The engine running-in poll

Rahul Rao · 18th September 2021, 13:59

I always run in my cars, that is maintain a medium engine speed until the second service is done. Even after that I never rev beyond 60 RPM for first 25-30 km of my run, even if coolant is at operational temperature the oil is not.
Secondly for cars that have run in, I rev them up to red line for about 30 seconds once on every highway trip after the 25-30 km thorough warm up is complete, this blows out the soot deposited in the exhaust right from turbo to the tailpipe and everything in between.
All my engines have lasted the entire life of the car till resale, and I have sold only a few cars with less than 2 Lakh km on odo. One Indica first used by me and then by my sales staff had run 3,24,000 km on original engine, and only extra work other than routene service and tyre, brakes, suspension etc was 3 timing belts each at the lakh mark and fuel pump and nozzle service. The car sold for 80k and the buyer said that engine is smoother than most cars he has checked with even half the mileage.

Sincerely,
Rahul Rao

DarthVeda · 19th September 2021, 00:03

Run in..../laughs quietly like my EV drives

On my previous ICE car, I never followed any run in procedure and nothing horrible happened.

drhoneycake · 21st September 2021, 14:34

Voted for “Didn’t follow any standard procedure, made no difference”.

Infact the day I got my car home, I ripped it on NICE road and the next day drove it straight to Mumbai and yes, it was driven with quite a heavy foot. The initial months it was driven quite aggressively, but sobered down later.

Today engine untouched, factory clutch and factory suspension, 6.5 years later:-

The engine running-in poll-2777951cc63047c6beb5ddb7b94ef0d4.jpeg

Livnletcarsliv · 21st September 2021, 18:48

Here are my 2 cents.

1. Any engine has an optimum rev range. And this is the range where the mechanicals behaves to the best with the least stress.

2. Today's engines are tested to the limits and come already with a run-in period in a new car.

3. Any engine should be revved to max (occasionally at least) to get the maximum juice out of the engine when in demand. Otherwise, the car doesn't perform as expected on demand.

4. The most important factor is setting the character of the engine. And engine revved to the max during the initial days is the most abused than the engine that is max revved gradually. Note that in both cases the engine is revved to the max.

5. Of course, it also depends on the brand/model as well.
For e.g. - the difference between a normal E class vs E 63S AMG. A Chiron (or any other sports car) doesn't have a run-in period at all. Even a KTM Duke 125 doesn't have a run-in period. KTM's are generally "Ready to Race" bikes.

So there is no generic answer to your question as it depends on what brand and what car.

hrk997 · 23rd September 2021, 09:49

It seems I am only one of two people who have voted that they regret not breaking in properly. Its not me though, it's the chaffeur. He definitely started driving it fast from the first day onwards and had no considerable for driving slowly at different rpms and everything. Both the compass and creta engines sounded very off, both mostly being driven by the chaffeur with about 80.000 km on the odo. At that point the engines started sounding very different with a lot of vibration and a minor loss of power. The problem is I'm not sure if that's what caused the downgrade in engine performance. It could be a host of other factors and it's almost impossible to determine if the failure to run in properly is what caused these issues. On the long run, it's very difficult to recognise run in issues and it's better to just take it easy for a bit after purchasing a vehicle. Better safe than sorry, right?

adisan · 15th January 2022, 13:06

As per the user manual, below are to be taken care during break-in period:

Avoid sudden acceleration and sudden braking
Avoid full throttle starts and full throttle acceleration in low gear
Do not tow other vehicles
Let the engine warm up before driving
Do not race the engine

In any case these are part of my driving approach even now, when the car is several years old. On highway drives I always try too maintain a steady 2500-2800 RPM in top gear, and did the same during the initial few 100 km also.

The engine has been in excellent shape till now.

PS: Felt that the recommendation to let the engine warm up was meant for colder places, so never followed that. I have read that driving steadily is the best way to warm up the engine and follow that.

