Why would anyone think that if you follow the break-in instructions you will be prone to excessive oil burn? I followed these and at 3000 miles I still have not added a drop of oil.

Just because you follow the instructions and the engine blows doesn't mean the instructions were bad, the engine was. Hell, even without instructions that shouldn't happen.

 

I agree, you should adhere to it for the 1st 2k but if you go over after the first 1k it wont hurt it...per my dealer who has sold P's for 20 years...

That said, I think no matter what you do you will either get a crappy engine and problems or a bullet proof one no matter what you do with it!

Flip a coin????????

 

What do you think the proper break in procedure should be?

 

why did I ask....my mistake

 

chef, sincerest appologies by you not knowing me well enough to see my fainting humor. But in all sincerety, my car is only 4 months old and has had many problems. Some were small and some were not. As per my recallation, the following problems: A blown fog light, windows that do not go up and down properly, a broken navigation unit, 5 weeks to get the navigation disk, service engine light after washing my car, intermediate shaft at 4000 miles, 20 days to get a new engine, oil drops found on garage floor, car returns with a loose gear box, soccer mom door dent removed, paint and plastic are melted by the passenger side tail pipe, repair for paint and plastic - 2 weeks away, more oil drops found on the garage floor, RMS at 6000 with the new engine, repair for the RMS - 1 week from now, and today the air bag light came on and won't turn off.

Sorry that I took some liberties.

jb

 

thats horrible J , we feel for you...we wish all that on no porsche owner

 

"chef, sincerest appologies "

I'm surprised you still have any sense of humor after all that. Sympathies back.

 

But seriously since the topic is break-in, what is Porsche trying for us to achieve in the 2000 miles of less than 4200 rpm driving. Normally, easy driving early on causes the un-expanded rings to promote premature glazing on the cylinder walls, and thus cause excessive oil consumption. But then, hard driving early on will build up excessive heat and pressure on the new motor, glaze the walls wide, and also cause excessive oil consumption. This excessive oil consumption is something that I have read about from some 997 owners. So, what does the 0-40w synth do, (since synth usually does not glaze) in the break-in process, and what % of the break-in was done by factory tuning.

Since most of the breaking in takes place at the factory, how much breaking in are we really doing. Could it be that we are we protecting Porsche's pocket book from the metallurgical memory, caused by accelerated fatigue cycles. The quick trip to 7000 rpm's could be worth a week's worth of highway driving. Maybe, and rightly so, since Porsche is in business to make money. Or, could it be a way of keeping us out of the dealership for 2 - 4 months, by having a failing part , not fail right away. J.D. Power does put Hyundai ahead of Porsche in the initial quality survey, but that doesn't make it a better car, does it. I would presume that most of us would also be angrier, and start crowing lawyer, with an engine failure in 2 weeks than 4 months.

So, when and how long should we really take easy and when should we not. Are we helping Porsche and ourselves now, or will we suffer later, when the warranty runs out.

Please, this is an enthusiast based forum, and what I wrote is not intended to offend anyone. Nor should my thoughts be considered as fact, since I may be wrong somewhere.

Where does the consensus stand for our benefit, with the breaking in of the 997 motor. The benefit in my opinion, should have some balance between engine life, and engine power.

jb

 

My opinion, based on education and experience, is that driving a car or any other combustion engine at low to mediem revs only, is the IMROPER procedure for breakin AND it WILL do irriversable damage to the engine in many cases. There is only one component of a piston engine that needs to be properly broken in, and that is the pistons, rings and cylinders. The rings need to rub hard and evenly through all heat ranges early on in the process in order to evenly smooth out the cylinders. This can only be accomplished with high compression in the cylinders. If this is NOT done, there is a chance that the cylnder(s) will wear in an oval shape and that cylinder(s) will begin blowing oil.

Proper breakin must be done in the first 100 -200 miles and below is the proper procedure:

1. Always bring engine to FULL operating temperature before high revs.
2. Dive trhe car easy for the first 10 miles or so, varying the rpm's from 2,000 - 5,000.
3. Then, start bringing the engine up to maximum rpm's and letting the the engine bring the revs back down by coating in gear.
4. Repeat several times, in order to create maximum heat in the cylinders.
5. Drive around at lower RMP's for seveal more miles, remembering to vary the speed of the engine every couple of miles.
6. Repeat number 3, 4 and 5.
7. Park car and let the engine cool down overnight.
8. Repeat all the above 2 more times.

You engine is now fully broken in correctly and should be driven hard from here on.

 

I picked up a 997 five days ago and just broke 1,000 miles....and I also managed to work during the week. Have kept it below 5K rpm and have not touched the "sport" button. don't know if I can last another 1k before driving a little harder. This car is great, but the stories on this board re engine problems, warranty disputes, etc. are bothersome.

Just sold a '98 bmw 840 and returned off lease an '02 Jag XKR. The XKR is a crop duster compared to the 997.

 

Drive it like a scalded Ape! and have fun!

 

i wonder why people insist on conjuring up their own ideas of a proper break in, and why other people listen to then.

the things that boggles my mind the most, is why people think the manual isnt good enough.

 

Maybe some people have extensive experience on the subject and have proven that their procedure works. I wonder why people always follow the majority? I wonder why some people think that it is normal for a flat six to smoke? Must be the engines that are babied during the first 2,000 miles????

I guess my Porsches have all been abnormal.

So I have to assume that you always follow the manual, and you NEVER add any componant to your Porsche that is not recommended and supplied by Porsche? Or do you selectively pick what is true amd untrue in the manual?

Chill out guy and accept this board for what it is. People ask questuions and people answer those quations. Take the responses as you like, but don't try to degrade the posters just because they have a different amswer than you do.

 

sure on some issues there is a grey area, an i respect people's opinions on such matters.

however, there is clearly a part in the manual that dictates how PORSCHE recommends the engine be broken in.

yet so many so many people ask about this that is is clear that some think the manual isnt correct or good enough.

i suggest you read my posts again, i don't degrade anyone, just posing more questions.

 

what about oil changes? My dealer told me, and I think the manuel states, that the very first service is at 20K, yet others have told me that they change the oil after the first 2K, and others recommend after 10K. My car is a 3 year lease and all I want is 3 years without hassles, after that I get something else or another Porsche. Any thoughts on oil? thanks.