My car is maintained for the last 4 years by an independent shop in Austin, specializing in Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc., basically all and only German cars. I had asked them to inspect the drive belt at the 40k and 70k oil change. The answer every time is it looks in perfect condition and no reason to change. The maintenance manual though says to change at 60k.... should I change it at the next oil change anyway, no matter if it looks still good? It's not a matter of not wanting to spend the extra money, but why do it if not necessary....

 

While it's easy to tell if a belt is bad, there's no reliable way to tell by visual examination that an old belt is good. You say money isn't an issue, so just have them change it and relax. Knowing is always better than guessing.

 

+ 1. Change it

 

Porsche always recommends changes to parts as if every car they sell is on the track all day. They use the exact same belts every other car manufacturer does that only recommends changing them at 100,000 miles, but with that being said, it's a $35 Continental belt, and an easy swap in less than an hour.

 

So which shop do you use? My car has the "intermediate service" alert - basically the 60k service, but I the car has 52k miles and it's not long since I had the 40k big service, so I'm not rushing to get it done. I've also been wondering about the belt.

 

My 2016 Spyder has 15K miles on it and I'm changing the serpentine belt this week. 60K miles or 6 years.

I'm also having the brake fluid changed (every 2 years).

My opinion is that the brake fluid every 2 years is overkill for a non-tracked car, but if it's the maintenance schedule, I'm following it. However, the serpentine belt is somewhat like tires to me in that I'd change out a six year old tire, regardless of mileage.

 

German Auto Center at Research Blvd. Great service including loaner car (if available) and moderately priced, really happy with them. Talk to Chris, great service adviser.....

https://www.germanautocenter.com/

 

Is drive belt = serpentine belt/accessory belt? Never heard this expression

 

Yes

 

I changed the drive belt on a 8 year old, 30,000 mile cayman last month. belt looked brand new

To be honest, 12 yr, 60-80k miles seems more like an appropriate interval for a street driven car.

 

good to know, I was considering changing it but the car only has 29k miles.

 

I'm doing some heavy maintenance on my 2016 Boxster S. I've had it since new, now has 51,500 miles on it. It has spent about 35 days on track in addition to two long cross-country trips, one ~5,300 miles, the other ~2,800 miles. Never overheated, not even close, always logged data with Cobb for track days to verify.

My findings with the original drive belt is it looked and felt to be in excellent condition. Rubber is soft and compliant, zero cracks or signs of fraying on edges.

I'm replacing it with a brand new Porsche belt. I ordered a Continental belt from Pelican parts and was going to use it until I compared it to the old OEM Porsche belt. I bought a new Porsche belt and will keep the Continental as a spare. Continental may make the Porsche belt, don't know, but I can tell you the Continental belt Pelican sells for the 981 cars is not as high quality as the OEM belt. Feels very different when flexed and probed with a fingernail and inspected by eye and the difference does not impress me as the Continental being better quality.

So for me, my 981 car, I will use OEM Porsche belts and replace at ~75,000 miles unless I see something that moves me to act sooner during a routine belt inspection from under the car when I'm changing oil.

I would not be surprised if the OEM belt lasted 10 years and 120,000 miles with no problem, even with a few track days sprinkled in. Now, if your car experiences an overheat condition or if you live in Phoenix or the Saraha desert, different conditions may cause different results on longevity.

To each their own, YMMV.

 

I also used a Porsche belt when I replaced mine. I figured that I would not take a chance on a saving $20 on a cheaper belt and the Porsche belt gives me peace of mind on upcoming road trips. The belt is not easy to change especially if your on the road.
Jim

 

Agree that 2 year old brake fluid for street use may be OK, however today very easy to check moisture percentage with tester from Amazon. Thought I had changed the brake fluid on my 2016 MB GLC 300 but tester showed 4%, past needing to be changed. The local PCA Potomac requires racing brake fluid change every six months regardless of moisture test. Suspect the Underwriters for their track insurance. I've change two serpentine belts on two different cars. Laid next to each other the old and new belts looked identical. On a Boxster or Cayman once you have gone to the trouble to remove the behind the seat service panel to check you done more than half the work.

 

Damn. Y'all out here with tires that last 6+ years? Flummoxed.