Drivetrain Break-in 101

[haste]

is it FORD test miles? It can happen, but rare. they also have to state that it left manufacturing with a QC test. I purchase my lot car at 25, im sure someone test drove the crap out of it, but i think its fine.

i guess it could happen, but if i ordered a car, i would be very specific about how many miles it has on it before it is delivered i was lucky and found the one the wife and i wanted on the lot and it only had 8 miles on the odo before i test drove it.

 

[BiigMe]

So I guess my question will be Is it bad to only do one early oil change at say 1500 miles? And what Oil/Transmission Fluid/ Oil Filter should I use. Also how hard is it to change Transmission fluid. I'm a ME too, so keeping the mechanical parts in perfect condition is going to be a big sticking point for me.

 

[Based]

What I don't understand is that there is absolutely no way that the majority of the car buying population even considers proper break in procedure.

When I bought my car 5 days ago it had 31 miles on it. I accidentally hit red line leaving the dealership just because the car was so quiet I forgot I was driving a stick. In the past 5 days I have driven it pretty hard. Does that mean I'm screwed? I've been doing pulls pretty much every day to about 5k rpm. I've gotten it to 125mph so far.

Idk how you people drive them so slowly for 500, 1000, even 2000 miles.

So do y'all think my car is screwed? I've driven it 200 miles in 5 days and I've driven it very hard compared to "not taking it over 2750 rpm" or whatever the OP says.

 

[dyn085]

It's definitely not screwed and is actually probably better off.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[pelotonracer2]

It's definitely not screwed and is actually probably better off.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Yes because dyn085 spent almost 20 years being employed by several major heavy industry manufacturers tearing down motors for a living and documenting long term analysis for hundreds of different long and short run-in scenarios, including the effects of oil and lubricity studies and catastrophic engine failures .

While running an engine hard during the first few hours of operation might be beneficial for making power (short-ish term) if you want an engine (and the rest of the drivetrain to perform at it's highest level for the longest duration of time possible, it is not the preferred method in my personal and professional experience. I was a mechanical engineer who did actual field testing and evaluation (while being paid nearly half a million dollars a year for my expertise).

With that said, a few red-line revs under certain load conditions can be very beneficial to ring seating which is usually done at the factory in near perfect conditions before the vehicle is sent to a dealer. Many manufacturers have a quality control "audit" (which varies from car maker to car maker) but generally speaking it is usually 1-2 cars per 100 built of any particular model. That's why some new cars hit the dealer with 3 miles and other show up with 13-20+.

Basically, the biggest enemy to new moving parts is driveline shock, vibration, heat (but heat/cool down cycling is actually good) and excessive load. Contrary to popular belief (ie: ignorance) even modern day engine parts need to wear in, even with closer/better tolerances and improved manufacturing processes and materials. No two parts are ever exactly the same. That means no two working mechanical mechanisms have exactly the same tolerances. Whenever you have metal parts coming into contact with each other, rubbing against each other, creates friction... friction creates heat. This is called WEAR which is in accelerated state when any machine (whether it be an engine, transmission, differential or even wheel bearings or brake parts) is new. This "wear" never ends. Eventually a part subjected to friction (or parts) will fail. A smart break-in ensures you get the best performance possible for the longest amount of running time.

The best advise I can give if you want to ignore my recommendations in this thread is to follow the manufacturers break-in procedures, as vague as they are. I have personally seen new motors and drivetrains with excessive wear issues due to abuse. In more than one case warranty work was denied because said vehicle(s) ECU recorded driving habit information and that was used as criteria to deny warranty claim. Unless you are ragging the piss out of your car, power shifting or driving like an idiot, your car should be fine.

 

[pelotonracer2]

What I don't understand is that there is absolutely no way that the majority of the car buying population even considers proper break in procedure.

When I bought my car 5 days ago it had 31 miles on it. I accidentally hit red line leaving the dealership just because the car was so quiet I forgot I was driving a stick. In the past 5 days I have driven it pretty hard. Does that mean I'm screwed? I've been doing pulls pretty much every day to about 5k rpm. I've gotten it to 125mph so far.

Idk how you people drive them so slowly for 500, 1000, even 2000 miles.

So do y'all think my car is screwed? I've driven it 200 miles in 5 days and I've driven it very hard compared to "not taking it over 2750 rpm" or whatever the OP says.

The rpm schedule is specific to the Fiesta ST. The schedule changes as you put more hours on the drivetrain. Break-in is not just for your engine, but also other moving parts as well.

