disden

Hey all. The warm weather made me miss having a convertible, so picked up a new 991 C2 Cab on a killer lease deal, too cheap to pass up. So now the age old question: drive it like I stole it or adhere to break in period. This car will only be used on weekends or evenings when weather is nice, so its going to take me almost to the end of the lease to break this thing in properly! Did a lot of searching here on old posts, just curious what you all think. Its been fun so far, has Chrono Sport, PSE, Sport steering wheel, Techno wheels so looks and sounds great! I just want to rev the damn motor up and hear the exhaust!

On a side note, my garage looks like a Porsche Showroom: 2 Cayenne diesels, Panamera GTS and now a 991 Cab.

chron3k

Not to spark this debate again, but I'd drive it like I stole it once the engine warmed up (which is exactly what my dealer told me to do).

neanicu

You probably know the answer to this question...
Guys might tell you it's a Porsche and it would be shame not to break it in,but then again,it's a lease and you'll give it back,who cares... Tough decision...
You might like it and end up buying it,in which case you'll regret not breaking it in...
Maybe take it easier for 500-600 miles at least,not the recommended 2000 miles and then push it?

fantom

The poor SOB who buys it off lease.....maybe me

Try to control yourself for the suggested 5-600 miles

certified_prime

I was relatively polite to my engine for the first 2000 miles (I bought my car), but if you lease it, the most important rules of engine break-in are:

1) let the engine fully warm up before punching it above 4k. that means Oil Temp out of the cold zone, not just Coolant temp.

2) don't lug the engine (aka drive / crawl along below 1k rpms).

If you do that, no one will be able to tell the difference between a properly babied engine, and one driven like you stole it from the get-go.

disden

I like this idea, take it easy 500 or miles then hit it. Not gonna buy it, just biding time for new turbo cab. Leases are pretty good for 24-27 months right now, so hard to pass up.

Will also follow CertifiedPrimes advice. On all cars I own/have owned I have strictly followed recommendations, just feel abit different with this lease, I want to enjoy it then dump it!

duxsi

+1

I've never quite understood the concept of a different or lesser level of TLC predicated on the fact that it's leased.

carsrmyvice

Sorry this may sounds like blasphemy on rennlist but I would drive it like I stole it from day 1, provided the engine is up to temperature. I am have done the same with my 991 base. You are paying for the luxury of renting and not owning, do not waste that. As you mentioned a two year lease is too short to observe the 2k break in on a weekender. Plus it is highly unlikely you will buy it at lease end with the inflated residual. my .02

disden

Great advice. The residual is crazy high so leases are cheap, you are right about post lease purchase price being too high. I don't want to be cruel to the engine or car, but man this engine just sings above 4500rpms, especially with sport exhaust. I know on my Pan GTS it was torture waiting for 2000 miles to punch it and hear the killer exhaust. Thankfully is my DD so it went quickly at 70 miles minimum per day!

adamsclubs

I have been wondering, for those who insist the suggested break in must be followed, are there any evidence of bad consequences for not following it? Or is this just some urban legend?

Noah Fect

Yes, horrible consequences will occur, but only on US cars. The official word from Porsche is that the same engine installed in a car sold in a different part of the world can be driven from mile 0 as if stolen/leased.

Until Porsche explains their nonsensical guidelines, just let the thing warm up properly -- meaning oil, not just coolant, as certified_prime says. Afterwards, drive as you will shall be the whole of the law.

fast1

I have a friend who has been a Porsche certfified tech for over 25 years. Although this is just anecdotal, he told me that he hasn't seen any differance in engine longevity or oil consumption for the demos that he has serviced vs custom ordered cars which he assumes were broken-in in accordance with Porsche recommendations. The demos were all abused and driven to redline on numerous occassions, and well before the engines reached normal operating temperature.

cchan

Another anecdote one of the instructors at the Porsche World Roadshow this past weekend: the cars they use on the roadshow and at the PSDS in Alabama basically roll right off the truck and into service for the roadshow/schools, nothing special is done to them, i.e. no break in. After they are through with the cars, they are sold off. They have tracked the service/reliability of these cars afterwards and have found them to actually be above average, presumably due to the high care and maintenance levels while at PSDS.

So more support for not waiting all the way to 2k miles. I'm in the be easy for the first ~500 miles camp. At 600 now so not going to worry about really babying it any more.

ww007

I'm kind of in the same boat: leased a custom ordered C2S coupe for 27 months due to the great residuals. Mine is a DD though, so at about a month in, I'm almost at the 2,000 mile mark. I've been babying her up until now. Reason being, this was a highly optioned car and there's a good chance I might be keeping it.

Regarding that high residual though, I assume everything is negotiable? So at the end of the lease, are they gonna hold me strictly to it, or can I argue that it was an obviously inflated residual and talk them into a reasonable buy out? It would be a shame if I really like the car and want to keep it but can't because it would be a bad value.

parkerfe

I would think that most Porsche 911 owners are gear heads who love cars and all things mechanical and will always properly break-in an engine.