NOTE: The following is written by a NOT mechanical engineer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tiz22
All I'm saying is that if I design an engine myself, test it myself and then release it to the public with SPECIFIC instructions to keep the RPMs under 4k - you would be wise to follow that.
Not saying your car will blow up if you don't but if you plan on keeping a car for 5-10+ years why chance screwing any of that up by redlining it in your first couple weeks of ownership?
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If, in the course of your testing, you find the engine will have best longevity if limited to 4k for the first 40 hours, would you tell the user exactly that? We know full well that compliance to break-in instructions is poor. You don't want to create a situation where OCD-level compliance to instructions is mandatory for a reliable engine. At worst, you'd give them a conservative set of restrictions so that people who like to toe the line are still covered.
Now that the science of break-in is more fully understood than it was 10 or 20 years ago (when it was entirely superstition), you'd be able to design the engine such that the critical phase of the break-in period is performed at the factory (or at least under the control of the manufacturer). After that, the user is only responsible for not breaking it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AVodka14
Was each engine not redlined during testing pre-delivery? If so, is it more just prolonged redlining during the first 1000 mi of driving that is not recommended?
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Without engineers from Toyobaru here to explain their reasoning for the instructions, it's impossible to know exactly what they were thinking and the consequences for failing to adhere to their instructions. I share the general assumption that the engineers know their engine better than anyone else; however, the question is what they were trying to communicate to the user.
Personally, I interpreted the break-in instructions as "baby the car" with a basic description of what they mean by babying (less than 4k, no hard breaking or acceleration). Any failure to strictly follow their instructions was less damaging (if consequential
at all) than the first couple hundred miles of "new stick driver" (a.k.a. me)...and, from the sounds of it, operating the vehicle in California where they seem to lack 93 octane fuel (which presumably gives you cancer while eliminating detonation).