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Well into my running in. Here is the regimen I am following:
Baby her until >190F for Oil Temp
< 4,000 rpm until 300 miles
< 4,500 rpm until 425 miles
< 5,000 rpm until 550 miles
< 5,500 rpm until 675 miles
< 6,000 rpm until 800 miles
< 6,500 rpm until 925 miles
< 7,000 rpm until 1,050 miles
Oil change, Drive it like I spec'd it, etc.
Some initial impressions, in no certain order:
-Full Buckets: Amazing. Totally worth the money and actually fit me better than the 14-ways I had in the Cayman. No BS: very comfortable and while a more aggressive/proper posture, not at all a 'race seat'. I will miss the seat cooling in the summer here though I am sure. Alcantara is sexy, but doesn't breathe much. And I am sure will wear worse. Oh well.
-Turbo: I have set up Individual Mode, that I switch into with the steering wheel selector upon ignition... Drive with this 95% of the time. I have Sport Plus, Sport Suspension, Sport Exhaust, and No Spoiler selected in this mode. That said I notice a LOT more 'Wing Time' with the 991 than the 981; must be the integrated cooling air flow. Bottom line: Sport Plus keeps the turbos spooling and there is virtually no lag at all under 2000, through 5th gear. 6th and 7th a bit up until 3000 or so. At the speeds I am travelling, the boost after 4,500 is much less noticeable than down lower. She's fast and spools faster than I expected. Boost kicks on even with barely any throttle regardless of the gear or speed. Some guys have posted separately that they are not seeing any boost in their gauges. I am not experiencing that at all.
-Transmission/Reduced Gearing: Love the short-throw lever, but am definitely not a fan of the 7 MT. Too easy to hit the wrong gear, which I have done on both ups and downs. Nothing crazy, just a bit of rev over what I want to keep her to right now, per above, while running in. I will have to get rid of my bad habits (letting it go into a "neutral" point and then slotting into gear, vice guiding it in on my own). Totally got used to the 6 MT on the Cayman, so will just need to spend time re-learning this/building muscle memory. All the more so once I am getting into the higher revs/getting after it a bit more. The one extra gear really changes things and I did not anticipate that at all. A definite difference down low from the other 370 HP cars. It feels much faster than it is. And I don't plan on going 180 very much. l'll take the quicker launches, more rowing as a result.
-RAS: Absolutely. Positively. Amazing. Both low and high speed. It is a game changer, and I would not spec a car that can have it on without it after this. Yes, it is a modern invention, and not pure, adds even more weight to the rear, but WOW!!! U-turns are smaller than anything I've driven, short of a bike. And snap lane changes, or even high speed turns (which I've played with quite a bit so far) are totally insane. So much grit tossed up into the wheel well I thought I had some rubbing going on at first. Nope, just sand blasting the arches!
-mLSD and PTV: I'd be lying if I can tell when it engages at this point, but I will say I think I will have a very hard time getting the rear out, even with the nannies off. I thought I'd miss the Cayman turn in and on-rails feeling. Wrong! This thing shows why you pay more. And again, I haven't even pushed it yet. But I already know I'll be able to push it much more than the Cayman and she'll just keep keeping on. As with RAS above, these three components spec'd together are truly amazing and I am very glad I did.
-PCCB: These really hurt to buy, but I am glad I did. I did a separate post the other day on how I bedded them. Incredible stopping power. I pulled 1.22 Gs with barely a chirp on the tires once they were warm. Between them and RAS/PTV, they paid for themselves the other day when I had to dodge an on-coming chucklehead busting his side of the yellow line in a blind right-hander (on Lime Creek Road for you Austinites...). I felt like I was breaking the laws of physics without even trying. Really, really confidence inspiring, as you know you can push deeper and get away with more. The only thing I have ever driven comparible to these are the Brembo M50s on my Ducatis, and they aren't even close really.
