Wait an extra few days?

[Arctra]

LOL!!! Mate an engine doesn't take 15,000km to run in.

Show me where VW STRONGLY recommend leaving oil in for long periods of time and the reasons for it. Rather than some bloody service advisor!

That's the funniest thing I've read all week. Did you read the post immediately after the one you're talking about? Makes entirely more sense.

Are you advocating that it takes more or less milage to run the engine in Kris? I didn't see whether the OP's vehicle is petrol or an oild burner, but I have read on several occassions that you can consider a diesel engine to be "runnin-in" up until 100,000km's. At the other end of the spectrum I had the dealer (at delivery) tell me there's no need to run the vehicle in, just drive it normally.

As for VW's policy on oil changes, I've heard that 3 times from 3 seperate dealers/service centres (Wagga Wagga, Gold Coast, and Chatswood Classic to be specific). Not exactly authoritive evidence, but sufficient to satisfy my need for a 2nd and 3rd opinion. I doubt very much you'll find VW's specific policy on this unless you can get your hands on the official service manuals or internal guidelines. Maybe one of our resident dealers could help?

I have to agree with the logic in changing the "running-in oil" after the initial few thousand km's to get rid of any initial wear debris, but I also question whether VW would have such a no-early-change policy if it was going to affect their reputation and/or warranty claims. May have something to do with very good filtering, magnets in the sump-plug to catch and filings, etc?

[Rocket36]

Less...

And speaking from experience with petrol engines only. Both street cars, race cars and motorbikes.

I personally don't want any run-in debis in my engine(s) for more than 1000kms. Even if there's such a small risk of it that it's debatable whether there is any at all! Then there's the viscosity which starts to change as soon as you turn over the engine on a fresh batch of oil. That in turn changes the characteristics of the performance. I like to maintain as much of a constant as possible (and as is economical). Hence my 5000km oil changes (1000km for the B-King).

My dealer actually agrees with me as I discussed it with them. Not just the Service Advisors but the boys that actually work on the car for me. While they said it wasn't necessary as per VW's guidelines, they also said it's never going to have a negative effect to change oil and lubricants more often than is manufacturer recommended. Just stick with the manufacturer specifications of the products being used.

But bottom line is, each to their own. If someone is happy with what they're doing then great. All I have tried to do is express my opinion based on a fairly significant amount of experience (and technical understanding). Which isn't to say other people don't have the same or a lot more than me.... But in the interests of this sort of community, I will always share my thoughts/experience.

Again, apologies if it was taken the wrong way.

[Radius]

Geez, take a few days away from the forum and watch your own thread take some interesting turns.

Soooo.... I now have my icelandic grey inverted sled & WHAT A DRIVE!!! Many have posted their first experience in much more informed / specific detail, but here's my first impressions:
The GOOD:
-The sound.... the sound.... the sound.... on start up / acceleration / deceleration / shutdown
-The performance overkill in typical Melbourne traffic
-The quality of the Dynaudio system
-The speed of the DSG changes
-The absolute abundance of space in all directions
-The ability to innocently blend into traffic then surprise when the light goes green
-The way the icelandic grey changes tone based upon lighting levels
-The hugging seats
-Auto-dipping mirror on reverse
-More or less EVERYTHING

The not so good
-Forgetting to release the electric handbrake at drivethru's
-Autohold grabbing the brakes when trying to negotiate a tight parking spot (appreciate it everywhere else though)
-Paranoia about scraping the front spoiler & wheels
-Driving around without tint over the recent hot days - luckily it's installed now - and if anyone was wondering how much temp difference it makes, the answer is HEAPS - and of course the car looks much better
-Physically seeing the fuel needle drop (ahhhh, nothing comes for free!)

In summary - ^%&ing fantastic! Thanks to all on the forum for your advice for the newbie and stopping me from getting that Volvo V70 T6 many months ago! Cheers guys! Hope to see a few of you around the street.

PS - Went to pick up the car post tint today & the dealer garage was like an R36 swapmeet! - My car sandwiched between no less than three other R36 wagons - black / white / silver - and that's not including the biscay blue sitting in the dealership.... again for anyone who was wondering.... they all look equally awesome:
1. White - has the greatest initial visual impact IMHO
2. Black - sinister!
3. Silver - Has that Q-car look about it, understated
4. Biscay blue - the sporty colour, suits those blue calipers best
5. Icelandic - Classy, makes it look like an audi

[Rocket36]

Always great to see someone as happy with their new ride as you are... I was much the same.

Regarding the front spoiler. HELL YEAH! I was TOTALLY paranoid. Then TOTALLY pissed off with myself when I scraped it the first time. Now I don't care as much but I still really try not to make it worse. Thinking about going to a paint/panel shop to get them to remove the front bar, remove the number plate mount, plug the holes and respray the whole thing.

The dipping mirror is awesome for protecting the rim scrapes.

The handbrake should release automatically when you drive off as long as you have your seatbelt on. I love that feature!

Pics when you can of course!