A&Q about 350Z
Q:
What's the perceived wisdom on running in a new GTI - if at all - how many miles at what revs ?
Does the handbook suggest anything ?
Apparently my car will come on "long life" servicing by default, although I could change this if I wanted.
V expensive oil the salesman said - £40 for the oil - making it a £90 service !
Salesman today said that no one had ever taken one back for a 1000/1500 mile oil change.
Any views / experience?
Had two previous golfs (1.6 petrol and 1.9TDI) on long life and we've benefitted through long service intervals although whether it benefits the car in the long run might be a different question.
Is a GTI really any different ?
A:
I cringe at the thought of leaving in oil for 20,000 miles on a fresh engine. Be they run in on a test bed or rolling road first, it still scares me.
A:
All I'll say is revs won't kill a new engine, but labouring it will do it harm. I have always run a new engine at half the max RPM for 500 miles, changed the oil, and then 3/4 the max RPM for the next 500 miles. From there increase to max RPM gradually. 2000 miles run in.Also when the engine is reved it must be allowed decellerate on it's own(ie engine braking). This is a must to ensure the engine beds in good.
PS sorry about the bad grammer on the last line
A:
have a read on there...he has decent argument for letting the engine warm up and driving it hard from new
id deffo go for a oil change within a few thousand
A:
as has been said, limiting revs is not strictly crucial (IMO), but obviously dont do anything stupid with it.
i have been more of a beleiver in the 'dont labour/load the engine too much', ie be careful with the amount of throttle you use. limit throttle especially when cold, until warm.. things like that, then gradually increase as more miles go on
could be complete twaddle tho
A:
Theres some engine tuner ( don't know who, read it somewhere ) but his moto was always "run em in fast and they will be fast, run em in slow and they will be slow". Not sure how much truth is involved in that, agree with the above about not labouring the engine, just drive normally varying the rev range.
Also I presume it's a MK5 Turbo? Remember to allow the engine to idle for a minute or 2 after hard use to allow the turbo to cool abit.
A:
All I'll say is revs won't kill a new engine, but labouring it will do it harm. I have always run a new engine at half the max RPM for 500 miles, changed the oil, and then 3/4 the max RPM for the next 500 miles. From there increase to max RPM gradually. 2000 miles run in.Also when the engine is reved it must be allowed decellerate on it's own(ie engine braking). This is a must to ensure the engine beds in good.
PS sorry about the bad grammer on the last line
Pretty good advice
A:
All,
Thanks for the various replies.
Reply that caused most thought was from PIGBLADDER.
I followed the links and read quite a bit on the "MotoMan's" theory of giving the engine a good blast from first start.
Don't know if there's been previous debate on this forum over his theory - couldn't find any ?
I don't like the website and there's a lot of condescending stuff there but if you ignore the American style and just pick out his technical argument,
it makes you think a bit simply because it flies in the face of "conventional wisdom".
The stuff about not needing to run in the main and rod bearings I think is sound
- there shouldn't be any metal/metal contact there at all in the first place.
See
More controversial is the stuff about how to get good ring seals
- essentially by giving the engine some high rev / high load running in the first 20 miles (after thorough warm up).
Then change the oil and then drive how ever you want.
Theory is that the high pressures generated from this type of running will cause best wearing in of ring against cylinder wall,
and that fears of overheating due to the higher than normal friction are just that - fear - rather than reality.
He presents example comparisons of engines that have been run in as he prescribes and those that have been run in according
to "conventional wisdom" - claiming much better ring seals and the consequent higher hp outputs, cleaner piton and bores, cleaner oil,
better reliability and reduced wear rates that then result over the life of the engine.
Most of his stuff relates to 4 stroke bike engines, but he argues the same principles apply to car engines,
and some of the feedback he gets is from car drivers.
This guy also argues that most manufacturers run their engines up to the red line during testing anyway,
so being gentle with them during running in is pointless.
The gut reaction is that this guy is nuts !
But that doesn't mean he's wrong.
One other significant question that I can't see being addressed is the effect of this method on a new gearbox.
My car will come with a DSG box - haven't got a clue how this gets lubricated and what affect a good thrashing
will have on it from first start ?
Any thoughts on that one ?
My question is whether anyone out has any evidence that agrees with or contradicts this theory ?
By evidence, I mean proper comparisons with hard data, including engine strips, performance data etc.
Are there any convincing counter arguments - useful websites ?
The subject seems steeped in opinion and belief rather than evidence and science.
And the $64,000 question - as anyone tried this "break-in" method with their pristine new Golf MKV GTI ??
And is it still in one piece ?
It would be useful to read the articles before replying to this.
A:
the mototune procedure does make very good sense, and its not like he's trying to sell you anything so why lie
fwiw i bet your new engine will have been to the redline anyway when you collect it
A:
Yeah, but under what load, and what about the gearbox ?
A:
It will be under warranty. Try your best to break it just before the 3 years are up and get a new engine for free!!
A:
i cant see a decent load hurting the engine...its plodding up a hill at 5mph in 5th gear that hurts em
dunno on the gearbox
A:
i cant see a decent load hurting the engine...its plodding up a hill at 5mph in 5th gear that hurts em
Also known as "driving like a taxi"