enthusiast

I had to stir the pot using the oil topic. Most agree that there is no damage to the engine or transaxle by changing the oil more frequently than recommended, the old "insurance" line. The metal filings argument is back to a conspiracy theory argument. Kind of throws all that Porsche engineering, history, and bragging in the marketing information down the drain if you believe that.

enthusiast

Thanks for the answer on the GT3 engines on factory dyno, sounds like business as usual which is good.

Carrera GT

I don't follow what you've written here -- you perhaps meant to write "... if you don't follow their break-in ..." ? In any case, true in both senses. Porsche has been shown to shamelessly deny valid warranty coverage (RMS) and other manufacturers have been shown to cover engine warranty issues (Toyota) on high volume production engines that a small company like Porsche could not sustain.This is an important and sometimes overlooked aspect -- the entire vehicle was built in a day with many components that need time to transition from "stored in a box" to "supporting a 450hp 3100lb track car" including the transmission.These three bullets, especially varying rpm and throttle position and gear, are all that I consider relevant.

I suggest 300 - 500 miles of "enthusiastic" street driving with attention to bedding the brakes and clutch. Then, somewhere before 1000 miles, a high temperature drain of the engine and transaxle oil to (help) remove the initial metal and contaminants (sealants, varnishes, paints, moisture ... all kinds of stuff shows up in the oil analysis of a new Porsche engine in the first 300-1000 miles.)

Then, give or take blue smoke start-ups or a recurring RMS problem (?) all should be well.

Carrera GT

I see you live by example! : )

Carrera GT

Believe it or not; I think that car was still being driven conservatively, shifting 500-800 below red-line, easy on the brakes, slow gear shifts and generally being considerate of the mechanicals.

That was a rather unsatisfactory day at Laguna all round. Terribly poorly managed event, Laguna has really let itself fall into disrepair. Hell, they need to go over to Thunderhill to look at a properly managed venue! What's the world coming to?! And how can anyone deal with 92 dB and "two strikes, you're out" -- that's just an impossible proposition. So everyone there was running detuned cars (though some clearly just "playing the sound game") and nobody could possibly lay down consistent lap times since every turn 5 means "lift and shift" ... crazy. The vigilantes of Carmel have "quietly" won the war and Laguna has been castrated.

As for the driving, aside from one wasted session when the ambulance driver showed up an hour late for work (I guess they gave him a Latte instead of a Cappuccino, so he had to go back to Starbucks to get the right kind of frothy milk ...) all morning, not enough heat in the fronts, then one session in the afternoon and way too much heat after tasting just a couple of very enjoyable laps. What a hand-full when the car's skating around on four grease-ball over-heated tires! Thankfully, I'm sure the safeties were kicking in like mad coming down the Corkscrew ... : )

911rox

The thinking by manufacturers back in the day was that it had to last forever as it reflected upon their reputation. These days products are engineered to fail as our economies and markets rely on turnover and sales to benefit the shareholder.

You would be nieve to believe that Porsche haven't moved with the times on this point. Look at the number of m96,m97 motors that don't make it to 100k kms without a change over. Most of these are in the hands of mature, sensible people who don't abuse there vehicle. I thrash the living crap out of my DD modified Nissan and she's like new after 200k km at 1/5 the price of a 911...

savyboy

Did I mention I just finished 5 sessions at Buttonwillow today?

Lol...

Then Thunderhill Thursday/Friday. Right now 1400 miles on the clock. Hey, you guys come out on to the track in a few months when you get broken in ok?

I got to harass...all meant in good fun

mooty

not fair. you got head start.
looks like i have to sleep on track to catch up with you.

MarekN

Question - how would Porsche know that you didn´t follow the break-in procedure? Unless there is an over-rev stored in the memory, I don´t think the ECU keeps track of the actual revs, does it?

SDGT3

I picked up my 10 RS and within 4 days took a road trip to Dallas (1150 miles) had the oil changed went straight to the track washed the car and the next day drove home. Car is 10 days old with 2500 miles of mixed use and varying RPMs for the first part of the journey. I really think the worst thing for these motors is not hard driving but rather lugging the motor and short drives where the car doesn't get hot. My prevoius GT3 I bought in Florida and drove to Chicago (1500) miles. Never had any problems or RMS leaks or ANY oil usage between oil changes. Maybe luck... Anyway we all have our opinions and frankly will do whatever we think is right. I think anything in the middle is fine and any extreme probably puts you in jeopardy of damage and the DREADED warranty claim with the German customer service. I hope we are all right and all the motors continue a long life at the track!

Clifton

I followed break-in by the book - at 2,001 miles, I let her rip!!! It was very difficult to limit myself to ~4K, but will be worth it in the long run.

Worth noting, I also did an oil service immediately following break-in. As expected, metal counts were high, but also very normal following a break-in. Blackstone recommended short oil change intervals until the car was beyond 10K. That might take a while....

enthusiast

Thank you for sharing this information.

TraqGear

Talked to my dealer. We are going to work out a break-in plan. Working with him will cover my butt and allow me to get done much quicker!! My dealer is a very cool guy!