Mike in CA

It is true. I took the factory tour when I picked up my car, visited the new engine assembly line, and the testing procedure was explained and the cold run in was shown to us.

You ask a reasonable question about the few engines that are hot tested. The answer could be that running an engine out of the car, at the factory, using precise methods and under highly controlled conditions is different than the wide range of circumstances under which an owner might "abuse" the engine in his/her car. Comparing the factory test to real world useage may not be apples to apples and Porsche may be erring on the side of caution with it's published break-in suggestion to account for those differences.

But I'm just surmising, and there are already more than enough opinions out there on this subject, including the no-doubt more educated one of the guy in the link you provided. Even though his advice seems rational, how many Porsche engines has he had experience with? 300 motorcycle engines and "no trouble whatsover"? None at all, of any kind? That seems statistically amazing! Did he follow up on all those engines to see how they ran, what kind of mileage they got, how much power they put out throughout their lifetimes? What kind of wear or other issues did they have at 20K, 50K, 100K miles? I'm not saying he's wrong. Maybe it's smarter to listen to the advice of a guy on the internet who builds motorcycle engines than it is to follow Porsche's recommendations, but maybe it's not.

This argument hasn't been definitively settled one way or the other, IMO. For each individual's car and peace of mind; we each paid our money, we each get to take our choice.

SiNi

For a change it was a lovely dry and sunny morning. Went for a drive over Dartmoor. Put her into Sport. I usually paddle shift down to overtake but I stayed in auto and overtook another car in haste and she must have dropped a couple of gears and screamed up to 6000 rpm before I could say bugger! Whoops! I've been so good til now!

ThePartsMan

I am patiently following the factory suggestion of keeping it under 4K RPM's. My daily commute is only about 20 total miles per day, so not much chance to open it up. Can't wait to press those buttons of love on the console and let her run.
I am planning on keeping this one around for a while (until the new tri-turbo starts whispering on my ear..), I am just following factory orders.

simsgw

I have been allowing little 'excursions' since 1500 miles and now I'm at 2200 so I let things happen as they happen. Today, I was behind someone on Coast Highway, waiting for him to pull onto a wide spot and invite me to pass. I realized the road was marked for passing and he was waiting for me to do something, so I pulled out and did a little genteel acceleration, not to rub his nose in the exhaust since he was being polite. About even with his rear fender, a car appeared at the end of this short straight, so I had to drop the pose of gentility and allow a PDK kickdown. Wow.

Even without PSE enabled, this car just screams to the redline. We teleported to the position twenty yards in front of this fellow where I could move back into the right lane. Not too fast, you understand. Just a safety measure. I saw 98 on the digital speedometer. I'm sure it reads in kph, right?

Gary

chuckbdc

I bet the "We Have Been Chosen" indicator that sounds in that mode sounded great coming from the Burmeister!

parkerfe

It is my daily driver, rain or shine.

chuckbdc

I have 9500 mi since March and have a daily driver too. Can't resist!

John's 991

I was pretty good to 1,000 miles got up to 6,000 RPM several times btwn 1-2k but nothing sustained. Since then 6 track events and at about 3,400 miles now.

Changed oil at 2,000 and brake pads and fluid at 2,800 and rebled the brakes at 3,200. The tires will be replaced soon. They have tread but are heat cycled to the point of significantly less grip.

Agree that sport plus is only useful on the track. But it saves the brakes as well as changing suspension, shift points (PDK), throttle mapping etc.

There are several detailed threads on why and how to break in the car. Do a search and yo will find everything you want to know.

simsgw

Okay, I'll bite. I started this thread, so I suppose I can hijack it if I like. How would anything save brakes at the track? Well, except going sl*w of course, but the s-word isn't really discussible in polite company.

I still threshold brake into every corner of consequence and my balance braking will still happen at the same speeds. How would the Sport Plus mode affect any of that?

If anything, I expect my car to boil the fluid a lap or so sooner, until I improve some things, because I'll be going faster at the end of each straight with the PDK doing maximum effort shifts, so I'll have more kinetic energy to dissipate.

