4200 max rpm for first 2,000 miles

If I remember correctly, for the first 2000 miles in drivng your Cayman S (or Cayman), you are not, per the manual, suppose to shift above 4200 rpm. Max torque for the Cayman S is reached at 4400 rpm (and remains there through 6000 rpm). Max torque for the Cayman is reached at 4600 rpm (and remains there through 6000 rpm). Why does Porsche limit max rpm to 4200 in the first 2,000 miles (break in period)? Does it have anything to do with not wanting the car to be at maximum torque? I really have no idea. I assume that the 4200 is not some arbitrary number determined by Porsche. Revving to go, Doobydarby

Your going to get a lot of discussion on whether or not to follow the manual but I believe 4200 is just below variocamland. I have also read they do not want heat buildup in the engine until it is broken in.

There was an excelent article about proper break-in for Porsches in a recent edition of Excellence. Interestingly enough the 2000 mile recomendation is only for the US, so that will invite a lot of speculation. Some say that the primary reason is to give US drivers prolonged experience at moderate speeds before they explore the CS at its limits. Bottom line is that the word I get from people in the US and Germany whom I have known for many years and IMO have a great knowledge about Porsches, is that it's important to keep it under 4400 RPM for the first 400 miles. After that it's safe to go to redline, after of course the car has been warmed up. I can't tell you how many times I've seen A-holes burn rubber right off the Dealer's lot during their test drive, and based on the engine sound, shift at or near redline. That's why I would highly recommend that anyone custom order their Porsches and not buy one off a Dealer's lot, unless it has super low miles on the odometer.

Heat buildup wouldn't be an issue if you revved to, let's say, 6000 rpm in second and then shifted, and you didn't sustain it. So I don't think this is the primary reason. My thoughts on this, if my rusty mind can recall from university, where we did computer simulations of crank/rod/piston loads at various angles of rotation, is that momentum related forces are the largest contributor to contact pressures in those regions, as opposed to gas pressure related forces (ie. combustion initiated). Therefore you can give large doses of throttle at lower rpms and keep contact (or at least hydrodynamic - two solids with a lubricating film in between) forces lower than lower throttle applications at higher revs (note that Porsche also warns against revving the motor at a standstill with what only take little throttle). They are still allowing for the bottom and top end to 'get used to each other'. Anybody out there to challenge my foggy memory is welcome!

But somehow the European Porsches don't need to have this recommendation. Hmmm.......... With Lokasil cylinder liners and hydraulic bearings on everything, I assure you, heat build up is not an issue. What ever you do, don't click this.....

Was just browsing some technical papers (SAE) and it was interesting. Going to do a little more reading but at a high level, what's good for rings may not be good for cylinders, etc. And contrary to my thoughts, the combustion process itself is a primary factor in the early days of the engine. Interesting comment, btw, about the Europeans not having the same break in routines. Hmmm is right.

I think the rev limit has to do with the piston speed in the cylinder itself. You don't want it too fast while the rings are trying to seal cuz you could glaze the surface. There are two main areas of thought on break-in. 1) Baby it. Get everything to seat well. Once seated, gas on! 2) Drive it like you stole it from day 1. There are always trade offs on any methodology. I would buy into (1) more if you went back thorugh the engine and re-torqued many of the bolts after a break in period. (main caps, cam journals, etc...) The benefit of #2 - You find out if you have a dud pretty quickly (and while under warranty!). But then again, you could glaze the metal surface and reduce your total cylinder pressures. HHhmmm... which gets me thinking. It would be cool to measure the cylinder pressure of the car right now (1400 miles on mine) and compare it to brand new and 5, 10, 20k miles. A simple compression test would give you an idea of the cylinder's effective seal. I would assume that the seal would improve after break-in. And then it is a very good indicator of engine health over the long haul. This would be very useful IMO. And wouldn't be too difficult. Well... if it wasn't a mid engine car!! I don't have the tools to drop the motor.

