Onami

Timely thread for me! I picked my car up last week and have just 300 km on it as it isn't my work vehicle. Staying below 4,000 rpm is killing me...so, I'm going to drive it as much as possible over the next few weekends to get the KMs up ASAP!

zscaler

Break-in period? What is that?
I haven't followed it on any 911 I owned since 996 era. And I owned every generation. Of course I don't put 100K miles on them before I trade them or sell for the new generation, but highest mileage I have driven one was the 997 at 50K or so miles, no issues with the engine. Had the clutch replaced under warranty and also water coolant hose that broke under warranty. All the vehicles have been well. Most were taken to track within 2 months of ownership and seen quite a bit of track time every year as well.

Fullyield

It is your car. Do as you please. Plenty of people make decisions based on internet rumor and hearsay or what there uncle max said. But, there is an engineering science involved. Your money; your call. No one cares.

zanary

This should help you with your Winter problem and thus your low milage per year and break-in problem.

https://www.suncoastparts.com/catego...020tchwws.html

solidgranite

Touché! It's under strong consideration for sure.

CubsFan1

C’mon…if you didn’t grow up in Chicago then you don’t understand the humor here. Anyone worried about the engine revs is a non issue if you’re stuck on Chicago freeways.

The “recommendation” for nice drives out of the city was mentioned.

Being from AZ I’m sure you can understand. You’re not going anywhere fast around Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe, etc. When I lived there it was a pleasure to see the plethora of exotic rides idling and revving up and down the blvd.

Obviously the real joy from these cars is experienced when getting out and enjoying the open road.

Wilder

Lol. Engineers don't write the break in recommendations. Lawyers do.

Mike818

xpost from a similar thread:

I find it interesting that people seem to think that break in is only about the engine. There are plenty of other things that need breaking in. For example I have never bought a clutch, transmission, or tires that didn't come with a break in period from the MFG. So unless you are experienced enough with every system in the car to ignore the recommendations, it might be wise to just follow what the people who are (Porsche) recommend.

Or don't, it's your stuff, neglect it at your pleasure. I will point out that OEM's have been crawling social media looking for excuses to void warranty claims for a long time, so proudly proclaiming you are not following instructions might be a self own down the line.

Hunky

I'd bet strong money on that statement. I have heard and read this many times.
It is hard for some to accept the fact that we do not all follow the Pied Piper.

loxxrider

This couldn't be more misguided. People who truly understand mechanical systems would be the first to question this kind of blanket break-in advice. There are so many variables that aren't considered by this single-rule-based approach to break-in, that it'd be irresponsible for any good mechanical/aerospace engineer like myself NOT to question it.

Tupper

The problem with break in recommendations is that they are expert opinions, but nobody has ever conducted a rigorous study to determine if they make a difference in reliability or not. It’s all just anecdotal

Mike818

It's pretty wild to claim Porsche just pulled those numbers out of thin air. Just because you don't know why/how doesn't mean there isn't solid logic behind it. Even if lawyers / bean counters came up with it, it would still be based on some statistical analysis of actual data. Warranty claims = broken stuff, so to say it's to reduce claims isn't really invalidating anything. I don't want my stuff to break either.

Wilder

It's called liability and it comes with a huge margin of error. Something so ridiculous it practically guarantees that no matter how much of a bonehead the driver might be, the car will be fine provided he follows what they manual specifies. It has all of zero to do with the purpose of break-in, which is first and foremost to bed the piston rings. There is a proper method of ensuring the piston rings properly seal and that should ideally be done in the first 100 mi. You are correct in that there are other components like tires, brakes, clutch, and exhaust that need to be considered in the break in phase. None of them require anything special. Just don't outright abuse the car in the fist 200 mi and you're golden.

14turbo S

Break in period, Listen to anecdotal stories, or Porsche engineers? Hmm

loxxrider

No one is claiming the numbers came out of thin air. I'm suggesting that the numbers of 4000 RPM and 1850 miles (or whatever it is) are gross oversimplifications of the actual break-in requirements. Why would one choose to do this? Absolutely to reduce cost to Porsche of time-bound things (like warranties and wheel/tire protection packages) which are not also mileage-bound for most owners. Why else? To put it quite simply, consumers can understand and comply with this single instruction much more easily than they can comply with more specific instructions specifying certain RPMs and engine loading conditions at certain mileage milestones.

So saying Porsche's consumer break-in instructions are overly conservative is not a wild claim. It simply comes from having a good understanding of the mechanical principles at work and also of the end users' willingness and/or ability to digest and properly utilize certain information. It's a great compromise that I would make if I were leading the show at Porsche or any other manufacturer, but it doesn't mean that it's actually necessary for the reasons you might think it is.