Tips for breaking in a brand new engine?

[markwid]

If you read the manual it says dont use full throttle for the first 5,000kms
If your hard on the engine in this 5,000km period your engine will be prone to excess oil use

This does not make any sense at all. Holding back or babying the car for 5000K. You gotta to be joking. To some people that is 6 months of driving. Just not realistic - most people will give it some stick in the first few weeks.

[Coxy09]

This does not make any sense at all. Holding back or babying the car for 5000K. You gotta to be joking. To some people that is 6 months of driving. Just not realistic - most people will give it some stick in the first few weeks.

I suppose its up to them. You just gotta go with the manual on these things, I would assume that VW would know what they are on about by now....hopefully

[niulf]

Plenty of existing threads on this (and plenty of opinions too !).

Here are my opinions:

Don't ever allow the engine to idle to warm up before driving (this is the absolute best way to glaze the bores), just drive gently until the engine is warmed up properly (this applies to ALL engines, new or old)

I like to vary the engine revs all the time (so no cruise control at all) for the first 2,000km, lots of mid range accelerator pedal under load (more pressure on piston rings to help them bed into the bores better), and increase max revs over the first 2,000km.

After that just vary the revs a bit if cruising for the next 2,000km, otherwise drive as normal once warm.

Check the engine oil level regularly, as some engines use a bit at first. If you need to add some make sure it is VW 504/507.

Don't switch the engine off straight away if you have been working the engine hard (the turbo will be red hot). Best is to drive gently for the last 5 minutes of any journey, but if you cant, let the engine idle for a couple of minutes before switching off.

Agreed. This is also what the manual says.

[Corey_R]

lol @ your sig Coxy. Does this mean you're a Nascar fan?!

[Coxy09]

lol @ your sig Coxy. Does this mean you're a Nascar fan?!

lol ah a little, I just like the quote, and was amused at it haha....r u a bit of a fan?

[Corey_R]

lol ah a little, I just like the quote, and was amused at it haha....r u a bit of a fan?

Yeah - I was at the ****ies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in November 2006. By that point in time I had become totally disillusioned by motorsport, having previously loved CART (old Indycars), F1, V8 Supercars etc. It TOTALLY rocked my world. The most amazing motorsport event I'd ever witnessed. Total sensory overload to be able to see the entire track, with 43 cars running at speeds averaging over 300kph and to have several hundred green flag passes in the one race.

I've been lucky enough to be able to obtain the USA broadcasts since the start of 2008 - this year in 720p 60fps and 5.1 Dolby Digital. Even IF Australia plays the races on OneHD, the 25fps and stereo sound makes the cars look so slow and icky.

Anyways - well and truly off topic

[Coxy09]

Yeah - I was at the ****ies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in November 2006. By that point in time I had become totally disillusioned by motorsport, having previously loved CART (old Indycars), F1, V8 Supercars etc. It TOTALLY rocked my world. The most amazing motorsport event I'd ever witnessed. Total sensory overload to be able to see the entire track, with 43 cars running at speeds averaging over 300kph and to have several hundred green flag passes in the one race.

I've been lucky enough to be able to obtain the USA broadcasts since the start of 2008 - this year in 720p 60fps and 5.1 Dolby Digital. Even IF Australia plays the races on OneHD, the 25fps and stereo sound makes the cars look so slow and icky.

Anyways - well and truly off topic

lol yeah I always thought Car racing was pretty boring next to Moto GP or bikes in general as they go past eachother, but I saw Nascar, and yeah it wasnt bad, but then the prangs started and i got hooked lol....Always good to see it not happening to me haha.

Where'd u get the USA Broadcasts from?

But yes a little off topic hahaha,

[Coxy09]

BTW Jordan, has any of these pages/responses answered ur question?

[Hugh Ripper]

"Don't switch the engine off straight away if you have been working the engine hard (the turbo will be red hot). Best is to drive gently for the last 5 minutes of any journey, but if you cant, let the engine idle for a couple of minutes before switching off."

I noticed that on a couple of drives through the mountains in my GTI VI, that a fan in the engine bay stayed for a few minutes after I stopped and turned off the vehicle. Its a bit bizarre having the car make that noise when off.

[Coxy09]

"Don't switch the engine off straight away if you have been working the engine hard (the turbo will be red hot). Best is to drive gently for the last 5 minutes of any journey, but if you cant, let the engine idle for a couple of minutes before switching off."

I noticed that on a couple of drives through the mountains in my GTI VI, that a fan in the engine bay stayed for a few minutes after I stopped and turned off the vehicle. Its a bit bizarre having the car make that noise when off.

Dont worry, my '94 golf VR6 does the same thing

[Maverick]

"Don't switch the engine off straight away if you have been working the engine hard (the turbo will be red hot). Best is to drive gently for the last 5 minutes of any journey, but if you cant, let the engine idle for a couple of minutes before switching off."

I noticed that on a couple of drives through the mountains in my GTI VI, that a fan in the engine bay stayed for a few minutes after I stopped and turned off the vehicle. Its a bit bizarre having the car make that noise when off.

Fans staying on is normal in many cars after switch off but on the GTI the water is kept circulating (in reverse) via an electric water pump to keep the turbo cool.

[JordanNaumov]

BTW Jordan, has any of these pages/responses answered ur question?

Hey Coxy09

It seems to be pretty split that half say hammer it out of the yard and the other half say take it easy for the first few weeks.

The one thing i do keep hearing that seems to be consistent with a lot of opinions is that you shouldn't run it at constant revs ie cruise control for a while.

It's interesting listening to everyones thoughts but as you mentioned on page 2 i think i'm just going to roll with what it states in the manual. At the end of the day they have the most experience so they should know they're ****...

[Coxy09]

Hey Coxy09

It seems to be pretty split that half say hammer it out of the yard and the other half say take it easy for the first few weeks.

The one thing i do keep hearing that seems to be consistent with a lot of opinions is that you shouldn't run it at constant revs ie cruise control for a while.

It's interesting listening to everyones thoughts but as you mentioned on page 2 i think i'm just going to roll with what it states in the manual. At the end of the day they have the most experience so they should know they're ****...

Thats it exactly, As I found out at work one day when we blew an 80 thousand dollar Transformer up, if you follow instructions to the dot, they cant complain when it F**ks up, but if you dont, they will pick and poke at it, then blame you....As we have all said, its all opinions, but as you said, a 45 thousand dollar car, I wouldnt be interested in stuffing it up.

[pologti18t]

Thats it exactly, As I found out at work one day when we blew an 80 thousand dollar Transformer up, if you follow instructions to the dot, they cant complain when it F**ks up, but if you dont, they will pick and poke at it, then blame you....As we have all said, its all opinions, but as you said, a 45 thousand dollar car, I wouldnt be interested in stuffing it up.

Exactly how does VW know how you ran the car in?

[Coxy09]

ECU.....its all recorded....well it is in a alfalfa anyway....They have something there that records the amounts of times you have hit redline, how long for, motor temp, all sorts of things....