When you first get your Mustang - Break-in?

[opensesame]

Are you supposed to drive it gently for the first 500km or drive it hard?
I've heard from different people, driving it gently when the car is brand new because the engine still has not been broken in, while others say drive it hard if you want it to be fast.

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[Seabee1973]

You need to let it break in, driving it hard will definitely ruin your engine... I would say at least your first few hundred miles... I go by 500.... doing day to day driving... You do not want constant speeds... needs to vary... in other words, I would not be on the highway at constant speeds... if you want your car to last a long time.... that would be the best thing.... usually there is a break in time and you MUST have your first oil change, after that time you can start driving it the way you want.

 

[Brent302]

Just drive it. A lot of that drive it gently stuff comes from long ago. Just don't be bouncing on the Rev Limiter

 

[JoeDogInKC]

There are different schools of thought on this. Of course, Ford will tell you to kind of baby it for the first 1000 miles, but many others recommend that you beat the snot out of it immediately. Somewhere there is a video on YouTube of a motorcycle builder who recommends beating a new (or newly rebuilt) engine up immediately. He shows the results of recommended testing by the manufacturer and his method by tearing down the motor after using each method. I've heard plenty of others say the same thing, too. If you want max performance as well as longevity, beat it up right off the lot.

 

[Seabee1973]

Many engines are adaptive along with transmissions... vary from auto makers.

 

[5.0GT]

My way of breaking it in was leaving two 50 yard marks leaving the dealer. I drove it hard for the first 2 weeks....ran a 12.7 stock after that.

 

[KGrGunMan]

Use the full RPM band and don't let the engine sit at the same RPM for long amounts of time.

 

[OppoLock]

You can play it safe and just go by the manual. You'll find a million and one opinions on this. Tough break-in, easy break-in, just go by what the manufacturer recommends.

 

[fionic]

just go by what the manufacturer recommends.

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[KGrGunMan]

What if the manufacturer cares more about liability than anything else when recommending how to break-in an engine?

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

The manufacturer cares most about limiting warranty claims. For long term engine health, I reccommend listening to them.

 

[wjones14]

What if the manufacturer cares more about liability than anything else when recommending how to break-in an engine?

They want your car to be trouble-free. Isn't that what you want too?

 

[KGrGunMan]

Very much so, but more so, they don't want any court ever even attempting to say, "See, Ford told me I needed to use the full RPM band, so I floored it and lost control colliding with that school bus full of young children with cancer, if they hadn't told me to use the upper rpm's, those kids would still be alive today."

Ford already got in big trouble with the explorer for recommending a lower tire pressure, to give a smoother ride.

 

[JoeDogInKC]

Since the put the car on a dyno anyway, I really wish that they would break it in the way they want at the factory, and then include some paperwork that shows dyno results personalized to each and every car. It'd add a nice touch of exclusivity to each one.

 

[KGrGunMan]

Regardless of what any method of break-in does or doesn't do, Ford's lawyers will tell you to go slow.

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