Hi all, new here, my Cayman S is on order, arrival in June some time, I asked the dealer (UK) and he said there was no run in period on the engine :dance: , I asked as I have a Honda S2000 which has a 600 mile run in period. I will double check again nearer the time but it appears that UK spec does not have this requirement I cannot wait till June :drivingskid:

You get the same car we get... But the wheel is on the "wrong" side. LOL Maybe it is a NA marketing scam. And I have been holding back for no reason!! Darn...

I don't subscribe to the 2k brake in, because break in has to do with heat cycles not miles. I believe they give the 2k mark so that the car has had plenty of heat cycles. Actually, when I inquired at the dealer about break-in. The service guy told me "give it about 500 miles, then drive it like you stole it!" I didn't quite do that, but did not strickly adhere to the 2k either.

And we all know that the dealer always has better advice than Porsche.. Right up there with the newspaper delivery guy.

Personally, I prefer advice from my pizza delivery guy!

Santa Fe Perhaps Porsche as a car manufacturer has liability issues and concerns for a new car. What makes no sense top me is that, per what I read in this forum, UK has no break in requirements, whereas the same car has somewhat stringent ones here in the US for 2,000 miles. How would Porsche explain that? I will probably adhere to the stated US policy, but I really wonder about it, based upon the above, and the statement, if true, that Porsche runs the engine hard in the factory. Doobydarby

There are a bunch of theories but only in the US can you get in the car and spend a day or two driving a few thousand miles on freeways across the country without changing the revs much. Which of course is a no-no. And don't forget that tires, brakes and rotors also need breaking in. Maybe Gator Bite will ask when he picks up his car from the factory. I'm sure you have read beez's advice at http://www.planet-9.com/showthread.php?p=59355&highlight=break#post59355 Seems pretty good.

I know this old German guy...who said.... hahaha Follow the manual

is that it's important to keep it under 4400 RPM for the first 400 miles. After that it's safe to go to redline, after of course the car has been warmed up. This is the way I'm breaking mine it. Actually I've got about 575 miles and am losing my patience and will power! I'm gradually reving higher and higher! I can't tell you how many times I've seen A-holes burn rubber right off the Dealer's lot during their test drive, and based on the engine sound, shift at or near redline. That's why I would highly recommend that anyone custom order their Porsches and not buy one off a Dealer's lot, unless it has super low miles on the odometer.[/QUOTE] When I test drove the cs and boxsters. I really tested them. I haven't revved my cs like I did the test cars, yet! And when I picked up my car it had like 16 miles.

When I test drove the cs and boxsters. I really tested them. I haven't revved my cs like I did the test cars, yet! And when I picked up my car it had like 16 miles.[/QUOTE] I concur, I really "tore" up the demo Cayman S when testing out the Cayman S before purchase. But kloser, I do not accept being labeled as A-Hole because that is exactly what the demo car is for. If you mean A-Holes who buy used (demo) cars then its ok, but still, if you bought a car with already more than 3,000 miles why not burn rubber from day one? Its already been broken in or simply broken.

Here is my stab at why there is a 2000 mile break-in for US cars only: In the US most of us are impatient (I'm not, but I'm an exception). So, what happens is that the impatient ones disregard the break-in rules, assuming they have read the manual. (But they may not have even received the manual). Anyway, they disregard the advisory and wreak havoc on the engine. The engines get replaced, while the old broken-in parts go back for refitting the serviceable components into the cars going to other countries which require no break-ins - LOL. ********** Since we only have a US copy of the manual on-line, it isn't easy to read others to see if the break-in advisory is or isn't there. Based on the low incidence of owners actually receiving or reading the manual, it is possible that the advisory is actually there in the other editions.

Partial Resisance I am one of those who seem to be a minority on this site. I picked out my CS from the dealer's stock as opposed to ordering one and waiting. I received conflicting "advice" at the dealership that ranged from the textbook "keep under 4200 RPM for 2K" to "you can't hurt these cars. Drive it the way you will be driving it from the very start". I came up with a modified program that enabled me to get on it somewhat. (maxing out around 5K to 5200 RPM ) and only when the car was warmed up, and not for sustained periods of time. I guess the temtation was just to great........