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Thread: Do we still "run cars in"

  1. #1
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    Do we still "run cars in"

    So we are 5 days away from delivery of my new car.
    Do i drive it like I stole it or do I run it in?
    It's a lease so won't be mine after 24 months so should I worry or not, will it bed in better if I do it slowly or do cars not need that any more?
    Your thoughts please.

  2. #2
    Master TKH's Avatar
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    go for it !!!

    most manufacturers engines are bench run-in on gas before install and tolerances are vastly better than 20-30 years ago...

  3. #3
    Grand Master TheFlyingBanana's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by uktotty View Post
    So we are 5 days away from delivery of my new car.
    Do i drive it like I stole it or do I run it in?
    It's a lease so won't be mine after 24 months so should I worry or not, will it bed in better if I do it slowly or do cars not need that any more?
    Your thoughts please.
    The short answer, and I have asked dealers this very question, is no, not really.

    Manufacturing and QA processes are so tight now that the old issues of swarf and other residue in the engine no longer exist.

    However, in order for brakes and tyres to bed in, a couple of hundred miles taking it relatively easy is a sensible approach.
    So clever my foot fell off.

  4. #4
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    It's less important these days as manufacturing tolerances are better and in fact you can take it too easy such that things never bed in.

    If it was me (and it won't be, I'm allergic to depreciation) I take it easy for 1000 miles or so, use all the revs but don't spank it. Also, try to avoid hard braking for the first couple of hundred miles.

    And forgive me, if it won't be yours and you are just renting it from someone else treating it well is probably the right thing to do. Giving the car a long healthy life is also, of course, the green thing to do.

  5. #5
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    And of course it's always a good idea to let the engine warm up for a few miles before driving it hard.

  6. #6
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    Depends on the car and if a running in service will be carried out, if so limit the revs to the manufacturers recommendations, also as said take it easy for the first couple of hundred miles to bed the brakes/tyres in.

  7. #7
    No that is ridiculous, you drive them normally and worry about more important things in life

  8. #8
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    I used to drive gently for the first couple of thousand miles,let every thing bed in.

  9. #9
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    Thrash it from the off, just don't do it when the engine is cold & that doesn't mean water temp but engine temp. Engine temp takes 10-20 miles to peak.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by xellos99 View Post
    No that is ridiculous, you drive them normally and worry about more important things in life
    Love this :)

  11. #11
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    My approach is to drive it normally. Allow the “warm” engine to rev but avoid heavily loading the engine by going up a hill in to high a gear for example.
    I follow these rules for around 500 miles to 1000 miles..

    I’m collecting a new motorbike on Sunday👍👍

  12. #12
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    The performance of modern cars mean you are always safe unless you head for the autobahn!
    I just avoid heavy loads on the engine eg dont let it slog along in a high gear up hill, otherwise the bores can glaze and in the two years you have it the fuel consumption and performance will be less than optimum. Also as said above the brakes and tyres need bedding in , probably the first 250 miles.

    I just took a honda motorcycle in for the first service and they advised the factory fills the engine with mineral oil for the first 600 to 1000 miles to allow “ wear” to occur. From the first service they swap out to fully synthetic. The corollary being my wifes diesel mini where the first service was 16,000 miles!

  13. #13
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    Your next car will be electric. You won’t have to worry about it.....


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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Enoch View Post
    My approach is to drive it normally. Allow the “warm” engine to rev but avoid heavily loading the engine by going up a hill in to high a gear for example.
    I follow these rules for around 500 miles to 1000 miles..

    I’m collecting a new motorbike on Sunday
    Enoch are you buying a certain Omega to match the bike??

    Happy new bike , lets hope the weather is better than today

    Steve

  15. #15
    Master Tifa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeremy67 View Post
    .....take it easy for 1000 miles or so, use all the revs but don't spank it........
    This is all you need to know.
    The end.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tifa View Post
    This is all you need to know.
    The end.
    Perfect.

  17. #17
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    I have a mate who works for a large enterprising car rental company - they looked at data from thousands of cars and concluded it was a myth - people are thrashing the cars as soon as they get them and then could not find any evidence it makes any difference at all.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alansmithee View Post
    I have a mate who works for a large enterprising car rental company - they looked at data from thousands of cars and concluded it was a myth - people are thrashing the cars as soon as they get them and then could not find any evidence it makes any difference at all.
    Maybe...BUT...
    Most cars have dealer/manufacturer readable ecu's these days that can show how the car has been treated.
    99.999999% of manufacturers ask that you take reasonable care running in for the first 1000 miles or so.
    Should your spangly new engine choose to grenade itself, because you've driven like an absolute tw@t, it is unlikely you'll get much sympathy or help from them.
    Why take the risk if you don't have to?

