ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

[overdose14]

same for safari DICOR. though service book mention the speeds in first 1000km but i somehow couldn't follow that and sometimes i was touching redline. so i think modern engines do not require run in periods.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by raajks

Well, I was used to buying second hand cars and modifying it but Palio was my first new CAR.
When I asked the dealer the question on run in, the dealer told me that all FIAT engines are tested and the run in period is done for the engines.

He also told me that these are not bike engines and no run in is required.

Don't listen to him, he's giving you a load of crap. It's true that almost all engines are put on an engine dyno for an 8 hour cold run, and taken across the rpm range to check their power and torque levels. But this is only for testing. You will still need to run it in so that everything beds in. That includes suspension, brakes, clutch, etc.

If you don't believe me, take any new car, drain its oil, and look at the oil closely. In some cases, you will see something shining. Those are little metallic flakes, which are casting impurities worn off after a few km worth of driving.

[austere_sly]

I have just bought a Swift Ldi. It is going through run in period and has completed around 120 kms on ODO. It doesn't have a RPM meter and i observe that most of the gear shifts discussed here relate to rpm of engine. I have been shifting gears according to the engine sound and usually i upshift when i think the next gear can easily pull from that speed.
Can anyone who owns a vdi give a speed chart. like what speed is attained at what rpm in which gear ?

[hellstar]

Listen to your engine, thats what i did you can make out the approx RPM from the sounds and try to stick to the Manufacturer recommended speeds for gear changes. My previous car "Alto Lxi" didnt have a tachometer and thats the way i ran my engine in . Do not "race" the engine too much and ur safe..

[raajks]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Don't listen to him, he's giving you a load of crap. It's true that almost all engines are put on an engine dyno for an 8 hour cold run, and taken across the rpm range to check their power and torque levels. But this is only for testing. You will still need to run it in so that everything beds in. That includes suspension, brakes, clutch, etc.

If you don't believe me, take any new car, drain its oil, and look at the oil closely. In some cases, you will see something shining. Those are little metallic flakes, which are casting impurities worn off after a few km worth of driving.

Thats good to know!!!
I do see a difference.... the more I drive the car... the better it is now....
It has done close to 400 KMS on the ODO.... I am not pushing it too much... but i feel comfortable about the pace....

My first run, Full Tank to Empty has given me an average of 10+ kMS..will have to check for consistency and see if it gives similar figures... when I drive... it to its limits

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by raajks

Thats good to know!!!
I do see a difference.... the more I drive the car... the better it is now....
It has done close to 400 KMS on the ODO.... I am not pushing it too much... but i feel comfortable about the pace....

My first run, Full Tank to Empty has given me an average of 10+ kMS..will have to check for consistency and see if it gives similar figures... when I drive... it to its limits

dont worry yaar your car's been run-in pretty well in the nandi hill climb. You will also notice that the gears become slicker as the days go by. The engine will sound a lot smoother and mileage will go up. But if you rip the car then you may end up doing more damage than good in the long run.

ps: Apologies for the splash of water when we overtook you.

[archangel]

a friend told me that for the first 1000 km, i should limit my maximum speed to 60-65 km/hr even in highways which i cant seem to comply with.

is that a good advice?

[2fast4u]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Don't listen to him, he's giving you a load of crap. It's true that almost all engines are put on an engine dyno for an 8 hour cold run, and taken across the rpm range to check their power and torque levels. But this is only for testing. You will still need to run it in so that everything beds in. That includes suspension, brakes, clutch, etc.

If you don't believe me, take any new car, drain its oil, and look at the oil closely. In some cases, you will see something shining. Those are little metallic flakes, which are casting impurities worn off after a few km worth of driving.

suspension - on our roads beds in I guess in the first day itself
brakes clutch - let me have some gyan on this.
agreed with the oil drain part which has to be done as per initail schedule but the runin period is matter of past in new engines.

I believe in the mototune way for running in.
Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power
this is the best method and this is my experience with
pulsar classic 180
maruti zen
new RB20DET (for my nissan car)

[GTO]

a friend told me that for the first 1000 km, i should limit my maximum speed to 60-65 km/hr even in highways which i cant seem to comply with.

