There are various schools of thought on how to break-in a new engine. This method is recommended by some Porsche and Ferrari enthusiasts. Has anyone tried this on a MINI? If so, how did it turn out?

 

I read through the article. Nope I didn't do it. I did run the MINI hard from day one but I changed the oil at 12,000. 9,000 were mostly from highway driving (many trips on the 5 freeway up and down the state of California). I will say that I haven't had any problems with the engine (only the first gear stumble which was mostly fixed with the computer chip upgrade and the reservoir crack).

Would be interesting to know if anyone did this method. I know there are a lot of people out there that did a normal oil change (2,000 or 3,000 miles) but I don’t know about the 20.

 

My dad owns a performance Sport bike shop here in Seattle and recommends that all his customers break-in their bikes this way. This is an extremely debated topic, and everyone claims to know the "right" way. In the end, most people will have to agree to disagree.

Motor on!!

 

>>I read through the article. Nope I didn't do it. I did run the MINI hard from day one but I changed the oil at 12,000. 9,000 were mostly from highway driving (many trips on the 5 freeway up and down the state of California). I will say that I haven't had any problems with the engine (only the first gear stumble which was mostly fixed with the computer chip upgrade and the reservoir crack).
>>
>>Would be interesting to know if anyone did this method. I know there are a lot of people out there that did a normal oil change (2,000 or 3,000 miles) but I don’t know about the 20.

I read the article. Thanks for posting the link. There are some problems.
From the FAQ:
Q: My bike comes with synthetic oil from the factory, what should I do ??

A: Synthetic oil is so slippery that it actually "arrests" the ring sealing process before it's complete.
The best power and least wear comes from perfectly sealed rings !! The solution is to change the
factory installed synthetic oil back to petroleum for the break-in period.

It was suggested to change oil after only 20 miles. Other points. For street break in. Warm up the engine then accelerate and decelerate under load. Do it safely like on a less used road with little traffic.

I sorta did this by accident. 1250 miles is tough to keep oneself restrained with such a good car. I did rev the engine in gear up to about 4500 rpm at least a few times but not in the first 20 miles. My MCS runs really smoothly.
So lets hear from anyone that has done this method.

 

This article makes the rounds on all the enthusiast sites. So far no one has agreed on anything, and when you get down to it, how can any average car owner know for sure? The true test is whether or not the seals are leaking or the engine failing after about 50k miles, and most people don't keep their cars that long.

Can one really tell if the car has more power or less power if there's nothing to compare it to? Most people can't even tell when their tires are bad - it happens so gradually they don't realize the loss of performance until they get new tires and then wow! whole new car feeling.

I plan on changing the oil before the TLC guidelines want me to because it makes good sense to get out the shavings, but after 20 miles? C'mon! that's way too soon. I can see how that would work for a bike (I used to ride) but I plan on waiting until 1000 miles. And I plan on driving it like I stole it after only 1000 miles after being very gentle with the brakes and everything.

Until more data is available there's no way to know for sure. I've owned plenty of used cars with 100k+ miles on them (Japanese built and a couple Chevy's) and had no problems whatsoever so I don't consider the whole break-in issue that crucial. I'm only investigating it now because this is my first brand new car and it's not built by the Japanese, so I figure i have to be a little more careful.

 

I did my own method.

But basically is to brake in hard, I did change my oil just after de first 1000 miles,but no problems with the car.

I did this method with 2 other cars and never had any issues in higher millage, one car I sold it with over 60k miles and no problem the second one modified the next day i got it and sold it with 75k miles no problem.

Also I have to mention that besides the 3 reservoir tanks my MCS has 20000 miles 4 oil changes and problem free.

The only problem that developed 6 months ago was the cold start issue, the updated the software and "vuala" better than new.

I have not dinoed my car, but I believe is in the highest rating for stock Cooper S's, I did race it against others, but that is not a signal of higher HP.

As soon as I get my car in the dino I let you know the #'s



_________________

 

Just so everyone knows, I think Castrol Syntec is junk but I'm not about to change it in 20 miles. I'll stay under 4500 RPM for 1000 to 1200 miles and keep a close eye on oil level. If it needs topped off, I'm going to use a good grade dino oil such as Kendall 5w30 as needed to keep oil level up to max level. After 1200 miles I won't be afraid to crank it up to redline but not all the time, just to help seat in the rings. At 2000 miles I'll change the oil using Redline 5w30. Not sure if I'll go 10K per change after that... maybe... but much of my driving will be for short distances of 10-20 miles so, I will go at lease 8K miles per change.

 

Here is my 2 cents. I recently sold my F150 with 7,000 miles on it. I purchased it brand new. I installed a magnetic drain plug (superplug.com) after 800 miles. I then changed my oil and filter at 2,000 miles. Yes, there was a considerable amount of metal filings magnetized to the drain plug! I think I will order one for my MCS that is on order. I think that between 5K oil and filter changes with synthetic oil and a magnetized drain plug, I will do my Mini right and should last for years.

 

have broken in the last few cars and my bike the same way. baby it til everything's warm and at operating temps, then drive like i normally do with hard pulls, not necessarily to redline.

 

I recently did some transmission work on a couple of my cars(including my honda) and discovered the "magnet tray" is a fairly standard idea in transmission design. While the idea of such a magnet at the bottom of the pan sounds great, I have to ask, how much of the bottom half of the Mini's engine is aluminum? :smile: If the answer is none, then this is a great idea. I see more and more engines these days that have a lot of aluminum parts in them. Anyone know roughly what percentage of the lower half is made up of ferrous metals?

