Drain plug dirt

[91189]

I did my first oil change this week on the 89 CAB, I purchased last fall. The car only has 12,000 miles, and it did not consume a drop of oil for the 2000 miles I drove since owning it. I noticed there was a finger tip size accumulation of black sediment on the magnetic drain plug. Should I be concerned?
In addition, from what I read, the Porsche 3.2 engine can take a lot of abuse. Is there risk of carbon build-up if I drive it too softly? (Shifting at 3000-3500rpm range)

Thanks
Paul

[anthony]

That should be a bare minimum shift point when there's no load on the engine. Start driving that car harder. It's good for the engine. Who are you saving it for?


Keep it above 4,000 RPM?

[wholberg]

I have a '87 targa and I typically shift around 5K when its warmed up. When driving around town, I run between 3-4K when not shifting. I have found that after a period of "spirited" driving, where I keep the rpm around 5-6K for several minutes, the car runs and idles much more smoothly for several days afterwards. The more experiences Porsche people I know say that the higher rpm's clear carbon buildup. I have no other explanation.

The only advantage to shifting low is that when I have driven it as you describe, I get close to 20 mpg, and when I drive as I described above, it is closer to 16-17 mpg (and a lot more fun).

By the way, my car burns about 0.5 - 0.6 qts of oil every 1000 miles.

[wholberg]

I forgot to say that my car has 88K miles.

[126coupe]

Possibly moly assembly lube? I get the same sediment in my race engines for several oil changes. as lonn as their is no metal you should be fine

[91189]

Thanks everyone for your comments.

As soon as the snow melts, I look forward to driving it a little harder.

Paul

[randywebb]

It's common to get tiny metal flakes on the magnetic plug. Clean them off - use a magnet & see if they are magnetic.

Check the oil again sooner and see what it looks like next time.