[Steve Tinker]

I contribute to a couple of the UK Porsche magazines and the general consensus by the British experts (Autofarm & Hartech Engineering) follows the same advice as Flat 6 and LN Engineering - change the engine oil & filter more frequently than Porsche recommends, use a very good synthetic oil, and keep on top of the maintenance schedule, ie don't put off what needs to be done.

About 8 years ago I bought an early MX-5 (Miata in the US) and then started reading about massive failures of the short nose cranks, diff failures, water pump shafts snapping etc etc. I was kept awake at nights and continually checking the crank pulley for the tell tale wobble....
I kept the car for 4 years and never experienced any of the above, nore did I hear of any breakages in the MX-5 club here in Australia.

I then bought a Mazda RX-8 and found the websites full of blown apex seals, huge replacement engine $$ costs for high oil usage, Mazda building an engine re-man plant in the US to help stem the flood of broken engines, having to add oil to the fuel to assist seal wear etc, etc.

Sound familiar ??

Honestly, the real truth lies not in listening to ALL the hype on the internet but taking a long carefull look at what reputable, knowlegable experts tell us and see if their recommendations fit in with what we expect from our cars.