Break In

Hi, I'm sure there's mulitple threads on this already, but I can't find any. I used the search. Typed in 'break in' and 'breaking in' but nothing comes up. I'm picking up my 2.7 tomorrow. Want to know whether to do the regualr dealer/porsche recommended break-in (take it easy) vs. the more controversial hard break-in What say you? And please show me where I missed all those threads.

There are about 10 million (too many to list and I just did a search and they are there) but I really think what is in your manual is the best advice. Download it from the files section and spend tonight reading it. No not reading it; understanding it... Promise that if you decide to not follow Porsches (they are the folks who built the car afterall) advice you will have thought out why you are not. There are some good reasons that have been suggested in all those threads. By the way if you just scroll down to the bottom of this page you will see several related topics already there for you.

I'm a believer of the "mixed" break-in. Basically drive it sensibly but don't worry about babying it. Drive it hard if you need to but don't thrash it straight out of the box. Redline it now and then, keep it at high speeds now and then, vary the revs now and then. Basically just drive the damn thing.....sensibly. Enjoy the new Cayman tomorrow, congrats!

This is what I get when I type in 'Break-In'

There are 111 posts at the bottom of this page. That will keep you busy for a bit. There are also multiple pages to look through from your search if you are willing to do the time.

Thanks for your patience guys. I will try and get better with the search function. Looks like I found all I need to know here: Break-In-Secrets I'm going to break it in hard, but not abuse it. And I promise my next thread definitely won't be a rehash of something already talked about. It will be pictures of my brand new Cayman. Less than 12 hours to go.

congrats and welcome to the club!

Speak to the mechanic, not the sales dude Corner the head mechanic (ask your sales guy to set this up), and question him on break in. He'll tell you the straight goods - don't stay at consistent revs, vary the revs, don't red-line, warm her up nicely before being aggressive. Leave the Duc at home for a month, and you'll be through the break in.... or enjoy your summer on the motorcycle, and don't stress about break in. Pick your poison.

Hawc....I read the link you posted and found a few interesting things. 1. He recommends you use petrolium based oil for the first 1500 miles (vs. synthetic). Since the Cayman comes with synthetic (mine did anyway) this means you have to change the oil before you even leave the parking lot at the dealership. Read closely...he actually recommends you do this right away and even says to change the synthetic back to petrolium based oil (no room for misunderstandings left in his statements). I could just see the look on the mechanics faces when you want to change the oil before taking delivery! 2. He states that the most cruicial window for break in is the first 20 miles....20! WOW. I oicked my car up at the dealership (I did not custom order it..it was already on the lot) and it had 60 miles on it. I guess I missed his window of opportunity. 3. He never really defines "warm up the engine" so I am going to assume just an idle for 15 mins? 4. He also talks about driving it hard in all gears except first. I assume that is intentional. But why ? Because of how fast the RPMs rev up? I would assume breaking in the engine would mean all gears...am I wrong? 5. Am I to assume that after 20 miles the break in is over and one can pretty much do as they please in terms of driving style...etc.? Thanks for the link....it was VERy interesting. Since I am at 800 miles I may just go change the oil!

Why is 'break-in' (or 'running-in' as it is known in the UK) such a confusing topic? 1. Use all the gears (to vary engine RPM). 2. Don't labour the engine (use the appropriate gear for the RPM). 3. Avoid going over 4,200 RPM for the first 2,000 miles. It's in the manual! Well, for the UK market it is...

Because there are so many conflicting reports on break-in from reliable sources. Owners have differant opinions on their break-ins as well with no substanial harm inflicted to their cars (or owning up to damage).

hawc - It's you car, and you can do whatever you like with it, but the advice given (which I've read and seen referenced many times before) in your "break-in secrets" link is a bunch of crap, imo. Did you notice that he's talking about motorcycle engines? First and foremost don't use a petroleum-based oil to break the motor in. The motors are designed to run on 0w-40w synthetic oil, and that's what should always be run in them. The way the lifters work - they "inflate" with oil through small passageways that are under pressure from the oil pump - is the reason you need to use the 0w-40w. I will reprint here the advice from one of the foremost authorities on Porsche motors these days - Joel Reiser - he owns a shop in upstate New York, and he's also one of PCA's top tech experts and has fielded cars in many different sports car racing series... Good luck with whatever you decide. brad --------------------------------- "Basically you want to stay off full throttle, and keep the revs below around 4500 rpm at first. You can increase the revs some, but stay off full power for at least the first 1000 miles. Then bombs away. Never over-rev the engine on a downshift by picking the wrong gear, that will kill the engine instantly. Hitting the rev limiter as the revs increase is not too bad, but the dealer can tell exactly how many times you do it, so, don't do it. They can use that as a reason to deny warranty coverage on almost anything engine related. It is also best when able to continually vary the rpms, and avoid constant rpms. This causes the best possible break-in for the cams and lifters. If you have freedom from traffic, pick a gear, say 3rd, and roll the rpms smoothly from 3000 to 5000, then 4000 to 6000, then go to 4th, do 2000 to 4000, etc. if you get tired of that, and have a long drive to do, at least keep moving the rpms around, don't sit at 3000 in top gear all day, move it up & down a few hundred rpm, change gears once in awhile, etc. If you are more disciplined than most of us, continue the break-in to around 1500 miles, then change the oil & filter, and use Mobil1 0-40." Joel Reiser

hawc, you may have found that site here at CC; it was posted a long time ago as private joke and not as serious topic. beez gives very good advice.

I didnt realize that link/thread was a joke. Is it really? I mean the guys website is pretty all out to be a joke....or are you saying that his advise is not worthy? At any rate, someone above mentioned that the site was talking about motorcycle engines and that is mostly true. But in that first page, he specfically says this applies to ALL 4-stroke engines...motorcycles, airplanes, cars, even lawn mowers. At any rate, I was responding to the fact that hawc was seemingly using it as a foundation for his drive it hard break in... If this was a joke..none of the above matters. I have tried hard to follow the break in rules. However at 900 miles I am afraid I have already hit the rev limiter in 1st three times.... Boy it is tough to stay off of the throttle in this thing. I cant wait to pass 2,000 so I can track it!

At the end of the day, Porsche build their own engines. Hence, they should know their engines best. They also write the owners manuals. I would do what Porsche themselves suggest and not what a guy with a motorbike suggests!

Fair enough. But Porsche themselves suggests two different ways of breaking in. One for North America one for the rest of the world.