996Doc

This is really a break-in question from a newbie.

I have 350+ miles on a 2004 C4S cab. On two occasions while revving over the 5000 RPM limit my dealer told me to stay below I have smelled an acrid odor for several seconds as if something is burning.

I don't think I was slipping the clutch (I have driven a 6spd BMW M5 for 70K without clutch problems and a BMW 2002 for 175K before it passed away with its original clutch).

Please tell me the smell is cosmolyn or something non-essential. I am too embarrassed to ask my dealer and I am in love with my car and can't stand the thought of hurting her.

Other break-in suggestions greatly appreciated!

01 C4 Cab NYC

Um...there are those that say the engine is tested before it gets in the car, so technically is already broken in, but I think the dealer and literature will say keep the revs on the low side until 2,000 miles. So opions vary...

As far as Apocalypse Now, since you have a C4S, its possible the instead of the wheels losing traction, you burned the clutch...

UberXY

I suspect the odor you smell is no big deal. Cosmoline or new exhaust smell. A clutch would be the last thing on my list of suspects.

Steve
99 996
76 930
64 356C
62 356B

The_Phantom

I hate to sound stupid, but new cars have cosmoline in them?

houldsworth1

Are you saying that the C4S has enough rubber on the driven wheels that the clutch will slip before the wheels spin?

01 C4 Cab NYC

Fish,
Cosmoline is sprayed on the under carriage during shipping to protect certain components. Some dealers are thorough and remove it during prep, others dont and it burns off after some time.

Houlds, in certain circumstances it might, you have PSM slowing the wheels so they don't slip, so if you're moving along, down shift, overrev and let the clutch out too slow it could happen. I'm not saying its impossible to light em up...the grip is good, its not that good...

The_Phantom

Thanks 01 C4 Cab NYC

Keyvan

If your car has 350 miles on it then i wouldn't worry about it...Most new cars smell like somthing bad is buring. My car smelt like that when I first got it for the first 500 miles. Don't worry about the break-in thing too much, just make sure the engine is warm before doing anything above 4/5k rpm regardless of how many miles you have on the car. For break-in the most important thing is constantly varying the rpm for at least the first 1000 miles.

When I first got the car I asked the dealer about the break-in and it was a non issue...the only thing she said was take it easy for the first 150 miles to let the brakes bed properly and belts, transmission to set-in.

I don't know how common this feeling is but after about 3000 miles the car became a lot faster and more responsive. It's a great feeling, it's like you have a whole new car.

The_Phantom

Yeah, I agree with Keyvan especially because the fact that Porsches come with synthetic oil in the engine means that they are mostly broken in when you get the car since many synthetic oils say on the bottle something like 'not for use during break-in period of new cars'.