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-   -   ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/owning-car/67729-article-how-run-your-new-car-33.html)

My point was that there is no necessity for opening the hood at all even in the old cars let alone new cars even during run-ins. Limiting ourselves to the specified speed limits during the run-ins for a majority of the period / kms would help the engine to settle for the future rigour.

i will be getting the delivery of anhc next week. the opinion on the runin period seems to be divided. when asked for a clarification the honda service centre guys told that no runin is required, no speed limit and no need to change oil before 10K. the first service is a cosmetic one without any changes. since i will going on a trip immediately after buying the car guys pls advice what to do. do i do a service mid way or wait till my return to my home town

please do not go by what the person on the website says. He most probably, is an american and americans do not retain their cars for long. hence it does not matter if the vehicle has been run-in or not. But we indians have a penchant of keeping our cars for long. The wrong run-in period will never show-up in 3-4 years but will show up after lets say 4-5 years. I did a good and sensible running-in of my Maruti-800-(7yrs old) as well as Chevy Spark(2 yrs old). And believe me they show zero pollution levels everytime. Single self start and excellent performance of engine without any engine noise. I got my Maruti 800ac valued and got a valuation of 80k in delhi.

Recently purchased Maruti ritz VDI. have done 4k on it till now. My boss's car-Swift VDI, purchased almost at same time has clocked 6K till now and is giving lots of black smoke on startup. He never did a proper run-in. Most probably this is the reason

Hence please do a proper run-in and enjoy the longterm benefits

How much is the general running-in period? Some say 1000 km, but I've seen sites that claim 3000 km.

Since its brand new, run-in the car properly before revving the nuts out of it. Every new engine must go through a proper run-in for a trouble free usage. Be gentle on the car for the first 1000 kms.

For the first 1000 kms do NOT cross 3000 rpm in any gear. Gradually increase the rpm. Redlining the engine is not good and change the engine oil after you have completed 1000 kms as any new engine will have some metal filings which must be removed for further setting of the engine.

Honda says that the fist service is just cosmetic? :Shockked: Do NOT go by them and ask for a oil change and thorough inspection of the car after 1000 kms.

How long will your trip be after getting the car?

Thnx anurag. we are planning to travel to rajasthan and back from mumbai. thats almost 2500 km in all. seems i have to get it serviced from jodhpur.

I'm due to take delivery of my Honda City this saturday. I will be using this car mainly for my weekend Mumbai-Pune runs. I'm all confused about the run-in of the car since the service guys claimed that the engine is pre-run and the expressway should be ok and yet I've read on this forum that you should not cruise at a constant speed for the first 1000 km (which is exactly what will happen on the expressway ~30-40 kms at a time at a constant 90-100 kmph) :Frustrati
Can someone throw some light on this?

Its not about the speed (90-100 kmph), its about the revs that you get to those speeds.
Now I presume you would be driving your brand new Honda on the E-way.
Here's what you can do, vary your rpms between the band of 85~115kmph.

For instance you may do slow down to 90kmph @ 2000rpm, and then speed up to 120kmph @ 3500 rpm.
During the run-in period, all one has to do, is keep varying the rpms..

Thanks mate. I was under the impression that one should leave the revs under 3000 rpm during the run-in period. Will need to keep an eye on the tacho to make sure I vary the RPM as suggested by you. Is there any standardized guide to running in a car you know of?

Hi vinod,

To answer the 2nd part of your question first: there's ample information on this thread alone, which will give you indepth insight into what 'Running-in' a car is all about.

Coming towards the 1st part; yes, below 3000 rpm is what generally most people would like to keep the tacho at, but its good to go over, once in a while (not often), so that the motor gets run-in at varied rpm levels.

Remember, during a longer run (like the -way or the Highway) the key is : not to stick to a particular speed and/or rpm.


Edit: As a matter of fact: the best run-in place for a car is the city traffic, with a mix of outskirts driving thrown in. This way the engine experiences a variety of rmps - through start-stop traffic to the open roads in the suburbs.

A bit of history on running in of cars: Rolls Royce, in order to ensure that its cars were run in properly, did not leave it to their customers to carry out the running in of their engines. They would run in the engines themselves at the factory on varying loads for varying points of time to accurately simulate all possible loads that the engine would encounter on the road. After this was done, Rolls Royce would dismantle the engine! They would then inspect the scoring on the pistons which, as per their standards, had to resemble what was called "the cross hatch design" which actually meant scoring marks on the pistons at exactly 45 degrees angles. If the scoring was at 45 degrees, the running in was considered to have been done perfectly. If not, the engine was changed and the whole process repeated ! This was one among the many factors*that earned Rolls Royce its name of one of the best cars in the world. If not the best.

Some other factors in Running-In of the car apart from the engine - during the first 250 kms (minimum), or as may be specified by the manufacturer, it is important to ensure a proper "bedding in" of the brakes. During this period (250 kms), do not apply the brakes in a sudden manner. You can do this by driving in an anticipatory manner and by keeping your speeds so slow in order to halt the car easily without applying the brakes in a hard manner. This is necessary to ensure that the brakes "bed in" properly - i.e the pads/shoes and discs/drums wear away together in a consistent manner ensuring their longevity and more importantly, effectiveness. This is something that will ensure that your car has good brakes and why you will find, if you notice carefully enough, that there are varying braking efficiencies within the same model of car. This is because either the bedding in would have been done well or may not have been done properly or maybe not at all resulting in varying braking efficiencies within the same model of car during. Even if the manufacturer has not mentioned this in the manual, it is best to adopt this practice in your new car to ensure the efficacy of your car's braking systems.

Nice bit of history indeed.

Off topic - in the old days in England when the 'upper classes' had gardeners and other staff, whenever they bought a nice new pair of leather shoes, they used to make one of the staff wear them and break them in for a bit, to avoid the typical stiffness and possible shoe bites that new shoes were prone to give!

Same thing whenever they bought a new Pipe - they used to have someone amongst the staff "break it in" - so that when they finally started using it, it had settled down and had become easier to enjoy!

I know that there is ample information about running-in of a new car on this thread. However, the more I read the more confused I become.

I am now asking this question on behalf of my son-in-law who will be taking delivery of his new Swift Diesel in a few months from a dealer in Pune.

Since his job is at Bangalore and he will be taking the car to Bangalore, can anyone please advice as to whether its okay for him to take the car on the Pune-BLR NH4 straightaway after taking delivery, or whether it would be more advisable to drive it around in Pune City for a few days before venturing onto the highway.

Advice and tips would be most sincerely appreciated.

He can take it out onto the highway immediately if he wants. However, he does need to remember that keeping it at a steady speed and steady RPM is not ideal, which means he will need to ensure the engine is running different stress levels. Accelerate a bit in all gears and keep varying the RPM every 5 or 10 minutes maybe. If he can and is willing to drive it like this, then there is no problem. If not, I would recommend he do a few days in Pune (provided time allows of course).:thumbs up