Breaking in your new car

[PhilMart]

Well the lowdown from VW Australia is

"There is no special oil that is used for "breaking in the vehicle" before Vehicle goes out to customers, and the only oil that is used in your vehicle is the standard oil which is then changed at your first service which is at 15,000kms.
If you need to top up the oil prior to your first service, the oil type and rating can be found in your vehicles owners manual. The oil is only available at any VW servicing Dealer.

In the short term you can use another brand of oil, but it must be a fully synthetic oil and match the rating for your vehicle."

So my apologies on that one .. it was advised to me or perhaps I did misunderstand!

[rym]

And to add fuel to the debate, most decent road bike engines such as the R1's are DRY run at high revs just after assembly on the production line. NO OIL. Quite a sight....

This is TO massively accelerate bedding in the rings.....

Yep, it was a Yamaha R1 that I "broke" in at Philip Island Race track. Awesome engine and bike. Awesome track. Lots of fun.

My intention with the Skoda is to break it in with factory fill for perhaps up to3000ks, then it's onto minerals until the 1st service, where I will switch to full synthetic.

[gregozedobe]

My intention with the Skoda is to break it in with factory fill for perhaps up to3000ks, then it's onto minerals until the 1st service, where I will switch to full synthetic.

Interesting choice (I think the factory fill oil is similar to a full synthetic with extra additives), could you please explain your thinking in doing it this way ?

[rym]

Interesting choice (I think the factory fill oil is similar to a full synthetic with extra additives), could you please explain your thinking in doing it this way ?

This may be unfounded and isn't based on any exacting science that I have resources to muster. My thinking with going with minerals is if full synthetics is "too much" protection, the mineral would assist the bedding in.

Someone with better understanding of Metallurgy may debunk this throught...

I guess this is also due to my experience most engines that i run took perhaps up to 10k to really free up. My thinking is that it is still bedding in. Hence, the mineral would play this part perhaps quicker?

After which, I will wear full protection synthetic.

This is what I have done with my recent bikes and cars.

[SoVeReIgN]

This may be unfounded and isn't based on any exacting science that I have resources to muster. My thinking with going with minerals is if full synthetics is "too much" protection, the mineral would assist the bedding in.

Someone with better understanding of Metallurgy may debunk this throught...

I guess this is also due to my experience most engines that i run took perhaps up to 10k to really free up. My thinking is that it is still bedding in. Hence, the mineral would play this part perhaps quicker?

After which, I will wear full protection synthetic.

This is what I have done with my recent bikes and cars.

If you're going to bother with that I'd have thought you'd change the oil as soon as you got the car.

It'll pretty much already run in by the time you hit 3000kms?

[Bubu]

I dont have a better understanding of Metallurgy but I was once told by a TAFE teacher, who teaches auto mechanic apprentices, that synthetic oil has far superior lubricating properties compared to mineral and that is why its best to run-in an engine on mineral.

[Greg Roles]

hey rym,

1. You're braver than me to ride an R1. Serious machine.

2. Swap out the oil straight away. If it is suitable Penrite has a specific run in oil, designed to aid run in. I did it with my last FPV, and it was "magically" up about 20 hp at the wheels.

3. Get a filter too, as the amount of metal that came out of that "hand built" v8 at 27 kilometers from the dealer, then again at 500k when the run in oil was swapped to normal penrite, was scary. I did filters each time.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

[gregozedobe]

If you're going to bother with that I'd have thought you'd change the oil as soon as you got the car.

I agree with Cogdoc and SoVeReIgN, if you intend to put mineral oil in to speed up your engine's running in you should do it straight away (and change filters too).

Not sure if I'm game enough to do that to my next new'un though, I think I'll just have to be satisfied with the factory fill oil and lots of full-throttle (less than max revs) and constant varying of revs while running in, with an extra oil change at 5,000Km

[rym]

Thanks guys, I wasn't aware that it comes factory filled with full synthetic? Never heard of such before that it would come factory filled with full synth. I would have thought it was just mineral to aid run in.

Indeed, changing filter as I go. That's the sensible thing to do.

I must add that the bikes that I have run in this way felt stronger than my riding mate's. It's not usual for riding mates to have similar or the same bikes, they used to think I'm crazy for not following manufacturer's run in "guidelines". I think they were convinced enough after a couple iterations where my bikes consistently ran stronger than the same bikes they have. This was proven on both seat of the pants as well as the dyno. Not just the engine but the braking as well. My bike has always felt better than theirs even throught we had the same bike.

SoVeReIgN, you may be right that by 3000k, it's already run in. On the bikes, I did this around 1000k. My thought on the 3000k on the car is that this doesn't have anywhere near the amount of revs as the bike.