  19. #19
    Grand Master Foxy100's Avatar
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    I would heed the advice about taking it easy for the first 200 miles, bedding in the brakes and tyres. As a general rule don't go over 3k revs in the first 10 minutes of driving if it's something special.
    "A man of little significance"

  20. #20
    I would, it doesn't matter how good the bores are, the rings still need to bed in, as do several other parts of the car, most manufacturers state 80% out of the box, in most cases that is still way above road legal, the worst thing you can do is to labour a new engine, however most new cars employ torque demand strategies so very difficult to do.

  21. #21
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    Picking my new car up in 8 days and I'll take it easy for the first 500 or so miles without caning it and gradually build up the rpms used. It's an auto so a lot of the time changing up/down points etc will be handled by the car itself. I just think it helps and it probably won't do it any harm.
    I suppose if it's only rented then people feel differently.
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  22. #22
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    I'd say take it easy more so you can get used to a different car. And in terms of ragging it around, I wouldn't do that regardless of miles!

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan View Post
    I'd say take it easy more so you can get used to a different car. And in terms of ragging it around, I wouldn't do that regardless of miles!
    Sometimes an Italian tune-up can do a car the world of good.

  24. #24
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    If I had thrashed my TD cars getting home always used to leave them running on the drive for a couple of minutes for the Turbo to cool down

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeremy67 View Post
    Sometimes an Italian tune-up can do a car the world of good.

    My TR6 gets an Italian tune up once month, does it a world of good

  26. #26
    Grand Master AlphaOmega's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Foxy100 View Post
    I would heed the advice about taking it easy for the first 200 miles, bedding in the brakes and tyres. As a general rule don't go over 3k revs in the first 10 minutes of driving if it's something special.
    This is good advice.

    Also, with higher revving engines, IME there's definitely more of a chance of uneven power delivery from cold which combined with RWD can make for unintended power oversteer.

  27. #27
    Master tiny73's Avatar
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    I was recommended to stay under 3k revs for the first 1k miles in my AMG.

  28. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by higham5 View Post
    Enoch are you buying a certain Omega to match the bike??

    Happy new bike , lets hope the weather is better than today

    Steve
    You mean like this one Steve?😎😎..I shall wear it on collection day, which may not be Sunday given the weather forecast😟

  29. #29
    I bought my first ever new car in January; 12 miles on the clock when I got it. The salesman recommended I take it easy for the first 1000 miles, which I've been doing. It's a 8 speed auto so chooses its own gears and in most situations it's bimbling along at 1-2000 RPM, but I've given it the odd blat to stretch its legs a bit without going too near the red line. I think the most important thing is not to let it labour by keeping it in too high a gear; but as I said, as an auto it makes its own decisions on that.

    Once the first 1000 is under its belt I'll consider I've got carte blanche to thrash it as much as I see fit; but as it's a bit of a licence loser anyway any real canings are going to be reserved for track days ;)

    Cheers,

    Plug

  30. #30
    Read the owners manual they usually state something like don't go over 4000 revs for the first 1000 miles and brake gently to bed the discs and pads in.

  31. #31
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    The other week when I got my new EV I was thinking whether in need to run it in like you would with an ICE car. The manual was silent on the subject and a google search didn’t turn up anything either. I guess you still need to bed in the friction brakes, though that could take an age given it’s mostly regenerative braking that’s used.


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  32. #32
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    Read the manual, and follow the instructions there.

    Pete

  33. #33
    I’ve just done 1200 miles in a brand new car and driven it sensibly without over revving or labouring the engine, just driven it normally and not done any swift overtaking. It actually somehow feels ‘different’ with a few miles but that might be more to do with the tyres and brakes tbh. I don’t think you need to worry nowadays, but then again I’m not someone who revs a car to the redline or drives like a lunatic whatever car I’m driving!


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  34. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by tiny73 View Post
    I was recommended to stay under 3k revs for the first 1k miles in my AMG.
    Same, there's a sticker on my windscreen stating this. Get out for Mercedes should anything go wrong in the future and the data states you didn't run it in....?

  35. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by uktotty View Post
    So we are 5 days away from delivery of my new car.
    Do i drive it like I stole it or do I run it in?
    It's a lease so won't be mine after 24 months so should I worry or not, will it bed in better if I do it slowly or do cars not need that any more?
    Your thoughts please.
    Don’t worry the delivery driver will get it bedded in for you ;)

  36. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by tiny73 View Post
    I was recommended to stay under 3k revs for the first 1k miles in my AMG.
    I had a similar sticker in my current AMG, interestingly, the last one (same model) didn't have one.

    With respect to temperatures, in my car the full power simply isn't available until its warmed up a bit.

  37. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by g40steve View Post
    Don’t worry the delivery driver will get it bedded in for you ;)
    HAHA! I'm sure this is a fact!

  38. #38
    Late 80’s / early 90’s a few cars came with an ecu that wouldn’t let you rev over a certain amount, until you had reached a certain mileage.