Also worth mentioning, I do not see an application listed for the Mini for this item. Does anyone know a specific part number that works with the Mini? I e-mailed them early today but haven't heard back yet...

 

I wonder if this is the reason rental cars and demo cars tend to run better than our cars that we take home and treat with kid gloves?

 

I have never had a rental that ran better than my own cars.

 

http://superplug.com/applications.html

 

Basically any piece of metal that touches another piece of metal is steel so that magnet would work. That is the reason that the oil filter is there. That traps all those metal particals before entering the engine. Transmission filters are not the same and need the magnet to get all those little flakes. I guess the extra insurance is nice, but the oil filter change will be most important to keep up with.

 

A magnetic drain plug is not a bad idea for the engine oil pan. Even though most of the larger metal particles get trapped by the filter, they still have to make their way through the oil pump (with it's tight clearances) before being removed by the filter. The ferrous metals that would be trapped by the magnet have the potential to do the most damage compared to the softer metals such as aluminum, lead and copper that are also found in engine oil as wear occurs. A magnetic plug is also a good indicator of the general well-being of engine internals. A sudden increase of metallic buildup on the plug may be hinting at some future problem. Normal, everyday wear and tear will accumulate particles on a magnetic drain plug even with regular oil changes and careful use of the engine.

Your oil pump will thank you over time.

 

[QUOTE=speltzer] http://superplug.com/applications.html

I have emailed them at info@superplug.com twice in the past week with no reply to date. Speltzer is your MINI equiped with one? They don't list MINI or Cooper in their application list. Would like to order one so I will have it when my ship comes in. Am on FREEDOM which should have left port today headed to SC

 

I pick up my MCS tomorrow, and have a 300 mile drive home, so I've been lurking and decided to register and add my .02. I've always used a break-in method similar to the one described, on both motorcycles and cars, most recently my '04 911 GT3. I've also seen the results with various engines that I've broken in after tear down. It works, and I'll be doing it to the Mini tomorrow. I don't know about the Synthetic vs Dino oil debate. Porsche fills every thing with Mobil-1, but they also run the engines before installing them, and for some of their engines they do HP measurements. (GT-2, GT-3, TURBO) releasing them from the factory. I'll run Dino oil in the Mini until my first change, then switch to Mobil-1.

Robin

 

I did this in my Evolution 8 (except no dino oil, voids the warranty explicitly) and it has been said that it feels stronger than a easy break in, and some people who had dyno's done had wondered why they were 10-20 higher than others, and after some discussion, it was considered a strong possibility that since the higher hp guys had done this to their Evo, it could be best. No scientific testing or anything, but I am doing this to all my cars from now on.

 

Basically the same, except I have a 900 mile drive home. Changed the oil in my Jeep Overland with the H.O. engine with 20 miles on it to Mobil 1. The MINI will get changed after the ride home also. Everyone knows they (the factory) runs the **** out of the motors before they get on the boat right?
Also, isn't the MINI equipped with Synthetic from the factory? I thought it was, am I misinformed?

 

Yes, they come shipped with synthetic. I'm sure there's a thread that isn't 4 years old that references that also.

 

I'll be back in another 4 years to check the progress of this thread.

 

Yep, I picked up my new 06 MCS, then proceeded (right after warm up) to stay on city streets and do my break-in before hitting the interstate for my 180 mile drive home. I accelerated hard in every gear I could get to up to 4500. I coasted down to red lights, then hit it hard again. I'm not talking about abusing it, just making it pull hard. I also gave it full throttle runs up to 4500.

Once on the interstate, I did the same thing. When traffic allowed, I coasted down as slow as I thought was safe, about 30 in some instances, and then ran it hard up to 4500 in 6th, which is about 90, then coasted down to a speed as slow as I could get away with. I did this all the way home.

I changed my oil and filter at 1000 miles. I caught all the oil in a clean disposable turkey pan. The oil was filthy black. I filtered the oil through a paper towel. I found all sorts of grit and copper and alumining turnings, like little fingernail clippings. I found the same thing in the filter.

Next oil change was at an odo reading of 5K. Nothing but dark oil came out. Glad I got that machining trash out of there.

Now at 30K, it runs like a scalded dog and burns absolutely no oil at all between my 5K changes. I run 10W30 M1. I live in TN so it doesn't get all that cold.

I have been very happy with the posted break in procedure and understand it's worth. But you must do it as soon as you drive off the lot, not after you get home....then it is too late. The ring seating he is talking about happens very quickly..... or not.

YD

 

No, I didn't try this. Mainly because I didn't see this article before taking delivery! But that 20 mile break-in window of opportunity seems a bit extreme, and I don't know anyone that's willing to change their oil after 20 miles. Interesting approach to "breaking in" an engine, I will say.

 

Wow, I remember reading this guy's ideas before I had a MINI, some of them are questionable, other's.... well, let's just say he recommends making the ports in your cylinderhead smaller by partially filling them with JB Weld.
It's still interesting and worth a read and consideration, just don't take it as gospel.
Here's his other stuff if you're interested, it seems the guy fell off the face of the Earth since it hasn't been updated forever.
http://mototuneusa.com/thanx.htm

 

the magentic plug site is down... guess aluminum isn't magnetic afterall.