View Poll Results: How did you go about your vehicle’s run-in, and what has been the result?
Maintained low RPM. Definitely helped.	82	24.70%
Maintained low RPM. Didn’t see any significant use of doing so.	89	26.81%
Drove across all RPMs. This helped.	35	10.54%
Drove across all RPMs. Made no major difference.	47	14.16%
Didn’t follow any standard process. Regretted this later.	2	0.60%
Didn’t follow any standard process. Made no difference.	77	23.19%
Voters: 332. You may not vote on this poll

18th September 2021, 13:59	#61
Rahul Rao Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Pune Posts: 1,134 Thanked: 2,639 Times	Re: The engine running-in poll I always run in my cars, that is maintain a medium engine speed until the second service is done. Even after that I never rev beyond 60 RPM for first 25-30 km of my run, even if coolant is at operational temperature the oil is not. Secondly for cars that have run in, I rev them up to red line for about 30 seconds once on every highway trip after the 25-30 km thorough warm up is complete, this blows out the soot deposited in the exhaust right from turbo to the tailpipe and everything in between. All my engines have lasted the entire life of the car till resale, and I have sold only a few cars with less than 2 Lakh km on odo. One Indica first used by me and then by my sales staff had run 3,24,000 km on original engine, and only extra work other than routene service and tyre, brakes, suspension etc was 3 timing belts each at the lakh mark and fuel pump and nozzle service. The car sold for 80k and the buyer said that engine is smoother than most cars he has checked with even half the mileage. Sincerely, Rahul Rao
	(1) Thanks

19th September 2021, 00:03	#62
DarthVeda BHPian Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 586 Thanked: 2,417 Times	Re: The engine running-in poll Run in..../laughs quietly like my EV drives On my previous ICE car, I never followed any run in procedure and nothing horrible happened.
	() Thanks

21st September 2021, 14:34	#63
drhoneycake BHPian Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: KA05,KA31,KA47 Posts: 585 Thanked: 1,798 Times	Re: The engine running-in poll Voted for “Didn’t follow any standard procedure, made no difference”. Infact the day I got my car home, I ripped it on NICE road and the next day drove it straight to Mumbai and yes, it was driven with quite a heavy foot. The initial months it was driven quite aggressively, but sobered down later. Today engine untouched, factory clutch and factory suspension, 6.5 years later:-
	(2) Thanks

21st September 2021, 18:48	#64
Livnletcarsliv BHPian Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: TN66/TN14 Posts: 944 Thanked: 2,310 Times	Re: The engine running-in poll Here are my 2 cents. 1. Any engine has an optimum rev range. And this is the range where the mechanicals behaves to the best with the least stress. 2. Today's engines are tested to the limits and come already with a run-in period in a new car. 3. Any engine should be revved to max (occasionally at least) to get the maximum juice out of the engine when in demand. Otherwise, the car doesn't perform as expected on demand. 4. The most important factor is setting the character of the engine. And engine revved to the max during the initial days is the most abused than the engine that is max revved gradually. Note that in both cases the engine is revved to the max. 5. Of course, it also depends on the brand/model as well. For e.g. - the difference between a normal E class vs E 63S AMG. A Chiron (or any other sports car) doesn't have a run-in period at all. Even a KTM Duke 125 doesn't have a run-in period. KTM's are generally "Ready to Race" bikes. So there is no generic answer to your question as it depends on what brand and what car.
	() Thanks

23rd September 2021, 09:49	#65
hrk997 BHPian Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 115 Thanked: 395 Times	Re: The engine running-in poll It seems I am only one of two people who have voted that they regret not breaking in properly. Its not me though, it's the chaffeur. He definitely started driving it fast from the first day onwards and had no considerable for driving slowly at different rpms and everything. Both the compass and creta engines sounded very off, both mostly being driven by the chaffeur with about 80.000 km on the odo. At that point the engines started sounding very different with a lot of vibration and a minor loss of power. The problem is I'm not sure if that's what caused the downgrade in engine performance. It could be a host of other factors and it's almost impossible to determine if the failure to run in properly is what caused these issues. On the long run, it's very difficult to recognise run in issues and it's better to just take it easy for a bit after purchasing a vehicle. Better safe than sorry, right?
	() Thanks

15th January 2022, 13:06	#66
adisan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 1,108 Thanked: 1,201 Times	Re: The engine running-in poll As per the user manual, below are to be taken care during break-in period: Avoid sudden acceleration and sudden braking Avoid full throttle starts and full throttle acceleration in low gear Do not tow other vehicles Let the engine warm up before driving Do not race the engine In any case these are part of my driving approach even now, when the car is several years old. On highway drives I always try too maintain a steady 2500-2800 RPM in top gear, and did the same during the initial few 100 km also. The engine has been in excellent shape till now. PS: Felt that the recommendation to let the engine warm up was meant for colder places, so never followed that. I have read that driving steadily is the best way to warm up the engine and follow that.
	() Thanks