BREAK-IN?

I have been thinking of purchasing a GT out of state and driving back, I have some concerns about the 20ish hour drive, which is nearly 1,500 miles (Douglas County CO - San Diego CA).

I will most likely split the trip in 2 or 3 days, one stop in Utah, another night in Vegas (can't pass by Vegas without making a night of it) then head back home (San Diego).
Would taking short burst trips from CO - UT - Vegas - SD be better on the motor than a direct drive from CO - Vegas?

Would anyone consider this kind of "break in", does anyone have any objections or thoughts of this damaging the motor as its not a proper way to break it in? Any advise, thoughts, concerns is greatly appreciated..

Sounds like a good break in to me. This isn't the 60's anymore. These are well thought out high tolerance machines all things considered. Run it. Hard.

nastang87xx said:

Says the guy on the internet. :lol:

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:lol:

I've got 550 on mine and driving it down to Laguna this weekend from Portland (~700miles each way). I plan to get the first oil change done when I'm back ~2000 miles.

Do most wait for the first oil change interval or change early the first time?

^^^^I would change the oil at 300 miles. You wouldn't believe the crap that's circulating in your system now.

That's what I'm going to do (again)

Tomster said:

^^^^I would change the oil at 300 miles. You wouldn't believe the crap that's circulating in your system now.

That's what I'm going to do (again)

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Hmmmmm- I'll try to find the time. I was surprised by oil in the catch-cup already. Had them in since 100 miles. Also picked up a few quarts for storing in trunk ($9/EA at Ford!).

Just don't be horrified by the crud in the oil. Its normal. No sense in that circulating more than it has to.

Long drives with varied speed I think is best break in. Long heat soaks stress relieve the metals. Most daily driving never gets the motor evenly heated..

Tomster said:

^^^^I would change the oil at 300 miles. You wouldn't believe the crap that's circulating in your system now.

I could not agree more. I took it to extremes in large part to the reported engine failures and wanting to take every precaution. Did my first at about 150 miles then a second just over 500 miles and again after 1000. Overkill? definitely but I feel good that I did it. What the Hell, it was my money to waste but did give me great piece of mind.

That's what I'm going to do (again)

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Tomster said:

Just don't be horrified by the crud in the oil. Its normal. No sense in that circulating more than it has to.

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For sure. That first change left more visible particles in my drain pan that I could count. No way I'd have wanted that crap continuing to circulate through the engine until the first factory recommended change. Plenty of others have implied that it's nothing to worry about since the filter will catch those particles, and if I did not find any of it when doing that first change (still some in the second change as well) I'd agree but that was far from the case.

cking said:

Long drives with varied speed I think is best break in. Long heat soaks stress relieve the metals. Most daily driving never gets the motor evenly heated..

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Can you elaborate on this theory? Traditional engine break in is mainly for seating/sealing of the rings to the cylinder walls.

Broke mine in staying within the parameters of the manual: Took it easy for the first 500 miles, stayed away from WOT pulls, varied RPM speeds frequently, stayed under 5k rpm, avoided long highway trips and did alot of engine braking. Changed the oil at 500 miles, started taking it higher in the RPM band with a few WOT pulls here and there. Then changed the oil out again at 1,000 miles. from 1k on, drove it like I plan to throughout its life. Now I freely admit that I am overly anal about my car so some of this may be overkill but I haven't had any issues with oil consumption.

Before I took delivery of my car, I was also concerned with how to break in the motor properly since there seems to be a divide between people who will tell you to beat the shit out of it from day one and people who will tell you to follow the manual. I did alot of research and found this video very helpfull in making my decision:

[ame]

Not bashing anyone who has broken their engine in hard, just sharing what worked for me.

Liberty1776 said:

I have been thinking of purchasing a GT out of state and driving back, I have some concerns about the 20ish hour drive, which is nearly 1,500 miles (Douglas County CO - San Diego CA).

I will most likely split the trip in 2 or 3 days, one stop in Utah, another night in Vegas (can't pass by Vegas without making a night of it) then head back home (San Diego).
Would taking short burst trips from CO - UT - Vegas - SD be better on the motor than a direct drive from CO - Vegas?

Would anyone consider this kind of "break in", does anyone have any objections or thoughts of this damaging the motor as its not a proper way to break it in? Any advise, thoughts, concerns is greatly appreciated..

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You can break an engine in on the highway, but it's annoying to be in or anywhere around the car if you do it right (varying speed, etc.). You definitely don't want to set cruise and drive hundreds of miles at a constant speed during break in. Break in needs lots of full and zero throttle.

cking said:

I've read what's been said. However I think the best break-in is a long drive where engine gets a good heat soak and you vary the speed and load. Several hundred miles. Where this comes from is several of my new vehicles burned a little oil until they got there first long trip, then settled into great engines that all made it well past 100k without burning oil. So far my voodoo which got a 460 mile trip its first day hasn't burned any oil.

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I mean this in no way personally, but anecdotal car ownership experiences don't really have any bearing in determining break-in effects. Association doesn't mean causation. Besides, if you were an engineer and engine designer, would you ever put your name on and release to the public an engine who's life and longevity was directly dependent on a bunch of people on the internet all arguing over how to properly break it in? It's not enough that they clearly give us instructions on how to break the engine in, but they also have to engineer it to cope with all the people who intentionally don't follow the instructions because they think they know better.

Demonic said:

I mean this in no way personally, but anecdotal car ownership experiences don't really have any bearing determine break-in effects. Association doesn't mean causation. Besides, if you were an engineer and engine designer, would you ever put your name on and release to the public an engine who's life and longevity was directly dependent on a bunch of people on the internet all arguing over how to properly break it in? It's not enough that they clearly give you instructions on how to break the engine in, but they also have to engineer it to cope with all the people who intentionally don't follow the instructions because they think they know better.

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Damn, that was well said!

Demonic said:

I mean this in no way personally, but anecdotal car ownership experiences don't really have any bearing in determining break-in effects. Association doesn't mean causation. Besides, if you were an engineer and engine designer, would you ever put your name on and release to the public an engine who's life and longevity was directly dependent on a bunch of people on the internet all arguing over how to properly break it in? It's not enough that they clearly give us instructions on how to break the engine in, but they also have to engineer it to cope with all the people who intentionally don't follow the instructions because they think they know better.

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I agree ... and I watched the video summary of manufacturers break in advice. My comment about long drives reflects that a typical daily use does not get your engine warmed up. How many people drive even 25 miles before shutdown. As mention don't use cruise control.

How does my anecdotal association violate manufacturers recommendation? It was response to people who are worried about buying a car that requires a long drive home. So reflecting on manufacturers recommendations which do you think provides a better break in short daily drives or a long drive. My vote goes to a long drive.

"Break in needs lots of full and zero throttle. " I disagree with lots of full throttle which means max load, and limit rpm peaks till break in completed. I think Ford said no peak rpm till 100 plus miles and no track days till 1000 miles. I also believe babying is bad.

I vote this break in.

[ame]


And I'm not kidding.

Also, don't forget to abuse your brakes like you'd abuse your dream girl's........anyway. Don't baby your brakes. HIT EM. They need to be bedded in.