How to run in a new gti engine?

[Fighta]

i am trying REAL hard to not break 4k , i norm dont even go past 3-3.5 , but there are things that happen , ie the asshole SUV that almost plowed into me when i turned onto an access road . she was looking down (i assume txting) didnt stop and i had to push it to about 4500 . i was FURIOUS , not so much that i almost got hit , but more so that i had to push the car that hard even for a second =(

 

[KGB7]

This is an often-debated subject. On one hand people say follow exactly what the owner's manual says (which itself is often very vague and subject to interpretation). OTOH there are guys like "Motoman" who say run it hard: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

The people who say break it in easy are often unaware that certain car mfgs run each engine on a dyno at high power before building the car. I don't know what VW does for the EA888 engine, but some mfgs (like Ferrari) track test each *new* car before selling it. Even a brand new one has already been thrashed pretty hard at the factory track. That doesn't ruin the engine.

Lots of people take "European delivery" of Porsches, BMWs and Audis so they can drive them on the Autobahn at sustained high speed -- when brand new.

I once knew a group of young tech entrepreneurs who all bought new Porsche 911s with European delivery. One guy was so worried about break in, when they were on the factory tour he looked up the technician who built his engine -- each one is assembled by one person -- and asked him what break-in procedure should he use, considering they were headed for the Autobahn. The technician grinned and said "just lift throttle for overpasses".

The book "Sportbike Performance Handbook" discussed how newer manufacturing and metallurgy technologies affect the optimal running in procedure on new motorcycle engines:

"Asked about break-in of race engines, Wiseco Piston Company's Tom Kipp, Sr, said: "After about 20 hard pulls on the dyno, the blowby volume has dropped by half and that seems to be it".

"Thirty years go, piston rings were less well-finished, and the cylinder wall had to be used as a file to shave them into intimate contact. This was the function of the old, relatively coarse, 60-degree crosshatch honing pattern used as a cylinder wall finish. This degree of roughness was essential to remove the necessary metal from the rings to make the seal."

"Today, the standard wall finish is...called a plateau finish. The cylinder is first coarse-honed, then finished with either a much finer hone or a plateau brush. This leaves the cylinder wall as a series of smooth-surfaced islands, surrounded by the deeper incissions left by the coarse hone. The incissions limit how far any scuffing -- smearing of metal -- can go, and they also serve to retain oil."

"Even with such accurately manufactured parts, bike engines still require break-in to finally seat their piston rings."

"Sensible instructions for breaking in on the street call for something surprisingly similar: frequent applications of full throttle acceleration, but without holding high rpms or load for long periods. Between throttle applications, the engine oil system can carry away wear particles to the filter, and excess heat developed in areas contact has time to diffuse."

"Engines today are so well manufactured, with such good surface finishes, that it takes real power to push the smooth parts through the separating oil-and-additive film, into the partial contact that is necessary to achieving a final, high-quality fit."

"You may have heard the old-timers say, 'Break it in fast, and it'll be fast. Break it in slow, and it'll always be slow.' There is enough truth in this to make it memorable"

There are valid opinions on both sides of the break-in issue. Besides anecdotal experience, nobody really knows for sure.

To know for certain you'd have to treat it like a medical question, say whether a certain diet causes cancer. You'd have to follow dozens or hundreds of new vehicles over their operational life, meticulously tracking the break in, operational use, maintenance, environment, etc. Such studies are expensive. Even for a car manufacturer to do this, they'd have to instrument a fleet of cars during break in, analyze the data, correlate it to service issues, etc. They don't do that.

I'd personally be afraid to really thrash a brand new car, but I have seen that happen with brand new sport bikes on the racetrack, and it generally causes no problem. Some manufacturers and dealers even offer an extra-cost "dyno break in" procedure where they rapidly ramp up the engine load on a dyno, culminating in extended max rpm, max throttle operation for extended periods, then they change the oil.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'd mainly avoid obvious things -- don't hop on the freeway and set cruise control for long periods, etc. Vary engine rpm and load -- that kind of thing.

A lot of great information and i do agree with most of it.

But, high mass produced VWs dont build their engines as well as Porsche or Ferrari, thus i wouldnt take VW to autobahn right of the assembly line, unless it was a rental.



OP.

Go through various RPM ranges first 1k miles. Cruising on highway at 55mph, drop few gears and let the engine rev up to 4.5k for 10 sec, then drop it down. Randomly accelerate from full stop stop up to 4.5k rpm at various gas pedal positions.


Think of it as working out. You dont start bench pressing 300lb on first day, you build up to it over time. But in between, you push your self on various days past your normal workout regime, until your muscles are used to constant work outs and stress. Then you can try bench pressing 350lb on regular basis.


Our SMART car, which is a lease, i started to push the engine to rev limiter on regular basis after 100 miles, and after 29k miles there are no issues. Runs like a champ. Like i said, it is a lease, so i couldnt care less what happens to it when i take it back, even though i perform all routine maintenance.

 

[joema2]

...But, high mass produced VWs dont build their engines as well as Porsche or Ferrari, thus i wouldnt take VW to autobahn right of the assembly line, unless it was a rental.

It's not just Porsche and Ferrari. Every major European brand except VW have European delivery options for U.S. customers. Lots of U.S. customers take European delivery of a BMW 328i, then immediately drive it on the Autobahn. That is hardly an exotic, hand-built engine. It's mass-produced just like a VW GTI.

Likewise with mass-produced motorcycle engines. Many sportbike dealers offer dyno break-in for brand new bikes. The first 200 miles on the bike are accumulated on the dyno at wide throttle and (eventually) high rpm. These are fully warrantied programs.

