This is how I gave my new motor a good solid run-in to help bed the piston rings properly.
When I bought my first ever new car, a Suzuki, I ran the motor in according to the owners manual. It was a disaster. The motor consumed a litre of engine oil every 2000 km's. Over the years I did quite a bit of scouting around in forums and talking to mechanics, I was eventually led to http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm I read the page and although it seemed a bit querky, I was convinced he was on the right track and decided to try his controversial procedure with my 1.2 TSI Yeti. So, with just 30 km's on the odometer I warmed the engine up, filled the fuel tank with 98 RON and headed off down the road. I had decided to use a piece of 110 kph posted motorway that climbs 170 metres over about 6 kms.
1st uphill run: Gear selector in D driven fairly briskly (to make sure everything was at operating temp).
1st downhill run: Selector in Manual mode, 4th gear only (minimal brake usage).
2nd uphill run: Gear selector in Manual mode, switching between 3rd and 4th gear with brisk acceleration.
2nd downhill run: Manual mode, mainly 4th gear with a couple of gear changes back to 3rd (5500 rpm max). The computer blocked me from getting back to 2nd gear.
3rd uphill run: Manual mode, lots of changes between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears with heavy acceleration at varying speeds between 80 to 110...or thereabouts.
3rd downhill run: Selector in manual mode, 3rd gear only with quick acceleration followed by engine-braking deceleration, followed by acceleration again.
Since then I have had a few long afternoon drives on B roads over hilly terrain to help the motor bed in some more and always use S mode around town. Up to 500km's the oil level dropped by about 3mm on the dipstick from factory fill level, but has not fallen any more since then and the vehicle has now done 2,500 km's. The motor is responsive and quiet and is fun to drive.
I truly believe that a hard run-in is the way to go, especially when I read so many posts in forums about high oil consumption after an "Owner's Manual" recommended run-in procedure. With the motors factory filled with good quality synthetic oil, hard run-ins seem more of a necessity than ever to get those piston rings bedded properly.
Please note: No Yeti's were harmed during this hard run-in process and my vehicle shows no ill effects.
Edited by: plbxr
When I bought my first ever new car, a Suzuki, I ran the motor in according to the owners manual. It was a disaster. The motor consumed a litre of engine oil every 2000 km's. Over the years I did quite a bit of scouting around in forums and talking to mechanics, I was eventually led to http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm I read the page and although it seemed a bit querky, I was convinced he was on the right track and decided to try his controversial procedure with my 1.2 TSI Yeti. So, with just 30 km's on the odometer I warmed the engine up, filled the fuel tank with 98 RON and headed off down the road. I had decided to use a piece of 110 kph posted motorway that climbs 170 metres over about 6 kms.
1st uphill run: Gear selector in D driven fairly briskly (to make sure everything was at operating temp).
1st downhill run: Selector in Manual mode, 4th gear only (minimal brake usage).
2nd uphill run: Gear selector in Manual mode, switching between 3rd and 4th gear with brisk acceleration.
2nd downhill run: Manual mode, mainly 4th gear with a couple of gear changes back to 3rd (5500 rpm max). The computer blocked me from getting back to 2nd gear.
3rd uphill run: Manual mode, lots of changes between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears with heavy acceleration at varying speeds between 80 to 110...or thereabouts.
3rd downhill run: Selector in manual mode, 3rd gear only with quick acceleration followed by engine-braking deceleration, followed by acceleration again.
Since then I have had a few long afternoon drives on B roads over hilly terrain to help the motor bed in some more and always use S mode around town. Up to 500km's the oil level dropped by about 3mm on the dipstick from factory fill level, but has not fallen any more since then and the vehicle has now done 2,500 km's. The motor is responsive and quiet and is fun to drive.
I truly believe that a hard run-in is the way to go, especially when I read so many posts in forums about high oil consumption after an "Owner's Manual" recommended run-in procedure. With the motors factory filled with good quality synthetic oil, hard run-ins seem more of a necessity than ever to get those piston rings bedded properly.
Please note: No Yeti's were harmed during this hard run-in process and my vehicle shows no ill effects.
Edited by: plbxr