Its really about controlling the RPMs than outright speed; for instance you could do 65kph in 1st gear and still stay within the specified speed restrictions. Therefore, please read the opening post by TSK:

• For a petrol engine do not allow the RPMs to go over 2,500 for the first 1,000 km. After that, you can increase the limit to 3,000 RPMs until 1,500 km and then gradually increase it to the maximum by 2,500 km.

[Jaggu]

Thought of posting this since lot of new buyers are referring to the forum on run ins.

What i figured out so far and follow:

* Read the owners manual and then decide on the do's and donts.
(Very important, in my recent purchase nobody pointed out the first 200 and 600 miles donts for the diesel engine in swift and was very clearly mentioned in the manual).

* Take inputs from dealers on anything that is very particular for the car (hey no harm in listening).

egs: the "check lights" for the diesel swift, dealer advised me to always wait for the mandatory checks to finish before cranking up (atleast when cold). Reason to ensure the glow plugs and water in diesel scenarios are taken care.

Avoid going blindly with some advices from dealer like limit to 60 kms for first 1000 kms, which is absurd. As GTO pointed out most of the times its the RPM and not the speed that matters.

* Always warm up the car, yes wait till that needle moves to min mark before you start moving your new car, and yes do wait till warm up to switch on the AC for atleast the initial 1000 kms.

* Your car has mechanical parts which need to bed-in and you to adjust to the car, so its upto you how you do it with the big amount of money that you have spent.

One use it normally and carefully (assuming most of the regular drivers drive sanely).

For engine, keep the rpm's to half that of max possible for first few hundreds and then move on to 3/4 after 600 to 700 kms. From 1000 to 2000 kms (based on your comfort level) one can steadily but slowly push the car to the max. Extended run in generally end at 5000 kms (max) for modern automobiles.

Dont mother it too much, sadly you will land up doing small bits of harm than good to the car.

I personally believe and have experienced that generously run-in cars perform better (kmpl and 0-100 secs) than their pampered siblings.

* Do it slowly and steadily!! No abrupt actions, so that it wont take the car or the driver by surprise.

* Caution is what is required and not too much of caring, easier said and done for people like me.

* Keep an eye out for unusual, for a new car everything can be. hence ask/check with others/dealer when in doubt.

* Do not jump into conclusions, yes anyone including myself will give great gyans and trust the engineer at the dealer to good extent coz he knows and has seen what he is talking about.

Yes there are loads of phonies around use caution but not completely ignore also.

* Do that engine oil and oil filter change at 1000 km and 5000 km mark coz metals do come out no matter a hand or robotized arm that built the engine.

* Dont take it too personal, automobiles are a combination of mechanical and electronics working together, things can fail but can be rectified. And yes luck is a big factor, some lucky people will get away with anything!!

so enjoy the new car and note that all of the above post is very personal formula of mine at run-in and will not advice anybody to follow it or will i take responsibility of things that can happen if you follow it.

cheers
Jaggu

[sanrys]

The coupens for servicing, which Tata motors has given me, says first service will happen at 5k Kms or 6 months. What I have read from this thread is "change engine oil at 1000 Kms". So what should I do?

[Akshay1234]

its supposed to be better if you do it at 100kms but theres no harm if you do it at 5k also.

[kartikkumar]

@Jaggu: Thanks for that article. It makes a lot of sense and you've put into words what some of know and have done with our cars and a lot of us probably don't know. As for those of us that know, it always helps to remind us of the basic do's and dont's.

Have a good weekend!
Cheers!
Kartik

[swathyd]

I believe in the mototune way for running in.
Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power
this is the best method and this is my experience with
pulsar classic 180
maruti zen
new RB20DET (for my nissan car)[/quote]

Dear friends,

I think you might have read the article in this link. How do you think about 'breaking in' this way. Has anybody tried this method ?

[Jaggu]

@swathy: have to admit that i have done it in my bajaj ct 100 and came out with decent results. also a friend who did it in a freshly re built 2 stroke motor broke the piston, so based on the tollerence built in mototune way is possible.

again it was ok for me to do it in 38 k rs machine but didn have the marbles to do it on a 6 lakh car, and followed the basic concept and took a mediocore way.

things to keep in mind, warm up, mandatory oil change at 100 kms (mech will think ur nuts) and loading the engine to max without revving out.

[b]Try having this only for academic purpose, practice is risky [b]