Best way to 'run in' a new car ??
Best way to 'run in' a new car ??
Author
Discussion

anglebox10

Original Poster:

2,733 posts

241 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
Just wondering what the consensus of opinion was on running in a new car these days.
Picked up a 996 C2 back in 98 from the factory, was told by the guy there to keep the revs below 5000 for 600 miles, then 'pedal to the metal' !!
Seemed reasonable to me, any different instructions ??
Is a long drive straight back to UK from the factory at fairly constant speed/revs good or bad, or does it make any difference at all ??

Cheers,

Davey S2

13,394 posts

284 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
Generally its about 1000 miles.

Not sure if Porkers have an aftercare service at 1000 miles?

My Lotus was moderate revs for 600 miles then more for the next 400 but only with brief spurts of high revs.

Dont be too gentle with it though or the pistons wont bed in properly. Try not to spend too long cruising in one gear at constant revs. Its better to vary the gears & revs as much as possible.

Its pretty much common sense.

I would have thought it a good idea to have an oil and filter change at 1000 miles as usually the oil contains small metal particles which come off the engine casing due to the manufacturing process.

anglebox10

Original Poster:

2,733 posts

241 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
I did ask if the oil would need changing after about 1000 miles, but was told categorically by the factory guy that there was no need, as every engine was 'flushed out' after it's dyno run.
Wouldn't harm to do it anyway I'm sure.

nbetts

1,455 posts

259 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
There is a theory that someone with a better background in Mechanics was trying to explain to me and it goes something like this...

To have the highest performing engine possible it is best to be really aggressive with the engine speed and run the engine very fast and particuarly accelerate hard for the first Twenty-Thirty Miles apparently it does something to the cylinder bores that is beneficial to the engines performance. After the initial twenty/thrity miles or so you revert back to being quite normal and treat the engine quite gently - My friend did make a point in telling me that after the initial 20-30 miles if the driving pattern above had not been carried out there was no benefit in trying it.

Now, it kind of goes against everything I have heard of and indeed practiced with bedding in any of my cars - but the source I heard it from was particuarly bright (Technical Director of a F1 team)...

Hopefully, there is someone within the PH community that might be able to explain this - on the face of it - extraordinary theory that my friend was telling me.

Wetwipe

3,019 posts

243 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
be careful with the brakes. no harsh/heavy work for at least 1000 miles or the disks will begin to squeal

Davey S2

13,394 posts

284 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
nbetts said:
There is a theory that someone with a better background in Mechanics was trying to explain to me and it goes something like this...

To have the highest performing engine possible it is best to be really aggressive with the engine speed and run the engine very fast and particuarly accelerate hard for the first Twenty-Thirty Miles apparently it does something to the cylinder bores that is beneficial to the engines performance. After the initial twenty/thrity miles or so you revert back to being quite normal and treat the engine quite gently - My friend did make a point in telling me that after the initial 20-30 miles if the driving pattern above had not been carried out there was no benefit in trying it.

Now, it kind of goes against everything I have heard of and indeed practiced with bedding in any of my cars - but the source I heard it from was particuarly bright (Technical Director of a F1 team)...

Hopefully, there is someone within the PH community that might be able to explain this - on the face of it - extraordinary theory that my friend was telling me.



I have heard this as well the only problem (with my Exige at least) is that at the aftercare service they download all th edata from the ECU and give it to you as a print out which shows the max revs used, top 5 max speeds, top 0-60 times and the number of aggressive standing starts.

If you have ragged it from the start they will just rip up your warranty there and then.

DucatiGary

7,765 posts

255 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
ideal way to wear it in.

floor it round the ring a few times, thats what its made for! youll need to get to about 5k miles anyways before the engine all starts to loosen up a little.

r5gttgaz

7,897 posts

250 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
Just boot it until you get RMS failure.

DucatiGary

7,765 posts

255 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
sin bin him!!!!!!!!!

ohh and gaz, sundays off, KD's the latest one to say he cant come, and to be fair, it will be much more fun with him around

mabe the week after, need to speak to the missus, ill let u know.

r5gttgaz

7,897 posts

250 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
DucatiGary said:
sin bin him!!!!!!!!!

ohh and gaz, sundays off, KD's the latest one to say he cant come, and to be fair, it will be much more fun with him around

mabe the week after, need to speak to the missus, ill let u know.


