dave-C2

I'll be receieving a 2015 CD in a few months. Perhaps a few weeks or month later I'll want to tow an open trailer (4400 lbs).

I think the break in oil isn't changed until 5K which won't happen before the first tow trip.

Any experience or suggestions for how should I break in the turbo-diesel engine before towing?

wrinkledpants

You're going to hear a billion different ways on how to break in a motor. Some say to rev the **** out of it (aka motoman), some say drive it easy (factory). I would ask the dealer for advice and follow that since you're under warranty. My guess, they'll say be gentle towing and you'll be fine. 4400 lbs isn't a huge amount, and diesel motors are notoriously stout to begin with.

gnat

It's been 15k, but as I recall the factory procedure is to not rev beyond 4k (which is kinda silly in the diesel since the power is around 2k), avoid WOT and hard braking, and don't track it. All for the first 2k miles. Mostly I remember having a good laugh about the instructions as I forgot to read them before heading home so I kept it under 2k RPMs and still found myself doing 80 approaching an exit ramp

How far are you talking about towing the trailer? If it is a good distance and/or it will be up and down hills or through traffic, then I would suggest trying to knock out as much of the break in as possible before hand and possibly go ahead an change the oil. But you'll probably be just fine hooking the trailer up when you take delivery and driving from FL to AK

Slow Guy

I wonder how many miles the vehicles have when Porsche puts them into the Porsche Driving Experience fleet?

stronbl

My two cents - should not be a problem but keep an eye on your oil temp. If you start to see it get up over 250 degF then back off the speed. But towing 4400 lbs should be ok. BTW I tow ~ 6200 lbs to and from the track and have had oil temp > 260 degF several times. Sent in oil samples to Blackstone Labs and they report no issues and stability of oil is very high.

hahnmgh63

I did the Porsche driving experience this past fall and I was thinking the same thing Bill. Driving the new Cayman & Boxster GTS's and revving them up to Redline under max acceleration. I was wondering when and for how much Porsche sold these cars for.

Slow Guy

I have heard that the PDE vehicles are sold through the dealer network and automatically CPO vehicles so Porsche must not be too concerned about not adhering to the "break-in" procedure if they're willing to warranty them to 100k mi.

user 83838290

Most modern engines don't really need a break in period, tolerances are way tighter than 20y ago and oil used today is also way better. I'd just be careful about stepping on it only after it warms up completely (oil as well).
I'm not sure about cayenne, but lots of cars are taken to the dyno right after being built and revved all the way to limiter.

I bought two new cars for my employees, one is driven by a woman, broken in correctly and she's always driving it like a grandma. The other was driven like stolen from day 1 (after warming up of course). Guess which one is WAAAAY better in acceleration and fuel economy. Both are flimsy 1.4l 4 cylinders with manual transmission.

Rob VN

The owner's manual on my 2015 Diesel says to take it easy for the first 2000 miles. I've got about 1500 miles so far, the car hasn't burned any oil yet. I think you will be OK. You might want to get the oil changed before your trip if it is anywhere near 5000 miles.

Regards,

Rob

dave-C2

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions.

Since the V6 diesel has been used in VW and Audi for years I checked the ClubTouareg forum and found a post on breaking in the diesel.

I have extracted what I think are the relevant portions posted by Niner in February 2013- just trying to eliminate some of the noise. He appears qualified and his advice is consistent with that offered here:


Since the motors are now laser honed for the final finish, there is no need to worry about old fashioned methods to seat the rings. Moderate throttle with turbo on mild boost will do it just fine.


This is not a Ford with an International motor. Nor a Cummins.

A 5000 pound Touareg being pushed around by a 3 liter V6 TDI is being loaded up plenty from 1500 to 2000 rpms in traffic. The first 600 miles in heavy stop and go city traffic is ideal. Driving in canyons and mountains up and down is perfect also.

I would say that I was in the profession of working for Brush Research Manufacturing, makers of the Flex Hone Tool. That I worked daily with race engine builders, industrial engine builders, rebuilders of all kinds, providing a working sealing surface for all kinds of bores requiring pistons to seal. Also we worked with Parker Hannifin to provide a mean RMS surface that would allow manufacturers to get their seals warrantied on all kinds of hydraulic bores. We even made a glaze breaker hone custom that was 3 feet in diameter, as well as hones for locomotive diesel rebuilds.

I am saying making a habit of hammering on the motor , broken in or not, with heavy or full throttle is not good for the motor, period.

Diesels have always been designed for long haul steady state steady speed operation, both the motors and the fuel . Hard acceleration is not desired or necessary. Get it up to steady state speed and leave it there, the longer the better. Heat, high heat from heavy fuel burning applications, steep hills, and high levels of fuel consumption, is the enemy of the longevity in a diesel motor. The displacement of the V6 in the touareg is such that it is a light duty diesel motor, power to weight wise, compared to what you are describing above, more so for the 2.5 R5.

NO reason what so ever to do it (in reference to an Italian tune-up once or twice a week involving a few 4000-4500 RPM pulls and holding it for a bit just to blow things out) the vanes are controlled by a very powerful DC drive motor, not by a vacuum diaphragm like on the old VNT turbos from 1998- 2003. The motor stops pulling past 3500 rpm in a meaningful manner, anyways. Italian tuneups are a thing of the past, and the fuel pressures and injector nozzles so high that blowing out the nozzles is undue wear on the whole system, including the very sensitive and fragile HPFP.

Never assume that what you read on TDI club for earlier model 1996 passat tdi's applies to today’s common rail diesel engines.... much of it does not translate, it, in fact is damaging.

In short, do not do it, it's not necessary. In fact the higher the rpms and the harder you push the accelerator, the more you excacerbate the problem with clogging the dpf and creating more soot, which leave more carbon, not less. Look at any diesel motor that over fuels for the sake of heavy acceleration that rolls coal, and you'll have your answer. Worst possible thing you could do for keeping your motor and your motor oil clean and in spec.


…keeping the motor under slight to mid turbo boost, and working where the motor delivers peak torque figures, is where you want to run the motor for break in, just don't run your foot deep into the throttle.

The new manufacturing processes are more for break in of systems other than the motor block itself, and the rings. Think HPFP, drivetrain gears, bearings, differentials, etc that need to be meshed, broken in and burnished together without galling the metal surfaces when new, under light load.

Your rings and pistons/bore are already fully seated from the factory, due to the new lazer bore honing process, that melts all the cut torn and folded metal inside the bore left behind by final honing with a silicone carbide stone hone.