Breaking In

iammilo · Jun 2, 2005

I've heard various opinions on proper break-in on a new engine.

There's the tried and true 1000 mile break-in: vary the engine speed, keep it below a certain rpm up to 250 miles, 500 miles and 1,000 miles, etc.

Then there's the claim that you should drive it hard right out of the gate to force the rings to seat.

I've always subscribed to option one. My 2k5 GT arrives in just a few weeks, so I wanted some solid and informed opinions before I get it. Does the Ford manual recommend break-in?

jt14894 · Jun 2, 2005

iammilo said:
I've heard various opinions on proper break-in on a new engine.

There's the tried and true 1000 mile break-in: vary the engine speed, keep it below a certain rpm up to 250 miles, 500 miles and 1,000 miles, etc.

Then there's the claim that you should drive it hard right out of the gate to force the rings to seat.

I've always subscribed to option one. My 2k5 GT arrives in just a few weeks, so I wanted some solid and informed opinions before I get it. Does the Ford manual recommend break-in?

Every owner's manual has the factory recommended break-in instructions. Follow that, and you should be fine.
I'm on the same boat as you. I just got my VIN#. Hopefully, my new GT will be here very very very very......very soon.

sasscuba · Jun 2, 2005

I always break my new cars in hard....not redline but drive it hard. More power in the long run and have never had any issues. I smoked em off the lot.

05Stangster · Jun 2, 2005

The new Mustang has a computer that reads and adjusts to how you drive it. Take it easy, she'll go easy. Drive like you stole it and there ya go. I drove mine the first thousand combining both. Take her easy for a few files, then punch it (not necessary to redline all the time).

So, IMO, Start your new car. Reverup a few times. Slowly, and I mean slowly, pull away from the dealership --- you see where I'm going here -- and as you leave the exit from the dealership think of Meatloaf -- "like a bat out of hel l" Have fun! 3600 on mine and she drives like a dream. Gotta love the power and torque! Get ready for the perma grin (and I'm not referring to the one I've heard about when people smoke illegal substances)

jt14894 · Jun 2, 2005

Hey stangscuba98a,

Are you thinking about putting stripes on your Redfire GT?
If so, what color do you think would look best. black? silver? white?
I'm thinking about doing it once my Redfire comes in. Just wanted to get your thought since you have the same color as mine.

sasscuba · Jun 2, 2005

thought about it but it is such a nice color by itself I might leave it alone. I have seen black in person and it looked bad...picture of white..not bad..I would think if you were to do it gray that matches the bullitt rims it would look best. Here is my ride....

05Stangster · Jun 2, 2005

Very, very nice!

bigcat · Jun 2, 2005

on page 5 of the manual, it says:
"your vehicle does not need an extensive break-in. try not to drive continuously at the same speed for the first 1,000 miles of new vehicle operation. vary your speed frequently in order to give the moving parts a chance to break in."
with that being said, it doesnt say you cant drive it like you stole it. if you did, it would be varying speeds, right? do what you think is best for your car, i am a little harder on my cars, but i have never had any major problems from my driving style.

jt14894 · Jun 2, 2005

stangscuba98a said:
thought about it but it is such a nice color by itself I might leave it alone. I have seen black in person and it looked bad...picture of white..not bad..I would think if you were to do it gray that matches the bullitt rims it would look best. Here is my ride...

Sweet pic! I'll have to browse some Mustangs at my local Ford dealers and see if there are any cars of our color with stripes and see how they look.
I love those bullitt rims, but my car is coming with the machined wheels instead. When I found out that those were the rims, I tried to change them, but it was too late.
Oh well! I'll just have to get them later.

Click to expand...

gp001 · Jun 2, 2005

Keep in mind that you are not just breaking in the motor, you are breaking in the car. Trans, rear gears, brakes, etc.... I have always broken in easy, with smooth, consistent operation. No abrupt starts, stops, etc...

Madhouse · Jun 2, 2005

my salesman begged me to burn em down leaving the lot

(he's a friend and fellow Lightning owner)

nbk13nw · Jun 3, 2005

stangscuba98a said:
thought about it but it is such a nice color by itself I might leave it alone. I have seen black in person and it looked bad...picture of white..not bad..I would think if you were to do it gray that matches the bullitt rims it would look best. Here is my ride....

