Breaking in a new engine

[obi_waynne]

What methods do you use to break in or run in a new engine?

Do you recommend different methods if it is a rebuilt engine, new engine or an engine with new piston rings and other minor changes?

Is running in engines still relevent on modern engines?

 

[turbonutter69]

Yes Waynne running in new engine is still relevent. My Focus had a 1000 mile run in period and I had to stay below a certain amount of revs and not push the engine too hard.

 

[Yugguy]

Aye, my ClioSport needed gentle running for 1000miles. I then changed the oil to get rid of all the bits that will have ground off during the running in.

 

[HDi fun]

I don't really know any more. Most seem to recommend not overloading the engine, so not too much throttle at low or high revs. Not too much driving at steady RPM, so vary speed and revs constantly.

As with any engine, don't be harsh when the oil is cold.

Isn't it written somewhere that some cars are run in on mineral oil which is then replaced with synthetic at 1000 miles. Perhaps this is just to keep down the cost of filling the engines at the factory.

Some also say that a damn good thrashing at the end of that 1000 mile run in process (just before the first oil change) is meant to be helpful.

 

[fezzafii]

Does this apply to new cars out of the showroom?

 

[pgarner]

yeah brand new engine or full rebuild

 

[fezzafii]

Just wondering as being a previous seller of new cars for a mid-range brand, we obviously had demo's, sometimes driving them straight off the trailer on trades and they certainly were not kept at low revs etc, nor were we advised to especially keep it steady (obviously to keep within the law and the image of the brand etc), however giving it a boot-full where appropriate was anything but frowned upon, almost encouraged.

Just wondering if it IS so important to break in an engine gradually, then surely manufacturers should be releasing this kind of advice to the salemen driving these cars??

Cheers,

Adam

 

[pgarner]

Salesmen dont really car about the condition of a new car in my experiance as they're not the owners.

there are som guides out the about braking them in quickly using high revs but changing the oil 3 times in the fist 1000 miles.

normally this information is in the guidebook that comes with the car.

 

[Munday]

Run in a new engine by giving it hell! Its the best way of doing it, and dont let it tick over for the first half hour if its new cams as it puts more stain on them.

Its honestly the best way to go :blink1:

EDIT: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

[k16eof]

Run in a new engine by giving it hell! Its the best way of doing it, and dont let it tick over for the first half hour if its new cams as it puts more stain on them.

Its honestly the best way to go :blink1:

EDIT: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

I agree:bigsmile: A new engine when given plenty of enthusiasm from new will actually bed it in better with better compression readings. Obviously, if the guidebook says change the oil 3 times then change it, If it say's don't get it over a certain amount of revs then stick to it but in general, Car engines will last longer if they have been driven hard from new

When i had my car on the rolling road whe it was totaly OEM, i was expecting a return figure of about 175-180 (193 from the factory 10 years earlier) but it came back with 210:blink: I questioned the calibration but they were adamant that the machine was correct and that perhaps my engine had been run fairly hard in it's infancy Apparently they do see it from time to time!!

Slightly different but not very, look at racing cars, they don't really bed them in before racing and the stresses on those engines and what they have to endure???

 

[HDi fun]

The hard and heartless apporach does seem to be getting popular.

Afterall, look how many Mondeo, Focus type cars are bought brand new by daily rental fleets (Hertz, Enterprise etc).

I don't doubt for a second that they get driven savagely from day one. All end up sold on after 10,000 miles or so and generally reliability is not a problem.

There are some folks who genuinely believe that a f'''''in' good thrashing is the best way to help your engine lead a long and reliable service life.

Please refer to this site; I think we discussed this a year or two back. It does refer to motorcycle engines but I assume similar principles apply to 4 stroke petrol car engines, possibly diesels as well:

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

[pgarner]

yeah thats what munday posted up. i remember us having this topic back then

 

[turbonutter69]

In the manual for my Focus it states not to exceed a certain amount of revs and be gentle with it for the first 1000 miles. Oil doesn't need to be changed untill 12500 miles.

