E604EVER

Hi All

I am in mid break-in period and I was forced by traffic circumstances to push my car beyond 4500rpm for a few seconds.
Is this going to affect the engine?

2006 BMW 525i

JDN

Most of us did something similar. Don't worry, I didn't.

BMW#7

I also went up to 5000 rpm's on 2 occassions. It is very easy to do without noticing.

I am sure it will be OK, BMW says 4500rpm's as a conservative figure because typically people will try to rev as close as possible to 4500 but may occasionally exceed it.

Now 6500 or 7000 rpm's would be a different story!!

Pkorkis

I also went up to 5000 rpm's on 2 occassions. It is very easy to do without noticing.

I am sure it will be OK, BMW says 4500rpm's as a conservative figure because typically people will try to rev as close as possible to 4500 but may occasionally exceed it.

Now 6500 or 7000 rpm's would be a different story!!
[/quote]
what ends up happening to a car if the driver doesn't follow the break-in period? Obviously effects long term engine reliability, what about short term. Like I have a 3 yr. lease on mine, what happens if I gun it, will I see any effects within the 3 years?

UUronL

I also went up to 5000 rpm's on 2 occassions. It is very easy to do without noticing.

I am sure it will be OK, BMW says 4500rpm's as a conservative figure because typically people will try to rev as close as possible to 4500 but may occasionally exceed it.

Now 6500 or 7000 rpm's would be a different story!!
[/quote]
what ends up happening to a car if the driver doesn't follow the break-in period? Obviously effects long term engine reliability, what about short term. Like I have a 3 yr. lease on mine, what happens if I gun it, will I see any effects within the 3 years?
[/quote]


In reality, probably nothing, but in the past couple of years Mitsubishi and some other carmakers (can't remember if BMW was among them) were refusing warranty service in the US because of data they could glean from the computer. Your transgressions are being recorded and can be called up by the service tech. It's possible that a dealer could point them out as direct causes for troubles down the line.

turnbowm

I exceeded the suggested 4500rpm limit during break-in on a number of ocassions, but haven't lost any sleep over it. The most important thing is to vary engine speed to ensure proper seating of the piston rings. No one wants an oil burner!

Martin

JDN

You've definitely got it right, Martin. Cruise control is not your friend during break in.

jmdhuse

When the comment is made about not holding a constant speed for a long time during break-in, are we talking about 5 minutes as a long time or is it more like an hour or two that causes the damage?

JDN

For the constant speed requirement, you have to keep the 1200 miles in perspective. Case in point, it would take 30 hours at 40 mph to get to the 1200 miles. So, I don't think five minutes of cruise or constant speed driving is a factor. Neither do I think fifteen minutes would hurt. But, why risk it. Just stay off cruise and on trips drive with your foot being conscious of the need to do some accelerating and decelerating to firmly set the rings. I used to think that the best way to break in an engine was miles and miles of highway cruising in cruise. Wrong. I had a succession of cars that used a quart every 1,000 mi. the tail pipe would be gray, but the oil was getting away. I started the varying-speed break ins and now I add no oil between changes.