taybelZ

Hi guys,
First post here so take it easy on me. lol
First of all, would like to say the BA looks bloody awesome!
I'm simply blown away by its interior. As a driver of a AU i must say the BA looks 101 % better !

Anyway my question is how to break-in to new engine of cars?
ie how should go abouts driving it for the first couple of weeks(months?) ?
I asked my parents what to do.. but they don't really pay much stuff to the itty/gritty stuff of cars. And just said they drive it easy for the first couple of weeks. But after talking to my friends they said you are ment to give it short runs @ high speeds.

What should i do?
Can someone please advise.


As a driver of my parents car i feel i should give it a good breaken' in :D

DR XR

The two most important things that you DONT do is sit on one speed for a long period of time if you go on a freeway vary your speed and secondly DONT rev it much over about half of its potential eg if it redlines at 6000 rpm dont rev it over about 35000 for atleast 5000km.

You will get alot of theories on this as there are many ways but these are usually the most important rules.

plonky

Personally I've found that with new cars, the tolerances are so low that they should be driven hard from day one. This has always resulted in the engine giving the best power. Some may disagree with this but I've always found that if you drive it hard it will always do well. If you drive it like a grandpa car, then it will alwasy be a grandpa car.

This was not always the case. I know that the way engines used to be built that they had to be run in the right way. This goes with older US V8's such as Ford and Chryslers. However with new cars and new engine making it doesn't really matter.

What really matters is, using the best oil you can afford and change it and the filter regularly (every 5k).

limebluemetal

I think that you should tell the people who work at fords this as from what I hear, they tend to .... how do I put this?... enjoy the revs :D

taybelZ

when you say sit on a speed..
do u mean stay at a speed for 10mins or so?

so i'm guessing varied speed is good.. and not reving it too hard.

Thanks for the help.
Also what about the method of hitting 120+ then letting it slow down and then hitting 120+ again.

Final question is. should i be running premium petrol for teh first couple of tanks? or shouldn't it matter?

bafel

i was told that warming a new car up before driving will actually do more damage than good because cars have themostats built into the engine managment systems, so theres no need. Is this true or should i continue to warm up my car in the mornings?

Sorry cant help u out tayBelZ

limebluemetal

As far as I know this is true... unless you drive a Volvo in the snow.. which I doubt.

XR8 Couple

If in doubt, read the manual. I am sure the people who made the car know how best to run it in.

__________________
Diehard AU Series fan

ianmcginley

I own a AUII XR6 and I followed this procedure when 'breaking in' my engine.

for the first 1,500 km never take it much past 3-3500rpm, also vary the RPM whilest driving.
up to 5000km pretty much anything goes but at 5000km, change the oil to a high quality MINERIAL OIL, not synthetic - read your manual for what spec oil.

After 5,000km go nuts and have it serviced as per normal at 15,000 intervals.

My car now LOVES to rev feels like it can drive all day at 5000rpm in 2nd/3rd gears. Done 24,000 in 11 months and it feels beautiful

__________________
Falcon Killer (if you believe what Ford Service Departments have to say about me)
AU II XR6 - October 2001 ~ December 2002 - RIP
BA XR6 - December 2002 ~ Soon to disappear if Ford CRC can't fix it....

45,000km service coming up - and i'll be asking for a sizable list of fixes:
* Gearbox (3rd time)
* Steering click (5th time)
* Brake Shudder (2nd time, and has the applied "Fix")
* etc...

CurrenZS

ive been told to not warm up the car in the morning, but just idle after starting for 15-30 seconds and thats the best way apparently. definately better than driving off straight after starting