Engine break in

[amalgamman]

Hi all,

I was wondering what method is best to break in the engine... a hard break in or a more gentle one?

I've read a site claiming that a hard break in is the way to go, giving less engine wear, oil burn and better power in the long run. Don't know how true this is though, and don't want to stuff up the engine. But... if it's true, great cos I can't wait to feel the POWER!!!

What methods of break in did you guys use for your 1ers?

Cheers!

[OOOSQ]

Customer of mine just took delivery of his E92 M3 and he was instructed to take it to 5,000km's before he takes it over 5,000rpm.

[MickyD]

Originally Posted by amalgamman

I've read a site claiming that a hard break in is the way to go, giving less engine wear, oil burn and better power in the long run. Don't know how true this is though, and don't want to stuff up the engine. But... if it's true, great cos I can't wait to feel the POWER!!!

I've done that for my last 3 cars and 2 out of the 3 were/are still going strong at 140,000k's (the 3rd one only has 30,000 on it). One of them in particular was noticable stronger than one of similar age that I drove (though it was a 1.8L TS Astra, so 'strong' isn't exactly the word you would use for it)
I'm not quite talking bouncing off the rev limiter straight out of the dealership, but certainly full throttle and loading up the cylinders in the first 200k or so I think is important to seat rings properly. Don't forget the factory and dock workers probably thrash the absolute ring out of them in their first 10k or so....

[Zuzu]

Mine went on the dyno with only 800km's on her...didnt hurt..

[BBK]

I have spoken to an experienced engine builder (1000HP cars) and he swears by running them in hard... But I think I will be doing it medium... haha

[Yep 135]

Hit her pretty hard from word go. Just let her warm up before hand though.
Gone are the days of letting the piston rings bed in, thats done at the factory now.

[d3syd]

I erred on the side of caution and followed what the manual. Don't see why the manufacturer would be wrong.

[Kris]

its all rubbish. Warm it up first, then go for it. You do know they flog these engines on a engine dyno before installation?

[lexoi]

Originally Posted by Kris

its all rubbish. Warm it up first, then go for it. You do know they flog these engines on a engine dyno before installation?

agreed.. what you're wearing in is the suspension components /brakes /chassis. the engine is worn in at the factory. We i get mine lil' black beauty (next week-can't wait!) i'll be letting the engine warm up, test the fuel for a 100ks or so and going for it.

[Guran]

Why then would BMW advise you to keep revs below 4500rpm for the first 2000km if it had no benefit? I followed that advice and gradually stepped it up from there, as recommended by BMW. Now with 6000km on the clock I drive it like I stole it!

['fatboy']

I'm on 1,200k's and driving according to the manual (keeping it under 4,000 rpm till 2,000kms).

It's probably overly protective but i can't see the harm in following the BMW manual.

[RadiuM]

Originally Posted by Kris

its all rubbish. Warm it up first, then go for it. You do know they flog these engines on a engine dyno before installation?

I can vouch for this as I saw it first hand at the nissan factory in yokohama.
The instant its finished in the line it goes straight on to a couple of dyno's and the guys thrash the fark out of the little hatches to check speedometers, exhaust leaks, emmissions etc, lights etc.. They would have done this for a good 2 to 4 minutes for each. Straight from cold too :P

I myself will be driving it fairly normal for the first few thousand km's, every so often take it to redline and back down again under load. I did that for a previous engine we rebuilt and as far as I know its still kicking

[harpoon]

I went medium. I always let it warm up but didn't worry too much about revving it out in frist and second. However I didn't take it to the track til after 5000kms.

I had a 350z from new and always drove it very hard and tracked it regularly. When I sold it the guy that bought it off me said (as he was test driving it) it was great to drive one that "hadn't been flogged". I think as long as you get all the services etc these engines are made to be driven hard.

[takahashi]

Medium I would say. I went medium in all my cars. No track action in the first 1000km, but I will redline it when I get the car, certainly will let the tubro to kick in.

But remember!

The engine may be good to go. The brake NEEDS to be embeded.
If you rev the engine, you prob need to stop.... BUT! you need to embed the rotor and brake pads.

I will do 20x soft stops and then 20x 40kmh stops to embed them in, unless there is formal embed process by BMW??? Alternatively, you can do normal driving for 500km-1000km, but I ain't have that patience.

[amalgamman]

Thanks, it's interesting that there are a lot of different opinions out there.

Before getting the 135 I was driving a 2002 1.8L Lancer. Great car, gave me no problems except that it seemed to use up a lot of oil so that I needed to regularly top it up between services (there were no oil leaks that I could tell). Now when I got this car I was very precious with the engine for the first 1k-2k, and I'm thinking now that perhaps the reason for the oil consumption was that I didn't break in the engine properly... hence this thread.

Anyhow, I've decided that I'll not be afraid to test out the engine on the 1er, but I won't cane the s**t out of it.

Any opinions on when to do the first oil change?

[amalgamman]

Originally Posted by takahashi

Medium I would say. I went medium in all my cars. No track action in the first 1000km, but I will redline it when I get the car, certainly will let the tubro to kick in.

But remember!

The engine may be good to go. The brake NEEDS to be embeded.
If you rev the engine, you prob need to stop.... BUT! you need to embed the rotor and brake pads.

I will do 20x soft stops and then 20x 40kmh stops to embed them in, unless there is formal embed process by BMW??? Alternatively, you can do normal driving for 500km-1000km, but I ain't have that patience.

Taka, what do u mean by embed the brakes?

[takahashi]

There are coating in the new pads that allow embedding. The embed process allows good contact of pads and rotor so it will give best benefit and best braking power for the rest of the pads and rotors life. Pads and rotor are the parts that stop the car.... not the caliper.

If you do not embed it properly, your brake will not run at 100%. The only thing to do then is to change pad and machine the rotor and start again.

[cimbali]

Original equipment BMW pads do not require that OE pads be bed-in...nor is it recommended. just following the brake pad manufacturer's breakin requirement.

[aedeau]

does it matter? Aren't the engines tested and pre-run in at the factory? Plus, if you're only keeping it for 3yrs, don't you have warranty to fall back on

[Kris]

I'm with aedeau...

[takahashi]

Originally Posted by cimbali

Original equipment BMW pads do not require that OE pads be bed-in...nor is it recommended. just following the brake pad manufacturer's breakin requirement.

The difference between breakin requirement and bed-in???

[oldman]

Originally Posted by aedeau

does it matter? Aren't the engines tested and pre-run in at the factory? Plus, if you're only keeping it for 3yrs, don't you have warranty to fall back on

Assuming the 135i's follow the same production methods as the Z4's, the engine is cold spun by electric motor when first completed (without fuel) and then when the car is complete, it's run up through the gears to 160kph on a dyno as the final engine and transmission test.