I appreciate that the widely perceived wisdom here on this forum (as per FAQs) is to stay below 6K revs (and no full throttle) for 600 miles and then slowly up the ante for the next 600 miles after that.

But there is another school of thought out there that is widely favoured by many: namely the 'drive it like ya stole it' approach. Even the guy down my local Honda garage said 'ring its neck from day one'!!

I've certainly read LOTS of posts (and Internet articles) from engineering types who SWEAR that one will end up with a faster, smoother and more free-revving engine by running an engine in like this (needless to say only with fully warmed through engine):
1. First 100 miles half max revs. No full throttle.
2. 100 to 500 miles - have a few low gear (second and third mainly) half-to-three-quarter throttle forays up to say MAX 80% of redline revs LETTING THE ENGINE DO THE BRAKING WHEN LETTING OFF THE THROTTLE RATHER THAN HITTING THE BRAKES TO SLOW. And do this A LOT OF THE TIME so far as is reasonably practical on todays roads.
3. Errr.... that's it!

What do you guys think?? Is ABSOLUTELY the do-right thing to run in as per the handbook? Or drive-it-like-ya-stole-it? Or as per 1 - 3 above??

I'm kinda favouring 1 -3 above.... unless you guys tell me that I absolutely must do the job by the book. Whilst I don't want to overtly jeopardise the longevity of the engine and gearbox and/or end up with a particularly oil-hungry engine, I DO want a FAST free-revving engine!

TIA,

RON

 

I wanted to knwo the same when I bought mine new. No harm is asking you might be the last person on here to buy a new one...

I took it gently for the first day....

first 400 never realy pushed it above 4500 and if I did nevr into vtec and only then for a second.
after that every 100 miles I upped the limit by 1000rpm and each time would spend a bit longer in vtec.

Then at 1000 miles I let useful have a bash in it and he just ragged it like it was a hire car, cheers mate....

The ecu does seem to learn so the car always seems to drive better after its had a thorough seeing too. or it might just be me.

I did notice a difference after the first oil change. I did 6500 miles in my first year then went fully synth. some people change oil after 1000 miles but if you do this you should have Moly added to the new oil.

 

What does it say in the handbook about running in?

 

That would be my answer also.

The school of though concerning 'ragging' engines to death on day one seems to have come about from the racing circles.

It's hardly relevant to modern cars though, a race engine will probably be stripped and rebuilt every couple of sessions anyhow.

Better materials, tighter tolerances for size and weight combined with improved machining/casting ability mean modern engines probably don't need so much tlc in order to 'knock off the rough edges' like early predecessors did.

FluffyNinja would be handy for a comment as this is his field, but I think he's AFK for a few days?

 

Hmm... Because the first 1000 miles take sooooo long to pass by.


Why not go by the take it gently route and drive round the M25 for a few laps one night.

Job Jobbed - and you don't run the risk of stuffing your engine.

 

I'm with Gaspode here.

1000 miles with mixed driving

First 350 upto 4k
2nd 350 upto 5k
3rd 350 upto upto 6k (No VTEC)

Those are all MAXIMUMS by the way

I'd then do another 500 miles with 8k limit.

I don't think i'd start giving it max abuse until 2k miles. That's just me though - I even have sympathy for hire cars!

 

I took mine to the highlands and back - It was nicely run in by the end of the trip

The running in period need not be a chore

 

[QUOTE=Hypersonik,Feb 11 2009, 06:11 PM] I'm with Gaspode here.

1000 miles with mixed driving

First 350 upto 4k
2nd 350 upto 5k
3rd 350 upto upto 6k (No VTEC)

Those are all MAXIMUMS by the way

I'd then do another 500 miles with 8k limit.

I don't think i'd start giving it max abuse until 2k miles.

 

I would just drive it normally but avoid high revs.

Giving the engine load and lots of engine speed changes helps to bed the rings in. Providing a better seal than engines which do 500miles on a motorway at constant speed and part throttle.

Using throttle helps increase cylinder pressures and it's this pressure that forces the rings into to the cylinder liner.

High revs only really serves to increase piston ring speeds, when these aren't bedded in you can work harden the peaks which means they will never bed in properly.

The crucial time is the first 50miles of a new engine, keep it under 6000rpm but vary loads and speed for all of these 50 miles. Dont be scared to use the throttle.

Stick some average oil in at the start and change the oil and filter after the first 100miles to clear out any debris.

 

When my new engine was built, i asked about the run in period, and i was told, hit it like you mean it,

he said aslong as you have correct amount oil etc its fine