alpine-al

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kckd629e5g...%20In.jpg?dl=0

neanicu

You need to look at this through the perspective of someone planning to keep their car for a long time. If you plan on getting rid of the car before warranty's up and you do not care about the second or third owner,none of what's been discussed in this thread applies. Same goes for Porsche driving school cars.

Mike in CA

Horses for courses. Comparing the break in and life cycle of an engine that is used for racing or as a tool for a driving course isn't the same as what you should do with an engine that you own yourself and expect to have a long service life.

It's a matter of perspective. I believe there are long term reliability and performance benefits to proper break-in. But if you only plan to own a car for a year or two and then turn it over, which many folks do, then proper break in probably doesn't matter that much.

Chris3963

If some of you haven't already read this, it's a perspective I subscribe to.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Mike in CA

Thanks, alpine-al. So the ROW manual does say to avoid driving events and schools for the first 3000KM (1875 miles) which would mean no tracking. It also says to avoid high RPM's during that period, with a special attention to when the engine is cold. And it says to take longer trips and avoid frequent cold starts. Aside from giving a specific RPM limit, it doesn't seem that much different from the limitations in the US manual.

<3mph

Thanks! Interesting comparison.

And thanks mike for confirming the bit about multiple people on one engine. That's what I seemed to recall from my factory visit too.

LexVan

^Motoman, dat's sum funny sheet!

nlpamg

Great explanation.

But great plug for Mobil 1, lol.

Mike in CA

Motoman's advice or Porsche's, Motoman's or Porsche's....hmmm.....

neanicu

LOL

That's what I was thinking...

neanicu

Bear in mind there's a whole list of approved oils. Mobil 1 is just what Porsche has been using...

But LexVan is more qualified to tell you about approved oils...

Todd B

People and robots, the platforms move while the person is working on the engine. Then at the end only 3-5% of the engines are even hot tested, all engines get a cold test hooked up to a electric motor to spin the motor as the computer takes measurements. Very different then the air cooled days.

When I did ED, the delivery guy said get the engine/oil hot. The be progressive on increase of rpm's, no steady speed (i.e. cruise control). Engine braking was important and to do it a lot. I plan to keep my cars for while so I took the advice.

Macca

I'd be interested what the break in for the GT4 clubsport reads in the manual? Maybe CJ Can chime in. Bet it doesn't say 3000 km etc...

I have a database of 16+ failed engines. Talking with the owners most followed the break in.

I'm on my third engine. If I followed the 3000 recommendation for each engine then I may never have gotten to drive it at redline yet lol!

NateOZ

I didn't follow break in on my brand-new 3.8L in the Cayman. We identified the spark plug coil problem and bad injectors very early as replaced them in under 200 miles all on the track. This early last year and the engine then ran the whole season with zero problems, including a full endurance test of tracking it non stop for 3 hours with only pit stops for fuel/driver switches.

I personally subscribe to once it's warmed up, go for it and find out if you have any problems as soon as possible. Address them before they cause more damage. I'm going to raise the redline on the car this season, so I'l see if I blow it up or not.

I've spoken to many technicians that run life critical reciprocating engines (think aircraft, military ships and power plants) and the common feedback has been warming up the oil every time you start it and cooling it down every time you switch it off trumps anything else.

Here's an old article from Popular Mechanic that is worth reading and goes into some of the history of break-ins and why things are done at the factory. Why would Porsche change what is a historic procedure in the manual? To get more warranty claims?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...-in-a-new-car/

Engine Cylinder Walls

Piston rings don't rely on their spring tension to seal against the cylinder bores. Instead, combustion gases work their way between the rings and the piston and force the rings outward. During the first few minutes of engine operation, it's important that the throttle be opened pretty far at lower rpms to provide this high pressure. Otherwise, the rings won't burnish the cylinder walls properly, and the engine will have high volumes of blow-by—which means excessive oil consumption and shortened engine life. If you've ever seen the car jockeys who drive new cars off the end of the production line into the storage lot, or the transporter drivers zipping up and down the car-hauler ramps, you'll realize that this all-important step has been performed for you many times. If you're installing a new engine, simply give it a few seconds of wide-open throttle in a high gear. For the first thousand miles, avoid constant speeds and throttle settings. If you commute in normal stop-and-go traffic, you'll be fine. I advise against cruise-controlled sojourns across Nebraska.

Bearings

The admonition to keep engine revs low for an extended break-in period stems from the days when bearing and crankshaft manufacturing tolerances were far less rigorous and lubricating oil wasn't nearly as good. While modern engines are assembled to much the same design clearances, the tolerances are much tighter, meaning the variability is smaller, greatly reducing the possibility of a tight spot. Redlining a fresh motor is generally a bad idea, but there's no reason you shouldn't drive normally. I would, however, avoid top-speed testing, drag racing or towing heavy trailers for the first 1000 miles.

Manifold

I'm not a Porsche engineer, and don't presume to know the car better than their engineers, so I generally follow the owner's manual. The wiggle room I see is that Porsche refers to the break-in procedure as 'tips' rather than 'requirements'.

Few if any of the 991 GT3/RS cars have over 50K miles on them, and the engine changes from 2014 to 2016 are a confounding factor, so it remains to be seen what the long-term effects are (or are not) from not following the break-in tips.