Every new car (and engine) is run to red line at the factory, just as they do brake bedding. That's why when you drive a new car off the lot and driving the car home and suddenly have to brake hard, the brake pedal isn't mushy or goes to the floor and the car won't come to a stop without excessive pedal pressure. Change your rotors and brake pads and then drive the car down the street and you will see that the brakes don't work very well until you do a few hard stops.

I think your car will be fine. In fact, anyone who is only going to keep their car for 3-4 years doesn't really need to do much of any kind of break-in for more than 100-200 miles.

If it makes you feel better a large majority of people don't even read the owners manual or follow the manufacturers break-in recommendations.

 

[pelotonracer2]

Case in point...

One of the big three American car companies limits the rpm of their flagship performance car to 4,500 rpm AND schedules a mandatory 500 mile oil change (free of charge). At the time of your scheduled oil change maintenance, the dealer then reflashes the ECU to the standard (non restricted) tune. What do THEY know that the average shmoe doesn't?

 

[pelotonracer2]

just be glad you aren't the guy that ordered the car and it had 25 miles on it the first time he saw it. i would be PISSED!

If it comes from the factory like that, it actually could be a good thing. Most likely if it had 25+ miles on the odometer, your vehicle may have been randomly picked for audit by quality control. If there were any issues, it would have been fixed before it was shipped to the dealer and then noted in the production log for future builds.

More often than not though, you bought a car that was used as a demo. Most reputable dealers won't let anyone drive a customer ordered unit so if it comes off the truck with 25 miles, it was probably driven around a track a few times. No big deal.

 

[Silfister]

What I don't understand is that there is absolutely no way that the majority of the car buying population even considers proper break in procedure.

When I bought my car 5 days ago it had 31 miles on it. I accidentally hit red line leaving the dealership just because the car was so quiet I forgot I was driving a stick. In the past 5 days I have driven it pretty hard. Does that mean I'm screwed? I've been doing pulls pretty much every day to about 5k rpm. I've gotten it to 125mph so far.

Idk how you people drive them so slowly for 500, 1000, even 2000 miles.

So do y'all think my car is screwed? I've driven it 200 miles in 5 days and I've driven it very hard compared to "not taking it over 2750 rpm" or whatever the OP says.

It can be difficult to adhere to Break-in 101; I was able to follow it pretty much to the "T" because my silver FiST is my secondary car that is primarily used on the weekends (I have a company car for the work week). If it were my "commuter" vehicle, I would have been hard pressed to stay within the prescribed break-in parameters. I ordered my little beast from Ford and was a little upset when it arrived (about four months after order) with 15 miles on it - maybe it was part of the aforementioned audit. Anyway, with almost 7,000 miles on her, I've had no probs whatsoever and am getting a combined 33.8 mpg (65% highway) with fairly aggressive driving after the break-in. Since I plan to retain the vehicle for a long time, I figured Break-in 101 couldn't hurt...only time will tell if it helped.

 

[pelotonracer2]

It can be difficult to adhere to Break-in 101; I was able to follow it pretty much to the "T" because my silver FiST is my secondary car that is primarily used on the weekends (I have a company car for the work week). If it were my "commuter" vehicle, I would have been hard pressed to stay within the prescribed break-in parameters. I ordered my little beast from Ford and was a little upset when it arrived (about four months after order) with 15 miles on it - maybe it was part of the aforementioned audit. Anyway, with almost 7,000 miles on her, I've had no probs whatsoever and am getting a combined 33.8 mpg (65% highway) with fairly aggressive driving after the break-in. Since I plan to retain the vehicle for a long time, I figured Break-in 101 couldn't hurt...only time will tell if it helped.

I have nearly 40,000 miles now on my Fiesta ST and not a single issue. No leaks, no oil use, no synchro issues. I was able to get 30,000 miles out of the stock brake pads and rotors, even with hard use.. but recently I upgraded both. The one and only time I had to take it in for a warranty issue was the HVAC flapper went out. I waited until I was at 35,000 miles to take it in. I can hit 39 mpg average on the highway (in the right conditions on long trips) and about the same as you combined average. I'm currently stage 3 mods. Since I have more than one car I was able to avoid long idling and stop and go driving conditions. My lease will end in February and I will pay the $11,000 balloon payment and keep the FiST as my daily driver. It is the epitome of the PERFECT "used car". I know it was broken in with the long haul in mind and I'd be very surprised if I have any major issues with it in the next 10-15 years in its current state of tune. That's also a testament of how good Adam Brunson is with his tuning for these cars.

I've received quite a few PM's from members in the past that have far less miles than me but also didn't follow any kind of break-in procedure and have had some issues, some of which Ford wouldn't fix for one reason or another.