 

[WLBjork]

Yeah, similar with my Octavia. Just so happened I was doing a long run when I hit the "freedom" point, at which point I gradually increased revs to maximum - hah, yeah. Just coming off a roundabout at that point, in second so I redlined it - not fiercly though, and ran it well for the rest of the journey.

Seems to have done the job better than expected - TDI engines are supposed to be oil drinkers, yet I haven't noticed any problems.

 

[HDi fun]

Some of the PD TDis can be happy to sink a litre every 1000 miles even though working perfectly. They're also supposed to be operated on semi-synthetics only!! Possibly something to do with the injectors being incorporated into the head assembly directly. Pumpe Duse means unit injector and it was a clever system where fuel pressures were never ramped up until immediately before the injection phase.

Why? I don't have any idea. I do know, however, that they injection pressures are insane, circa 3000 bar. I thought my common rail HDi was high at 1300 bar.

My car didn't have a thirst for oil thankfully (despite have an ECU remap), given that the prescribed stuff was a 5w/40 full synthetic low-sulfated-ash formulation=EXPENSIVE.

Still, the problem has been taken away from me now as the car was destroyed in an accident on 24th June. Which is a real shame because I'd planned to keep it another 4 or 5 years. On the bright side, however, I did walk away from a national speed limit road accident with no broken bones and no loss of blood. Lots of bruises/abrasions etc. from airbags, belt tensioners etc. Also the occupants of the other car got away similarly lightly.

 

[MasterAuron]

Now you mention it, I've done about 1000 miles in my JTDM Alfa and it's used no oil whatsoever (well not a noticable amount). I thought that diesels burnt at least a bit of oil or do some of them not? It's not particularily new or old engine (44k) but it's been well and regularly serviced and not driven hard.

 

[prevtec]

its like when u get a new timing belt installed, your supposed to leave the belt bed in properly before horsing it, so with a new car its the same, only that theres a lot more stuff to break in

i think if you drive a new car to the limits straight away, it becomes a nag later on in its life,
to break in a new car, or a car thats parked up for a long time, drive it handy for a few days, its better to be safe than sorry

 

[HDi fun]

Now you mention it, I've done about 1000 miles in my JTDM Alfa and it's used no oil whatsoever (well not a noticable amount). I thought that diesels burnt at least a bit of oil or do some of them not? It's not particularily new or old engine (44k) but it's been well and regularly serviced and not driven hard.

If it's not used any then the engine is in excellent condition. ]

There's nothing wrong with doing an oil change just to be safe, however.

Get one of those semicircular magnet things for fiften quid or so and attach it to the bottom part of the oil filter. It'll hold all sorts of ferrous stuff out of the oil paths - one of the cheapest and most effective ways to preserve your engine in prime condition.

Don't bother with oil fortifiers etc. Just change the stuff every 10,000-12,000 or so.

 

[obi_waynne]

I think a lot depends on the manufacturing tolerances used. In an engine with new rings and scuffed cylinder walls you can actually pop most of your oil seals by thrashing it.

Motorbike engines are very precisely built as are many modern car engines.

I prefer to run in my engines with lots of low rev hard work. Plenty of hills and as much load as I can carry.

It would be interesting to see which run in methods produce the better engine by comparing 2 side by side.

 

[WLBjork]

Some of the PD TDis can be happy to sink a litre every 1000 miles even though working perfectly. They're also supposed to be operated on semi-synthetics only!! Possibly something to do with the injectors being incorporated into the head assembly directly. Pumpe Duse means unit injector and it was a clever system where fuel pressures were never ramped up until immediately before the injection phase.

Ah, forgetting that - I've got the CR TDi

Maybe, just maybe, they've cut the oil useage down a bit.

 

[HDi fun]

quite possibly the CR models will use less oil.