Break-In Period Driving Habits

[lucky phil]

There is no way reason to change the oil till next service, it’s a modern vehicle, and it’s synthetic oil. When I changed mine at 5000 It looked brand new. No darkening, nor was their any debris.

Well...I must admit modern engines are pretty well cleaned during assembly but I still change the oil and filter these days at 1000klm. This is the point of the greatest wear materials in the oil short of a failure of some sort. Why not spend the 100 bucks and flush them out? On the engines I build myself the oil gets changed way earlier than that at around 200klms and I use break in oil. My build clearances for road engines are just the same as any production engine but my tolerances are tighter.
There seems to be a "it's a modern engine" myth around these days like nothing can go wrong or they are some version of perfection. Then your friend that works at GMs test cell tells you about "his day at work" testing random engines out of a batch of a few thousand for oil consumption and power output that came out of production with oval bores. Looking to see if they can be used in production cars or they need to be scrapped. Or you meet the crew from the factory travelling the world on a factory campaign to correct a major production issue. The US for a few months, then Australia and onto south east Asia. stripping engines and carrying out remedial work on a world wide recall. The "it's a modern anything" doesn't mean much in my world believe me.

Phil

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[FLtrackdays]

Well...I must admit modern engines are pretty well cleaned during assembly but I still change the oil and filter these days at 1000klm. This is the point of the greatest wear materials in the oil short of a failure of some sort. Why not spend the 100 bucks and flush them out? On the engines I build myself the oil gets changed way earlier than that at around 200klms and I use break in oil. My build clearances for road engines are just the same as any production engine but my tolerances are tighter.
There seems to be a "it's a modern engine" myth around these days like nothing can go wrong or they are some version of perfection. Then your friend that works at GMs test cell tells you about "his day at work" testing random engines out of a batch of a few thousand for oil consumption and power output that came out of production with oval bores. Looking to see if they can be used in production cars or they need to be scrapped. Or you meet the crew from the factory travelling the world on a factory campaign to correct a major production issue. The US for a few months, then Australia and onto south east Asia. stripping engines and carrying out remedial work on a world wide recall. The "it's a modern anything" doesn't mean much in my world believe me.

Phil

Well said. My daily cars, I probably wait too long in between oil changes (and other fluids). Too many factors involved for one size fits all approach.

 

[cbrummell]

LOL... Break in period??

i did a burnout leaving the dealership, used launch control plenty of times, took a 2 hour drive to the track, ripped off about 12 quarter mile passes and then drove it home just as hard. and that was just the first week!

my car runs great has never burned oil and is consistently one of the fastest stock supras i've seen. i got those rings good and set with a a hard break in.

 

[lucky phil]

LOL... Break in period??

i did a burnout leaving the dealership, used launch control plenty of times, took a 2 hour drive to the track, ripped off about 12 quarter mile passes and then drove it home just as hard. and that was just the first week!

my car runs great has never burned oil and is consistently one of the fastest stock supras i've seen. i got those rings good and set with a a hard break in.

Well thats probably a better running in strategy than babying it around like an old lady driving to church. Not the optimal break in strategy mind.

Phil

 

[PowerGetter]

yea, not gonna recommend any of my friends purchase used MKV's if this thread is any indicator.

 

[Afterburn 549]

To the point
The only thing "breaking in" on almost any engine is the ring package.
The procedure is totally dependent on them.
I will suspect high-end narrow rings are used with a perfect fit and hone.
High-end expensive engines are broken in on the dyno.
Does BMW do this to every one of these?
IDK
The procedure is to watch all gauges and very the RPM and load with every run-up
The manometer (ring blow-by) is crucial.
We, - lacking that is to-
Never coast the engine for very long (Idle times)
As already said, -keep varying the load and RPM without huge hard jumps .
If you want an education on rings, go to "YouTube" and watch some of "Total Seal" videos with Lake Jr.
All turbo engines need a cool down so the turbo does not get ruined by residual heat (oil Coking)
An EGT gauge is very helpful
Some engines have independent oil and cooling pumps that will run cooling the turbo after shut down.
Does BMW do this? IDK

 

[cbrummell]

To the point
The only thing "breaking in" on almost any engine is the ring package.
The procedure is totally dependent on them.
I will suspect high-end narrow rings are used with a perfect fit and hone.
High-end expensive engines are broken in on the dyno.
Does BMW do this to every one of these?
IDK
The procedure is to watch all gauges and very the RPM and load with every run-up
The manometer (ring blow-by) is crucial.
We, - lacking that is to-
Never coast the engine for very long (Idle times)
As already said, -keep varying the load and RPM without huge hard jumps .
If you want an education on rings, go to "YouTube" and watch some of "Total Seal" videos with Lake Jr.
All turbo engines need a cool down so the turbo does not get ruined by residual heat (oil Coking)
An EGT gauge is very helpful
Some engines have independent oil and cooling pumps that will run cooling the turbo after shut down.
Does BMW do this? IDK

the supra runs the fans even after the car is off if you get it hot enough assumedly to continue circulating oil

 

[lucky phil]

the supra runs the fans even after the car is off if you get it hot enough assumedly to continue circulating oil

I think you mean water and I believe the turbo pump runs after shutdown in certain conditions to keep water circulating and cool the turbo. Other turbo engines rely on cooling the turbo after shutdown via thermal syphoning which seem to work fine. The only time the turbo needs a little cool down time is if you've been hammering it hard. It's not ideal to immediately shut the engine off after say a run down the strip at WOT but apart from those sort of conditions you can shut the engine down without idle cooling. It's really an old non water cooled turbo hang over thing and not really relevant to modern fluid cooled turbo systems. It can't hurt after a hard run though for 30 seconds or so though.

Phil

 

[Afterburn 549]

We understand the problem.
BMW as I stated may have a shutdown sequence that will protect the Turbo in most conditions
Lots of people out here need to know what kills a turbo.
Any turbo will die from residual heat sink.

 

[cbrummell]

I think you mean water and I believe the turbo pump runs after shutdown in certain conditions to keep water circulating and cool the turbo. Other turbo engines rely on cooling the turbo after shutdown via thermal syphoning which seem to work fine. The only time the turbo needs a little cool down time is if you've been hammering it hard. It's not ideal to immediately shut the engine off after say a run down the strip at WOT but apart from those sort of conditions you can shut the engine down without idle cooling. It's really an old non water cooled turbo hang over thing and not really relevant to modern fluid cooled turbo systems. It can't hurt after a hard run though for 30 seconds or so though.

Phil

i normally let my car idle cool down for about 5 minutes after a good rip before i kill the motor i feel bad shutting it off hot

 

[razorlab]

ya'll talking like it's 1994 still.

 

[FLtrackdays]

ya'll talking like it's 1994 still.

My local dealer is offering a 50 point inspection (with a coupon)

I‘m at 12k miles. Started tracking after a few hundred miles. And using a heavier weight oil . Guess it’s just a matter of time b4 she blows up.

 

[Rocksandblues]

well crap. I thought Supras came with lifetime oil?? I was supposed to be changing the oil?? Am I screwed?

 

[AJRMKV]

Whether you believe in engine break-in periods or not. If you have an MT, definitely respect the break in period of the clutch if you want it to hold power when you modify the car.

 

[J29DB03]

well crap. I thought Supras came with lifetime oil?? I was supposed to be changing the oil?? Am I screwed?

Only if you didn’t follow the break-in period.

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