Break in or Rag in??

[robdf2]

i take it you close to getting her or is it a him for female drivers ?

depends how long you keep the car for , if its just the 3 years or on pcp , i say go like stink and dont worry , but if its for keeps gently at first then build up slowly.

i would also say try not to do a lot of short stop start journeys to start with , a long couple of drives to stretch his or hers legs lol

 

[warren_cox]

I have to say that whilst I would ALWAYS let an engine warm up fully (and I mean let the engine oil reach 90 degrees+, not the water temp), as long as you're not obscenely abusive to it I think you basically can start as you mean to go on.

Engines that are run in too smoothly are often reported not to seal as well, will burn more oil, and may deliver less performance over time.

I'm not condoning having the valves dancing on the bonnet, just feel free to let it warm up for 10-15 minutes then don't be afraid to give it some revs and loud pedal.

 

[joolsvern]

It's precision engineering, they don't put a brand new engine in a racing car (any class of racing car) and bed it in. It's not 1970 with a load of Brummies building the engines. I would however keep an eye on the oil level on a monthly basis (this is good practice at any age/milage).

 

[likeitah]

I read an article in bike magazine a few years ago and they had 2 identical bikes, ragged the s**t out of one and bedded the other one in as sugested, then a few thousand miles after they put them on the rollers, the one that had been ragged had more power!

 

[chrisjgill]

Does the FL FR have an oil temp reading on the MFD? The golf has it I think. Just wondered how to tell when it's at the right temp?

 

[2zeroalpha]

Once it's warmed up, rag the living t*ts off it!

 

[Nath.]

somewhere in between. you dont want to rag it, but you dont want to have the engine labouring either.

This is what I have always done with my new cars, never had a problem with knocking,smoking or high oil consumption.

 

[FR_Flavoured]

Its interesting how most Posts so far talks about "ragging it" virtually once you drive off the forecourt.

Yet in the Poll at the top of this page, the MAJORITY take a preference to running the car in correctly?? - at the time of this posting.
Take it those that prefer to run their car in are scared to Post, incase they get flamed! lol. I went for running in.

 

[robjnr]

I've heard of many cases that if you 'rag' it from new it will be more powerful, same with the megane sports

 

[Ami-Jane]

i take it you close to getting her or is it a him for female drivers ?

depends how long you keep the car for , if its just the 3 years or on pcp , i say go like stink and dont worry , but if its for keeps gently at first then build up slowly.

i would also say try not to do a lot of short stop start journeys to start with , a long couple of drives to stretch his or hers legs lol

Hopefully pick the car up this week - Still a her to me, don't know about other female drivers but that's a whole different topic lol

Probably keep the car 3/4 years but with what I have planned for it not going to have much left covered by warranty

Its interesting how most Posts so far talks about "ragging it" virtually once you drive off the forecourt.

Yet in the Poll at the top of this page, the MAJORITY take a preference to running the car in correctly?? - at the time of this posting.
Take it those that prefer to run their car in are scared to Post, incase they get flamed! lol. I went for running in.

Yep currently 24/14 for running in - thought it would be interesting to get peoples views but surprising that people have polled running in but not backed up the view in the thread??

 

[FR_Flavoured]

Yep currently 24/14 for running in - thought it would be interesting to get peoples views but surprising that people have polled running in but not backed up the view in the thread??

Perhaps thats what is making this Poll interesting. Very good idea too.

TBH, if I was to buy a brand new car (costing £20K+) i think it would be in my interests to ensure my new pride and joy is given the best start that it can, knowing that further months, years, the car will see the benefits of the careful break-in to begin with.

Saying that - if you plan to sell the car after 3 years, to upgrade again - or, its a company car, so its engine condition wont be of any relevance TO YOU in years to come - would the owner then choose to "rag it" over breaking it in carefully.

 

[Invisible]

As long as your not ragging it when the engine is cold you should be fine to drive it in a spirited manner. Always allow the car to 'warm-up' first

My advice would be if you buy from new 'bed' it in a little but make sure in doing this you are using the full rev range with gradual power to start off with.

Having said that they cars are designed to be 'driven' I wouldnt see any issues in ragging from day one really

At the end of the day no point in buying a performance hot hatch if you gonna drive it like a granny.

I don't believe engine of today need to be 'run in'

 

[Backdraft]

If I ever bought a brand new car I would do the running in this way: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

This is the way we run in all the cars here that have had the engines built and we have much better tolerances than the factory built engines.

Just always let the engine warm up before nailing it. The oil takes a good 10mins longer than the water to get to temp.

 

[SiPrince]

Whats the point in not seeing what your car can do if its new, its a new toy! Just like a lady, if u give he a good seeing too, she will want more and more and more and more....

 

[Kev Hall2]

I vote for a sensible run in which I think is - don't labour it, drive normally but don't hammer it for around 500 miles.

That said, The salesman told me it makes a great noise when I pickd it up, which sugggests he may have screwed it at some time during the 8 miles they drove it.

 

[Freewheelin']

If I ever bought a brand new car I would do the running in this way: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

This is the way we run in all the cars here that have had the engines built and we have much better tolerances than the factory built engines.

Just always let the engine warm up before nailing it. The oil takes a good 10mins longer than the water to get to temp.

+1

I tried this method on an Evo VIII MR I bought new. It was very quick and oil consumption was minimal. It made over 400bhp with simple mods and a remap, which was unusual for an VIII MR....so seemed to work for this particular car.

 

[FR_Flavoured]

+1

I tried this method on an Evo VIII MR I bought new. It was very quick and oil consumption was minimal. It made over 400bhp with simple mods and a remap, which was unusual for an VIII MR....so seemed to work for this particular car.

Sounds an amazing car! So I take it you dont still own it ?
I think my next car, if/when I move on from my Leon, will be japanese (soft spot for the R32 / R34's)...

 

[warren_cox]

Yet in the Poll at the top of this page, the MAJORITY take a preference to running the car in correctly?? - at the time of this posting.
Take it those that prefer to run their car in are scared to Post, in case they get flamed! lol. I went for running in.

As long as you're not exceeding the red line (and logging fault codes which show the engine has exceeded rev limits etc...), then you are warrantied.

Most cars are so nanny stated by ECU's that I bet they are pre-programmed not to be able to run dangerously until certain sensors have reached optimal running temps on new cars.

I'll always respect the engine in terms of letting it heat up, but once it's warmed up, it's @r$e is mine

 

[Freewheelin']

Sounds an amazing car! So I take it you dont still own it ?
I think my next car, if/when I move on from my Leon, will be japanese (soft spot for the R32 / R34's)...

Yep....replaced it with an Evo X RS.

If you're thinking of a Japanese car at some point try the X, its a fantastic car

 

[Al]

I believe you would be ok to kick the crap out of it from day one, but I am not sure I would.

I know a lad who buys a new car every couple of years, and his policy is to leave 2 great big black lines from the dealer forecourt on to the road. When I pointed out that this would not be possible if there was no LSD, he said, wanna bet