"Food for thought:

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

Not saying that this is the right way to do it, but it's something you should at least be aware of during the break-in period...

Found this on some other Thread and was posted by "Irishman".

Quesiton:
1) I read the article but still a little confused? How do you open upto full throttle? By listening or looking at speed or something else??
2) How do you warm it up as SOON as you walk out of the dealership?? Just floor it couple of times until it hits 60mph??

-Thanks

Its too hard to prove for either side of the break in arguement, when you make engines they arent going to produce teh same power despite building with the same parts, some will be stronger than others for some reason or another. And if you test break in with these engines how do you know the extra power wasnt due to the lucky assembly of an engine

I just believe in a moderate break in, not redlining it but not babying it either, I just drove it normal when I got it

The guy also mentioned the first 20 miles is a narrow window for break in, my car had 20 miles at the dealership when I bought it, oops?

Metals and manafacturing tolerances have improved greatly over the decades, back then probably break in for a longer period of time was more important, but nowdays with advances in metals and manfacturing techniques, I dont think its that important anymore, besides the car is dynoed 1-2 times from the factory already and test driven on a bumpy road (to check for rattles)

[b]
Quesiton:
1) I read the article but still a little confused? How do you open upto full throttle? By listening or looking at speed or something else??

By "Full Throttle," they mean flooring it. Not sure if you can get WOT (wide open throttle) with the Lexus DBW (drive by wire) system if the car isn't warmed up yet. The idea is to put as much strain on the engine in a controlled manner, i.e. letting it rev very high and allow the pistons to wind down, or engine brake, apparently in order to allow the piston rings to seal as quickly as possible.


2) How do you warm it up as SOON as you walk out of the dealership?? Just floor it couple of times until it hits 60mph??

DO NOT DO THIS. THIS IS TERRIBLE FOR YOUR CAR. Baby the car until the engine temp stabilizes. THEN open it up.

Some general advice, other things to avoid: shifting from Reverse to Drive (or vice-versa) without coming to a full and complete stop, starting and shutting off the engine before it's completely warmed up.



Good luck, and enjoy!

Thanks for clearing that up! I guess I'll stick to the manual more or less.

yea letting your car warm up before driving it hard is very important, cars are designed to have their rings seal up around the 200 something degree operating temperature

I've seen several threads on this article. While many disagree and suggest following the owner's manual (really can't argue with that), no one has really come up with concrete facts or reasons to disprove the author's position.

yeah i seen that website numerous of times on motorcycle forums, simply because bikers dont want to wait the 1k mile before redline the engine. either way (manual or "faster way") it is your call in how to break in your new engine. but i rather choose to break in my motorcycle and car according to the manual because those are the people that built the machine, so if it ever f-up, i have somewhere to turn. now try blamming the guy that started the rapip break-in when your rings dont seal right!! good luck:thumbdn:

I've done it Motoman's way for about 17 years. It works if you want to make power and not burn oil. It works best when you get to fire a virgin engine. The last time I did a factory recommended break-in, the engine burned a quart every 2000 miles. I wasn't very happy about that.

yeah i seen that website numerous of times on motorcycle forums, simply because bikers dont want to wait the 1k mile before redline the engine. either way (manual or "faster way") it is your call in how to break in your new engine. but i rather choose to break in my motorcycle and car according to the manual because those are the people that built the machine, so if it ever f-up, i have somewhere to turn. now try blamming the guy that started the rapip break-in when your rings dont seal right!! good luck:thumbdn:

The rings are the least of your worries. It's the piston shape that's a problem if you don't thermal cycle the engine gradually. If you heat it too fast and don't give the piston a chance to resize itself, it won't stay the correct shape. The whole point of the exercise is progressive thermal load with rest periods between the load points.

BTW, I cut my teeth building road race motorcycle engines.

I redline every new car I get right out of the dealership lot and do MANY subsequent 0-60 and redline runs for the first few days/weeks just cause I like to play with my new toy... Never really thought it would "help" the engine, I just never believed it would harm it (Yes, I believe the need for break-ins ended many years ago)...

But the proof is in the pudding... I never break-in an new engine, I abuse the engine right from the start, I change my oil every 10-15k miles on every car I've had and have never had an engine problem in any car I've ever owned, and I've had cars last over 100k miles no problem... :D

Heck, my 2001 Acura CL Type S had over 82,000 miles and I redlined that thing daily... I changed the oil roughly every 20k-25k miles (mobil 1, though) and did at LEAST 100 top speed (150MPH) runs... The car ran smooth as butter the entire time, never had a SINGLE failure... :cool:

I've always gotten the impression lately that the whole idea of a "break-in period" has been outdated for a long while...

Not that a salesman would know, but mine said "Lexus engines require no breakin". I ran with that!

Not that a salesman would know, but mine said "Lexus engines require no breakin". I ran with that!

Mine said the same thing. But i did go easy on it until 1,000 miles just to be safe. Now all bets are off :thumbup: :D

Couple of thoughts...
The cars that I test drive do seem to always perform better (faster) than the cars I end up buying. I remember test driving my first 550 and it spun the tires into second gear - with an automatic mind you.

My car (broken in per BMW specs) will not do that and does not feel near as fast as the inital 550 I test drove. I have no concrete proof here - only the seat of my pants.

The author seems to have proof however - not necessarily scientific, but proof none the less.

HOWEVER, we are only looking at the engine here - something tells me that there are other components (trans/differential) that do better with an easier break in - just a thought.

