"After these short fairly hard piston ring runs, then following the mini manual recommendations will work well. Keep the rpm and max speed under control and varying the loads and allowing the engine to do a lot of speed breaking (high vacuum and extra oil flow) should do the trick." -Yo'sDad

What on earth does this mean? I understand max speed. rpm under control, im assuming that means dont go over the suggested max rpm. the whole varying load part, then dang, whats with speed breaking etc

explain! This is my intended procedure when I get the new car.

 

It is my understanding from my reading (can't quote a source) that the EPA is putting a ton of pressure on all the manufacturers of everything (ISO 14001) to reduce life-cycle pollution. This means for every car you manufacture, how many tires, how much exhaust emissions, how many gallons of used coolant, how may gallons of waste oil, etc. will be generated over the life of the car? IMHO, this is why we are seeing 5 year coolant, all sorts of components that are lubed for life and extended oil change intervals.

So now all manufacturers are extending their oil change intervals to meet these EPA requirements. With current manufacturing techniques, and the quality of current oils, I'm sure most any new car today could make it beyond most any warranty period with no oil changes at all. And if you are the person who only keeps a car a couple of years and trades, then maybe this makes sense for you (one reason I would shy away from a used car if I could afford to).

But for me, I don't buy new cars very often. I buy something that I really think I will continue to love and maintain for the long haul.... sort of like picking a good wife. Then I do whatever I think is necessary to make it last as long as possible. The feeling of driving a nice car after that last payment is a good one for me. As we all may agree, having a very well maintained 02-06 generation Mini is going to be a ton of fun about ten years from now.

Back on track, sorry, ...the manufacturers (such as BMW) only want us to get through that warranty period, that's all. But that's not the name of the game for me.

It's in that post 60K mile time frame that doing your breaking-in properly and doing the early oil changes will pay off.

I have a very good friend who let me drive a mini in the Smoky Mountains last fall. This is what helped me make my decision to purchase one. When I got serious I started asking my friend more detailed questions. This friend bought the car and only took it back to the dealer when the maintence counter said so. This person only took the mini back for oil changes about every 15K miles (driven very gently). I asked "does it use any oil" the answer was "I don't know". I ask if it was necessary to add any oil between services at the dealer, the answer was "I don't know". Later I learned that the hood was never opened by the owner.

My friend also stated, "If it needed oil, wouldn't the light on the dash light up". Please understand, my friend is a wonderful person and smart as a tack, just not into car maintenance and I'm certainly not intending to make any fun here. My friend is the reason for my mini.

But I really don't think I would like the idea of buying this mini as a used car. I'll shut up now.

YD

 

Like "schaplin" said, what I mean by speed braking is to let off the gas and let the engine slow down the car (keep it in gear and coast down) (watch your rearview mirror because you aren't going to be using your brakes and brake lights). This creates a lot of vacuum in the intake passages, valve guide and seal area and reduces crankcase pressures. This lets oil flow nicely and get to all the bearings and other parts at higher rpms without the burden of a combustion load. This procedure is bad for your gas mileage, but that is not the point at this time.

YD

 

wow. fascinating stuff. I like it. going to follow this to the T then just do the rest of mini's manual. good show and all that

 

That's what's so wonderful about this site. Some NAM folks are so friendly and helpful. I get the bug tomorrow and will try all this on the 85 minute drive home. My 10AE 99 Miata was fun but no room for wife and dog. Every review I read about the MINI was so positive I had to have one although all my life I've said I would never buy a German car. This Oxford one thrown together by Brits during their terriorist scare will be a test for me. I've told the MA I want just one filter in the swag box for it's 1k oil change. I'm so glad I started this thread and so happy for the intelligent thoughtful replies.
Thank you guys.

 

I have to agree with YD. Change your oil early. I do on new motors within the first few hundred miles. He is correct in that there will be a lot of metallic particles. You don't want metal particles floating around your motor for 10K miles.

 

Has anyone every taken a look at the number of people who read which threads? I find it interesting to see that the majority of 'reads' are for threads like "what color did you pick", or "what's your Mini's nickname".

Don't get me wrong, these are fun threads to read and I read them too, but it appears a lot of people are just not interested in threads that pertain to anything technical or mechanical or how they can get their car to work better or last longer.

I supposed it is just a sign of the times. It goes along with;

not seeing any kids in the neighborhood playing ball in an abandoned lot

and not seeing kids riding their bicycles.

In talking with my friends, it seems everyone's kids are inside (in the A/C) playing computer games, etc.

The only people who work on their own cars anymore seem to attract 'non-attractive' monikers.

I have read many, many threads here about people with manual transmissions whose battery went dead and said they had to have a tow of hundreds of miles. Does no one nowdays roll their cars off to start them and be on their way? I'm not critisizing anyone in any way, it is just an observation that current buyers seem to be more concerned with the color, what audio system or other electronic options the car has and relatively no concern for anything mechanical. Just one more nail in my coffin defining my generation I suppose.

Long live the few 'good ole boys' who are still alive and who fixed their own cars.

YD

 

My brother in law's best friend was shot in the head and chest with a 45 revolver for assisting road side people. IT was a setup and the killer wanted to lure someone in.

nostalgia is best served to those who are alive and did not meet the evil in the world a few years back. The dead and properly jaded find it unpalatble. It was there though. Just paranoia now is in vogue with soccer mom mentalities.

I do enjoy your technical knowledge though. It will be put to excellent and long term use.

