Break-In advice for a new C2 owner

I just traded in my M5 on a 40th edition 911....... This is my first Porsche and after 1 week and 380 miles, I'm terribly in love with the car. I don't want the love affair to fizzle out so I'm writing to ask if anyone has any break-in tips. I've been pampering the car so far, but I'm contemplating taking it out to the track this weekend. Anyone have any thoughts on: 1) Is there a break-in period for the car? If so, how long? 2) What special precautions should I take during break-in?

Awesome decision...Great car, I am sure you will keep the love for a long time! Not sure on break in, though I have heard thatt the 1st 1k miles should be easier than hard... Enjoy!

Well the manual says... 2,000 miles below 4,200 rpms. When I bought my Boxster S in 2000 it was 1,000 miles, even though the exact same car in Europe was a 1,000 kms. Go figure. Being a smart-***, I decided to have some fun around 700 miles. I've hit 5,000 rpms a few times lately as I am approaching 1,400 miles, but I will most likely not redline until the 2,000 miles are up. The computer stores things like how many times redline is hit, and with RMS, why mess with any voiding of the warranty. BTW, my Box S had 32k miles, some of them hard miles, but no RMS failure. Just keep the oil topped off and no hard cold starts and you should be fine. Welcome to the fraternity!

There are more than a few break-in threads if you do a search. The opinions seem to be all over and many think the manual's 2,000 mile break-in is excessive. I pretty much followed the 2,000 mile suggestion a few months ago though not religiously limited to 4,200rpm (but not to redline either).

The break-in period is sooo annoying! There are opinions to support any decision that you make. My car ticked over 2,000 miles as I drove into the track paddock for my first session. I'd wait for a few miles but not 2,000 before running it like you want to. Stay off the rev limiter and you should be fine.

For those of you who purchased your cars off of the dealer's lot, i.e. not a custom order, how many miles were on the odometer when you purchased the car? The reason I ask is that I've seen guys test drive new Porsches and it was apparent that 4200 rpms was exceeded. I have test driven several new Porsches, and in each case the salesman actually encouraged me to drive the car very hard. I wonder how many of the Porsche salesmen are aware of the brake-in recommendations. I also wonder if there is any correlation between cars that were abused when they had very few miles on the odometer and RMS leaks.

I bought a 40th back in May. I had the same concerns and asked my shop foreman at my dealer what to do. He said, "It's a Porsche, Drive the ------- car!" Although I have not hit redline yet I have driven the car pretty aggressively since about 750 miles and no issues. I have 2000 now and will push it even further but don't crank it up when starting out cold.

Vary RPMs and loads. Warm the motor thoroughly before putting any pressure on it. Don't baby it too much. Do your first oil and filter change no later than 1000 miles.

Yup, this is the worst part of new Porsche ownership!

That's much to early with Mobil 1- 0/30 break in oil (special blend). That's a dino oil procedure. The rings need time to seat (wear the block).

my car hit the track at 800 miles. i drove it hard since day one. never sustained redline, but did hit it very often. the car performs beautifully to this day. no oil consumption (unless it's driven at the tracks) and no leaks at all. so stop worrying just drive it.

Mooty, How many miles do you have on your car?

I just don't get it. Porsche designs the car, builds the car, tests the prototypes etc, follow their advice! why would they have break in rules if it wasn't good for the cqr? They certainly don't do it to annoy their customers. As a doctor, I constantly hear from somebody who thinks that because a friend of a relative of a cousin's girlfriend's father told them something that they know better than me how to treat an illness! I doubt if a salesman knows more about the engine than the people who built it

I agree, when in doubt, read the directions. When I had a Corvette I met a number of people that couldn't wait to drive the hell out of it and later couldn't understand why their car used so much oil.... I would follow the owners manual regardless of what you "hear".

Run the **** out of it and enjoy it. No breakin required. YMMV

Quoted From Original Post: Originally Posted by TLMTLM 08-12-2004 02:19 PM - "New 996 Targa. Not broken in yet. No oil leaks yet. Leaving So Cal today for Cambria, then Big Sur, Monterey, Sequoia, Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne, Mammoth, Rock Creek and then home to LA. Maybe 1000 miles all told. Stay tuned." --- Road trip turned out to be 1462 miles all told. Started trip with 653 miles on the car two weeks after dealer delivery, therefore 2115 total. (Now broken in ) * Min / Max altitudes: Sea Level + epsilon (California coast) / 10,140 Feet (Rock Creek Lake Mosquito Flats trail head). * Min / Max temperatures: 36F (Tuolumne + Rock Creek early AM) / 100F (Fresno, etc. late afternoons) * Min / Max speeds: 10 mph (posted, campgrounds etc.) / 70 MPH (posted, Highway 395, 14, 405, etc.). Heh, Heh, Heh... (Valentine 1 is nice.) * Road conditions: a great deal of time spent in 2nd and 3rd gear on twisty mountain roads, many of which had serious road hazards and rippled asphalt conditions. Hard to find the right gear and RPM going uphill around curves without lugging or exceeding 4200-5K RPM [trying to pay attention to Porsche break-in advice]. Got it into 6th once in a while. Also spent about 6-8 miles going to Hot Creek and Mono Lake South Tufa on washboard gravel roads (at about 3 MPH... ouch). Net results: * A total of 0.5 quarts of 0W-40 Mobile 1 consumed over the course of 2115 mile breakin, as measured by both the electronic gauge and the dipstick (versus the level when I took posession from the dealer). * Zero evidence of any RMS [rear main seal] problem so far.

Don't pay attention to any break in period. Each engine has been pushed harder than you will ever do before it is even put in the car. Drive it hard and enjoy. Alway make sure it is to full operating temp before driving hard regardless of miles on the engine and you'll get many years of enjoyment out of the car.

live nupe, this is my experience, i am not claiming to be expert at all. i have an 02C2 i babied. it used oil. i drove the **** out of my 02 boxster S, it had zero prob, don't use oil. my 02C4s and 04GT 3 were babied first 500 miles then it's wide open throttle whenever i liked, the C4s used some oil (1qt every 3000 miles or so) the GT3 uses no oil at all, well 1/4 quart every 6000 miles. my 04c2 was babied for 500 mile and then as mentioned earlier i drove it on thunderhill race track when it had exactly 800 miles. no prob to this day. 15000 total miles, including 3500 miles on track, these miles accumulated over 6 month. car is not used for commute.

Warm it up and drive it hard, just like everything else in life!

StevefromMV: curious, on what do you base this advice ?

Not sure what's to be gained by deliberately violating the break-in recommendations in the manual All it really takes is a little patience and actually using the car a bit (rather than letting it sit in the garage) and 2000 miles will pass pretty quickly. Just take some nice long road trips at normal speeds until you hit the 2k and then do whatever you want.

Vary rpms, bring it up to 6K decelerate, let the oil get up to the valve guides, they'll love you for it......... :-)

I waited til around 1200 miles before going to 5k rpms--I have a lil over 2100 miles and havent red line yet--added about 1/2 quart of oil--and im still in love--right around dusk the car looks drop dead beautiful outside.