No need to run-in a new Porsche, really?

No need to run-in a new Porsche, really?

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breadvan

Original Poster:

1,985 posts

167 months

Wednesday 3rd October 2012
quotequote all
Getting close now to delivery of the 981 and when I asked the dealer about running in, he said no need as they are all bench tested and ready to go.

This is great news as I will do very few miles and had worries of 6 months at 3,000 rpms, but really, no running in?

BertBert

18,955 posts

210 months

Wednesday 3rd October 2012
quotequote all
breadvan said:
Getting close now to delivery of the 981 and when I asked the dealer about running in, he said no need as they are all bench tested and ready to go.

This is great news as I will do very few miles and had worries of 6 months at 3,000 rpms, but really, no running in?
What the dealer mean is that you should lend it to someone who does quite a few miles a week to run it in for you, *then* it doesn't need running in.

Bert
PS shame on you!

MarkKo

168 posts

196 months

Wednesday 3rd October 2012
quotequote all
Brakes and tyres are the things that need a bit of gentleness when new for sure,the engine is always a two camp debate some people say enjoy straight away,some people take it in increments up to being fully spanked....
Nice choice,enjoy your car whatever you decide :-)

Tony 1234

3,465 posts

226 months

Wednesday 3rd October 2012
quotequote all
breadvan said:
Getting close now to delivery of the 981 and when I asked the dealer about running in, he said no need as they are all bench tested and ready to go.

This is great news as I will do very few miles and had worries of 6 months at 3,000 rpms, but really, no running in?
Rubbish, read your handbook smile

HokumPokum

2,049 posts

204 months

Wednesday 3rd October 2012
quotequote all
no running in required. use as normal. avoid high rev.s.. and no competitive events for 1500 miles.

meaning... use normally and avoid red lining it in the first 1500 miles.

you don't have to cane it to enjoy it.

supermono

7,368 posts

247 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
I'd do what it says in the book. People on here have all kinds of old wives voodoo mehods of running in. They'll say things like they've had several new cars and always done <whatever> and had no trouble so it must be right.

The handbook doesn't say to pussy about with it because those bores and rings need mating to get good compression and the time for that to happen is in the very first hours of use and only happens properly at full throttle.

SM

BnB

1,059 posts

174 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
supermono said:
I'd do what it says in the book. People on here have all kinds of old wives voodoo mehods of running in. They'll say things like they've had several new cars and always done <whatever> and had no trouble so it must be right.

The handbook doesn't say to pussy about with it because those bores and rings need mating to get good compression and the time for that to happen is in the very first hours of use and only happens properly at full throttle.

SM
What you say in the second paragraph may be true but the manual clearly warns about taking it over 4000(ish) in the first 3000km. And equally warns not to lug the engine. I just kept mine between 2000 and 4000 and went for a long drive to northern Scotland to get her run in pronto.

Scott Parker

798 posts

220 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
supermono said:
I'd do what it says in the book. People on here have all kinds of old wives voodoo mehods of running in. They'll say things like they've had several new cars and always done <whatever> and had no trouble so it must be right.

The handbook doesn't say to pussy about with it because those bores and rings need mating to get good compression and the time for that to happen is in the very first hours of use and only happens properly at full throttle.

SM
No, this has to happen in the very first minutes of an engines life and that will happen on a bench at the factory

uktrailmonster

4,827 posts

199 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
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HokumPokum said:
use as normal. avoid high rev.s..
A bit of a contradiction for a sportscar.

nsm3

2,831 posts

195 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
Porsche don't "bench test" engines - they only pull about 1 in 100 (iirc) off the line for tests.

The first time they are run is in the EOL test booths, same as all other mass prod car factories.

Do what the handbook says, most "salesmen" don't know jack about cars anyway, they could just as easily be selling ball point pens.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
Here we go again. Below is what Porshe seem to think, apparently it's not just about the pistons and rings.....

Some of the engines are also randomly selected to be tested on a dyno stand before they are installed into the car. The assembly plant has 5 dyno rooms located directly off the production line. The day I was on the tour, there were around 40 engines lined up on dollies. Some of these engines were in the process of being tested for quality control purposes. Once the engine is bolted onto the dyno, warm water is circulated throughout the engine to bring it up to temperature. The operator then starts the engine and checks for the correct pressures and temperature before the actual test begins. Engine speed is then increased in RPM steps to about 80% of its red line (the engine’s maximum RPM). The entire engine run takes around 30 minutes. Since each engine type (Turbo, GT3, Boxster or Carrera…) has a different red line, all of the data is recorded and analyzed after the test is completed.After the engine is turned off, the engine is again checked for seal leaks and its actual HP is compared to its advertised HP. To pass final inspection, the engine has to develop, at a minimum, 100% of what its advertised HP rating is. Also, the engine cannot produce more than 5% over that same advertised rating. If the engine falls out of those parameters, the engine is rejected and then torn down to determine why it did not deliver the anticipated HP.
When the test was completed, a Porsche engineer came over to review the results. I couldn’t resist asking the question that I had been searching to find an answer to for all these years. I asked “why does Porsche feel it is safe for a new engine to run at nearly full throttle in the factory, while the customer must keep the engine speed to no more than 4,000 RPM for a 2,000 mile break-in period?” I thought that was a logical question and if I do say so myself-well stated! The engineer replied, “Herr Koop, you do not understand (that I already knew). When we do our engine test, the metals inside the engine never reach the temperatures they would when driven on the street since the test session is fairly short. In other words, the bearings, pistons and cylinders never get a chance to thermally expand to their maximum. Therefore, there is little wear on the moving components. But when you drive a car on the street, the engine parts expand considerably more because of the heat being generated from the engine running for an extended period of time. No matter how tight the tolerances are, there is always a slight amount of expansion in the material. The moving parts can wear quickly if exposed to excessive heat and not always in a uniform way. We also constantly vary the speed and allow the engine to run at both high and low RPM’s”.