 

[Quisp]

The lower rpm's are so bearings and such burnish instead of gall.

 

[pelotonracer2]

The lower rpm's are so bearings and such burnish instead of gall.

We used to build race engines with a lot of "slop" (ie: clearence) because they would make more power (but for shorter periods of time). This included piston to cylinder wall clearance and less degree crosshatch in the bore to fully seat the rings in 10 minutes or less. Total break-in time was an hour or less of hard use. A loose engine will make more power, albeit with much reduced engine life.

I always get a laugh when people start their engines and then proceed to rag the piss out of them... OR run a much colder thermostat and wonder why they need a re-ring at 40,000 miles lol. They don't understand the different elements at play and how different metal (metallurgy) interacts with each other much less "lubricity" principles at play. Some parts (like pistons for instance) don't go "round" at the skirt until they are fully up to operating temps.

There is no "one break-in fits all platforms". The use of different materials form one manufacturer to another plays a big role. For instance, some engine manufacturers use nikasil plating on their cylinder bores. They have to use special hones to get a cross hatch. That cross hatch pattern usually means the angle needs to be 30% or 60% instead of an iron bore 90% cross hatch angle. It usually takes a LOT longer to seat a ring in a nikasil bore but... piston to wall clearance can be much tighter than an iron bore.

I've seen some odd needle bearing wear on short term race motors that were thrust into service with minimal break-in and hard use, some even fail... the ones that aren't caged can cause catastrophic engine failure. lol.

 

[GoHack]

Change your oil after the first 80-100
miles! Why you ask? Well, firstly, your oil filter can only catch so many metal particles and your oil can only suspend so
many particles.

Your better, and cheaper option, would be to simply replace the oil filter, and check your oil level after having run the engine a few moments, in order to fill up the oil filter. I normally add oil and wet the oil filter seal surface w/a little oil, before mounting.

Stay away from cheap oil filters like Fram and use either Ford's or Napa/Wix filters. There are some other good ones out there. I'm just mentioning some examples.

As for the initial break in, I normally like to drive around a city, like Seattle when I lived near there on a weekend morning, stopping and taking off at Stop Lights/Signs, including downshifting the engine for braking, especially when going down the hills there, never over revving, in order to seat the rings initially. I'd do this driving from Seattle down to SeaTac, then take her out on the highway, varying my RPM's there. Then when I got home, change the oil filter.

 

[Quisp]

If you're oil filter is over taxed in the first 100 miles you have bigger problems than break in.

 

[GoHack]

If you're oil filter is over taxed in the first 100 miles you have bigger problems than break in.

It's not over taxed, but it does contain the initial break-in material. It's certainly cheaper to do than a full oil/filter change at the same mileage.

Besides when I take her on the highway, I tend to go over to Yakima to visit my relatives there, and back, which when I get home, I have over 400 miles on it.

 

[jcooley3]

FWIW, I purchased a Civic SI new in 2008 with 11 miles on it. Redlined it, multiple times, everyday from the day I left the dealership until the day I sold it. Had it supercharged for 30,000 miles. Sold it after 7 years and 174,000 miles. Everything was original except regular maintenance things (fluids, filters and brakes) and the valve cover gasket.

 

[slappy76]

I only read this after the fact and I wasn't so lightfooted with my break-in in the initial 250 miles (driving back from the dealer). While it's impossible for me to follow this regiment to the T due to circumstances of where I live. I did try to minimize hard accelerations, unless it was necessary (e.g. merging on the highway, for safety). But I did change the oil yesterday at 400 miles (later than the prescribed 80-100 miles). You can SEE flecks of metal suspended in the oil much like you would in metallic or pearl automotive paints (from the can). It's nothing you would feel in between your fingers but it's there. I've done enough oil changes to know that's not normal. I actually went back to a conventional oil 5w-20 for the next few hundred miles to aid in break-in as well as a better PureOne 20195 oil filter. I will change at 1000 miles back to Motorcraft synthetic blend.

Curious if my highway mileage will improve. I was only getting 25-26 MPG for the duration of my trip from the dealer.

 

[STewpid]

fwiw, I think you're in ok shape. If you read my entry in this thread you will note my finding shavings in my first oil changes. I went to Mobil One full synthetic at 5K and 10K. At 5K I saw no sign of shavings and thought that was a good thing. Your fuel economy will increase gradually. I'm now getting between 27-29 mpg depending on my right foot. I am at 12.6 K.

