Hello everyone

I'm going to pick my chilli red Cooper on Wensday :smile: and wants to know what care should I take in the break-in period? How slow should I drive and how long is the break-in period.

Thanks

 

Keep it under 3500 rpm for the first 1000 mi. ~smc

 

odman--

Welcome to MCO!

there are other threads on the break-in period. See one by click on this: "Break-in Period"

I found it by using the search function. Towards the top of the forum is the name of the forum; to the right of it are three hot links: New Topic, Search, and Email to a Friend. Click on "search" and enter break-in period. It takes a few seconds but is a really good tool.

Your MA (Motoring Advisor) should also give you instructions when you pick up the car. Make sure s/he does!

There are also delivery checklists on MCO and elsewhere. Here is one example: "Delivery Checklist"

Good luck on Wednesday!

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The break in period reccomended by the factory is extremely tame and is more for their benefit than it is yours.

The new rings in your motor need to be seated properly to get a good seal against the cylinder walls, A good seal ensures that the motor creates good compression on the power stroke as opposed to blowing horsepower paste the rings and into the crankcase, where it does you no good.

Heat and pressure are required to seat rings properly. The only way to generate heat and pressure is by hitting the gas and bringing up the rpm's. The important thing to remember is that the first 30-40 minutes driving time is when the rings do their seating. If they havent been seated properly in that period, they never will.

Im picking my new MCS up in a couple off weeks. When I get it I will write a full break in procedure that I will follow. I will then do a leak down on the cylinders to show how tight the ring seal is.

I'll tell you whats more important than taking it easy on a new motor....thats oil changes in the first 1000 miles. The new motor has bits of aluminum that get knocked off as parts start to rub against each other at varying rpm ranges. These aluminum chips are part of the casting process when they make the block and cases, its otherwise refered to as casting slag. These little flakes and metal debris really hurt your motor.

When Im breaking in a new motorcycle motor I let it go through 2-3 heat cycles, meaning I get it up to full operating temperature and then let it cool all the way down. I start my break in cycle, which is to increase the rpm range gradually in 50 mile increments and I change the oil and filter every 150 miles till I get to 500 miles.

This procedure seats the rings hard against the cylinder walls and ensures that metal debris isnt scuffing my bearings. My motors usually leak down in the 2-3% range across the board. For a motor built for a forced induction application, thats very tight.

An old saying in engine building is, "break 'em in weak and the run weak......break 'em in hard and they run hard."

 

If you want to read some great stuff about breaking new motors in right.....read this link.

This guy know what he's talking about.


http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

Remember to vary the RPMs. I'd keep it under 4500 at all times, but use different gears to acheive moderate 35-45 mph speeds. Its important that the piston rings seat properly, and by varying your revs you can do so.

 

:smile: :smile: Good link Punisher!

 

>>How to "break-in" a Mini?

Yo G, you gots ta use a rock, brick, or big stick to break in dem MINIs.

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Alta pulley, Stebro exhaust, Pipercross intake, Progress rear anti-sway bar.

 

Punisher

I've read the break in secrets page a few times ages ago, but one thing and I firmly believe as you that breaking in a motor by those methods is the best thing to do... on a naturally aspirated motor.

I spoke extensively with an engine builder such as yourself, and he was of the opinion that on forced induction motors, it was a concern to drive it that hard straight away because you risk blowing a gasket due to the increased pressures brought on by the supercharger.

SO.. basically I took all that in and compromised... I dogged the heck out of it up to 4500-5000 rpm, and laid off at that point... So hopefully I've succesfully sealed my rings, without risking my gaskets eh?

My only problem is getting the oil done..I want Amsoil 0w-30, and have to order from zappa soon... $ is tight!

Ben

 

F15, I would normally agree with your engine builder accept for the fact that the MINI doesnt really make enough boost to be of concern.

Your concept of compromising sounds reasonable as well. Its all about getting pressure on the back side of those rings.

I broke in the current motor in my bike the same way but on the dyno. I did it at 10 pounds of boost. I just recently did a leak down and I didnt have 1 cylinder above 3% at room temperature.. Thats with an 15 thousandths ring gap.

 

Punisher, what do you mean the Mini doesn't make enough boost? Do you mean overall HP/torque?

I read the break-in secrets page and found the white paper on Mini2 all about how the supercharged engine was invented. To get 163 hp from a little 4 cylinder engine for a FWD car in such a tiny space was a major engineering challenge. They were constantly blowing things up! The oil is *sprayed* onto the cylinders to cool it.

So yeah, changing the oil early, keeping the RPMs varied but - at least for the first 500-750 miles - lower than 4500, sounds like good sense to me. Other cars recommend 1500 miles but that seems a bit extreme. And thrashing it can be a good thing - as long as you let it cool down totally afterward.

 

>>Punisher, what do you mean the Mini doesn't make enough boost? Do you mean overall HP/torque?
>>
>>

a supercharger or turbo charger makes boost that makes power. boost is measured in pounds per square inch. like if a car is making 17-18PSI, that is a lot of boost, but 6-10 is not too much, i belive that is waht he means when he says the mini doesnt make enough boost :smile:

 

I meant that the MINI doesnt make enough boost to cause concern in regards to the break in procedure. If you were running 25-28 pounds of boost, Id say that was alot. The MINI makes what.....10 PSI? Thats nothing.

163HP out of a supercharged 1.6 liter motor is downright weak. If it was a horse Id shoot it.

I get over 200 HP from a naturally aspirated 1.3 liter motor and close to 600 HP from a forced induction motor of the same size.

 

Oh, those numbers are at the tire. If I was talking crank HP it would be much higher.

 

I'd ask the dealer. Then I'd do what he says, even if it sounds crazy!

