Hi there.

First, I went to my MA, Dennis Miniero (rocking name, great guy) and settled my last will and testimony about my new mcs that is comming in about.. 9-10 days

or 15 years, whichever is not first.

I have always been skeptical about break in period advice. That link to the guy who specializes in racing motorcycles was fascinating. Yo'sdad put some strong info in, I think Crashton did as well.

I was going to apply their wisdom and during the first week, change the oil. I was also going to seat the rings properly by doing the 2k-4k rpm in 2nd gear thing, up and down without taking it out of gear gently for the first 1-2 mile trip home.

Until I actually talked to MINI. Boy. Some info there that makes all of this possibly a silly venture....

According to Dennis, and he knows an immense amount about our cars, also an immense amount about people on NAM (he was a moderator here until he could no longer fill that role) He owns a very fast and agile mini. lots of mods. This is his second one. According to him, the mini at the factory is is revved for hours (I do believe he said hours, a long amount of time at least). The engine oil is removed and then put back in before the customers get it. It seems that the whole "seating idea" while it is 100% good advice does not apply to mini's as they are already broken in fully besides the break in period of 1200+ miles or whatever it is I forget.

Discuss.

 

well, i'd be curious to know if this is true or not... I've been thinking that I'm going to just try to keep it under 4,000 RPMs and under 75. I don't usually have a lot of opportunities or need to drive 90.

perhaps one or two of us should email the Mini contact link on the international web site and ask this question. they seem to be pretty good at writing back. it would be interesting to see if we got the same answer.

 

Dennis doesnt really lie. He is car fanatic but not a overly picky person. basically, it could be believed that way.

why?

it makes
sense.

 

Here's my .02 on this. My thinking is that it must have some run in time on it or they wouldn't give it a factory fill with synthetic oil. I also believe that yes you should follow the makers recommendations on break-in. There are many parts in that engine & drive-train that need running in. What's it going to hurt to follow the factories recommendation? If you don't follow them you may or may not end up with an oil burner, along with other problems. How lucky do you feel? I'm not a gambler, I followed the break-in procedure out lined in the manual. My car has had two oil changes. One at 2,000 mi & one at 7,000 mi. It's used no oil at all & now is at 9,500 mi. Is this because of careful break-in? Can't say for sure, but maybe it is. Believe me it is worth the wait.

 

no, i don't imagine he would lie... its just my experience in asking around... even here in the forums... and especially about this break-in... that not only does everyone have a different opinion, but also different information.

I think this information that he told you sounds interesting and it makes a lot of sense to me. Especially that they would run the engine some, then dump the oil for new oil.

I do think I will follow the manual's suggestions. I'm sure, there will be a point or two where I do go over the suggested RPMs, but I'm not going to "drive it hard" until the breakin cutoff.

Man, I can't wait for the car to get here!

 

Yes indeed. the car would be key all three of us need it now!

I still could wait a week and dump the oil and stuff, wouldnt hurt. I still could do a little seating of the rings, couldnt hurt. Probably unnecessary however. I won't fret over things now I guess in terms of that sort

 

This has been discussed ad nauseam.

You got ancedotal info from one guy. Ask another, and you will get another opinion ...

If you don't want to follow what the manual says, remember that most all info can be pulled from the ECU. For example, Lotus can tell you exactly how many time you were at any RPM range and for how long (a mandatory 1000 mile checkup) and can deny warranty coverage

You pay your money and take your chances. If you don't follow the break-in procedure, you "may" or "may not" pay for it down the road. Your call.

 

Here is another tidbit for you. Although directed at another car, the philosophy makes sense

Much of the reason for the 4200 RPM limit is to avoid excessive heat. Anything you do that can build up heat is not good. Further, depending upon the engine, some rings aren't completely seat until 4K miles or more.

 

I dont think you are remembering the thread about breakin prodedures. It dealt with how mini's ~10k recommendation is dangerous and permanently causes "blow-by" aka, power sux. They said that to reduce grinding metal crap from killing your engine, you should take out the oil with a few days as most of the contaminants occur then and destroy the engine then. Dennis, who works for mini and was trained by their people on how mini's were produced, explains how it was already swapped out before you get the car. THis means that you can drive it according to the book/manual and it will be long lasting, aka, mini knows what they are saying in the manual. (not always the case but seems to be now)

Most people think that their 3-4 miles on the odometer is actually how much mileage their car gets. nope. the factory turns it on when they want to, it has a lot more revolutions than that by far. that's good though

it has been discussed in complete ignorance of the actual reality of how mini's are broken in. No one at all has mentioned this ever on any break in postings for over a year on NAM (maybe forever). The whole "seat the rings" thing is a tad useless as they have done so already it seems. It is great advice if it was like 1965 and Bob and Jebb were in the mountains picking up their overhauled and rebuilt ford pickup. But, apparently, that doesnt apply to modern manufacturers (at least ours).

I still would replace the oil shortly. its 65 dollars at the dealer. thats kinda dinky. They say it can last 10k. eh. trading it out every 3-4k would only benefit or do nothing, which is what I will do just the same.

 

Your talking about changing the oil at 10K? Many ppl ignore that. Many ppl follow the recommendation. I can say that after talking to the local MINI tuner her, he said he's starting to see problems with MINIs in the 70K+ range who followed the manual on the 10K changes.

As far as the 4200 RPM limit, I would believe it a heat issue. Heat not good early in the life of the engine.

One persons' ancedotal story means nothing. You need to hear it from the majority of MINI mechanics, not just one.

Finally, maybe one of the Gurus like GreatBear can add to this but I would bet the rings are NOT seated after 4 miles. Highly doubtful.

 

yeah the 10k thing also could be spoken of here.

I was speaking about the breakin first week. that is when I was dead set on changing it after the first day due to metal particles being generated. however, this isnt the case as the oil is already changed once before we get the car at 0 miles.

Dennis said that he changes his at 5k. Really, up until this mini forum, I have never heard of people changing after 5k on synthetic. The companies that make the oil say 3k for natural and ~5k for synthetic. shrugs? Other studies on the net I have looked at confirm synthetic's life being over 10k and the filter being ok at that point as well.

I might just go back to what I said and swap it out in first week. Couldnt hurt although the panic to do so for fear of it being the first oil change wouldnt be realistic.

 

NOW I understand what your saying.

There is NO need to change the oil so fast. I, and I am sure many others, changed the first time about 3 - 5K miles. Thats it.

If your really concerned about your oil, consider this http://youroil.net/ Ppl have sent their oil in for analysis and 10K miles on synthetic oil is fine.

 

i do know that the maseratis are reved to red line for hours. go to there website. i would say that minis could possibly get the same treatment!