First proper drive - first impressions

[Tracky]

Regarding running in - Porsche recommend keeping below 4000rpm for the first 3000km (1865 miles).

They never relay this to the sales execs so just nail
It from the off!

[Col Lamb]

Great review.

Getting the seat positioned does take time, it is a while since I drove an X3 Beamer and a major drawback to the X3 was the poor lumber support and lack of vertical movement in the lumber pad. So do persevere you will get there, and do save the memory setting, initially I used them all to set different configurations. Now I never have to change them.

I am not a fan of the 18 way, yes it does hold you firm and for me that resulted in back ache as there is no squirm room on long trips.

Great road btw, used to ride over it frequently on the motorbikes.

As for brake dust, that should lessen as the pads bed in but then a cleaning product like Getechniq’s Fall Out remover and a pressure washer will remove the vast majority of the brake dust.

A sponge? Mine were consigned to the bin years ago, do read the washing and cleaning your Macan thread or Google two bucket car cleaning.

Yeah, I do always use the 2 bucket method when washing my cars. It was more a quick wipe down as I needed to take some photo's for the wheel & Tyre insurance I took out.

I'm hoping the back ache does ease once either the seats are worn in a bit, or maybe I just need to slacked off the side bolsters.

I will look at proper alloy cleaners, and I must look at foam sprays too. I'll check out the washing and cleaning thread.

Do take note that to get a good foam that actually sticks requires a decent foam lance and a high pressure sprayer ideally over 150bar, eg one of the B&Q sold Karcher units at c£99 is only 110 bar and will give a weak foam.

As my Macan has a Gtechniq ceramic coating I use their products which I buy from Ultimate Finish.

No, I do not earn commission.

[wab172uk]

Great review.

Getting the seat positioned does take time, it is a while since I drove an X3 Beamer and a major drawback to the X3 was the poor lumber support and lack of vertical movement in the lumber pad. So do persevere you will get there, and do save the memory setting, initially I used them all to set different configurations. Now I never have to change them.

I am not a fan of the 18 way, yes it does hold you firm and for me that resulted in back ache as there is no squirm room on long trips.

Great road btw, used to ride over it frequently on the motorbikes.

As for brake dust, that should lessen as the pads bed in but then a cleaning product like Getechniq’s Fall Out remover and a pressure washer will remove the vast majority of the brake dust.

A sponge? Mine were consigned to the bin years ago, do read the washing and cleaning your Macan thread or Google two bucket car cleaning.

Yeah, I do always use the 2 bucket method when washing my cars. It was more a quick wipe down as I needed to take some photo's for the wheel & Tyre insurance I took out.

I'm hoping the back ache does ease once either the seats are worn in a bit, or maybe I just need to slacked off the side bolsters.

I will look at proper alloy cleaners, and I must look at foam sprays too. I'll check out the washing and cleaning thread.

Do take note that to get a good foam that actually sticks requires a decent foam lance and a high pressure sprayer ideally over 150bar, eg one of the B&Q sold Karcher units at c£99 is only 110 bar and will give a weak foam.

As my Macan has a Gtechniq ceramic coating I use their products which I buy from Ultimate Finish.

No, I do not earn commission.

That's good to know, thanks.

[wab172uk]

Regarding running in - Porsche recommend keeping below 4000rpm for the first 3000km (1865 miles).

I think they have a standard running in for the entire world, where obviously there are different fuels, conditions etc.

There was a very good article I read years ago on Audisport that was written by an Audi engineer. Basically he wrote that loading the engine through different rev ranges while running in actually helped run the engine in. Sticking to low revs and constant revs wasn't very good for the engine. He advised the stages which I wrote earlier. First few hundred, load up but keep to about 4000-4500 revs, then between 500-1000 miles load up higher in the rev range. Just keep away from the red line.

Right or wrong, who knows? But it came from an engineer rather that out of a handbook or salesman. I don't think it's done any of my cars any harm, and they've all pulled very well once a few thousand miles are on the clock.

I think engines are far different from years ago where low rev running in was maybe more advisable.

[EngineerMK]

Some interesting thoughts. I recently took delivery of a Macan S, it replaced a 2017 340i touring. I rejected buying a X3 M40i because of the poor ride quality so your comments have reassured me I made the right choice. I too miss the Beemers I-Drive, so much easier than a touch screen (and no finger prints). I also have 18ways seats and have found them spot on from day one (but I also have 18ways in my Cayman S). Like you I'm just starting to enjoy the engine more now I've passed 1000miles, a great sound track and very accessible low down torque. The interior quality is excellent, on a pr with the Aston Martins and Bentley I played with at work before I retired.

