40 more miles.... what are you doing on here then. Get out there and motor!

 

im stuck at work! :impatient :impatient

BUT! i did go drive around during my 1 hour lunch break!

 

driving from NYC to wisconsin to see family should do the trick...
btw dont believe that break in stuff so much the factory BREaks IN YOUR CAR ALL THE WAY up to redline in the most vile conditions

 

Almost there..almost there.
1076 miles in 10 days.

 

By the time the car passes 300 miles, everything on the car that needs to be broken in, is broken in.

The 1250 is pretty dumb. Just one more way for BMW to cover their asses incase something happens before then.

 

Where'd you hear that?

 

Real or not 1250 will come soon enough.
But that 4.5 thing really is killing me
:impatient :impatient :impatient

 

So why did you ask? Keep in mind that when you take your MINI to the dealer, and they put the key into their computer-reading system, it will tell them, among many other details, every time you exceeded 4500, and what your top speed was, too.

 

I accidentally went into the 5.5 zone a couple of times in bad on ramp situations to quickly merge out of the way of oncoming traffic (really, I HAD to move!) and then noticed that I blew the break in rules. So, do I feel guilty and like I've messed up my MINI's future? I hardly think so. This is a BMW! And my MA's guidance when I questioned him on break in was simply "mix it up so you are doing fast and slow driving intermittently, not just long periods of either city or freeway trips. That's it. It won't let you red line, so don't worry." End of discussion. I think it's a pretty arbitrary number (the 1250) in any case and as long as you aren't driving like you're on the race track you'll be fine. If I'm wrong, I guess I'll see... at least it is all on warranty. I'm just under 100 mi. short of the published goal and can't wait to really let her out. She's just faunching at the bit!!!

 

I don't think exceeding 4500 for a split second to deal with traffic a couple times is so bad. It is going over that mark consistently during break-in that probably isn't such a good idea. I figure that the MINI engineers have their reasons for the break-in recommendation, so that is good enough for me!

This topic has been discussed many, many times since 2002, and there are folks on both sides of the fence. I am one who prefers to err on the side of caution. BTW, I hit 1250 miles in a week...

 

Isn't there a conspiracy theory thread for such topics like listening to the manufacturer? (Can you tell where I stand on this? )

 

Thanks. I feel better. And technically I too am hitting that mark in only a week of driving. There was a couple of weeks there where Minx was in for clear bra work and then window tinting and then another clear bra and now it looks like I'm going to need the CB done again!!! (but that is another story...)

I took my mom out to dinner in Minx tonight — her first time even sitting in her — and blew her away. My mom has a very curvy, long driveway, so at the end of the evening I basically took the last few hundred yards home without any brakes and she loved it!!! Damn, this is a great car!

 

NOPE, I never have and probably never will and I have been breaking in motors since 1969.
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

Dude ... YOUR BADDDDD!

This is true on a lot of new cars. Some can tell exactly how long you were are different RPMs. Lotus, for one, is notorious for denying warranty work for abused cars before 1000 where they get a mandatory dump. Some owners just dont want to listen.

So we should believe one guy who wrote a book against all the car makers:impatient Thats so funny.

Since, I too am going through a "break-in" period (although not a MINI), this same arguement keeps coming up over and over again. There is a very loud SMALL minority that says to run it hard while the vast majority follow the rules.

Its all very simple. In some cars, the Rings are NOT seated properly until 2 - 4K miles. A major issue is heat buildup (read from a factory engineer). Thats why the say no WOT and keep it below a certain RPM. HEAT is bad for the new engine.

Now who cares? Well if you trade-up ever 4 years, you don't care because you want have the car long enuff to care.

The other issue is around HP. Some cars gain HP as they breakin properly. If not done properly, you may have less HP than a properly broken in engine.

So do what you want. Follow what some guy wrote on a website or follow what your carmaker says to do. After all, its your money to use or abuse.

 

Nope. I did a burnout as I left the dealer's lot almost 4 years ago and have driven it like that ever since. 62,000 miles and plently of mods later, my MINI has never had any drivetrain problems whatsoever.

My theory is that if the engine is not properly built and you go easy on it, MINI's accountants will be happy because it will be cheaper to fix.

 

I followed the manual to a "T" and then got spirited after that. ;-)

 

Not just some guy on a website, what do you think happens at the racetrack every single day? Motor blows during the day they rebuild it overnite and run it the next day, WTO. Or do you think they put 1250 miles on it before they open it up? Endurance racing, stock cars, go-karts, motorcycles, dirt and road, all of them rebuild their motor and RUN them right afterwards and they expect more out of those motors every single time they go out on them than we ever will puttering around to work and the grocery store, but if it "floats your boat" then "baby" it. I don't and I like how the motors pull afterwards, probably just my imagination, just like those that go easy think they are extending their engine life, whose to say?

 

Theory, schmeory. The piston rings have to "seat". On some cars this takes a short time, on others a longer time, and you cannot tell when the process is complete based on outside clues. Getting the rings to seat requires some "wear" as the rings and pistons and bores get to know each other. What helps this is working the engine gently for the first little bit, and by 1250 miles (2000km) you should be done. Your engine may "seat" before then, but why risk it?

Race motors? They get rebuilt after X runs or hours, and if they burn an extra liter every 1000 miles they don't care. I don't want to rebuild my motor every few thousand miles, or burn oil. Street motors and race motors are different beasts, with different care and feeding needs.

RTFM: Read The Factory Manual.

Varied loads and RPMs help.

High boost does not; it causes blow-by and may prevent the rings from ever properly seating. Impatient guys in some turbo/supercharged car forums have cars that burn oil forever.

End of story.

BTW, not having the patience to properly break in or maintain a car (or RTFM) tells a lot about the driver.

 

Why take the risk? Just let the engine have it's break in period. Is it really that hard to drive a little slower for a month or so?

 

I'll take that as a compliment

 

It isn't just about patience, one school of thought is if you "baby" the motor during the initial break-in that you end up with a motor that is down on HP and prone to leak around the rings because there was never enough pressure put on them to seat them effectively.

 

Apples and Orange, Many race cars run one races, rebuild the engine. In other words, they dont care as long as it runs 100 miles, 1/4 mile or 500 miles.

I would imagine most consumers hope it lasts at least 75000 miles

Huge difference

Funny, I've read just the opposite. If you do NOT break it in right ... HP is DOWN, not up, because of heat damage.

So I guess Joe Web Site Author is correct and all the car makers wrong........

Again, your money, do what you want

 

bingo

 

Threads merged.

 

So... we have patient people who mostly read instructions & mostly follow the rules, and we have impatient people who don't, but probably realize the cost... in other words, a decent cross section of the people we commute with each day.

"Schools of thought"? Paraphrasing Monty Python, 'Thought don't enter into it!' It's engineering, materials analysis, and thermodynamics vs. the desired outcome of the equation. Pretty simple really, and well explained above.

It's not "avoidance of warranty claims" either - with a warranty this long, that conspiracy theory logic is flawed. The timelines just don't synch.

Good point on the brakes - they do need proper "bedding" for street pads. See www.tirerack.com for some great instructions, and this can be done while adhering to the break-in guidelines.

Also great point on the driver/car getting to know each other. I'd like to think car manufacturers actually care, but I think this is just a very good side-effect.

1250 miles = 2000 km, a good round Metric number, not an "arbitrarily chosen" American one. Consider country of origin.

Let's all get back together when our cars have 100,000+ miles on them and have a track test, mileage test, and cylinder leakdown test... and (giving due respect to those in the high mileage club) with enough cars to be a statistically significant sample. See you then...