 

[pelotonracer2]

I only read this after the fact and I wasn't so lightfooted with my break-in in the initial 250 miles (driving back from the dealer). While it's impossible for me to follow this regiment to the T due to circumstances of where I live. I did try to minimize hard accelerations, unless it was necessary (e.g. merging on the highway, for safety). But I did change the oil yesterday at 400 miles (later than the prescribed 80-100 miles). You can SEE flecks of metal suspended in the oil much like you would in metallic or pearl automotive paints (from the can). It's nothing you would feel in between your fingers but it's there. I've done enough oil changes to know that's not normal. I actually went back to a conventional oil 5w-20 for the next few hundred miles to aid in break-in as well as a better PureOne 20195 oil filter. I will change at 1000 miles back to Motorcraft synthetic blend.

Curious if my highway mileage will improve. I was only getting 25-26 MPG for the duration of my trip from the dealer.

I think you will be just fine. The particulate (size and shape) you find suspended in your oil is NORMAL. You will notice (hopefully less and less) particulate in the oil as you get more miles. In the first few hundred miles particulate in the oil is larger in size (due to shearing). Like I said earlier, there is only so much a filter can filter out so always change the filter when you change the oil. The good news is that it is suspended in the oil and not force sheared back onto moving parts. Your fuel economy will improve as the engine and other drivetrain parts wear in.

 

[JRifold]

Engine and powertrain Break-in 101

1. Introduction:
-----------------

Every engine and powertrain is the sum of its' total parts. If those individual parts do not fit together properly (proper
bedding in), or the machined "finish" of those parts after being "run-in" are not optimal, both fuel mileage and
performance will suffer. Even though modern manufacturing processes have improved overall quality drastically over the
last several decades, performing a proper break-in procedure will ensure that your automobile will last longer, provide
better performance and return better efficiency (mpg) over the service life of the vehicle. Not all parts are created
equal, so some luck is also needed to get a good vehicle in the first place. A proper break-in just ensures you get the
most potential out of what you have. That is why even if you take 5-6 of the same car, one or two will always perform
better, get better mileage or last longer than the others. A good "break-in" usually equates to having an above average
car when it comes to performance, efficiency and longevity.

2. The "enemy"
----------------
The #1 enemy of an automobile "powertrain" (wear and tear) is heat and cold "extremes". Proper break-in of a modern
gasoline vehicle requires many heating and cool down "cycles" before it will deliever maximum performance and
efficiency. Heat in an engine is a by-product of friction and combustion. Most people, even driving enthusiasts do not
realize that 90% of engine (and powertrain) "wear" happens at engine start up and during the warm up cycle. The colder it
is outside, the more extreme and accelerated this "wear and tear" is. The goal to minimizing this (bad) wear, is to get
your engine fully warmed up in the quickest way possible AND to minimize the number of cold starts during a "cycle". It is
important to note that an engine and other powertrain components are usually made out of different types of metals,
including alloys. All respond to heat and friction differently, and all have shown to have different bedding-in qualities.
For instance, steel and iron is much more durable and more resistant to friction wear than say aluminum or other alloys.
It is even MORE important during engine break-in to minimize cold engine start ups and idling. The absolute worst driving
habit a new car owner can do is start their engine and just let it sit there at idle speed. Idling puts no load on the
engine, provides minimal lubrication on moving parts and takes much longer for the engine to warm up. As metal warms up,
it tends to change shape. In fact, some engine parts are designed to change their overall shape when they get to normal
operating temps (some pistons, with oval sideskirts are a perfect example... as the piston heats up, the sideskirts go
from oval to round). Idling also wastes fuel. The only exception to the "no idle" rule is on days where outside temps are
0 degrees or less. Then it is actually beneficial to start the engine and let it idle for 10 seconds. However, the best
driving procedure for extremely cold days (especially during the break-in) is not to drive the car at all.

The #2 enemy of your engine/powertrain is short trips of 10 miles or less. This is especially true on... you guessed it,
"cold days". If you have a second car (that is preferably well broken-in) it would be highly beneficial to take that
vehicle instead of your new car if you need to just drive down the street and back. Just because your coolant gauge reads...

Anyways, the above statements are just my personal experiences and opinion. I tried to make this information as simple to undstand as possible so that even a small child could comprehend the information. lol. I also apologize if this comes out not looking right. I wrote in on notepad in about an hour.

Hey Pelotonracer2,

Very good read with loads of useful information. Though, like some other posters, I was too late.

I picked up my 2016 FiST from a dealership earlier this year in SoCal with 300 miles on it. Yes, 300 miles on it already! Many, many test drives I guess. Anyway, I'm reaching about 5k on the odo, and I have a few mods (listed in my signature). Are these mods OK to have on the vehicle, or did I mod too early?

Thank you in advance.

- JR