my thoughts about break in

[Gixxersixxerman]

10k on my car.. Not a problem, and I broke it in how I regularly drive.. I've never cared about what a manufacture wrote in some book.. I've been a ASE auto tech for 15 years working on engines since I was 13.. I'm 35 now.. I've broken in every engine the way I've drove the vehicle.. Had 150k on my xterra with not a problem.. But everyone has their own believes

[clayrush]

Originally Posted by alan.chalkley

Even after the prescribed bedding in milage , is it wise to be constantly revving to redline?
Sure the occasional rev to redline would help to keep the injectors clean and a track day is a lot of fun , but sitting constantly above 7000 rpm is not okay with our friends in blue uniform and my wallet.
I say this because the ecu cut out on my celica is 8350 rpm and I have never gone past 7800rpm.
Some people have , and then called a tow truck.

I hit the limiter on my celica every day and that is with an 8600rpm set with a power fc and 10 psi greedy supercharger. stock valves and springs. If they go bad, then ill upgrade. now as for my old clutch, that = dead

[gmookher]

Originally Posted by Gixxersixxerman

10k on my car.. Not a problem, and I broke it in how I regularly drive.. I've never cared about what a manufacture wrote in some book.. I've been a ASE auto tech for 15 years working on engines since I was 13.. I'm 35 now.. I've broken in every engine the way I've drove the vehicle.. Had 150k on my xterra with not a problem.. But everyone has their own believes

I don't redline but vary load to 100% and coast decelerate and rev it up floored as much as I can in first hundred miles without redline. Right after 100 miles I redline it a dozen times over each hundred miles and drop oil at about a thousand miles. Then again at 3500 and again at 7500 and every 5k to 7k, unless it sees hard track weekends, when it gets oil changes sooner

This motor takes time to loosen up , like 5000 to really see top end power, it improves over time

[MattZ28]

Originally Posted by ahausheer

Ive said it before and ill say it again, you are not breaking in an engine, you are breaking in a car. engine, clutch, trans, fluids, etc etc etc. Just follow the book. And for an FYI the cars are taken to redline at the factory.

This.

This whole topic is widely debated, but many reputable engine builders "break in" engines by running them hard with lots of high RPM engine braking to seat the rings. I wouldn't be worried about the engine, but as mentioned, you should be taking it easy on the clutch/tranny/diff until the initial break in period is over.

And for whatever it's worth, most clutch/tranny manufacturers recommend 500 miles of easy driving.

[Superhatch]

Originally Posted by SkullWorks

Take with a grain of salt, but remember always that corporations rarely have you or your property's best interest in mind, when they write literature, it is to cover their ass...not protect your investment.

Unless you're talking about potential long term damage from standard break in, wouldn't covering their ass and protecting your investment (ie no early motor failures) be the same thing?

I haven't seen any real evidence on either side to convince me aside from anecdotal evidence. Because of that I default to mfg suggestion.

/shrug.

[KapteinBos]

Got my car with 26km on the clock and actually asked whether there was a breakin period. They assured me there wasnt. Didnt go crazy but have taken it to between 6k and 6.5k on a couple of occasions. Then discovered this forum and read the manual so now taking it a bit easier until I get to the recommended mileage... So I will have done both... and who knows what the staff did to the car when they went to go put in my 1/4 tank of fuel...

[Marcoscrdo]

I am just going to stick with the 1k period.. My first new car, I am 23 paying it alone so I wont take any risks and finding someone to fix it will be $$ so better safe than sorry.

[86for'86]

Originally Posted by Marcoscrdo

I am just going to stick with the 1k period.. My first new car, I am 23 paying it alone so I wont take any risks and finding someone to fix it will be $$ so better safe than sorry.

Same here, a friend also advised it so I went ahead even though the service managers thought I was crazy. Whatever makes you feel better!

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[Bullitt44]

Break the car in as you want to drive it. Don't worry about it, I have built many many engines including race ones. The best ones are driven properly from day one!

[brillo]

So I've read all the break in threads and I still haven't seen a logical arguement for keeping the engine under 4,000rpm for the first 1,000 miles (i.e. a soft break in).

Now I realize that the manual recommends a soft break in (and I understand why people would choose to follow this), but I haven't seen an engineering/technical justification (I've seen plenty of arguements for a more robust break in procedure). I've even searched the web in general for technical arguements for a soft break in but found nothing.

Making sure the engine is warmed up and no holding a constant speed for the first 500-1000 makes good sense, but not exceeding 4,000rpm is still a mystery to me. I'm not suggesting the sportbike approach, but driving between 0 and 6,000rpm for the first 500-1,000mi just seems like a good way to make sure everything is properly broken in and heat cycled.

[gmookher]

The main thing to watch early on is bedding in the clutch nicely on a MT, dont do burnouts and such right away

[brillo]

I don't do burnouts period.

I plan to break the car in by driving as I would normally and avoiding cruise control without racing or thrashing the engine til after 500mi. I'm always relatively gentle on cars for the first 500mi to lets materials heat cycle, clutches break in, etc.....but I'm not going to stress over keeping the car under 4,000 rpm.

My Perrin flash goes on right after I pass the 500mi point.

[YourFearlessLeader]

FWIW i just changed the oil at 4800miles
Usually on a brand new engine I find small pieces of metal from the motor breaking in.
However, there was next to nothing in the drain pan.

Needless to say I was very impressed.

I have no problems changing the oil at 7500miles in the future.

[choi0706]

I kept mine @ low revs, and got a CEL in 300 miles.. it never went away.. Even with swapped cam sprockets, ecu replacements, etc.. I will not be doing this on my replacement car..