Advice on engine break-in?

[Daniel Gorton]

I've been researching the engine break in a lot recently as I'm only a week or two away from getting my s1. Having never owned a car straight from the factory this is all new stuff for me.

As it's a lease car and I'm going to be handing it back after 3 years for a brand new car, is it necessary for me to have a strict break in?
Or is a strict break even necessary on modern cars?

Any advice is appreciated
Thanks

Dan

 

[andy l]

There's conflicting advice some say drive it like you stole it from the off.
Personally I'd take it steady for the first 800/1000 miles below 4k revs.
That's my advice.
Don't what the manual says.

 

[northeastdave]

Every new car has been bedded in test run and most rebuilt engines suppliers say warm oil up then redline it as it beds pistons in better, you get full piston range across rings, I work with a guy who runs bikes up to 250 mph and every build he has, the guy doing the upgrades says do this...... never had the bottle to do it myself I'm same as andi I

 

[Daniel Gorton]

There's conflicting advice some say drive it like you stole it from the off.
Personally I'd take it steady for the first 800/1000 miles below 4k revs.
That's my advice.
Don't what the manual says.

Yeah I think it's probably better to stick to the manual. Just so much conflicting advice you don't know what's right. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Daniel Gorton]

Every new car has been bedded in test run and most rebuilt engines suppliers say warm oil up then redline it as it beds pistons in better, you get full piston range across rings, I work with a guy who runs bikes up to 250 mph and every build he has, the guy doing the upgrades says do this...... never had the bottle to do it myself I'm same as andi I

Yeah I'm not sure if I'd risk the chance of damaging something by driving it like I stole it. Like Andy said as well. Probably better to play it safe. And then after the first 1000 miles I can raz the **** out of it!
Thanks for the advice!

 

[Georgeski]

Every new car has been bedded in test run and most rebuilt engines suppliers say warm oil up then redline it as it beds pistons in better, you get full piston range across rings, I work with a guy who runs bikes up to 250 mph and every build he has, the guy doing the upgrades says do this...... never had the bottle to do it myself I'm same as andi I

That's contrary to advice from all car manufacturers and most dont bed in in the factory either. Hammering it from day one doesnt help bed the pistons in, in fact it can cause hot spots and damage to the cylinder lining.

The advice to keep it below 4000 rpm is for the first 1000 miles so that those imperfections are removed gently and not causing localised hot spots. As an example Nissan for the GTR are very specific about the running method, which is about keeping revs low and Honda with the new NSX specifically run it in in the factory, keeping it under 4000rpm again for the first 1000 miles. I trust their mechanical engineers more than tge rubbish floating around the net personally.

 

[Georgeski]

Im running mine in below 4000rpm (with varying engine loads) for the first 1000miles and then doing and oil and filter change. Done this with a number of BMW's and they never used a drop of oil (which they are infamous for).

 

[Georgeski]

That said as it's a a lease car I wouldn't be so concerned about mechanical sympathy.

 

[Daniel Gorton]

That said as it's a a lease car I wouldn't be so concerned about mechanical sympathy.

That's what most concerned me. If I was to have a more than aggressive break-in would I ever see any of the future problems or does it affect the car later down the line. Long after I've handed it back in some 36,000 miles later?

 

[Retroman]

My manual suggests not taking the engine speed over two-thirds of its maximum speed (revs) for the first 1000 km after which engines speeds can be gradually increased until 1500 km is achieved. It suggests not towing and to avoid driving with the engine speed too low by changing down through the gears appropriately.

As said above, I have known some BMW engines to have excessive engine oil usage problems due to the running in advice being ignored e.g. the M54 engine.

 

[Georgeski]

That's what most concerned me. If I was to have a more than aggressive break-in would I ever see any of the future problems or does it affect the car later down the line. Long after I've handed it back in some 36,000 miles later?

I doubt you would see any significant issues (and it would still be under warranty anyway), but you may just use a bit more oil and make slightly less BHP.

 

[desertstorm]

Baby an engine too much and I think you are more likely to get cylinder glazing with consequent oil consumption problems.Modern engines as part of there design tend to have piston rings that exert a lot less force on the cylinder wall, They are described as low tension rings.
To get the rings to bed in properly and stop bore glazing requires pressure, and this can only come from combustion pressure forcing the ring against the bore.Personally I wouldn't have an issue finding the red line occasionally when the engine is upto temperature. There is absolutely no point in taking it easy for 1000Km and then nailing it when the engine is cold. Some common sense and mechanical sympathy can go a long way towards getting a reliable long lasting engine.

 

[Rockall]

Occasionally took mine beyond 4,000 rpm during the first 1,000 miles and it doesn't seem to have done it any harm. An old mechanic friend told me that an engine that is stretched when new will be faster in the long term.

 

[Ian Whiffen]

I just took it fairly easy for the 1000 miles or so. Did try to keep in under 4000 revs. Saying that I had mine remapped at 1600 miles so after that there was no stopping me. Car has done about 22k now with no problems.