[Yash98]

I have often seen many BHPians taking new car deliveries mention that their dealer has told them not to worry about breaking-in their vehicle since modern cars are pre-run in the factory itself.

However, I recently read this article regarding the Corvette online:

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...ue/4239195001/

The article mentions that the torque is limited for the first 500 miles allowing the engine to "break in" and preventing damage to it. Further, it also goes on to say that failure to break-in the engine can reduce engine power and lead to extra noise throughout the life of the vehicle.

Reading other online sources on this matter has left me confused and I wanted to know BHPians opinions about the same. Is this specific to the Corvette since it is a supercar?

Or, have modern drivers and dealers just forgotten the practice of breaking-in an engine (as the article says)?

[Jeroen]

Just check the owners manual and adhere to whatever it says.

Most regular modern cars/engine need virtually no running in.

It is not about modern drivers and dealers. It is about owners nor reading their owners manual and simply adhering to the instructions. For some reason many people will happily spend hours online on car forums discussing this very topic, whilst they ignore the instructions of the manufacturer

Don’t go with the internet, always consult your owner manual first.


Jeroen

[landcruiser123]

As Jeroen says, follow the owners manual. Advances in metallurgy + synthetic oil means that running in isn't really required. However, some cars with Turbos may recommend not red-lining in the first 1000km.

However the one thing I'd recommend is avoiding use cruise control and driving at a constant speed on long highway stretches as it doesn't replicate patterns of cyclical loading.

[pavi]

I believe we should stick with what ever being mentioned in the manual. For my Rapid TSI, it is mentioned that for the first 1000km, the rpm/engine speed should not exceed 3/4 of the maximum permissible engine speed. I could still see people mentioning in our forum, that it is very hard to keep the rpm below 2000 (yes it is) in their Rapid TSI during running in period. As per the manual, rpm can go upto 4,500 rpm, let's make it safer and reduce to 4,000 or 3500. Still you have enough rpm band to play with during running in period.

[ram_bishop]

Originally Posted by WizSatish

Did a 400km highway run myself. Really tough to control the urge to push the new baby on the Chennai-Bangalore highway.

Exactly a same situation I'm in, I just got my new Sonet last week and for some urgency I have to drive from Chennai to Bangalore, worried about the running in, as in owners manual its mentioned for first 1000 kms, not to maintain a single speed for long period of time (exactly what time period I don't know ) and to keeps the revs between 2000 to 4000 rpm, not sure it is possible in busy highway like Channai - Bangalore. Please let me know if any method you have followed.

[WizSatish]

Originally Posted by ram_bishop

Exactly a same situation I'm in, I just got my new Sonet last week and for some urgency I have to drive from Chennai to Bangalore, worried about the running in, as in owners manual its mentioned for first 1000 kms, not to maintain a single speed for long period of time (exactly what time period I don't know ) and to keeps the revs between 2000 to 4000 rpm, not sure it is possible in busy highway like Channai - Bangalore. Please let me know if any method you have followed.

Hi Ram, congrats on your new ride. Just keep varying the speeds and gears which definitely is possible on the busy expressway whenever you overtake or face little traffic. I was actually unable to retain stable speeds due to various traffic conditions. Happy Motoring!

[KA19Rao]

Hi bhpians need a bit of advice, I’ll be getting a new polo 1.0 TSI and will have to drive it from Mangaluru to Pune(740 Kms) within the break in period. Anything I should specifically lookout for other than the usual advise of regularly fluctuating the engine speeds?
Thank you

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by KA19Rao

Anything I should specifically lookout for other than the usual advise of regularly fluctuating the engine speeds?

Check your owner manual and adhere to whatever it says.

The fluctuation of engine speed is mostly a carry over from the old times too, when we still had carburators and bigger tolerance on the engine components and also different materials.

The idea of fluctuating your speed would then accomplish different things:

it was to introduce a high pressure under acceleration to press the rings harder against the wall (due to cylinder pressure behind the top two rings), but not too long, as they cutting action would get the rings very hot in a hurry. The followup with a long coast did as stated: sucked a fair bit of oil up past the rings to lubricate the upper cylinder better and also give the rings time under lighter load to cool off from the preceding hard run.

Modern technique and materials and in particular also modern honing technique mean piston rings are just about perfect fit from brand new on!

As these engines had much larger tolerances there was an actual difference in the top dead centre of the piston under high RPMs, compared to low. The connecting rod essentially stretched a bit. The idea was to vary the speed, thus the RPMs’ to avoid getting a ridge in the cylinder.

However, with modern engines all of the above is rarely relevant anymore. So just follow what your owner manual tells you to do and worry about nothing else.

Enjoy your new car and your first long drive!

Jeroen