Breakin questions

[jeromy]

So, this will be my first NEW car purchase in a while and wanted to get a little up to date on breakins for the car. Does VW have any official breakin rules or does the standard old 1000mis rule apply to these new engines too ?

And more important to me is.. is there any rev limit I should place on myself during the 1000miles with the GTI engine?

Thanks

:bow:

[loft]

Ok so this is what my dad says and hes a real car nut, so i'd follow these directions:

Drive the car carefully the first 1000-1500 miles, keep the revs low, like around 3000rpm max. Then as you going through the first 1000 miles of breaking in increase the speeds and revs you are using, until you are driving regularly at around 1000 miles. Its supposed to be done gradually increasing through the 1000 miles. He says alot of people make a mistake by driving like a baby for 1000 miles then flooring it and going crazy at 1001 miles which will actually mess up the car worse for long term then doing his method. Also if you go real high in revs during breaking in, its not a problem, you just need to only be up there for a short period of time (thats the key).

Hope this helps man.

[Gulfer]

Had to chime in, everyone says to varry the revs. So i'll repeat that too :) Staying at constant revs doesn't do anything for breakins.

[jeromy]

Thanks loft. I will try it then and llets hope all is well in 10 years, lol

[BLACKMAGICGTI'06]

Wheni asked the Service rep after purchasing the car he said there is no breakin period he also said the car was broken in pre shipment to the us dunno if its true or not but either way its warranteed

[nomios]

I just drove my new GTI home last night. The break in advice I got was drive it like you stole it!

But in all seriousness, the manual does have a section on break in period. For the first 500 miles try to refrain from wide open throttle and do not exceed 3 quarters of the speedo (in other words keep it under 120!)

[101st_IanC]

I was told by the technicians that they are pre-run-in on benches
You want a fast car then go for it from day one..

But vary the revs - I'm more worried about bedding-in the brakes

As I have ordered the DSG I'll probably keep in D and below 4000 for the first 1000 miles - then move to S and Manual and have the fun..

[marx92x]

I was told by the technicians that they are pre-run-in on benches
You want a fast car then go for it from day one..

But vary the revs - I'm more worried about bedding-in the brakes

As I have ordered the DSG I'll probably keep in D and below 4000 for the first 1000 miles - then move to S and Manual and have the fun..

Sounds cool, but is there any official info from Volkswagen to confirm this?

[newtogolf]

had mine about a week. 95% of the time ive been keeping below 3000 revs.

as for the other 5%, well, sorry but u just cant help it sometimes. gone up to a max of about 5000 revs but ive never entered the red zone. also ive never stayed above 3000revs for more than about 2 seconds.

so hopefully the car is still in good nick.

[101st_IanC]

Sounds cool, but is there any official info from Volkswagen to confirm this?

Only what nomios mentions about a section in the manual..
There are lots of threads on different Forums..
General consensus is that you should always warm the engine up before pressing the loud pedal too much. Not just waiting for the temp guage to reach normal - but a few minutes more to get the oil circulated and up to operating temperature..
Also after "spirited driving" drive the last few miles gentler to cool the car down...

As to the running in I would take the advice from the manual but go with my feelings :iono:

[KharatosGTI]

Read the user's manual in your glovebox, break-in recommendations are in there, can't do any harm by following them.

Some people promote the hardcore break-in method but since it wasn't mentioned anywhere in the manual I thought I'd stick to what VW says.

:iono:

[McPsycho]

taking it easy during the break-in period seems almost impossible. and i think next tuesday im gonna go get the apr remap installed which even tho theres the stock setting you can leave it on will tempt me even more to florr the sheet out of it. but for the most part ill try and be gentle with her. TRY. :evil:

[bilbos]

I have heard both theories as to how to break the car in. Generally followed the take it easy for the first 1000 miles rule.

However, when I picked up my last car (Audi TT), I asked the technician about this very thing and he said, and I quote, "thrash the arse off it". So conflicting views then.

[marx92x]

I'm aware of the two camps re: breakin technique.

But I don't recall reading that there was NO break-in period needed for the MKV GTI. Infact, I remember reading in that NY phonebook of an owners manual that there IS a break-in period.

[Admir]

if anything is going to break on the car, i would want it to break while in warranty and not after the warranty expires.. my gti has a little less than 350 miles on it.. i went somewhat easy for the first 200 miles.. didnt redline it at all, it did rev up to 5000, because i seriously dont think ur not breaking anything in if ur under 3000 rpms.
after 200 miles on the car, its been redlined, smoked some tires thru 1st and half way thru second, hard downshifts etc.. actually im taking it to the track either this weekend or next one.. to get some stock numbers..