“Porsche wants the engine to break-in slowly, which means it needs to maintain a lower operating temperature (below 4,000 RPM) and to allow all parts to adjust (wear-in) within their own thermal expansion parameters. This is also the reason why Porsche wants the owner to vary the RPM throughout the break-in period; therefore the engine doesn’t get use to one operating temperature range”.

“Porsche has been using Mobil 1 Oil since the early 90’s. With its superior lubricating properties, it takes many miles of driving (without getting the engine too hot) before the components actually seat (or break-in). Porsche’s own tests reveal that after 2,000 miles have been driven, all of the moving parts have had a chance to wear into their adjacent surfaces and then an increase in engine RPM is permissible.” I replied, “JA DAS SOUNDS GUT, when you explain it that way, it makes a lot of sense.” I thought to myself “You Dummkopf, why didn’t you think of that”.

The engineer commented that there were many other moving parts other than the engine that needed break-in as well. Wheel bearings, constant velocity joints, tires, brakes and transmission were just some of the other components that were mentioned.

So breaking it down into layman’s terminology, it all comes down to; higher RPM equates to more heat, which leads to greater expansion. For a new engine, that can mean uneven wear on certain parts if excessive heat is allowed to build up. In Porsche’s opinion, the thermal expansion of different parts and various materials need time to adjust to one another. Porsche’s time frame for that to occur is calculated to be 2,000 miles, with the heat restriction being 4,000 RPM. So simple; who woulda thunk.

PGM

2,168 posts

248 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
Only red line it when it's cold, that's safest biggrin

itsybitsy

5,188 posts

184 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
the manual says run in for first 3000km(1865 miles)take long trips avoid lots of cold starts and short trips dont go racing and avoid high revs when cold.
the last one you should do even when the engine is run in.
imho for the first 500 miles keep throttle below 4k rpm (i was lucky i had to drive mine home 200 miles from new at motorway speeds circa 3000rpm)but dont lug but also vary engine speeds then over the next 1000miles start to open her up a bit more and more and by the time you have got to 1000miles open the throttle fully but briefly every now and then.
i think the most important thing and what the manual gets at is not to thrash the balls off the thing in the running in stage ie constantly redlining over a lengthy period off time but its quiet harmless to open up fully when warm and dont do short trips where the engine doesnt have time to get warm ie no journeys less than 10 miles in summer and further in winter good excuse to go for a drive then.

Phooey

12,575 posts

168 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
On collection, it's tradition to leave 2 black lines exiting the showroom.

PGM

2,168 posts

248 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
Phooey said:
On collection, it's tradition to leave 2 black lines exiting the showroom.
My two sons wanted me to lay some 11s on the ceramics on the way out but my wife said it would be embarrassing.

tomw2000

2,508 posts

194 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
PGM said:
Only red line it when it's cold, that's safest biggrin
Have you been instructing my wife in how to drive our (her) 911?

lulz

Phooey

12,575 posts

168 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
PGM said:
Phooey said:
On collection, it's tradition to leave 2 black lines exiting the showroom.
My two sons wanted me to lay some 11s on the ceramics on the way out but my wife said it would be embarrassing.
I like to know my LSD is working to 100% efficiency nerd

RDMcG

19,096 posts

206 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
I do factory delivery and they said I could do anything I wanted after 1000km (informally). I took it fairly easy on Czech backroads for 1000 km,plus about 500 in Germany. After that I ran. I do not redline but was cartainly hitting 7000 after that (redline 8500).

birdcage

2,838 posts

204 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
I am intrigued by this too, more so because unless the car is being ragged to with an inch of its life from cold and it was evident to Porsche that this caused damage any problems would be covered by the extensive warranty.

We all treat our cars with respect as enthusiasts but I wonder how many non enthusiasts get in drive quickly from cold essentially saving any problems up for owners down the line as very few people buying a new 911 will keep for longer than a couple of years and any problems connected to engines not being treated decently would only manifest themselves to future owners and this data is not recorded on ECU etc?


Blue62

8,751 posts

151 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
Love this issue, there are plenty of knowledgeable folk who will tell you it's better to rev an engine, but this clearly conflicts with what is in the handbook. FWIW I am on my 6th new 911 and have always kept it to 3000rpm for first 500m, then up to 4000rpm for next 500m and then gradually opened it up. By the way that's metres not miles.