Care and feeding of my new Boxster S?

[Spy4cia]

I should have my Boxster S by January sometime.

I have a great guy who clays the car and waxes it, so I don't need help or advice on keeping the paint pristine.

It will be garaged. Driven 2-3 times a week.

I was thinking about one of those clear bras that are warmed and put on the paint, to protect from paint chips, rocks, etc.

Any other advice on what to do / not to do is greatly appreciated.

And any info on taking it easy the first 1000(?) miles would be appreciated as well.

I plan on keeping the car 15 years, as I did with my last car.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Michael

[dbth]

You will get lots of feedback on this one.

Do a thread search on Clear Bra and engine break in period.

Good luck

[Paul]

Many believe Porsche breaks the motor in at the factory and the 2000 mile "break in" period is for the driver not the car!

I have 55000 miles on mine and it has never used any oil at all between 15000 mile oil changes.

Drive the car hard it will last forever, baby it, or let it sit, and it will punish you.

[1JB]

The clear bra is a personal preference but having one on a current car for almost 5 years I passed on my Boxster when I bought it. It is visible and gets more so as it ages. There will be small wrinkles here and there and they become more apparent with age. I'm taking the one that's been on my other car off soon, it now looks really bad. I do have a few very small nicks in the hood of the Boxster but I'm the only one who sees them and it's only when I wax the car which I do every other week. Like yours mine is only driven a few times a week and not in the winter. When the nicks really add up I'll have the front end painted.

I intend to keep the car for at least 10 years as well. For that reason I avoided all of the gadgets like PASM, Sport/Chrono, PCM, adaptive seats, etc. Those items get outdated quickly, break, seem to have quirky problems and are very expensive to replace.

As for the break in I would follow it as best you can but there will certainly be times when you exceed the 4200 rpm limit or whatever it is duing the break in and accelerate beyond it without the oil warmed up. The latter is the big concern in my opinion. Don't really push the rpms until the oil is warmed up. I made a point of going on a couple of long highway trips during the first 3k where I could vary the rpms, accelerate quickly, drive in 6th, etc. My car runs like a dream with 3500 miles on it. The clutch and shifting are perfect and the throttle response incredible. Everything definitely loosens up on the car which led me to conclude that avoiding really pushing the car during the first couple thousand miles is worth it in the long run. I think the worst thing you could do though would be to let it sit in the garage and just use it for quick trips where you really push it without letting it warm up. This car likes to warm up and then be driven. A thoroughbred.

[Brucelee]

"Drive the car hard it will last forever, baby it, or let it sit, and it will punish you."

There is no data or evidence to support this contention. Quite the opposite.

Hammer your car and it will reward you by breaking down. Take it racing and you will need a budget for many many parts.

This is not a human body, it is a collection of moving metal parts, all subject to stress, wear and friction.

Now, changing the oil every 7500 miles is a good step for long life.

I would also use Red Line 5W-40 engine oil, the best out there in my opinion.

Good luck.

[z12358]

Don't know the quality of 1JB's old clear-bra installation and what material was it made of, but I have only praises to say about mine (installed in May). People never know I have it until I tell them about it. I think it helps that I minimized the amount of visible edges as much as possible. I covered the whole hood, front bumper and front fenders to where they meet the doors. Only visible are two 3" edges on each side right below the windshield -- as they don't make rolls wide enough to cover the hood in its entirety. Really easy to maintain and clean. Just wash with soap and spray with Plexus. Bugs, dirt, etc wipe off really easy. I can only hope that I'll be as happy with it years from now but no one can tell.

Do follow the break-in procedure religiously. It will be in the manual. I bought mine in May now at 3000+ miles (driving it only on weekends) the car starts to really loosen up. The engine sounds smoother, revs easier. I never crossed 4200 rpms during the first 2000 miles. Crossing it after that was like driving a different, new car. You will LOVE the car.
Z.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

"Drive the car hard it will last forever, baby it, or let it sit, and it will punish you."

There is no data or evidence to support this contention. Quite the opposite.

Hammer your car and it will reward you by breaking down. Take it racing and you will need a budget for many many parts.

This is not a human body, it is a collection of moving metal parts, all subject to stress, wear and friction.

Now, changing the oil every 7500 miles is a good step for long life.

I would also use Red Line 5W-40 engine oil, the best out there in my opinion.

Good luck.

I have owned 14 Porsches since 1974 and have floored them every time I have driven them and shifted near redline and have never blown a motor. I have torn down some of them at 100,000 miles and could still see the cross hatching in the cylinders and the bearings tested within Porsche's service limit for used bearings. BTW I have always loosely followed Porsche's recommended oil change intervals including 12,000 miles or 6 months (IIRC) on my 1975. I have driven them coast to coast and on tracks and in the twisties for hundreds of thousands of miles.

There's some evidence for you!!!!

In regard to oil changes do you think you are smarter than Dr Porsche? Is Redline on the list of approved oils in Porsche's latest TSB?

BTW I agree about racing, it will use up the car, but driving the car on the streets the way Porsche intended (warm them up, have fun) based on my experiences will not harm the car. Leaving it sit, flooring it when cold, shifting at low rpms WILL harm it.