I've had several brand new cars and each time I did exactly what the dealer told me. Once they said "drive like you normally do" once I was told to baby the car for the first 1500 miles and once I was given directions to change speeds, change gears, never brake hard, etc... I followed what I was told to the T and I can tell you in all of my new cars, I never had a problem car.

When I get my MINI, if the dealer were to tell me to stop and cut off the engine every 20 miles, I'd do it! I don't care what anyone else says, if the dealer is going to take the time to explain the break in to me then I will do what he says is best for this type car.

 

Thanks for the explanation, Punisher! It makes sense now. :smile: I remember the white paper said the engineers went for the lower PSI/cylinder for longevity concerns. They wanted the engine to last a long long time.

 

Pebbles, thats fine. Of course its your car, your decision.

The question was whats the BEST way to break in a motor, not how does the dealer suggest.

I do what I do because I am concerned about absolute performance.

The dealer also says that you dont have to change the oil for 10,000 miles.

 

What type of oil is best to use when changing at 1,000 miles?

 

>
>>
>>I get over 200 HP from a naturally aspirated 1.3 liter motor and close to 600 HP from a forced induction motor of the same size.


suzuki hayabusa i assume?

 

I prefer a natural petroleum based oil. I find that new motors need a little less viscosity to properly break in. Thats just me though.

For break in oil....it doesnt really matter about brand, as long as you use the required weight. You're changing it so frequently that it doesnt really matter.

I break in my race motors on the cheapest 10 w 40 petroleum oil I can find. Its only going to get a half hours worth of dyno passes on it anyways.

Following a good break in though, I like Mobil 1's synthetic.

Ive torn apart motors with 5,000 miles on them and they looked like new inside while using Mobil1. 5000 miles doesnt sound like alot until you see what these motors have been through.

 

>>suzuki hayabusa i assume?

Although it applys pretty evenly to all inline four, four valve per cylinder motors with similar CC's.

 

>>I'd ask the dealer. Then I'd do what he says, even if it sounds crazy!
>>
>>I've had several brand new cars and each time I did exactly what the dealer told me. Once they said "drive like you normally do" once I was told to baby the car for the first 1500 miles and once I was given directions to change speeds, change gears, never brake hard, etc... I followed what I was told to the T and I can tell you in all of my new cars, I never had a problem car.
>>
>>When I get my MINI, if the dealer were to tell me to stop and cut off the engine every 20 miles, I'd do it! I don't care what anyone else says, if the dealer is going to take the time to explain the break in to me then I will do what he says is best for this type car.


Pebbles, the only problem with that is in all the years I've been around the automotive industry (about 15 years professionally) I've rarely found anyone in the sales department of a dealership that new bupkiss about cars. Heck, even when I went in to buy something I often wound up telling them about options that were or were not available. That level of ignorance of the product doesn't bode well for their mechanical knowledge. And, as for service departments, although they could potentially be a valuable source of real life failure information, they often don't see the vehicles once they are out of warranty.

I'd be a lot more likely to believe the manufacturer than the average dealer. And, I'm pretty skeptical about what the manufacturer says at times.

Punisher makes some good points, he's a little extreme for me, but it sounds like he's got the results to stand behind it.

Of course, I give extra weight to anyone who uses Mobil 1 like me!

 

Brake In. That's important. First 300 miles, easy braking, no panic stops, no ABS. You want the rotor and the pads to play nice. Same for the tires. They really do need to seat to the wheel. As for the drivetrain, well as you've already read, there are lots of opinions. I agree that dealers are generally idiots. The engine break-in procedures that used to be recommended aren't really that important anymore. What you really don't want to do is operate the car at any steady state for the first 1000 (or 1250 as the manual says in the MINI.) Vary RPMs, gears. Do let the engine warm up before doing any kind of hard driving and let it cool down before shutting it off. You should try to this even after break-in. And I don't care what the book says, DO NOT GO 10000 miles before your initial oil change. 3500 miles maximum, Mobil1 always. You'll have a happy little MINI.
Motor On.

 

Nice points, Plugot and Punisher.

I totally agree about natural petroleum oil being the way to go. The synthetics cost a lot and they don't offer more. My best friend has a Ph.D in chemistry, specialized in engines/oil/fuel and makes spectrometers for racing engines, airplanes, etc., and he says the synthetic oil thing is a major scam. Just get the proper weight. make the first oil change within 2000 miles and then after that every 10,000 miles is fine as long as you're keeping the level up.

 

>>Nice points, Plugot and Punisher.
>>
>>I totally agree about natural petroleum oil being the way to go. The synthetics cost a lot and they don't offer more. My best friend has a Ph.D in chemistry, specialized in engines/oil/fuel and makes spectrometers for racing engines, airplanes, etc., and he says the synthetic oil thing is a major scam. Just get the proper weight. make the first oil change within 2000 miles and then after that every 10,000 miles is fine as long as you're keeping the level up.

Really? I'm surprised. A couple years back I attended a high performance school that happened to have about a dozen Corvette engineers and designers. Since I was the owner of a new Corvette I was of course full of questions. Hell, it was like going to Olympus and meeting the gods you only heard about. Anyway, the subject of Mobil 1 synthetic oil came up. Since the Corvette only recommened Mobil 1 I was curious as to why. The drivetrain engineer said that in the case of the small bore V-8 in the C5 Corvettte that Mobil 1 allowed them to offer the full GM warranty because of the oil's suprerior ability not to break down under high temperatures (as do natural oils), as well as maintaining their superior viscosity for far longer. Now I'm no engineer, and I'm not picking an argument with anything previoiusly posted, but if these engineers said it made a real difference, then I believe them.