ventoGT

I will tell you that at the Porsche Driving Experience some of the cars had extremely low miles [I don't know if these are Porsche Fleet cars, demos, etc beforehand, but all of them had less than 4,000 miles on them and they got the absolute crap beaten out of them on the track lap after lap, day after day and they didn't budge a bit. Looking forward to next July when I do the Masters Experience in the new 997!!!

FWIW, I had a 996 for 2 years that had been driven by 2 previous knuckleheads at my company [it's a company car reserved for the top sales reps of the year]--I was third in line, got the car with 32,000 on the clock and drove the ***** off it until 57,000 miles. Never had mechanical problems with it whatsoever...these cars are robust and made to drive, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out that the engines are broken in gratis at the factory [at least partially] before being stuffed into the bay of a 911.

Certainly the first owner of my previous 996 didn't take his time breaking in the engine: The day he got it he melted the clutch on a "burnout" with the PSM still engaged with 100 on the clock...needless to say the only burning came from the clutch After all of that, we had no problems with the car at all!

mrcohanian

The breakin period in the 911's is pure nonsense. These engines are already broken in. I would take it easy for the first 200 miles to let the brakes and tires wear in evenly, after that drive it the way it was meant to be driven. Do you honestly think that people who buy Ferrari's baby the car for the first 2000miles. In fact , I think your doing more harm than good by keeping the revs under 4200 for the firstr 2000 miles. Engine need to be rev'ed through the entire rpm range early to insure optimal engine performance. Lets put it this way, I have 1200 miles on my 997 . It has been a red line shift every chance I get, so far I HAVE NOT HAD TO ADD ANY OIL. I don't feel I am abusing the car, actully, it running perfectly.

CO997

I've talked with several mechanics and others that agree with the thought that the engine is broken in before it is even shipped. I was at the dealer today and heard it again, so those of you that did not "take it easy" are probably safe. I've had several BMW's, Mercedes, even a rice burner or too, but this was my first Porsche and just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing with the car. I want it to last and didn't want to break anything in the first month or two. Maybe I'm a bit over cautios but I couldn't help it. I'm well past 2000 now and loving every minute I'm behind the wheel!

Gary R.

You did the right thing. Maybe the people that beat the crap out of their brand new $100,000.00+ (US) car felt they knew better than what the manual laid out, but I don't. I can just see it now, telling the service manager how I never exceeded 4200 RPMs during break-in and complaining about the blue smoke trail behind my car. I would feel like an idiot at that point. I want my new 997 to give me many years of pleasure and will do what I can to ensure that. This post has run the gamut from being about running in per manual, a "funny" guy bragging about beating the crap out of a demo and laughing about the person that ends up with it, to the logical conclusion of Porsche Dealers just telling its customers that break in is... well, just "bullcrap".

I would like to read an engineering study showing the benefits of a slow break-in with these new tighter tolerance motors and synthetic oil vs no break-in. Anyone have a link to a study like that!

baboou

Put this in the category of "for what it's worth". I visited the factory in the early '70's (yea, I've been around a while) and watched as engines were put on the dyno to ensure that minimum performance parameters were being met. Engines were warmed up then taken to red line and held for a period of time while the tester noted the data. One has to wonder about breakin after that demonstration.

Sobe

When I was at the factory a few years ago they were still doing that .. and taking separate notes on every engines performance.

baboou

Incidently, I recall one of the tour guides stating that if engines didnot "Exceed" minimum HP and torque standards the engine was rejected. He went further to state that engines usually exceeded standards by 5 to 10%.

WCE

The above reinforces my belief that the "break-in" is more to benefit the brake pads, transmission and other moving parts. Severe use and abuse is what you want to avoid early on. A smooth ride to redline followed by a clean shift could probably be done right off the showroom floor without long term damage.

Keeping the RPMs too low for a long break-in period likely only extends the time before the engine parts are acclimated and developing max power, especially with the factory fill synthetic oil.

WayFast #85

I just finished my break in period and used the "sport" button for the first time. Wow.....It feels like an extra 30+ HP. I'm wondering if that has something to do with the difference in the Porsche spec vs the Road and Track report. Porsche says 4.6 sec 0-60. Road and Track came out with 4.4 which beat the Corvette C6. I wonder if they publish the spec w/o the Sport Chrono re-map since it is technically an option.

PDQ PDK CAYMAN S

I understand that the car does not add HP in the sport but the throttle response is quicker. Is that true?

MJones

TRUE

A modified program is utilized for the following systems in the “Sport”setting:

• Accelerator pedal characteristics
• High-speed cut-off
• Dash pot (load change damping)
• PSM (Porsche Stability Management)
• PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management)

Alan Smithee

The car is not quicker in 'sport'. Regardless of the different throttle mapping with the 'sport' setting, wide open throttle, peak horsepower, and gearing is unchanged...and those are the factors of timed acceleration runs.

CO997

I drove the M3 just before I bought my 997, and I used the sport mode there. It felt to me like you were either at least 3/4 throttle or nothing. There was no ease into the throttle with sport mode engaged. It was FUN but made for a bit of a "jumpy" ride. Is it the same with the "S"? If so, is it useful for normal day to day driving or is it better for the track?

DonneyJ

Always break the engine in and during this break in period try to keep the revs down for a few mins when starting the car until the engine warms up also change the oil after the first 1200-1500 miles. Forget this macho crap about going hell for leather when you first get the car.

DonnyJ

zacharie

I know that it won't arm, but do we really need to change the oil after the first 1200-1500 miles?
According to the maintenance manual, changing oil should be done more lately.
With the Supersyn technology and trisynthetic from Mobil, oil can stay longer in...