Go through various RPM ranges first 1k miles. Cruising on highway at 55mph, drop few gears and let the engine rev up to 4.5k for 10 sec, then drop it down. Randomly accelerate from full stop stop up to 4.5k rpm at various gas pedal positions....

This is generally good advice. The overall goal is seat the piston rings by progressive increases in power, but avoiding premature high rpm operation.

 

[Nancy]

Drive it like you stole it !

 

[KGB7]

It's not just Porsche and Ferrari. Every major European brand except VW have European delivery options for U.S. customers. Lots of U.S. customers take European delivery of a BMW 328i, then immediately drive it on the Autobahn. That is hardly an exotic, hand-built engine. It's mass-produced just like a VW GTI.

Likewise with mass-produced motorcycle engines. Many sportbike dealers offer dyno break-in for brand new bikes. The first 200 miles on the bike are accumulated on the dyno at wide throttle and (eventually) high rpm. These are fully warrantied programs.



This is generally good advice. The overall goal is seat the piston rings by progressive increases in power, but avoiding premature high rpm operation.

There is a couple of good videos on youtube made by HorsePowerFreaks, explaining the difference between factory build BMW engine that needs break-in, and how they build it with out the need for a break-in.

 

[Liland]

tbh i dont see what parts in a engine that needs 1000km under 4.5k to avoid damage.
Keep calm until oil temp is steady and i dont see a problem with giving it full throttle, i believe in motormans theory.

 

[jeffkro]

Doesn't it make you wonder how the GTI you end up owning was driven on test rides? My guess is every test ride involved putting the DSG in sport mode and gunning it.

 

[Nyanga]

On running in, most of you say aim to keep revs below 3-4,000 for 1st. 1,000 k's, and at same time to vary revs between 2,000 & 3,900 and not keep constant for a long period (i.e on cruise control).

I guess that you can do this by also changing settings between Normal and Eco.

Views?

 

[wlfpck]

You're vehicle's engine is beaten on pretty well before it even makes it to the dealership.

The main things let the oil get to proper operating conditions before thrashing on it.

On mine, I varied the RPMs up to 5k. I did some "higher speed" driving but with consistent acceleration (I didn't just all of a sudden floor it).

 

[Nyanga]

Thanks

 

[RedHotVAG]

I pushed mine to 75% (ok maybe more like 80%, I can't say I took it completely easy) for the first 1000km. When on the highway I would go in neutral and let the revs drop to idle and put it back in gear again to keep the revs varied. Stayed below 5K 90% of the time. Checked the oil at 1500km, no oil burnt, oil was still golden coloured.

 

[dbeugel]

Take it from me, experience in racing motorcycles and working on them as a dealership technician. If you are driving about following some old guidelines that used to apply back when machining and materials were in a different era, you're wasting your time.

The only procedure you should follow, every time you drive, is to make sure the oil temp is up before booting it. I won't bother going in to cylinder pressure etc because it's boring and the OCD guys still won't believe it..... but I have compared 3 completely stock Ron Haslam Race School Fireblades that spent 5 days a week bouncing off of the limiter straight out of the crate, to the same model that was ridden gently through 'break in'. The ex race school bikes were much freer through acceleration, and didn't burn any more oil than what is considered normal by Honda.

Your VW engines are already pretty much 'broken in' by the time they reach the dealership, and I can also guarantee you the boys topping off your fuel during PDI didn't toodle around in it either.

 

[joema2]

Take it from me, experience in racing motorcycles and working on them as a dealership technician. If you are driving about following some old guidelines that used to apply back when machining and materials were in a different era, you're wasting your time...I have compared 3 completely stock Ron Haslam Race School Fireblades that spent 5 days a week bouncing off of the limiter straight out of the crate, to the same model that was ridden gently through 'break in'. The ex race school bikes were much freer through acceleration, and didn't burn any more oil than what is considered normal by Honda...

This is exactly my experience. My CBR1000RR was broken in on the dyno. -- It was removed from the crate, pushed across the floor, strapped on the dyno. The first 200 miles of it's life was on the dyno, much of it repeated full throttle pulls to redline. It was tracked many times. The current owner also tracks it, the bike has 24,000 miles and doesn't use a drop of oil.

I met several people at the track with brand new bikes that were broken in on the track. I'd subsequently see them year after year with the same bikes. They were running great, despite spending the first 150 miles of their life bouncing off the rev limiter all day long.

These bikes typically had an early oil change at around 300 miles. I don't know if that was a factor or not. But there's no difference between bike engines and car engines. They are built with similar technology, manufacturing techniques and tooling.

 

[markfhp]

As the proud new owner of a 2017 GTI SE, these comments aren't really helpful. "I babied it and now it runs great 120,000 miles later" is sort of like saying "I only wore blue shirts for the first 1,000 miles and now it runs great 120,000 miles later." ... What we really need is somebody to say "I drove it off the lot, set it on cruise control for 6 hours, and now that sucker drinks a quart of oil every 500 miles." ... Anyone have any tales that establish that it's really a bad idea not to just treat it like a regular car from Day One? (P.S. I love it so far)

 

[Slapshot1]

Timely topic for me. I didn't want to start a new thread because I'm sure it's been covered.

I was going to change the oil at 1000 miles just to get rid of any crap in the engine. But I guess that's what the filter is for. Also it would appear that older oil might be beneficial?

I wonder how rental fleet cars compare to their gently driven counterparts?