 

I was reading a report of some webpage er i forget where people here gave me the link, but it said that oil is best changed first at 20 miles !! then at 1k-1.5k then regular after that.

also said that natural engine oil should be used first and then whatever you want after that.

 

Wha......?

 

See this link, http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm, and think about breaking it in hard. I do with every motor.

As far as personal security, don't forget Ted Bundy drove a little green VW Bug, he probably looked pretty safe at the time. A nice law student. And that was 30 years ago. It's always been dangerous in this world someplace and sometimes, "watch out out there".

This isn't a dress rehearsal, it's the actual show.

 

Excellent reading between Yo'sDad and CDMINIs link. I've had a lot of bikes and a lot of cars since "66" and haven't had an engine wear related failure yet (knock on wood).

My procedure has always been somewhat in the middle of the options presented here. With the MINI I varied speeds (never lugging) keeping under 5000 rpm for the first 4-500 miles (have always used engine braking as a matter of habit) and then bursts to redline on occasion. Changed oil at 3000 and 8000 and will soon at the first service interval 13800 miles. Since the 8000 mark I haven't needed to add oil, and actually haven't noticed a drop in the oil level. I reckon the rings are sealed.

Bikes I broke in quicker, 200 instead of 500 miles and oil change at 1000. I went to 3000 with the MINI because of the synthetic oil. I do kind of kick myself for letting the first change go that long.

 

If one were to replace the oil after the first day of driving, how much would that cost?

Would that harm the warranty?

Could it be done under warranty without the dealer doing it?

 

You have to pay for any oil changes not indicated by maintenance nanny! It was about $60 at my dealer last year. I did mine at about 1500 6000 and then 11,000 when the nanny finally said ok.:impatient Please save the "Modern Oil" posts. Everyone has their preference. Peace of mind is well worth the expense.

 

They cannnot void a warranty because you do regular maintence on the car yourself, i.e. oil changes, unless you screw it up somehow and all the oil blows out and you keep running the car, of course. It's pretty easy to know that you did it right, no oil lights and no oil leaks.

 

Interesting reading... personally, reading these threads freaks me out a little bit. I would love to be the kind of guy that can do small mechanical things on my car... like change the oil. But, I'm not a mechanical person IN ANY WAY. Well, I take that back... I changed the oil in one of my cars once or twice a long time ago (I think it was a toyota).

Then I lived in NYC for 15 years and didn't have a car. In the past two years, since having a car again, I did the 5k oil change, usually taking to the dealer.

Now, I'm about to buy a Mini. Perhaps not a good car for a techo-phobe, but I can't pass it up. It's such a great car. And I really do want to drive it well and take care of it. But these days, I'm pretty much terrified to try to do any auto maitenance by myself. The cars just seem too complex. I would like to change the oil after the first 1k based on what you're talking about here (it makes sense that as an engine breaks in there would be some metallic parts floating around in the oil), but also don't want to make a mistake and screw up a brand new car.

I guess the options are that I:
1) take it to the dealer and pay for the first few oil changes (will they even do it?)
2) take it to a third party oil change place (these worry me, especially with the Mini's requirements for synthetic oil and whatever else)
3) try and do it myself -- not likely for the intimidation mentioned above.
4) just run it until the Mini tells me to take it in for the first one (I guess 10K, yes?)

I know I'm mixing Oil and Break-in Musings in one post, but the first oil change does seem to be a big part of break-in.

 

For anyone who can change a light bulb, I am very positive you can change your own oil. Don't be afraid. The hardest part is finding a suitable place and I know that may be very difficult for people living in cities. All you have to do is safely figure out a way to get under your car, have a proper size wrench/socket to remove the drain plug and filter, let all the dirty oil drain out, and reinstall the plug and install a few filter (properly).

The the most important part, refill with fresh oil. Run it a bit, check for leaks and your done. About $30.

Of course, 'mechanical people' will use that opportunity to visually inspect everything they can see under the car and under the hood. Having a trained eyeball take a look around is a valuable thing.

About the only thing that you can do wrong is to:

1 crossthread the oil pan drain plug
2 over tighten and strip the oil pan drain plug
3 cross thread the oil filter cap
4 mis-install the oil filter O-ring
5 not put oil back in
6 let the car fall on you (if you elevate the car in any manner to gain underneath access), shake the hell out of the car in all directions before you crawl under. Always, always, always use jack stands or ramps.... never use any sort of service jack alone.

This means you must buy ramps or jackstands (they will last you the rest of your life). You will need some hand tools and a drain pan and a place to dispose of your waste oil.

If I lived where I couldn't do these things myself for any reason, I would order a couple of Mini oil filters, and purchase my selected brand and wt oil somewhere and then pay some small friendly garage to do the change for me. In my area, there are no sources for the oil filter, so ordering is the only option.

If done properly, (having the drain plug fall out and cooking your engine not withstanding) there should be no issues with your warranty.

My biggest issue right now, is that I'm picking up my new Mini about 200 interstate miles from home. I'll need to immediately find some sort of appropriate road near my dealership to do my 'pistion ring seating' exercise.

Note: There are many posts calling this procedure a 'hard breakin'. I don't consider the loading of the rings in several sequential runs during your first twenty miles 'hard'. We are not talking about abusive engine treatment here, we are talking about putting your thoroughly warmed up engine through some strongly loaded pulls. Make the engine pull the car strongly a couple dozen times while letting it coast back down under engine braking. All this time never lugging and never over revving. This needs to be done during during the first twenty miles, then drive like the destruction manual says. Sorry to be redundant.

YD