Of course, it has to be admitted that my pads usually last 30k to 40k miles, so maybe that is what saves them.

Gary

chuckbdc

I always found that brake pads are so much less expensive to replace than engine and transmission parts and that coasting is slower than accelerating. So at the track I focus on ferocious braking and let that guy (I think its Vettel) they put in the transmission do the rest!

96redLT4

Gary, I have to ask you, is there anything you are missing about not having a manual transmission?
Jim

simsgw

Well, the lumbar pain of course. I have spine problems that caused my neurologist to insist I buy a car with a different vibration spectrum than my 997, and "with only two pedals Gary!" My insistence that my leg has been depressing clutch pedals since about 1952 cut no ice. He insisted the torque on my lower spine was the factor contributing to my problem.

I think he expected me to buy a Mercedes, like his CLS, since his impression of Porsches still includes "they have those pedals offset to the center, right?" In fact, I know he wanted me to do that, but I test drove the better seat (the 18-way bugger) with the better quality foam in the cushions, then added the Cabriolet chassis, then the longer wheelbase of the 991, and finally succumbed to his demands by trying the PDK that I had scorned on previous drives in 997 and 987 models.

You may correctly infer that I was forced into objective testing of the PDK. I hated the idea. But honestly, I can't say I'm missing anything by owning the PDK. Operating a clutch effectively is still part of my skill set, but exercising it seems to have no more effect on my joy than stoking coal fires would. (Which may come back? Didn't someone say something about hybrid drive vehicles? I stay out of politics.)

Seriously, the shift logic in the PDK is obviously tuned by observations of skilled drivers in different circumstances. Routine driving is very much like the way I would drive when Cindy was feeling poorly and decidedly did not want the Sports Car Adventure to be part of her day. Changing to Sport mode, it seems almost telepathic in shifting just as I decide it's about time for the lower gear. Even more important are two merits:

• It recognizes the control movements and body accelerations that indicate a skilled driver is about to enter a corner, and it shifts before the gear is needed, just as I do with a manual;
• It doesn't object when my greater skill [if I may be immodest] sees a need to shift up or down when the computer has not seen the need yet. The relinquishment of control is absolute for ... eight seconds I think it is, but it actually continues for as long as body accelerations indicate I am cornering the car and want my own way for a while. Really quite clever programming.

Basically, it does the impossible. I shifts for me, just as I would, when I have better things to occupy my attention, and it lets me have complete control when I want it. The only thing it lacks to be a perfect deputy is a phony clutch pedal that would let my left leg feel useful. But my doctor would object to that.

I could not use Sport Plus mode at the only track day I've been to with this car because it would have insisted on using the upper rev range, which I ruled out until break-in was complete. But optimum shifting on a track is easy for a computer. Students with PDK will miss out on a whole bunch of time I spend teaching MT students when to shift, but this computer doesn't need my coaching. It has been programmed with the shift strategy of some very good racing drivers. I fully expect that mode to be satisfactory.

On previewing this note, I see that I omitted all mention of double-clutching and other sorts of rev-matching exercises. After all these years, I do them automatically [couldn't resist] so I don't have any residual pride in the actions themselves. I just enjoy the feel of a perfect shift. The PDK gives me that every time, and is even programmed to sound good while doing it.

I guess the simple answer would have been no. I'm not missing my clutch pedal. And I didn't have to buy a Mercedes. Thank you, PDK.

Gary

John's 991

Sport plus saves the brakes at the track because the traction control comes on later. I measured a 50 degree plus difference at the rotors - 500 degrees versus 550 for the rears and a little less at the fronts.

I am not suggesting using the gearbox or engine for braking. I mentioned I changed the pads 800 miles after break in, so we all agree that brakes are for stopping and the engine and transmission for going.

simsgw

That will be interesting. I look forward to being able to think about that instead of concentrating on keeping the PDK from taking the engine into forbidden realms.

Gary

96redLT4

Great info Gary, as always. I also enjoyed your thoughts on the PDCC in another thread, something to the effect that it may make the car a little less 'Porsche like' in corners. This reflected the thoughts of an editor's drive in Excellence who thought this box on the option list should remain unchecked.
Jim