Team-BHP > Team-BHP Advice > On owning a car
Register New Topics New Posts Top Thanked Team-BHP FAQ


Reply
  Search this Thread
686,563 views
Old 19th February 2020, 23:49   #781
BHPian
 
chaturgaurav's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: MH02/ UP78
Posts: 79
Thanked: 91 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

Recently brought home Honda City ZX CVT iVTEC and obviously what better thread would be to find how to run in your engine. So I went through the thread.
While the general consensus is to keep the RPM low during first 1,000 KM (mentioned 1,500 - 2,000) and then gradually increase with time/ kilometers, there are still some of you who think run in generally not required for modern day engines. Some quoted the recommendation from owners manual (I can recall one from Honda Civic, earlier in the thread), but some could not find any running in info in their cars owner manual.

I am personally endorsed to the view that engines should be run in properly by gradually increasing the rev limits, I still decided to see what Honda City user manual says about it.

To my disappointment, it does not specifically say anything about how to break-in your engine, As a side note, it mentions:
Quote:
During the first 1,000 km of operation, avoid sudden acceleration or full throttle operation so as to not damage the engine or powertrain.

Avoid hard braking for the first 300 km.
Extract from Honda City ZX CVT iVTEC 2019 Owners Manual - When Driving CVT
ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car-honda-city-driving-instructions-owners-manual.jpeg

So. the manual does not specify any rev limits or speeds to run in. It just says do not push the pedal to metal for first 1k km.

Does running in really not required for Honda's 1.5 L Petrol?

Is running in a new engine a thing of the past now?

Last edited by chaturgaurav : 19th February 2020 at 23:59.
chaturgaurav is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 20th February 2020, 00:42   #782
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Delhi
Posts: 8,104
Thanked: 50,908 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by chaturgaurav View Post
Is running in a new engine a thing of the past now?

By and large, yes! Great is it not? Not sure why you are disappointed by the advise in the owner manual. its very clear, i think but I can translate for you:

Just go a little easy on the throttle for the first 1000 km, do not worry about it too much.

Enjoy your new car! I think that is great, none of this watch your rev counter crap all the time!

I have said it many times, when in doubt best to consult the manufacturer manual before consulting the internet!

Enjoy your car, do not worry too much about running in the engine. The manual says so.

Jeroen

Last edited by BlackPearl : 20th February 2020 at 03:55. Reason: Fixed broken quote. Thanks.
Jeroen is offline   (10) Thanks
Old 20th February 2020, 15:05   #783
BHPian
 
chaturgaurav's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: MH02/ UP78
Posts: 79
Thanked: 91 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
By and large, yes! Great is it not? Not sure why you are disappointed by the advise in the owner manual. its very clear, i think but I can translate for you:

Just go a little easy on the throttle for the first 1000 km, do not worry about it too much.

Enjoy your new car! I think that is great, none of this watch your rev counter crap all the time!

I have said it many times, when in doubt best to consult the manufacturer manual before consulting the internet!

Enjoy your car, do not worry too much about running in the engine. The manual says so.

Jeroen
Thanks Jeroen. I am not really disappointed, expected to have more details. But lesser the better. As it is your translation seems perfect. Watching rev counter all the time is indeed a pain.
chaturgaurav is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 20th February 2020, 15:07   #784
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Delhi
Posts: 8,104
Thanked: 50,908 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

Quote:
Originally Posted by chaturgaurav View Post
Thanks Jeroen. I am not really disappointed, expected to have more details. But lesser the better. As it is your translation seems perfect. Watching rev counter all the time is indeed a pain.
It is not really only the engine. Also when it comes to tires and brakes it makes sense to take it a little easy for the first few hundred Kilometers.

Enjoy!

Jeroen
Jeroen is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 13th March 2020, 22:24   #785
BHPian
 
Aiel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Bangalore/Bombay
Posts: 319
Thanked: 547 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

The C8 Corvette's Digital cluster changes its redline indicators, once the vehicle's run-in period (i.e., 500 miles) is over.
Aiel is offline   (7) Thanks
Old 15th March 2020, 16:25   #786
GTO
Team-BHP Support
 
GTO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 70,546
Thanked: 300,788 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aiel View Post
The C8 Corvette's Digital cluster changes its redline indicators, once the vehicle's run-in period (i.e., 500 miles) is over.
Came here to post exactly this! Man, trust the Americans. This is so cool, so innovative, so useful . On a slightly related note, see how the BMW ///M cars change the max revs based on engine temperature:

GTO is offline   (3) Thanks
Old 21st September 2020, 12:42   #787
Team-BHP Support
 
Jaggu's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 20,215
Thanked: 15,907 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

A very interesting video that came in one of the whatsapp groups, which explains running in for engines, it is rather long but well worth the information shared. Do note the video is speaking from a rebuild perspective, but the gist holds good for factory built engine also. In short not really a good idea to baby a new engine.

Jaggu is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 23rd October 2020, 15:36   #788
Sen
BHPian
 
Sen's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: BLR | HYD
Posts: 331
Thanked: 506 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

As we all know, highways are bad for a new car, especially during break-in/running in.

However, if the highway run was inevitable, what advice do I need to keep in mind when running the car in? Variate the RPMs, NOT keep the speed constant, don't cross 2/3rds of the engine RPM (petrol engine, 6500RPM redline), what else?