[GTT]

I'm aware of the two camps re: breakin technique.

But I don't recall reading that there was NO break-in period needed for the MKV GTI. Infact, I remember reading in that NY phonebook of an owners manual that there IS a break-in period.

Well, there is a "reccomendation" to not do full throttle starts and keep under max speed limit of the car. But, that's more for safety reasons as one should want to get familiar with a car first before going flat out. Also, the engine is broken in at the factory just like every other manufacturer does. The suggestions for "break-in" are more for the customer to become familiar with the vehicle and to help break in the other things on the car such as the;
transmission, brakes, tires, wheel bearings, other moving parts attached to engine like;
power steering pumps (if installed), AC compressors, alternators, etc...

So, it's really more a safe and smart thing to keep things cool until the WHOLE car has settled in. Of big consideration are the brakes and tires, which do need some run in time before being pushed.

TT

[BigBadBri]

Last new car purchase was a Honda who said that engines are designed to be redlined from day 1. He did however say that new car brakes should be treated carefully for first 500 miles.

Conclusion. Drive as fast as you want, just don't use your brakes to slow down!

[the_saint]

Last new car purchase was a Honda who said that engines are designed to be redlined from day 1. He did however say that new car brakes should be treated carefully for first 500 miles.

Conclusion. Drive as fast as you want, just don't use your brakes to slow down!
So what do you do...look for trees? :bellyroll:

[GTI2007]

Funny :bellyroll::bellyroll::laughabove::laughabove:

[BigBadBri]

So what do you do...look for trees? :bellyroll:

No just use engine speed to slow down to normal speeds then use brakes as normal. But i see what you were getting at.

[peruski]

read this and then re-consider what everyone's dad ever told you...

http://flyinmiata.com/tech/breakin.php

These guys know their stuff and I trust their judgement...don't forget you are dealing with a turbo motor here so mind the boost intially

Don't baby it...but don't drive it like you stole it either....

But if you have racked up a few hundred miles already it is probably a moot point anyway.

I would suspect if the entire 'break in' procedure were that critical that VW would do it themselves...rather than have a bunch of engine failures to deal with.

[peruski]

No just use engine speed to slow down to normal speeds then use brakes as normal. But i see what you were getting at.


Use engine speed to slow down?
Are you talking about using the gearbox through a series of downshifts to slow down?

That is a terrible idea.

Especially since brake pads are $80
and a clutch is over $300 plus labor....

Never slow down through the gearbox.

[NorthGTI]

So, this will be my first NEW car purchase in a while and wanted to get a little up to date on breakins for the car. Does VW have any official breakin rules or does the standard old 1000mis rule apply to these new engines too ?

And more important to me is.. is there any rev limit I should place on myself during the 1000miles with the GTI engine?

Thanks

It is defined in the owner's manual. Good reading. You need to read it cover to cover before operating the car for too long.

[BigBadBri]

Picked up my new GTI yesterday. Asked about the run in period and what the VW recomendation was. I was told to try and take it easy on both acceleration and deceleration, and to try and keep below 5000 rpm and 80 mph for the first 1000-1500 miles.

[earthtoandy]

Everyone says something different.

VW says to keep the revs lower for 600 miles then gradually in crease revs from 600-1000 and never maintain the same rev for a long period.

Pretty standard really.

Others say drive it like you stole it.

I have driven it rather erasy with a couple time of pressing the engine.

Basically in older cars it was the difference of last 60,000 miles or 100,000 miles+
In modern cars its more like the difference between 100,000 and 200,000 miles.

Who really knows. Safest thing is to follow the manual. Like I said I havent been too hard but have run it hard here and there. I dont think its the most important thing anymore.....

[davooch]

Use engine speed to slow down?
Are you talking about using the gearbox through a series of downshifts to slow down?

That is a terrible idea.

Especially since brake pads are $80
and a clutch is over $300 plus labor....

Never slow down through the gearbox.

I've been driving manuals for the past 15 years and have been using engine braking on all of my cars and have never had to replace a clutch. I've also never kept any of them over 5 years though either. But either way I've never had a clutch or transmission problem.

Also, if I recall correctly, the manual doesn't say anything about varying engine speeds. It just says stay under 3/4s of the max speed, don't use full throttle, and don't use high engine speeds.

[Jerome81]

Read the Owners Manual.

[Jay S.]

I like to go with what the owners manual says. I also elect to do an oil change at around 1000 miles.