Discussion
I've had 4 M cars and always run them in the same way, pretty much as per the hand book, but I don't baby them the trick I've found is to give the engine load but not high sustained revs.
Raging an M engine during running in is daft and flies in the face of what the engineers that built it advise, but often the internet knows better.
Raging an M engine during running in is daft and flies in the face of what the engineers that built it advise, but often the internet knows better.
I'd had a few drinks at that point as well!
What I did, is give the engine load (low-medium revs) 3rd through to 6th as it helps seat the piston rings, I didn't go beyond maximum recommend revs but you can still go to 5000 rpm.
I didn't apply WOT and slowly built the speed up over the 1st 1200 miles (which only took me a couple of weeks.
I still saw 90+ on the motorway and used the torque to load the engine during urban/rural driving.
I've done 6000 miles now and haven't used a drop, my last M3 I did 38k without using any oil either.
What I did, is give the engine load (low-medium revs) 3rd through to 6th as it helps seat the piston rings, I didn't go beyond maximum recommend revs but you can still go to 5000 rpm.
I didn't apply WOT and slowly built the speed up over the 1st 1200 miles (which only took me a couple of weeks.
I still saw 90+ on the motorway and used the torque to load the engine during urban/rural driving.
I've done 6000 miles now and haven't used a drop, my last M3 I did 38k without using any oil either.
The key to running in is not to baby the engine too much for the first 50-100 miles. Of course do not use full throttle or revs greater than the recommended maximum (5000 for the M6), but don't just drive around at 2000 rpm either.
The key is to seat the piston rings fully before bores get coated in varnish from the combustion process. Once the bores are coated the piston rings are then pretty much fixed for the life of the engine. Any blow by will reduce compression, thus power, and increase oil consumption. Generally, the use of high (but not too high) rpm at low load (to prevent wear on the big end bearings) plus the use on engine braking (which creates a vacuum and helps suck the piston rings to the cylinder walls) will result in lowest oil consumption and greatest engine power. After the first 100 miles or so, you should then use fewer revs to minimise wear.
Of course, the engine should never be excessively revved or loaded until it's fully up to temperature, running in or not.
Using this procedure my M6 has not required any oil in 22000 miles, although I've added 0.25L to top it up and the oil has been changed 3 times so far.
The key is to seat the piston rings fully before bores get coated in varnish from the combustion process. Once the bores are coated the piston rings are then pretty much fixed for the life of the engine. Any blow by will reduce compression, thus power, and increase oil consumption. Generally, the use of high (but not too high) rpm at low load (to prevent wear on the big end bearings) plus the use on engine braking (which creates a vacuum and helps suck the piston rings to the cylinder walls) will result in lowest oil consumption and greatest engine power. After the first 100 miles or so, you should then use fewer revs to minimise wear.
Of course, the engine should never be excessively revved or loaded until it's fully up to temperature, running in or not.
Using this procedure my M6 has not required any oil in 22000 miles, although I've added 0.25L to top it up and the oil has been changed 3 times so far.
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