Any advice appreciated.
Sen is online now  
Old 26th October 2020, 00:46   #789
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Delhi
Posts: 8,104
Thanked: 50,908 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sen View Post



Any advice appreciated.

Could you check your owners manual and let us know what it says?
Thank
Jeroen
Jeroen is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 26th October 2020, 07:44   #790
Sen
BHPian
 
Sen's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: BLR | HYD
Posts: 331
Thanked: 506 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
Could you check your owners manual and let us know what it says?
Thank
Jeroen
Don't have the car yet.
Sen is online now   (1) Thanks
Old 26th October 2020, 11:11   #791
Senior - BHPian
 
Gansan's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Chennai
Posts: 4,535
Thanked: 5,561 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sen View Post
As we all know, highways are bad for a new car, especially during break-in/running in.
Not really. What you have to do is avoid driving at a constant speed for long durations. First check your manual to see if it mentions any running in period. If it does, make a note of the maximum allowable speed/rpm for each gear.

Then ensure to drive without exceeding those speeds, and vary your speed every 30 minutes. If you were doing seventy for a while, cut back to 55 for a while, then take it up to 65 and so on. Have a 10 minute halt every 60 minutes or so, so that you will downshift/upshift through all the gears, use your imagination! Don't be in a hurry to finish the trip quickly.

My car had a run in period of 1 month / 1000 km before first service. The month was nearly up and I had done only 500 km, so I did a highway trip to complete the distance. I did just what I described.

Try to avoid a full load on the car if possible. If your manual doesn't mention any running in period, it won't be necessary.
Gansan is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 26th October 2020, 11:34   #792
Sen
BHPian
 
Sen's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: BLR | HYD
Posts: 331
Thanked: 506 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gansan View Post
Not really. What you have to do is avoid driving at a constant speed for long durations. First check your manual to see if it mentions any running in period. If it does, make a note of the maximum allowable speed/rpm for each gear.

Then ensure to drive without exceeding those speeds, and vary your speed every 30 minutes. If you were doing seventy for a while, cut back to 55 for a while, then take it up to 65 and so on. Have a 10 minute halt every 60 minutes or so, so that you will downshift/upshift through all the gears, use your imagination! Don't be in a hurry to finish the trip quickly.

My car had a run in period of 1 month / 1000 km before first service. The month was nearly up and I had done only 500 km, so I did a highway trip to complete the distance. I did just what I described.

Try to avoid a full load on the car if possible. If your manual doesn't mention any running in period, it won't be necessary.
Thank you Gansan! I'll be the proud owner of a Vento MT TSI soon, was just gathering some of the information I need to break it in properly. Load will be managed (just two folks total), and I'll do exactly as you described.

Thanks again!
Sen is online now  
Old 11th December 2020, 08:58   #793
BHPian
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Chennai
Posts: 67
Thanked: 84 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

Attaching EcoSport's Breaking in hint from the manual. Just mentions clutch and tire running in. Guess engine is good to go from day 1 since their warranty also is longer
Attached Thumbnails
ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car-screenshot_20201211085604.jpg  

WizSatish is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 28th December 2020, 16:54   #794
Senior - BHPian
 
arindambasu13's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,582
Thanked: 2,451 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

Quote:
Originally Posted by WizSatish View Post
Attaching EcoSport's Breaking in hint from the manual. Just mentions clutch and tire running in. Guess engine is good to go from day 1 since their warranty also is longer
Yes- this is the only nugget of information in the owners manual that I could find on the Ecosport running in. So far I have covered only 500 odd kms within the city, and therefore, there has been an automatic varying of RPMs in every drive. Have tried to keep revs within 2000rpm at most times, to ensure that there is no high revving yet the turbo is engaged consistently - even though the manual does not mention any engine related restrictions at all.

Planning to do a short highway blast very soon to enjoy the EcoSport's legendary expressway capabilities.

Gotta love this engine since there is sufficient and smooth power delivery from as low as 1400-1500 RPM and a proper strong shove from 1750rpm. No need to wait for 2000rpm for the diesel torque to make itself felt.

Last edited by arindambasu13 : 28th December 2020 at 16:58.
arindambasu13 is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 29th December 2020, 22:00   #795
BHPian
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Chennai
Posts: 67
Thanked: 84 Times
Re: ARTICLE: How to Run-In your new car

Quote:
Originally Posted by arindambasu13 View Post
Yes- this is the only nugget of information in the owners manual that I could find on the Ecosport running in. So far I have covered only 500 odd kms within the city, and therefore, there has been an automatic varying of RPMs in every drive. Have tried to keep revs within 2000rpm at most times, to ensure that there is no high revving yet the turbo is engaged consistently - even though the manual does not mention any engine related restrictions at all.

Planning to do a short highway blast very soon to enjoy the EcoSport's legendary expressway capabilities.

Gotta love this engine since there is sufficient and smooth power delivery from as low as 1400-1500 RPM and a proper strong shove from 1750rpm. No need to wait for 2000rpm for the diesel torque to make itself felt.
I've just completed 1200km on the odo. Did a 400km highway run myself. Really tough to control the urge to push the new baby on the Chennai-Bangalore highway. Within the city though, 1500-2000RPM is enough for smooth shifting experience.

Waiting for the 2500km service check to enjoy the engine more
WizSatish is offline   (1) Thanks
Reply

Most Viewed


Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks