530E60NL

That is really true andy they are the masters... Somebody ones told me that not breaking the car in properly would only harm it in the longterm. In other words instead of an engine without problems for 15 years it could brake down in 10 years time.. Since most people only keep their car for 3 years he said it wasn't his problem.

I do not agree on this because (Again) I am not sure if this is true and I have respect for the technique and "the masters". Plus don't want to have any warranty trouble.

But if it was only 150 miles.... hehehehe...

wolverine

I spoke to the BMW technician on my ED pickup, and asked him for the 'real story' on the break-in. He said the most important things are to avoid full loads on the engine, and to vary the rpm. Keep it below 4800, and brakes and tires will take approximately 200 miles to break-in. He said 'you can go crazy fast' at 4800 rpm in sixth gear. After about 500 miles, I had the car up to 250kph on a long downhill straight on the autobahn. Only about 3/4 throttle.

I changed my oil at 1000 miles since I was at the dealer anyways - gets rid of all those tiny metal particles floating around. Now I'm at 1230 miles!!!!!

What a car!!!

Initialdl

Resist! it'll be that much more fun when u let it rip...

on a side note didn't the E46 M3's have some ecu limited that was supposedly taken off once you go in for your first service thereby FORCING you to "take it easy" on the engine by electronically not allowing you to unleashing it's full potential??

Iceman

Those engines don't NEED the break-in.
But it's better!
If you don't follow the break-in rules it will not put any harm to the engine.
The fact that it's in the manual means it's better though...
So just do it. That will even give you the chance to know your baby once the break-in is over. Then you allready know how the car reacts...

alohalc

andy545, i love this theory !
wolverine, how much did you pay for that service? some people told me free, some said they have to pay.

wolverine

They charged me $80. I think it's a good idea.

sg530

My gas mileage is still improving at 4500 mi and before break-in was over, engine speed rose slower due to higher friction.
If you drive like an old lady, the piston rings will wear a short groove into the cylinder wall after 10000 mi or so. When the young'un drives it the first time after that and revs it higher, the piston travel increases just a few thousandths of inch (inertia) and the top ring hits the edge of the short groove and can break. So, that is one reason why you should vary speed during break-in.
Also, the sythetic oil they use reduces friction to the point that bearings and other rubbing surfaces don't polish as quickly as they would with standard oil. This prolongs the break-in time.
I thought more of you would know these things.

alohalc

wolverine, so for that $80, they "only" changed the oil for you? nothing else?

sg530, man, you sounded more like a tech than the regular tech .

GotBMW

So it the 1200 break in period good or should it be extended, sg530?

wolverine

That is their standard charge for an oil and filter change. But I should have mentioned I complained about swirls in the paint, so they gave me a complete detailing for free.

Overall they have been very good.