Major service

[MDT48]

Got my Cayman R booked in for its four-year service next week.

Porsche is "advising" that the spark plugs be changed for the princely sum of £250.

Given that the car's barely done 6,000 miles, I'm not convinced that this is necessary.

Saying that, they are four years old now.

What's the general consensus here? Do you normally change the plugs with a major service?

[Trev450]

I do personally, but modern plugs are supposed to be good for about 50k miles so a personal preference really.

[nsm3]

Tell them no thanks, if they had 20k on, it might be worthwhile?

[Beanoir]

I wouldn't change them, not at 6k miles. Perhaps check them for any age related wear, but to be honest they've got many many more miles in them i expect.

And i'd never pay Porsche £250 for a set of spark plugs!?

[MDT48]

Beanoir said:

I wouldn't change them, not at 6k miles. Perhaps check them for any age related wear, but to be honest they've got many many more miles in them i expect.

And i'd never pay Porsche £250 for a set of spark plugs!?

Exactly what I was thinking. Given that I'm not too far away from Parr, GT One, Northway, etc. there's no reason to pay that kind of price.

I'm happy to keep the service stamps OPC for now, but anything auxiliary is likely to be done at a good indy.

[Akajak]

Do u still get the stamp without changing plugs?

[juansolo]

IIRC they're good for 60k miles. DO NOT LET THEM SWAP THEM, there's nothing wrong with them. It's bloody wasteful if nothing else! Christ the plugs I use in the 190E last 12,000 miles and then they still come out with good gaps on them. I only swap them at 12k because it's £5 for four of them!

FWIW, I have mine serviced at a specialist and the things they come up with that could do with swapping are just as comical. You'd think it wouldn't make it home under it's own steam... Mostly complete bks.

In fact I most object to having to take it to a specialist or an OPC in the first place. It is literally the most expensive stamp ever. It's just a fking mass produced car. There's nothing special about it. But if you ever want to sell the thing you have to have one of those stamps. For no reason whatsoever.

Edited by juansolo on Friday 20th March 16:10

[EricE]

I thought the point of the plug change is to make sure the threads don't seize?

[juansolo]

Akajak said:

Do u still get the stamp without changing plugs?

Yes, they just don't tick the [spark plugs changed] box.

EricE said:

I thought the point of the plug change is to make sure the threads don't seize?

Whomever told you that, find them, and slap them.

[MDT48]

juansolo said:

Akajak said:

Do u still get the stamp without changing plugs?

Yes, they just don't tick the [spark plugs changed] box.

EricE said:

I thought the point of the plug change is to make sure the threads don't seize?

Whomever told you that, find them, and slap them.

Exactly right - the plugs aren't part of the service itself, which to be fair, they did tell me. It's just an extra that they "recommend."

And yes, one of the reasons they gave was that they might seize - but of course if the was a real reason, you'd simply just loosen at tighten them surely, rather than discard perfectly good plugs!

[Johnthepotter]

I had te same dbate with "my" OPC last March for my Spyder. They strongly recommended the change - the risk being seizure of threads. I asked them to remove and re-fit which they said they would do, but the labour charge would be the same as for changing (logically!). So i proceeded with the change (they had done 9500 miles). Not worth the risk of trouble further down the line for the sake of the cost of a set of plugs in my view.

[juansolo]

Not sure I'd trust anyone who came up with such utter bks to service my car...

[lingus75]

My turbo is going in for a minor service in a few weeks (OPC), and they say the brake fluid should be changed. Is this another 'change the plugs' scenario?

Ooops, thought this was the general porsche section, but the model doesn't make any difference to the above I suspect?

[b2hbm]

lingus75 said:

My turbo is going in for a minor service in a few weeks (OPC), and they say the brake fluid should be changed. Is this another 'change the plugs' scenario?

Ooops, thought this was the general porsche section, but the model doesn't make any difference to the above I suspect?

If your minor service is a 2 year one, then changing brake fluid seems to be the norm at 2 years. I don't think it's listed as a service item, it's separate on my book as one of those "every x years you replace y" things.

[worldwidewebs]

Got my Cayman R booked in for it's 4 year service in a couple of weeks too. I wasn't going to get the OPC to change the plugs and brake fluid but managed to get it all in for £800, including belts check and warranty inspection so just went with it. Courtesy car thrown in too for the 2 days they wanted the car

[bcr5784]

b2hbm said:

If your minor service is a 2 year one, then changing brake fluid seems to be the norm at 2 years. I don't think it's listed as a service item, it's separate on my book as one of those "every x years you replace y" things.

There are sound reasons for changing the brake fluid - most types are hygroscopic (absorb water) over time and the boiling point falls as a result.

[dreamcar]

lingus75 said:

My turbo is going in for a minor service in a few weeks (OPC), and they say the brake fluid should be changed. Is this another 'change the plugs' scenario?

Ooops, thought this was the general porsche section, but the model doesn't make any difference to the above I suspect?

Definitely not! Brake fluid is "hydroscopic" meaning the fluid absorbs water over time. Changing bake fluid is a must do at the recommended time, irrespective of mileage.

[juansolo]

You should do fluid at reasonable intervals. Porsche intervals are very short mind you (every 2 years IIRC). Also if you boil your fluid (your pedal goes long) on track or as I did, driving around some mountains, change it afterwards regardless of age.

lingus75 said:

Ooops, thought this was the general porsche section, but the model doesn't make any difference to the above I suspect?

It doesn't make any difference, think of it as the same car with the engine where it should be.

worldwidewebs said:

Got my Cayman R booked in for it's 4 year service in a couple of weeks too. I wasn't going to get the OPC to change the plugs and brake fluid but managed to get it all in for £800, including belts check and warranty inspection so just went with it. Courtesy car thrown in too for the 2 days they wanted the car

I'd love to know what they did for two days. I had mine done at an indie while I waited and it took 2hrs. They really do very little to them even at a major. Basic is oil, filters (oil/air/pollen) and an inspection. Never paid more than £500 for it (which I still consider to be a monumental rip-off), but if you're maintaining an OPC warranty, they've got you by the balls. If you just need the stamp, go to an indie.

Edited by juansolo on Saturday 21st March 09:43

[bcr5784]

dreamcar said:

Definitely not! Brake fluid is "hydroscopic" meaning the fluid absorbs water over time. Changing bake fluid is a must do at the recommended time, irrespective of mileage.

You are getting your terms mixed up - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_fluid most is hygroscopic as I said and absorbs water, some silicone based brake fluid is hydroPHOBIC. For most of my motoring life it was all hygroscopic.

[juansolo]

I'd be VERY surprised if Porsche put DOT5 in anything. To this day I've never seen anyone use it. Even Castrol SRF (generally used in racing applications) isn't silicon. So spelling aside, the message is the same.

Also, never mix DOT5 fluid with any other type... Basically, don't use silicone fluid...

Edited by juansolo on Saturday 21st March 09:44