too long, send off an oil sample to Blackstone Labs and ask them about it.
I follow the time recommendations because I don't want to risk an issue. Also my 12 CR sees a fair amount of track time. On the drive belt, the maintenance booklet says to replace at 60k mi or 6 years. I replaced mine at 5 years. Have seen belts fail at a DE, big mess.
PM is always cheaper than repairs, especially fluids. Easy and cheap to do, so, I do it often relative to schedule.
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I saw a "statement" (not sure if it is proven fact or not) that replacing plugs based on time was to minimize the risk of the existing plugs seizing into the block. If that is the case, I assume pulling out the old ones and putting them back in would do the trick. The service manual shows different torque settings for replacing old plugs vs. new plugs.
I've heard that excuse many times regarding plug changing. Seems pretty weak to me. I had mine changed at the 4 year mark because Porsche said too. The old plugs came out with no trouble what so ever and looked damn near good as new. They had about 20,000 miles on them. I did NOT have them changed at 8 years, even with 40,000 miles because I just don't think it's necessary. All the other cars I've owned in the past 15-20 years recommended 100,000 mile plug changes. I'll consider it for the
Cayman
at 60,000 miles regardless of how long it takes me to get there but not before.:cheers:
My dealer, Porsche of Scottsdale in AZ does their services based on milage with some exceptions. i.e. they did not change my plugs at 4 years and 5k miles. (I know very few miles for a guy who supposedly loves cars!) However they did do the brake fluid which as everyone here knows absorbs water. Anyway this is the camp that I am in. "Stick to milage unless an item clearly degrades with time."
Having said that, does anyone have some "knowledge" relative to coolant replacement and time? Thanks!
The service manual calls coolant a "lifetime" liquid. Lifetime = life of your water pump.
I divide it out with this rule of thumb:
Soft things (fluids, rubber, belts, etc) - replace by time.
Hard things (sparkplugs, brakes, etc) - replace by mileage.
Having said that, I replaced my plugs last year because, like Budman, I was concerned about them getting frozen in the head. They may very well have been the originals, and the car had about 58,000 miles. Also like Budman, mine came out easily and looked fine. Coils were also fine and not cracked at all. I think our mild SoCal climate has a lot to do with that.
Good rule of thumb....
A couple of items can be hard or soft depending on usage. Tires normally would be replaced by mileage, but should be replaced after time if not driven (I wouldn't drive a performance car of any stripe aggressively on tires more than 5 or 6 years old). On a car driven a bunch of miles (15k a year or more for any Porsche sports car), especially in an extreme climate (hot or cold) where the car isn't regularly housed in a temperature-controlled garage, I'd do the serpentine belt every 30k miles. They're cheap and relatively easy to replace.
