Break-In Period
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Look at it this way. I have broken I'm several new motorcycles and new cars. Don't drive it like a maniac and don't drive it like grandma would. The key is to vary engine RPMS making sure to reach redline but not holding it there. The idea is that the rings need to properly seat against the walls of the cylinder. I had no issues putting my q5 in first finding a flat road and going up 1k RPMS and then letting it engine break back down to almost a full stop. I did this through the entire rev range and then went into second gear and repeated and so on. I just hit 8100 on my 2011 q5 3.2 and it drove across the country. No issues to speak of with the motor. Never had an issue with previous cars nor with any of my bikes an I do this same process about once a week for the first couple thousand miles. Allowing the engine to run through it's designed range allows it to set in with proper tolerances as opposed to baby it during break in then beat the **** out of it. It's almost a shock to the car. Just my experience and my way is gentle compared to others I have talked with.
Keith
Keith
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Here is a good article about break in and seating the piston rings, It seems like the best way to seat the ring is to drive it gently.
http://www.imakenews.com/bernardiaud....cfm?x=b11,0,w
http://www.imakenews.com/bernardiaud....cfm?x=b11,0,w
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I only have 1300 miles on my 2.0 picked up early feb, but went for a 600 mile round-trip and was getting 28-29 MPG at 75-80 mph. Really good I thought at such low mileage and I did a hard break-in specifically because I believe that is the way to break in an engine these days. Driving the car home from the dealer, I warmed it up on the highway, then did a couple fast but not pedal to the floor accelerations to 70, then moderate downshift to slow. Followed by a 10 mile 60 mph run and after that at least one quick pedal down acceleration everytime I had it warmed up. Guess well see who is right 
, but no trips back to the dealer, no issues, car likes to accelerate from a stop as soon as the turbo spools which is like 1 sec. I am pleased so far.
, but no trips back to the dealer, no issues, car likes to accelerate from a stop as soon as the turbo spools which is like 1 sec. I am pleased so far.
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Joined: Sep 2010
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From: New England
Interesting that some folks here derided me for precisely following this (including an oil change, in my case self-done at 1,500 miles):
"The process of engine break-in starts with low revs and about one-quarter throttle. Gradually, you rev a little higher and add a little more throttle. During this period, don’t keep the engine revs high for a long time. The idea is to gradually use more and more of the rev range, allowing the engine parts to wear-harden over time. The break-in for today’s engines is generally 700 to 1,000 miles.
One thing that hasn’t changed with engine break-in is the need for an early oil change. While the recommended oil change intervals for modern cars and trucks have been extended, the break-in oil and filter change should occur around 1,000 miles. This will clean out any fine metal particles dislodged in the first miles you put on your new car. Once those are out of the engine, you should be good to go, and go and go."
"The process of engine break-in starts with low revs and about one-quarter throttle. Gradually, you rev a little higher and add a little more throttle. During this period, don’t keep the engine revs high for a long time. The idea is to gradually use more and more of the rev range, allowing the engine parts to wear-harden over time. The break-in for today’s engines is generally 700 to 1,000 miles.
One thing that hasn’t changed with engine break-in is the need for an early oil change. While the recommended oil change intervals for modern cars and trucks have been extended, the break-in oil and filter change should occur around 1,000 miles. This will clean out any fine metal particles dislodged in the first miles you put on your new car. Once those are out of the engine, you should be good to go, and go and go."
Here is a good article about break in and seating the piston rings, It seems like the best way to seat the ring is to drive it gently.
http://www.imakenews.com/bernardiaud....cfm?x=b11,0,w
http://www.imakenews.com/bernardiaud....cfm?x=b11,0,w
Thread Starter
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The process of engine break-in starts with low revs and about one-quarter throttle. Gradually, you rev a little higher and add a little more throttle. During this period, don’t keep the engine revs high for a long time. The idea is to gradually use more and more of the rev range, allowing the engine parts to wear-harden over time. The break-in for today’s engines is generally 700 to 1,000 miles.
And what is considered a short amount of time? 5 seconds? 1 minute? 5 minutes? An hour?
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I only have 1300 miles on my 2.0 picked up early feb, but went for a 600 mile round-trip and was getting 28-29 MPG at 75-80 mph. Really good I thought at such low mileage and I did a hard break-in specifically because I believe that is the way to break in an engine these days. Driving the car home from the dealer, I warmed it up on the highway, then did a couple fast but not pedal to the floor accelerations to 70, then moderate downshift to slow. Followed by a 10 mile 60 mph run and after that at least one quick pedal down acceleration everytime I had it warmed up. Guess well see who is right , but no trips back to the dealer, no issues, car likes to accelerate from a stop as soon as the turbo spools which is like 1 sec. I am pleased so far.
, but no trips back to the dealer, no issues, car likes to accelerate from a stop as soon as the turbo spools which is like 1 sec. I am pleased so far.We tried to avoid staying at a constant speed, which seems to be impossible in Europe anyway!
We did cruise a long at 110 mph several times effortlessly at low rpms...very smooth and feels like you're only going 85-90! 2100 miles and all is good! I guess we'll all find out down the road whose break-in process works for them! Good luck to all of us!
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From: Boston, MA
You can put the Q5 in manual mode and down shift to increase rpm and upshift to decrease. You can vary your RPM any amount of time you want, the idea is work thru all the gears.
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