How did you run-in your vehicle; What has been the result

While there is perhaps no ‘right answer’ to it theoretically, I’ve always been curious to know how most people are doing it in real-life.

BHPian nTorq recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

‘How to run-in your vehicle?’- has probably been one of the most debated topics in the automotive world. While there is perhaps no ‘right answer’ to it theoretically, I’ve always been curious to know how most people are doing it in real-life, and whether their approach has had any bearing on the vehicle itself. Some may have run-in the vehicle in a textbook manner, and may have seen great results, while others may have done this with not-so great results. Hence creating this small poll to understand how fellow BHPians have gone about their run-in, and what the results have been.

Here's what BHPian Mafia had to say on the matter:

I maintained low RPM, in my case under 2k. I am unable to judge if it helped as there is nothing to compare it to.

I still warm the engine up for 20 seconds in warm weather and 30 seconds in winters. Is there a benefit?

I can only say my maintenance costs are low. No parts are worn out before their time and my bills are mostly the parts replaced as per recommendation.

Here's what BHPian abhishek46 had to say on the matter:

Why not follow what is recommended in the User Manual i.e. to Take-It-Easy during the first 1000Kms.

Examples below:

From Hyundai:

From Maruti:

From Tata:

Here's what BHPian paragsachania had to say on the matter:

I have had a simple rule that I have followed for both my cars (Petrol and Diesel) and both have crossed 2L Km without issues till now: Be gentle on the A pedal for at least 5000 Km. You can however drive fast but the rate of change of your speeds should happen gradually and not abruptly. If you follow this simple rule, you will invariably shift to the right gears at the right time and ensure the RPMs are also within a specific range.

Additionally, even today, if my car is parked overnight, I always prefer to remain gentle on the RPMs for at least 5-8 minutes till the engine warms up.

If I buy a new car also, and even if I hit the highway the very next day, I will drive at varying speeds and also hit typical cruising speeds but will ensure that I don't do that for the sake of testing 0-100 or 80-120.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

This is one of those things that doesn't hurt to do, but still could hurt if you don't. The state of the engine is everything to me, hence I prefer to err on the side of caution and carefully run-in all my cars. And remember, it's not just the engine that requires running-in. Even other components (tyres, brakes, gearbox etc.) do.

When comparing my cars to others of similar vintage, I have always felt that my engines are distinctly nicer & the throttle response sharper. Of course, this could also be due to the frequent Italian tune-ups I give all my cars.

Main obstacle to my running in = I prefer pre-worshipped cars, so they are already run-in by the time I sit in the driver's seat. I ran-in my brother's Superb 2.0 TSI in 2021 and prior to that was the Sunny back in 2012!!!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.