-Reduced Sound deadening/light weight glass: Not overly loud at all, in fact, I can tell much of a difference in the Sport Exhaust note on or off at all yet. That said, I haven't done too much window down driving yet (read none in Erika, as it has been unseasonably cold and wet here since pick-up, and only a bit during the test drive...) and that will probably make a difference. No defroster lines in the rear window is cool, but other than that, not real discernable difference. Cool factor: Hell Yes. So, I am glad P did this. Grit in the wheel wells is almost constant, even when I am not playing around with RAS, especially around here... so, that is a bit annoying but I will pay to keep playing.
-T interior: Deviated stitching, door handle straps, and alcantara head liner are all very, very nice. Was worth the extra dough for a bit of pop. I thought I would miss more leather in the interior, as I didn't spec it, but really don't miss it.
- PCM: Just fine and a definite step up from the .1 cars IMO. Base stereo vice Bose or Burmeister... Can't even tell a difference between this and the Bose in the Cayman and I have honestly not had the radio on much after I got my iPod set up and phone linked. Glad I didn't spring for the higher end stuff. A definite step down from what they are apparently putting in the 992, but that is always the case. I like the small, multifunction gauge and use that for most everything, relying on the stalk and Voice Control, as I did not spec the multifunction wheel, something I had in the Cayman. Don't miss it after I have retrained my brain on the new, more basic system.
I definitely didn't go for a purist spec, vice more of a performance one. I am really glad I did. If I could change anything it would be the 7 MT, but not at twice the price or at the loss of a flat 6.
Not as dirty as the hype adds, but I am working on it... Loving this car!
ß
Andreas Preuninger on Porsche break-in: «I can only tell you how I personally do it, or how we do it at Weissach – for the first 500 kilometres or 300 miles, we don’t drive that car car ever over 5000 rpm, never. From then on, every 200 kilometres, we up the rpms by 500, so we end up at 1300, 1400 kilometres at the threshold before we can really go full throttle, at 800 or 900 miles.»
Nice write-up! Lime Creek Road is tight with a lot of blind turns so I understand how hair-raising that must have been! Glad to hear that the car and brakes (with some likely RAS contribution) gave you the confidence to safely evade the problem.
If you guys decide to head out the COTA for a T gathering at the Cars and Coffee I might just pop in to ogle them too.
For those in central Texas that might want a really tight winding road (being careful for bicycles especially on the weekend mornings), here's an overview of what you'll find with the road OP mentions.
Great write up S.S. I enjoyed the read and your thoughts and feedback. I only have 290 miles on mine. And while I have been taking it easy with no red lining the engine, I am driving the car and not soft footing on purpose. The one thing I am very careful about is not lugging the engine at one steady RPM for extended periods of time.
Agree 100% on the RAS and the turn-in benefits and driving dynamics. There is a reason why you pay more for the 911. I think my body memory has adapted to the 7 speed manual. I am fine with gears 1-6 but was initially having some trouble finding 7th. Now, after a couple of hundred miles and using a light and centered thrust to the right, I manage to find 7th every time with no issues.
By by the way, white is the fastest color for a Carrera T. It’s lighter due to no adddd pigment in the paint :-)
Thanks for the writeup S.S. After 9 months in the only thing I would change is adding the PCCBs. Otherwise the T is still living up to the hype! Oh, and like Carrera-T said, you'll get used to the 7MT in a few weeks and then you won't notice it.
Yo do realize that people pick up their cars at the factory and go directly to the Nurburgring - so much for the recommended break in period
haha.
I picked up my car at the factory with 11km on it and did just that. The Rep at the factory thought that was great and said that would in fact be good for the engine.
Great write up S S! I completely agree on the RAS. I have to do a U-turn every day coming home from work and it never fails to amaze me how tight the turning radius is. I also share you pain with the pebbles pinging off the rear wheel arches. I never knew so many little rocks could possibly exist on seemingly smooth asphalt streets.
My engine run-in period is now at 1,300 miles and I still wait for the oil temperature to get above 180 before letting the RPMs go much above 3,500. That being said, I find myself taking the long way home frequently so the engine is warm enough to rev it out a little. It’s intoxicating above 4,000 rpm!!
I haven’t had the PCM/Radio on since the first few days of ownership. My daily drive to and from work is like my T meditation time!!
01-03-2019, 06:18 PM
One Week, 500 Miles In (T Content Inside)