    Im fairly sure the last Mazda RX7 had that set up.
    Last edited by Omegamanic; 26th February 2020 at 23:37.
    It's just a matter of time...

  39. #39
    Craftsman Richard.'s Avatar
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    I’ve just “run-in” a couple of piston engines that cost me nearly £50k each. The advice from the manufacturers — flat out for at least the first two hours.

  40. #40
    Grand Master AlphaOmega's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard. View Post
    I’ve just “run-in” a couple of piston engines that cost me nearly £50k each. The advice from the manufacturers — flat out for at least the first two hours.
    Flat out around a track or on a rolling road?

    I remember reading a test of an Enzo that JK had just bought and his opinion was that Ferrari didn't really expect a customer to run that gem of an engine in as it had been done on the bench.

    Perhaps that is the case with the low volume stuff, as putting 1000 miles on the clock under easy load isn't always practical.

    I'd still do it though.

  41. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by uktotty View Post
    So we are 5 days away from delivery of my new car.
    Do i drive it like I stole it or do I run it in?
    It's a lease so won't be mine after 24 months so should I worry or not, will it bed in better if I do it slowly or do cars not need that any more?
    Your thoughts please.
    My UP! Gti manual said no revs above 75% of the redline for first 1000 KM. I took delivery at 8 miles.

    Manufacturers advice in black and white.

    The main dealer said ignore, but they are idiots and I ignored them and complied with VW
    Last edited by The Doc; 29th February 2020 at 08:44.

  42. #42
    Master John Wall's Avatar
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    Do we still "run cars in"

    Quote Originally Posted by hilly10 View Post
    If I had thrashed my TD cars getting home always used to leave them running on the drive for a couple of minutes for the Turbo to cool down
    There’s a lad at work who does this.
    He’s got a 2lt TD Merc A class.
    Sits in it for 5 minutes when he gets to work
    and sits in it for five minutes before he leaves...

    It wouldn’t bother me but invariably he’s my relief
    And he drives like a tart anyway

  43. #43
    Master jukeboxs's Avatar
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    Yes, still run in the engine (no thrashing RPM and going over 100mph) and also take it easy for the tyres, breaks and shocks - according to BMW (which I'm following after picking in mine last week).
    https://www.bmw.com/en/automotive-li...a-new-car.html

    Anyway, you shouldn't ever thrash your car - it's bad for the environment.

  44. #44
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    I bought a new 911 a few years ago and carefully ran it in.

    About a year later i got a tour of the Porsche factory. One of the things we saw was the Engine Test Room where every single Engine is run for 10 minutes up to the Red Line to check for Maximum Power, Torqe,Temperatures and Leaks.
    So basically the Engine has already been thrashed when its fitted to the Car making running in a lot less important than years ago.

    A mate of mine said some years ago, why run it in, you're only going to benefit the second or third owner, not yourself.
    I find its a habit thats hard to break so gentle driving for a thousand or two is how i do it. One day i really will keep the Car long term...

  45. #45
    Rev the balls of it, and then change the oil at the first 1000klm or 1000 miles - then stick to a decent servicing and maintenance schedule :)
    It's just a matter of time...

  46. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard. View Post
    I’ve just “run-in” a couple of piston engines that cost me nearly £50k each. The advice from the manufacturers — flat out for at least the first two hours.
    IO360 ?

  47. #47
    I used to build race engines professionally and we found that running in fast tends to result in more power and lower oil consumption than running in gently. Our engines generally got 10 minutes on the dyno to warm up and check for problems followed by a series of full power runs to nail the set up. Once that was done, we'd drop the oil and consider them run in. If I build an engine for myself and don't have access to a dyno, I do pretty much the same thing. Warm up and thorough check over followed by a decent thrashing on the track/road (in so far as conditions will allow). The last few engines I built for myself (a rally spec Ford Kent, a Suzuki GSXR750 and a '55 Triumph 500 twin) all got hammered from day one and have been faultless ever since. Having said that, I can generally spot potential problems and stop the process before the internals start trying to escape through the crank cases. YMMV.

  48. #48
    Apprentice Scott594's Avatar
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    Unless it's a high performance engine, in which case just let it warm up a bit, you'll be fine not running in.


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  49. #49
    Grand Master Andyg's Avatar
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    The guy who re-built my 911 engine recommended it.

    Let it warm up before setting off, keep it under 3000 for the first 100 miles, then return to him for a oil change to check all the head studs, etc, then another 400 miles of not “thrashing it”. Then another service. After that good to go.

    I followed his advise and the engine runs as sweet as a nut.

    Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
    Friedrich Nietzsche


  50. #50
    Craftsman Byron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by guinea View Post
    I had a similar sticker in my current AMG, interestingly, the last one (same model) didn't have one.

    With respect to temperatures, in my car the full power simply isn't available until its warmed up a bit.
    I collected my GLC 43 AMG a few weeks back and it has the very same sticker in the windscreen.

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