New p-car owner, breaking in rebuilt engine
#17
Thanks for the compliments guys. It was early in the morning and I knew the lighting would be great with the overcast so I brought my camera along. Glad I did.
The location is Calaveras Rd. in Milpitas. I frequently road bike up these hills, now I get to drive them in a Porsche, much different experience!
The location is Calaveras Rd. in Milpitas. I frequently road bike up these hills, now I get to drive them in a Porsche, much different experience!
#18
Great shots. Congratulations on your new 911. Question is your color Basalt Black or Metallic Black, just wondering? Again enjoy your new car and as Dan said drive it aggreasively. Seal those rings and go for it. I drove my first 997S aggressively from day one and never had to add any oil in between changes. Good luck.
Jay
Jay
Jay
Jay
#19
Great shots. Congratulations on your new 911. Question is your color Basalt Black or Metallic Black, just wondering? Again enjoy your new car and as Dan said drive it aggreasively. Seal those rings and go for it. I drove my first 997S aggressively from day one and never had to add any oil in between changes. Good luck.
Jay
Jay
Jay
Jay
#20
Know he didn't say those exact words, but in past posts Dan has inferred, or insinuated to such an extent that it is better to drive your car as it was ment to be driven rather than babying it. That's all. Sorry for the misinterpretation of symantics.
Jay
Jay
#21
I continue to say that Dan never implied to push an engine during break-in. Just ask him, will you?
#22
Look, don't get so bent out of shape on this. There's more important things in life to embrace. Hey, if I've misinterpreted him on this issue then it's my error.
Trust me, I'll meet up with him again on a different post. He's very informative, succinct and to the point. I've learned quite a bit from reading his threads. And with that note, I say "good night".
Jay
#23
Look, don't get so bent out of shape on this. There's more important things in life to embrace. Hey, if I've misinterpreted him on this issue then it's my error.
Trust me, I'll meet up with him again on a different post. He's [Dan] very informative, succinct and to the point. I've learned quite a bit from reading his threads. And with that note, I say "good night".
Jay
Trust me, I'll meet up with him again on a different post. He's [Dan] very informative, succinct and to the point. I've learned quite a bit from reading his threads. And with that note, I say "good night".
Jay
#24
Sorry to be late to the game!
There are several schools of thought on breaking in these engines. Porsche suggests that you keep it under 4200 rpm for 2000 miles, and when I was picking mine up in Zuffenhausen, their customer care representative suggested 2000 miles under 5000 rpm. Hardly any difference.
Autoweek Magazine a couple of years ago suggested that the "break in" is for the driver--to get used to the new capabilities. Some also suggest that the break in also applies to the suspension pieces--getting worn in together (which would not apply to you).
What we have definitively discovered is that HOW you break in your engine has no bearing on the oil consumption of the engine. Does oil consumption convey something about engine life?
I recall over the years that we generally figured that when you have to add a quart every 400 miles you're ready for a top end (valve) job. But these engines have a small percentage of engines which use oil (1 quart per 1000 miles) beyond what I consider "normal" for a new car. (Imagine what someone who buys a Honda would say to their dealer if told that a quart every 1000 miles was "acceptable?")
What's all this mean? Drive the cars as you will, once it is warmed up sufficiently. Don't abuse the cars, but don't baby them, either. With a break-in, you want to avoid the cruise control and run your rpms all over the place, never spending too much time at one spot. Also, avoid short trips during the break in.
I followed the factory recommendations, put 3200 miles on the car in its first 3-4 weeks of life, and it continues to use about a quart of oil every 1000 miles. It did that from day one, and is close to that still, today.
Some also believe that the harder steels in today's cars have caused them to take longer than usual to break in--up to 50,000 miles. Why, then, such a variance on all the cars out there?
Bottom line: It will be what it is. The better you take care of it during the break in, the longer the engine will last, or not!