BOO oh well I'm sure a meet will get sorted out soon.

phelix

4,683 posts

279 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
Once warmed up (coolant and oil) drive it as aggressively as reasonably possible within the break-in limits set forth in the manual. Traffic/weather permitting of course!

997gt3

3,139 posts

244 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
Yes, i'm a little concerned over this also. I'll only be able to insure my new GT3 for 3000 miles per year. So the majority of journeys will be 30 - 50 milers with a few 100 - 200 milers thrown in.
How can I ensure mine gets run in properly?

clorenzen

3,834 posts

265 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
The best is to drive the first 1000 miles in as short a period as possible (24 hours) using variable speeds in various gears. After the first 500 miles it can be rev'd harder. It is not only the engine that needs bedding in but equally the brakes and other moving parts. I think that a factory collection in Stuttgart is the best option for achieving this. Driving around London spending all the time in 2-3rd gears and taking 3 months to reach 1000 miles is seriously bad for a sports car of this nature.

sleep envy

62,260 posts

279 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
DucatiGary said:
ideal way to wear it in.

floor it round the ring a few times, thats what its made for!


Is that the Norwegian method?

PH5121

2,007 posts

243 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
I was on the PCGB trip to the Porsche factory at the start of the month, whilst there their test engineers drove us around the Weissach test track.
Amongst the cars being used for this was a 997 Turbo, which was brand new that day.
Therefore it seems that the official Porsche way of running in a new car is to tw@t it round a track sideways!
P.S. The turbo was awesome! much more exciting than the 993 and 996 turbos which have been at Weissach in the past.

DeltaHedge

571 posts

243 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
Just don't have the patience....

I remember asking a Ferrari salesman once about running it in...the conv went something like this:

Me: "How should I run it in, what should I not go over"
Him: "Will you keep the car out of warranty period"
Me: "No chance"
Him: "Forget it then, if it breaks it gets fixed at our expense, so tw4t it around and enjoy".

Left a lasting impression on me......

james_j

3,996 posts

285 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
DeltaHedge said:
Just don't have the patience....

I remember asking a Ferrari salesman once about running it in...the conv went something like this:

Me: "How should I run it in, what should I not go over"
Him: "Will you keep the car out of warranty period"
Me: "No chance"
Him: "Forget it then, if it breaks it gets fixed at our expense, so tw4t it around and enjoy".

Left a lasting impression on me......


Yes, bad running in will usually be the next owner's problem.

supermono

7,464 posts

278 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
New bores are honed with a sort of file pattern and it's there to wear the rings in. The rings aren't pushed out by spring pressure but by compression above/behind them.

This honing will wear out quite fast or fill with gum or just generally lose its agressiveness so you have to use maximum torque (and therefore cylinder pressure) as often as possible from the word go or you'll never get good sealing, cylinder pressure or torque.

Trouble is the bottom end is still tight and doesn't take kindly to long periods at high load. Therefore flog it through the gears briefly and then let it cool on the overrun.

Do thrash it right from the start, don't hold onto full throttle / high revs for long periods.

SM

hugoc2s

100 posts

253 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
I found this a while back while wondering the same things. Bit of a dodgy site but interesting reading nonetheless!

www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Carrera 3.2

86 posts

268 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
I've followed this procedure with two new cars, both of which didn't use a drop of oil between services:

No Labouring
No Constant Speed

0 – 200 miles, 3000rpm max, then 1 full power 2nd gear acceleration
200 – 400 miles, 3500rpm max, then 1 full power 2nd gear acceleration
400 – 600 miles, 4000rpm max, then 1 full power 2nd gear acceleration
600 – 700 miles, 4500rpm max, then 1 full power 2nd gear acceleration
700 – 800 miles, 5000rpm max, then 1 full power 2nd gear acceleration
800 – 900 miles, 5500rpm max, then 1 full power 2nd gear acceleration
900 – 1000 miles, 6000rpm max, then 1 full power 2nd gear acceleration

No Restrictions