My annoyances to date; the phone heater (aka charger), inability for the App to stay paired to the car and some annoying rear window distortions.

[EngineerMK]

Regarding running in - Porsche recommend keeping below 4000rpm for the first 3000km (1865 miles).

I think they have a standard running in for the entire world, where obviously there are different fuels, conditions etc.

There was a very good article I read years ago on Audisport that was written by an Audi engineer. Basically he wrote that loading the engine through different rev ranges while running in actually helped run the engine in. Sticking to low revs and constant revs wasn't very good for the engine. He advised the stages which I wrote earlier. First few hundred, load up but keep to about 4000-4500 revs, then between 500-1000 miles load up higher in the rev range. Just keep away from the red line.

Right or wrong, who knows? But it came from an engineer rather that out of a handbook or salesman. I don't think it's done any of my cars any harm, and they've all pulled very well once a few thousand miles are on the clock.

I think engines are far different from years ago where low rev running in was maybe more advisable.

I'd agree with those comments. I used to test prototype engines on dynos (test beds). We'd run them in over a variety of speeds and loads, gently increasing the speeds and over a set program, then after ten hours run a power curve (which typically takes 30-60mins when parameters are hand controlled), then repeat after another another ten hours running. when two consecutive power curves matched the engine was considered to be run-in, this was usually after 40-50 hours. This was true for Rover K Series engines at the start of my career and supercar engines I was testing just before I retired.

[Scooby_Doo]

Re cleaning your wheels - buy a box of disposable gloves, got fed up years ago trying to get brake dust off my hands. I've had polished finish alloys on various MB cars for years and my Macan has the standard 20" polished wheels . All I've ever used to clean them is whatever's left in the wash bucket and a Halfords bug shifter sponge and never had any signs of lacquer peel or oxidisation. One of the first jobs I had to do on my ex demo Macan was remove the centre caps and polish off the oxidisation that had started to appear on the edges probably as a result of the "nice" wheel cleaner the OPC used.

[BZR81]

Loving the overall look and feel of the interior. Feels a classy place to be. Though as with all modern cars, the infotainment system is frustrating in having to take your eyes off the road to prod the screen. But everything works well, nicely laid out. Will take some getting used to from BMW's I-Drive system.

I think the Macan is similar to my current Cayman in that one of the physical knobs below the infotainment screen puts an outline round the icons and can be used to scroll through them and pushed to select. Similar to how the big dial works on iDrive. You might have already figured that out, but I use it a bit as I find it easier than trying to jab the screen.

[Nuclear Nick]

Regarding running in - Porsche recommend keeping below 4000rpm for the first 3000km (1865 miles).

I think they have a standard running in for the entire world, where obviously there are different fuels, conditions etc.

There was a very good article I read years ago on Audisport that was written by an Audi engineer. Basically he wrote that loading the engine through different rev ranges while running in actually helped run the engine in. Sticking to low revs and constant revs wasn't very good for the engine. He advised the stages which I wrote earlier. First few hundred, load up but keep to about 4000-4500 revs, then between 500-1000 miles load up higher in the rev range. Just keep away from the red line.

Right or wrong, who knows? But it came from an engineer rather that out of a handbook or salesman. I don't think it's done any of my cars any harm, and they've all pulled very well once a few thousand miles are on the clock.

I think engines are far different from years ago where low rev running in was maybe more advisable.

I'd agree with those comments. I used to test prototype engines on dynos (test beds). We'd run them in over a variety of speeds and loads, gently increasing the speeds and over a set program, then after ten hours run a power curve (which typically takes 30-60mins when parameters are hand controlled), then repeat after another another ten hours running. when two consecutive power curves matched the engine was considered to be run-in, this was usually after 40-50 hours. This was true for Rover K Series engines at the start of my career and supercar engines I was testing just before I retired.

Thanks for posting this, it’s good to hear from someone with knowledge and real world relevant experience. We’ve done this subject to death so many times over the years and we always get the same old nonsense about ‘the salesman said it’s already run in at the factory’, or ‘modern engines don’t need running in now’, or ’I’ve never run mine in and they’ve always been fine’. All expressed by those with no engineering knowledge of course.

In this case the manufacturer is best placed to advise on how to use their product, and it’s all in the manual, but then most on here don’t read the manual either!

[kalniel]

In this case the manufacturer is best placed to advise on how to use their product, and it’s all in the manual, but then most on here don’t read the manual either!

Assuming they even get a manual

(Asked my sales rep about this, he admitted there was a period when they weren't giving out manuals but that that should soon be resolved.. yes there is an app-based on but some of us can't read a lot of text on a small screen easily!)