Best Break-in Procedure

[carbonBLUE]

Originally Posted by WolfsFang

I broke at 220mi, went to a empty parking lot in the mountains by me and took it sideways in second (wet pavement) and then i gave it a tiny launch (did not dump the clutch but released it kinda fast) so i hope i did not do any damage to the car :P

Be careful with the clutch to avoid glazing in the first500 miles

[sdiver68]

In the 20 years I've read these break-in debates on car and motorcycle forums not ONCE has anyone posted any technical whitepaper or study that proves 1 form of break-in is better than another.

[Max Schnell]

http://papers.sae.org/2004-01-2917/

Here pay for this and let me know what it says.

[Jayde]

Now that I've hit 1000 miles, I allowed the engine to hit roughly 5000 rpms before I shift. I know it's probably not needed, and that I can go to redline if I wanted, but I guess I'm crazy like that. I'll probably do this for roughly another 500 miles, then increase to 6000 rpms for another 500, then finally 7000. I also still try to vary engine rpms on the highway too if possible.

[ahausheer]

Originally Posted by Max Schnell

http://papers.sae.org/2004-01-2917/

Here pay for this and let me know what it says.

Uhm, we are talking about engines (whole cars actually) that have at least 10 miles on them and were tested at the factory. This article seems to look solely at wear on the various parts in the combustion chamber under various operating conditions, not whole cars being delivered to a customer. Without a thorough understanding of how much wear is bad and how much wear is good for Hp and longevity sake I think the article is a moot point. Did you read the motor-trend article I posted? There is no more debate, go back a few pages and read it.

[Max Schnell]

Yeah I read the abstract a little closer. I see that it is talking about a method to determine engine wear rather than break-in effects on the engine wear.

[Marrk]

Originally Posted by ahausheer

Uhm, we are talking about engines (whole cars actually) that have at least 10 miles on them and were tested at the factory. This article seems to look solely at wear on the various parts in the combustion chamber under various operating conditions, not whole cars being delivered to a customer. Without a thorough understanding of how much wear is bad and how much wear is good for Hp and longevity sake I think the article is a moot point. Did you read the motor-trend article I posted? There is no more debate, go back a few pages and read it.

Would you be so kind as to provide the link to that article? I am searching through this thread, and scrolling through it, and only finding how bad I am at searching and scrolling. Not that I have reason to believe that Motor Trend magazine knows very much more than anyone else, but I would like to read it.

And now for some more unsubstantiated forum hearsay: Recently, I test drove the new McLaren and the sales person, a very knowledgeable guy, as you might expect with McLaren, simply advised to break the car in by driving variously during the first 1000 mi. Just don't do any one thing for too long. Vary your speed, load and gears. He said that the McLaren administrators advised the usual care and circumspection during break-in, while over the guy's shoulder the company's engineers were shaking their heads and saying, "The car is ready. Drive the hell out of it as soon as you get it." This includes the whole car, not just the engine.

Well, that's McLaren, not Toyota-Subaru, but you get the idea.

[ahausheer]

http://www.motortrend.com/features/e...#ixzz1v5IdzbY8

[Gords_zenith]

I think my numbers may prove that a proper moderate break in makes a difference.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=26

[Flufffyninja]

Originally Posted by ahausheer

http://www.motortrend.com/features/e...#ixzz1v5IdzbY8

I'd agree with almost everything said in that article (you may note I already have in several of the break in threads knocking about). The only thing I wouldn't agree with is the comment that its difficult to refute the motoman web site. Actually if you know much about engines and engine manufacturing its pretty damned easy.

[OnkelC]

Since the break-in period breaks in more than just the engine (think: tires, clutch, gearbox, bushings, bearings et al.), I'd always stick to "keeping it easy for the first 1,000 miles" or so and do it like stated in the manual.

[bkblitzed]

well i just bought my frs last friday, and it already has about 800 miles on it. First 4-500 mile were nice and easy, then once i hit around 6-700 i started shifting around 4.5-6k. Around 750 i shifted all the way to 7k about 4 times that day and do the engine breaks.

[NGNG]

Unless you were the first and last person to test drive your car, then you may as well forget about having a proper break-in. I've never seen a dealer acknowledging proper break-in procedures when test driving a sports car.

[cantholdanymore]

After reading this thread, and this
http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...-period-2.html
and this
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/458...procedure.html
It looks like the most important thing for break in is to not keep it a a constant rpm for too long during the first 1000 miles. It shouldn't be pushed hard until it is properly warmed up but you need to do this for the life of the car.
Any way I'm almost 900 miles so I'll keep driving my regular commute that seems to adapt to the break-in requirements.