[murrays]

I did the break in on my '02 E46 and the engine is running great.

I did the break in on my '15 F30 and got 36.5 mpg on a 200 mile trip a couple weeks ago.

Yeah, I'll do it again.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

...no revving past 4k for 3000miles...

Hmmm. My Z3, Z4, E46 and 128i all specified a 1200 mile break-in. Your source for this assertion?

Tom

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Hmmm. My Z3, Z4, E46 and 128i all specified a 1200 mile break-in. Your source for this assertion?

Tom

I've heard of this 1200 mile period before, and it seems too short for me. my dad has this new Mazda 6 (yes, i know its not a BMW, but an engine is an engine, so this example applies to us) and i redlined the shit out of it several times one night when it had only 1800 miles on the clock. long story short, it burns a bit of oil. I did it too early. I believe the break in procedure is closer to 3000 miles due to this.

[BMWalltheway]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Hmmm. My Z3, Z4, E46 and 128i all specified a 1200 mile break-in. Your source for this assertion?

Tom

Exactly. When BMW says 1200 miles, its most likely with some margin for error. That is smart engineering. The break in period is most probably less than 1200 but as a manufacturer you always error on the side of caution. 3000 miles which is close to 3 times the manufacturer's recommendation seems excessive. After 1200 miles, enjoy the damn car, man.

OTOH, don't abuse or short cut the manufacturer's recommendation. I work for a company that manufactures high tech products and we design everything with margin. But when a customer comes back to us with a problem because they abused the product beyond what is specified/recommended in the user manual, even though it seemed to work, it takes a lot out of us to not show them a giant middle finger.

Just

[Torque of the Devil]

You're completely mad if you run a car in for 3000 miles, that's just ridiculous.

[Scopedude]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

..., it burns a bit of oil....

THAT bad, huh? I'm still breaking in my new 320i (650km now), there were times I just couldn't resist taking it to 4000+ rpm though only for like a sec each time before it changed gear. Hopefull my car won't burn some oil later

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by Scopedude

THAT bad, huh? I'm still breaking in my new 320i (650km now), there were times I just couldn't resist taking it to 4000+ rpm though only for like a sec each time before it changed gear. Hopefull my car won't burn some oil later

you'll be fine as long as you dont bring it up to high revs repeatedly; over and over again in one period of time. the limit IS 4k rpm, so you'll be fine upshifting then once in a while. 650 miles is basically brand new, so just be careful with your throttle!

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

you'll be fine as long as you dont bring it up to high revs repeatedly; over and over again in one period of time. the limit IS 4k rpm, so you'll be fine upshifting then once in a while. 650 miles is basically brand new, so just be careful with your throttle!

there might be other things wrong with that car, such as a leaking gasket. Also, did you warm it up completely before hammering on it?

I have taken cars to the track with less than 300 miles on the odometer, and the engines have been great (w00t hard break in).

It's a controversial topic; OP will have to make his own decisions. There's a school of thought that the manual says 1200 mi gentle driving for lawyers not for optimal break in

[ErkanTR16]

[CIWS]

Originally Posted by Erkan_340i

Be careful with that much popcorn. That figgen PFOA will give you thyroid problems.

[White340]

Originally Posted by 440xiGCMsport

not true at all. if you don't break it in properly you will not get a proper seal. if you don't get a proper seal you will see the effects before the end of the 4 year lease. you may not get engine failure but may get reduced power.
also if all leased people don't break in the engine properly and BMW starts getting earlier than expected engine problems than the residuals will be lowered since BMW will have a harder time to sell used cars.

Honestly, I dont know how their residuals are so high to begin with when compared to their Japanese rivals which hold their values better than BMW over the long run (and they have much better reliability, too). A lot of people dont want used or out of warranty BMW's because of the reliability problems and the cost of maintenance and repairs. If they really wanted to increase their residuals, they should take care of that first.

[pz619]

So weirdly (stay with me here), I'm thinking you should stick with the advice of the manufacturer. Being that they designed and developed the car. Those guys and gals, many of them are really smart, say you should go easy for the first 1200 miles. They probably know a thing or two about the motor that maybe, just maybe, the general public doesn't know about. Worse case scenario, you babied a car for a month.

Sure if you lease you could probably floor it out of the dealership thinking any potential issues that come up is for the next guy. But that just kind of makes you a jackass.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by pz619

So weirdly (stay with me here), I'm thinking you should stick with the advice of the manufacturer. Being that they designed and developed the car. Those guys and gals, many of them are really smart, say you should go easy for the first 1200 miles. They probably know a thing or two about the motor that maybe, just maybe, the general public doesn't know about. Worse case scenario, you babied a car for a month.

Sure if you lease you could probably floor it out of the dealership thinking any potential issues that come up is for the next guy. But that just kind of makes you a jackass.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...ns-bmw-n63-v8/

Interesting read and interesting quote

BMW is also quietly dropping the V8's oil-service interval from 15,000 to 10,000 miles*. Not because of oil-life concerns, but to smokescreen the N63's appetite for motor oil. By shortening the time between oil changes (and sneaking an additional quart into the sump), there's less chance customers will get a low-oil-level warning. Insiders at BMW in Germany say the oil consumption happens to customers who don't ever flog their powerful, turbocharged V8s hard enough to fully break them in. Ironic.

If you agree with the tech put forward by motoman, the "warm it up completely" and drive it hard break in approach would have prevented that sort of problem, and driving it hard after 1200 mi will be too late

[pz619]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...ns-bmw-n63-v8/

Interesting read and interesting quote



If you agree with the tech put forward by motoman, the "warm it up completely" and drive it hard break in approach would have prevented that sort of problem, and driving it hard after 1200 mi will be too late

I've actually read that before. Honestly I am not fully buying the insider quote. I feel that if that's the case they wouldn't put a break in recommendation in the manual. Especially if they are having to pay for additional warranty work. Just my interpretation though. Who knows.

[chiefneil]

Originally Posted by pz619

I've actually read that before. Honestly I am not fully buying the insider quote. I feel that if that's the case they wouldn't put a break in recommendation in the manual. Especially if they are having to pay for additional warranty work. Just my interpretation though. Who knows.

Eh, it just says "hard enough" which could simply mean getting up to 4K rpm per the manual's break-in instructions.

Judging by how slowly people move off from a stop, it seems like many drivers are deathly afraid of revving above 2k or 10% throttle.

[Soobahru]

Not sure how to link a video on here but I followed hard break in for my motorcycle, Subaru STI, Tundra, wife's X5d, and now my 440xi GC.

First 1-3 hundred miles rev to 4k then let rpm drop back down on its own (engine brake). Then every hundred miles after that up 500rpm with the engine brake. Don't romp on the accelerator, just follow traffic but carry it up to the rpm desired.

Worked well in my cases and haven't had oil consumption on my STI. They are known for it.

I know I'll get a raised eyebrow with this but just telling you my experience. Search Google for motorcycle or race engine break in and it'll make you cringe a little.

[Doublep]

Sorry for the apparent ask-and-leave, i was away for a bit of travel. Obviously I know the manual is a good direction to follow. However, the manual is also just that. A manual. Break-in methods such as mentioned by Soobahru wouldn't make it inot a manual simply because they'd be too complicated to explain to the average automobile-operator of today.

That said, weighing the quoted risks by both the soft and hard break-in camps, the soft, manual-adviced break-in seems to win with less risks...

[anyuser]

I followed the manual for the first 1200 miles and that worked fine