[hotsand5]

Hey guys, I am interested to hear from people that have never broken their engines in (when you buy a brand new car). I have had two motorcycles, ( 2004 Suzuki GSX R 750, which i took all the way to 14,500 rpm and a 2005 Yamaha Warrior 1800cc; both were taken to redline within the first couple hundred miles, if that)! I've also had a 2003 VW Jetta GLI VR6-6 speed, which I took to redline on the test drive through the first three gears, and finally now a 2006 BMW 330i, 6 speed. I did the european delivery on the E90, and took the car to redline through 5 gears, which in 5th I hit the speed limiter at 155 MPH!! This was done w/ 200 miles on the car.
I have NEVER had any engine trouble in any car, or bike. I could see not revving the engine to red while it is cold, and dont think that the engines of todays cars really need to be broken in much, so long as you change your oil often ( I do every 3000 miles).
Just wanted to see your opinions out there, and if you have had engine trouble and did break it in, or didn't break it in and have or have not had engine problems. Give me the mileage on it too.

thanks Tony
330i- 6spd,cold,premium,sport,nav,saphirre black, terra w/ aluminum interior

[blazersk]

maybe you do not need to break in an engine, but why couldnt you do it? its written in the manual, so if your normal, then I would suggest to break in..

[db17k]

most likely you won't have a problem, but the chance of breaking/cracking your engine is greater during the first 1000 miles for new cars, sooo hence the discaimer. the engine parts need the break in period to adjust for fitment, if a couple parts don't rub right and you push it up to redline they can turn rubbing into grinding, smacking, and or pinging which could = death to engine or mechanical failure

[330i_GS]

well if it works for you then I would keep going, however its my person opinon that if they make the effort to put it in the manual, the sales people speak to it and im spending several thousand dollars on the car, ill be patient and do as told. The people told me that if you do not plan on keeping the car past 80k have a great time, if not then break it in. Also some things to consider much like the other comment, parts need to wear in. Metal changes shape with temp and the constant heat cool that goes on with engines. It would seem that once they reach a certian point they will harden, that may be the breaking

[Chesmu]

TO me it's one of those things you sort of do out of respect o our elders...
they had to wait a couple thousand miles, so we should wait a thousand or so. I'm not in that much of a rush to get my first speeding ticket in thsi car....

[ZenDriver]

I had to get from LA (where I picked up the car) to Portland (where I live) as rapidly as possible while having as much fun as possible. There was no way I was gonna be stuck on I5 driving under the draconian break-in rules and I wasn't going to drive around the San Francisco area's best backroads without kissing the redline on every exit to every corner...

The car was and is just fine, none worse for the wear and I had a great time.

[shack]

Proper break-in will also result in better gas mileage later on - so it pays for itself.

[David328M-Sport]

well my sales assistant told me not to baby the car the day i took delivery. however it is hard not to in a big, busy city with lots of traffic everywhere.

so although i followed the 'rules' i ensured a wide variery of driving experiences while breaking it in.

all the best with your new car hotsand.

[shimshimhada]

It's fine as the car is warmed up prior to pushing it. I've heard someone else redlining their bikes during the break-in period and not having any problems later. I break it in, just to ease my mind.

[espo]

I would probally say that the breakin period is just a precaution from BMW. The vast majority of engines and parts would be fine, but given manufacturing tolerances, there will be a few engines that really need that time for all of the parts to set properly. So instead of BMW telling everone to just push the car from day one, they tell every one to hold back for 1200 miles to make sure ALL of the engines will be fine later in life...

[mikepinkerton]

Originally Posted by 330i_GS

The people told me that if you do not plan on keeping the car past 80k have a great time, if not then break it in.

Sounds like reasons 1..8 in the top 10 reasons not to buy a CPO car

-Mike

[Tierfreund]

I went to the rev limiter on my E90 within the first 10 miles after the purchase (the car had 5 miles on the odo when I picked it up).

I warm her up and then give her a good beating. It´s the best way to get full performance (a good seal on the piston rings) from the engine and no, it doesn´t increase wear or oil consumption.

I also break in the brakes with a specially procedure immediately. 10 successive hard brakings from 65mph to 5 mph without ever coming to a full stop.

So I pick up the car, warm her up and within 25 miles I have her covered in break dust and steaming and smelling from brakes and oil and exhaust. And yet I´m confident I could keep the car for 200.000mls with no (engine or brakes) trouble.

Feel better now?

[BMW0]

Well, I'll stick to the manual as I did, there's gotta be a reason for breaking in the engine, if it is from the pratices of the past or left over traditions. Like people put on this earth before me said, "there's a reason why we do the things we do."

And I gotta say shimshimhada those oranges look interesting.

[ben1364]

It seems to me that an impatient person could simply take a couple days and rack up 1200 miles following the suggested break in routine. This seems to make more sense than ignoring the manufacturers recommendations. However, it's your money so spend it wisely or blow it. I care not.

[ksfrogman]

Well, think of it this way. If you drive conservatively during the break-in period, the worse thing that can happen is that you'll be starting at that point as if you had just gotten your car brand new. So following the break-in recommendations will not hurt your car. So why not just follow the recommendations?

The idea of "not babying" the engine is that you want it to experience a variety of different RPMs/conditions so that it's not wearing at a constant engine speed.

[hotsand5]

thanks for the insight guys, i appriciate all of your opinions!

[parachute]

I got so excited when i got my car that it was hard to "take it easy". I mean it's a lot of fun and I went over the 4,500 rpms suggested a bunch of times.
The engine is so smooth that when the music is too loud I cant hear it, so there were a couple of times that the engine was at 6000rpms for a few seconds until i noticed i had to change gears.
Anyways I only have 800 miles on it now, so I'm trying to take it easy for the next 400 miles till I reach the recommended period of 1200 miles. I hope those few times I redlined it don't mess with the engine.
Also I dont know if you guys noticed, but I have a manual car and the few times that I tried to do full throttle I noticed that it takes off at around 4000 rpms, before that it's not that big of a deal. It's still very fast though

[sdorn]

So does anyone with knowledge of engines (like an engineer) have any information that suggests the break in procedure is necessary? So far all I have read is "you need to do it because the manual says so."

[lux.sh]

Originally Posted by sdorn

So does anyone with knowledge of engines (like an engineer) have any information that suggests the break in procedure is necessary? So far all I have read is "you need to do it because the manual says so."

because you need to SEARCH.

damn topic has been covered million friggin times.
search function is there for a reason people.

[RGRAY]

Originally Posted by espo89

I would probally say that the breakin period is just a precaution from BMW...

I think you're right.

I have had 5 Honda Accords that I never broke in.

I thought you were suppose to break them in the way you drive them; HARD.

[sdorn]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

because you need to SEARCH.

damn topic has been covered million friggin times.
search function is there for a reason people.

I've actually read most of the threads you are referring to. I still haven't seen anyone that knows what they are talking about provide any real reason for needing the breakin procedure. Why don't you keep quiet if you don't have anything useful to say.

[younghov85]

When i first got mine, I remember going 80mph in 4rd gear getting on the beltway, and a hundred in fifth. I redlined it a few times before the 1500 miles mark, and after 12000 miles now, not a single problem with my car.