If it looked bad it was due to the dealer / owner and not the car!

nbk13nw · Jun 3, 2005

My bad! 5AM here and it looks like I did not comprehend what I read. Yeah... I think that black stripes would not look right either.

Motorhead6T5 · Jun 3, 2005

gp001 said:
Keep in mind that you are not just breaking in the motor, you are breaking in the car. Trans, rear gears, brakes, etc.... I have always broken in easy, with smooth, consistent operation. No abrupt starts, stops, etc...

I had to drive home 150 miles from picking my car up,so I kept going from 4th to 5th to 4th and I changed speeds alot also going from 60 to 70 to 80 and back down all the way home,I stopped once to give her a break. Up to 250 miles I varied rpm alot,even reved it high but not under load. At 250 miles I started getting on it harder and even making some soft shift WOT runs. At 1000 miles i changed the oil and let her rip.Changed oil again at 4k. My car runs damn hard now at almost 5k. I always fully warmed up my car before driving it and especialy before driving it hard.

When you get a new clutch you are supposed to go easy for the first 250-500 miles. When you get new rear end gears you need to go easy for 500 miles. Think about that when you drive it off the lot,the engine isn't the only thing getting broken in. People wonder why they need rear end work and new trannys and new clutches at 500 miles. It's because people on the forums tell em to Burn em off the lot. Which is complete uneducated BS. I've seen it time and time again,people read about how to break in a race motor and they think thats how to break in there new car,but it is not the case,race cars and there motors are built different than street car motors,the tollerances are looser because they don't care about getting over 100k out of there motors, these cars are brand new,everything is new,tolorences are tight which creates heat. The rings are seated at the factory.

sasscuba · Jun 3, 2005

black stripes not black car...

argabright52 · Jun 4, 2005

On my test drive,with 5 miles, my dealer said, " I know a good place to go leave some black marks." How could I resist? Oh yeah, he just laughed when he handed me the tire warranty brochure.

The reason I wasn't worried about breakin: My brother-in-law (who also got me A-plan) works at the Ford Tranny plant and said the trannys are fully broken-in when they leave the factory.

jjaguda · Jun 4, 2005

argabright52 said:
The reason I wasn't worried about breakin: My brother-in-law (who also got me A-plan) works at the Ford Tranny plant and said the trannys are fully broken-in when they leave the factory.

So he works for Tremec?

After fighting the Ford Tremec 1-2 and 2-3 shift problem for six months on my '02 GT, I'll take it easy for the little bit of time it takes to hit 1000k - whether or not it helps the motor/trans/rear. Of course, I'll give it gas, vary speed, etc.

The Extreme · Jun 5, 2005

Unfortuantely, I can't speak from personal experience on this one. However, regarding break in? Here's my recommendation:
Beat the snot out of it!
This advice comes from a buddy of mine who is a mechanic. He endorses really thrashing it early (again, not necessarily redline) in order to better seat the rings. I was talking with him tonght and since my GT's arrival is immenent (June 6 build date ) he asked if I was planning to mash it when I got the car.

I have seen others with opinions in agreement... here's one at this link:
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
The site this link goes to does make a good point - it's a controversial topic. But FWIW, my $0.02 and the link...

Motorhead6T5 · Jun 5, 2005

The Extreme said:
Unfortuantely, I can't speak from personal experience on this one. However, regarding break in? Here's my recommendation:
Beat the snot out of it!
This advice comes from a buddy of mine who is a mechanic. He endorses really thrashing it early (again, not necessarily redline) in order to better seat the rings. I was talking with him tonght and since my GT's arrival is immenent (June 6 build date ) he asked if I was planning to mash it when I got the car.

I have seen others with opinions in agreement... here's one at this link:
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
The site this link goes to does make a good point - it's a controversial topic. But FWIW, my $0.02 and the link...

The only way beating the snot out of it would come into play is with a brand new unbroken in motor(new rings never started up yet),these motors are run at the factory,therefore the rings are already seated,your not going to make it run faster by beating it,its a myth these days. The rings seat within the first 10-15 minutes of operation. And just because somone is a mechainic,doesn't meant they always know what they are talking about. I don't take my cars to mechanics anymore...to many bad experiences...and they all were "experts"...not to say there aren't damn good mechanics out there...but in this day and age they are getting rare.

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