I have been invited to be a guest for a track day with my new Cayman at one of the Porsche Driving schools. I attended Skip Barber 30 years ago, did a bit of vintage racing in the 80's, and the Mille Miglia twice in 1999 and 2001, so I'm confident of my skills but worried that my two week old Cayman with only 450 miles on the engine will not be sufficiently broken in to take it on the track.

So, what should I do?
Ignore the break in recommendation, take it to the track and drive it like I stole it?

Or do I take it to the track but respect the 4200 rpm break in limit while on the track?

I'm curious as to whether or not driving the car with shifts to the redline would really damage the engine. If the consensus of the group is yes, well then I'll just take it easy on the car, but if the consensus is otherwise, I plan on having more fun and learning to explore the limits of the car.

I wouldn't track it so soon, but thats just me.
It takes me a couple hundred miles just to break in the tires.

Could we please have an easier question to answer? Expect a variety of answers to this one. I'm interested in reading the responses too.

I don't know what I'd do in that situation either. My first thought was that I'd just pass up the invitation (why risk it?), but then you mentioned the possibility of driving without going to higher rpm. I don't think I could drive around shifting at 4200 for long, but might be able to gradually increase my own redline from one session to the next. I don't think it actually takes 2000 miles to break in these engines. Mine seemed to loosen up and rev easier somewhere around 800-900 miles. At that point I started to gradually increase the rpm that I'd take it to briefly. There's the rub; brief spurts to a higher rpm range probably has a different effect than more sustained periods at the same higher rpm range, as driving down a long straight. Other things I'd be concerned about is full throttle acceleration, and engine overheating.

I don't know . . . when is the track day? Maybe a long road trip between now and then?

I think that once you get caught up in the excitement of the track, you're going to have a hard time keeping it under 5000 rpms (on both upshifts and downshifts) - I know I would.

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2006 CS Tip (Daily Driver & Part-time Track Toy)
2005 Ford Expedition (to haul the CS)
2006 Lexus RX400h (wifey's)
Gone, but not forgotten: 2002 WRX, 2004 MINI

I kind of liked the idea that the motor was broken in... and 450 miles seems a wee bit young. And the chances of you holding to 4200 shift point... nil !!
D

I would go!
I have driven mine hard since the test drive with only 7 miles on the clock.
How do you give a proper rides for your friends and family without taking to redline? They would have been a little disappointed.

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+1 for long road trip

I second D&D’s thoughts on this. The track will be there after your CS has more revolutions under its belt.

zornet

Break it in.... There are pleanty of track events to choose from and I do recomend you take it to the track, just not before the car is ready. Pick an event with some distance away to help with the breakin, or as someone suggested, road trip. You will not be able to take it easy or under 4200 rpm at the track. It took everything I had to to take it easy for a couple laps just to bed in the pagid brakes....

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2007 Porsche Cayman
2002 Audi S6
2002 Audi S4
1983 Mercedes 240D

If you're being given a free day, then ask if they have a loaner car because you certainly want to respect Porsche's own recommended break in period, but not lose this great opportunity.

If they say "Nein", then rent a Porsche at the closest "exotic" car rental place. That's still cheaper than a full day at SB (but more than a track day with a local club).

do the right thing, break her in properly, its not asking a lot. plenty of trackdays to go.

I see the break-in period as a "shake down cruise".

I don't believe that wear and tear and "break-in" is the real issue here.

There is that chance that something is wrong and you want to experience that failure under moderate conditions. Not at speed in a corner on a track. Like your clutch pedal sticking to the floor.

So there is a safety question...not a long term reliability concern IMO.

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2007 Speed Yellow Cayman GT 2.7 (retired)
2008 Guards Red Cayman GT 3.4
"Carpe Cayman"

Ah the break in question ... again!

Yesterday there was a post from someone who took tourist delivery in Germany. He was told to just go out and drive it. So there are different recommendations stateside and in Europe. I wonder if some of it might be related to the type of driving most drivers do in europe vs in the US. No answers for you , only more questions. My opinion on this matter is unqualified. I'll wait and see what the others have to say on the matter..

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