There are several schools of thought on breaking in these engines. Porsche suggests that you keep it under 4200 rpm for 2000 miles, and when I was picking mine up in Zuffenhausen, their customer care representative suggested 2000 miles under 5000 rpm. Hardly any difference.
Autoweek Magazine a couple of years ago suggested that the "break in" is for the driver--to get used to the new capabilities. Some also suggest that the break in also applies to the suspension pieces--getting worn in together (which would not apply to you).
What we have definitively discovered is that HOW you break in your engine has no bearing on the oil consumption of the engine. Does oil consumption convey something about engine life?
I recall over the years that we generally figured that when you have to add a quart every 400 miles you're ready for a top end (valve) job. But these engines have a small percentage of engines which use oil (1 quart per 1000 miles) beyond what I consider "normal" for a new car. (Imagine what someone who buys a Honda would say to their dealer if told that a quart every 1000 miles was "acceptable?")
What's all this mean? Drive the cars as you will, once it is warmed up sufficiently. Don't abuse the cars, but don't baby them, either. With a break-in, you want to avoid the cruise control and run your rpms all over the place, never spending too much time at one spot. Also, avoid short trips during the break in.
I followed the factory recommendations, put 3200 miles on the car in its first 3-4 weeks of life, and it continues to use about a quart of oil every 1000 miles. It did that from day one, and is close to that still, today.
Some also believe that the harder steels in today's cars have caused them to take longer than usual to break in--up to 50,000 miles. Why, then, such a variance on all the cars out there?
Bottom line: It will be what it is. The better you take care of it during the break in, the longer the engine will last, or not!
#25
In essence Dan is non-commital. I say, be on the cautionary side. As of recently PAG no longer bench tests their engines (GT-series excluded). I strongly recommend avoiding the top half of the speedo during the 1st 500 miles and from there on, start creeping up, but not on a sustained basis. This does not mean babying the engine... you can still exercise the engine and vary RPMs below 4200RPM... Just do not peg the engine at 6000RPM very soon...
P.S. - I've broken-in my fair share of engines, and all of them grew fast revving engines, not grandma's lugging jobs.
P.S. - I've broken-in my fair share of engines, and all of them grew fast revving engines, not grandma's lugging jobs.
#27
This seems sensible. I can't imagine Porsche would knowingly give you advice that hurts engine life, oil consumption, etc. They make recommendations based on immense knowledge and information that we do not have.
#28
Hey there,
I think that's the car I was looking at a few weeks ago. Did you get it from a BMW dealer in the Bay area? Instead of that, I wound up buying one just like it (2005 S, black/tan) closer to home.
Another IMS issue! I was surprised at how many cars had either IMS or RMS issues when I was looking.
Mine has 37k miles on it and I was thinking that if there was a major IMS/RMS issue, it would have happened already but I guess it can strike at any time.
Enjoy!
-T
I think that's the car I was looking at a few weeks ago. Did you get it from a BMW dealer in the Bay area? Instead of that, I wound up buying one just like it (2005 S, black/tan) closer to home.
Another IMS issue! I was surprised at how many cars had either IMS or RMS issues when I was looking.
Mine has 37k miles on it and I was thinking that if there was a major IMS/RMS issue, it would have happened already but I guess it can strike at any time.
Enjoy!
-T
#29
The used parts -- assuming they were re-installed in the engine in the same relationship they had when prior to disassembly -- may already be broken in. I note however one may not count on that. For instance a reconditioned engine could be an engine fresh off the assembly line that failed an acceptance test, was reworked and then passed all acceptance tests. While reconditioned it may still be brand new.
If the engine has a combination of new and used parts in direct contact with one another then break in still critical to give the new and used parts time to adapt and for each to develop a surface condition that is immune to wear under all but the most extreme cases (like insufficient lubrication).
So, in short were any of my cars to receive a reconditioned engine I would still treat the engine to a break in as if the engine were new.
Sincerely,
Macster.