Couple of thoughts...
The cars that I test drive do seem to always perform better (faster) than the cars I end up buying. I remember test driving my first 550 and it spun the tires into second gear - with an automatic mind you.

My car (broken in per BMW specs) will not do that and does not feel near as fast as the inital 550 I test drove. I have no concrete proof here - only the seat of my pants.

The author seems to have proof however - not necessarily scientific, but proof none the less.

HOWEVER, we are only looking at the engine here - something tells me that there are other components (trans/differential) that do better with an easier break in - just a thought.

How much was your 550 OTD? What's the 0-60? I am thinking of getting one next year...

reset efi and ecu (ur on ur own figuring out how on a new bmw) and it will make the car perform basically the way it was built.

basically makes the motor run a lil rich and the trans not shift so early.

How much was your 550 OTD? What's the 0-60? I am thinking of getting one next year...

Check your PM

Check your PM

Didn't get any PMs...

Didn't get any PMs...

That's cause I sent it to PureDrifter... doh....

Try now!

I agree with Motoman about not generally using synthetics during the first couple of thousand miles...(their extremely low friction will delay the ring and valve stem friction required for a proper break-in, although some cars like the Corvette and Viper have synthetic put in at the factory because it resists heat build-up better ). He is also correct that engine metal alloys, casting and honing methods, and clearances are much different today than in the past. ( Also not mentioned is the fact that Honda / Acura uses special break-in oil at the factory and does NOT want it changed for at least the first 3000 miles.....usually, on other nameplates, it is beneficial to change oil and filter at the first 1000 miles to get the shavings out).

But the rest of his article, in my opinion, sounds like old-fashioned snake oil tactics. First of all, although, of course, a well-broken in engine will give more power and better mileage than one that is not because of better compression, the main purpose of breaking in an engine on a street car is NOT necessarily power but to get a good seal on the moving parts ( rings, bearings, valve stems and seals, etc....) and to prolong engine life and keep it from being an oil user. On a racing engine that is only going to be run a few hundred or thousand miles and then rebuilt or junked, that is a different matter, but the engine in a street car is going to have to last for years and run 150,000-200,000 miles.
Second, I think you can take the word of the people who actually design and build these engines at the factory more than someone who is just trying to sell an alternative technique on the Internet....like I said, snake oil people are a dime a dozen. The auto manufacturer, as long as the new-car owner does not abuse the car and breaks it in according to factory instructions, is going to have to stand behind that engine warranty for anywhere for 3 to 10 years and do an overhaul or replace it if it starts to use an excessive amount of oil ( usually around one quart every 1000 miles is the threshold ). If what Motoman says is correct, in my opinion his methods would be recommended by auto manufacturers, and of course, in many places with dense traffic and pedestrians it is not only unwise but dangerous to use full-throttle methods as well,
Third, as most of you know from my auto reviews, I test-drive a lot of new cars, and I'm not about to start slamming brand-new engines around just because Motoman thinks it is more efficient to do so....I strictly adhere to the 4000-RPM limit and no 100% full-throttle stuff...though I accelerate hard enough to get a good idea of what the engine is capable of. Even Gung-Ho auto enthusiast magazines like CAR and DRIVER and ROAD and TRACK take it easy for the first 1000 miles or so on their test cars....and these guys are professionals who do it for a living, as do the slightly milder-driving people at Consumer Reports as well.

That's cause I sent it to PureDrifter... doh....

Try now!

lol, if i need to pick up a bimmer any time soon il be sure to hit u up ;)

might take a while as im only just about to graduate from highschool :p

I agree with Motoman about not generally using synthetics during the first couple of thousand miles...(their extremely low friction will delay the ring and valve stem friction required for a proper break-in, although some cars like the Corvette and Viper have synthetic put in at the factory because it resists heat build-up better ). He is also correct that engine metal alloys, casting and honing methods, and clearances are much different today than in the past. ( Also not mentioned is the fact that Honda / Acura uses special break-in oil at the factory and do NOT want it changed for at least the first 3000 miles.....usually, on other nameplates, it is beneficial to change oil and filter at thre first 1000 miles to get the shavings out).

Except that they (Honda) don't do this in their bikes - very strange. Friend of mine picked up a Goldwing and there was no mention of this in the manual.

I've always taken it easy on my new motors at first and I'm a firm believer in the oil change at 1k to get out shavings. the heat cycle method and running at varying rpms is what I've pretty much gone with too.

btw-when a ferrari engine is built, it's tested to 7500rpm before going in the car:eek2:

you can see at the end of this amazing vid...
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/09/12/autoblog-night-watch-the-crafting-of-a-ferrari-v12/

In this day and age I would think bedding the brake pads so they don't squeal and perform their best is more important than engine break in now.

Well, if anyone's curious, I just picked up my IS350 from the dealer with 12 miles on the odo, and have put 30 miles on it according to "Motoman's" break-in tactics.

Well, if anyone's curious, I just picked up my IS350 from the dealer with 12 miles on the odo, and have put 30 miles on it according to "Motoman's" break-in tactics.

:thumbup: :thumbup: I'ved read the article a couple times a year ago and think he may be onto something. I'm going with this technique if I ever buy a new car.

Changing the oil within 1000 is probably key too.

You should revisit this thread every 10,000 miles and let us know how you're car is doing. Good luck!

:thumbup: :thumbup: I'ved read the article a couple times a year ago and think he may be onto something. I'm going with this technique if I ever buy a new car.


You should revisit this thread every 10,000 miles and let us know how you're car is doing. Good luck!

If you use Motoman's technique, be sure to always keep a couple of extra quarts of oil in the trunk with you.