[Thewolfbmw]

Lets have a polite, respectful and thoughtful discussion about the proper "Break In Period".

Is it a question of longevity or respect for the machine? Or both? Also, what is right, what is bad and what is abusive?

I am on my 5th BMW, the latest is a ///M. I have always done my best to followed the "Break In" period recommendations. It was only on the ///M that I followed everything to the letter.

I was one of the lucky few to have a '16 N63TU for 77k miles with no oil burn. I can also say, I pushed it, a lot. While my friend, had the same engine and never pushed it, all while having to put 2 quarts of oil in every month or 2 after 45k miles.

I recently saw a thread about a fellow BMW owner that either launched or brake held a start a couple times a day after delivery. Subsequent and unrelated, had some computer issues.

It seemed everyone had an opinion for this fellow owner, some rude in my opinion, on his lack of respect for his new machine.

There were comments on what the proper "break in" is and some referenced the manual. Isn't some of the items in the manual a CYA for the manufacturer? At no point did I read a post from an engineer or mechanic.

I am sure any car, even a BMW, continually launching, hitting the rev limiter many times and hammering it when under a few 1000 miles will not have a long healthy lifespan.

What if the car has been on the lot for a month or two....has a 80 miles on it? How do you know that the previous tester didn't floor it or even worse, launch it?

Are these cars that fragile (we can discuss quality control another time), that a little isolated pushing will alter the longevity?

I am curious on everyone's opinion is about this and on each engine variant.

[Frenetic]

I always follow the manufacturer’s break-in procedure to the letter.

I don’t buy that abuse it early shenanigans. Sure, a few people may have done it and lucked out, reporting that it helped their car, creating this perpetual myth that it’s the proper way to break in, new, not-fully-lubricated, set and sealed iron and aluminum engine parts. Not me. These engineers know their car more than anyone else.

[Ninefourteener]

I have no idea what the manufacturer's break in recommendations are. Never even looked it up.

This vehicle, along with every vehicle, received very "gentle" driving for the first 3000 miles, and then it's first oil change with the highest quality synthetic that money can buy (Royal Purple).

It's first oil change waited until 4500 miles, but that's only because I had to do it myself in the driveway, because everything was closed due to CV, and I was waiting on parts in the mail.

I've used the launch control a total of 3 times since I bought it. The first time, it launched a 90% full can of Monster out of my cupholder all over my center console. The 2nd time to show a co-worker..... and the 3rd after I had it dynotuned, just to "see".

Just because the car has it... doesn't mean you should use it all the time. ALL cars will break if you abuse them. ALL cars, if driven hard, will have reduced life expectancy if constantly driven hard.

[phillydilles]

I was test driving an X6MC recently, and was actively encouraged by the salesman to LC the vehicle (which had <50 miles on it at the time), even adding that he had done it multiple times himself.

Tempting as it was, I asked him about the break in, and he said that yes, while it wasn't the best for the vehicle, that happens to a number of the Ms that sit on the lots and it's just unavoidable. Still couldn't bring myself to do it, but had a spirited morning drive, at the very least.

My take away - I'll always try to get an allocation & maybe take SC delivery if I'm ever getting a higher end M - no telling what's up, even on low mileage units.

[M40i4me]

Question; what does gradually increase speed after 1200 miles mean in the owners manual? I am currently at 1242, do I drive it like I stole it now?

[wtwo3]

I lease my cars, but I still adhere to the recommended break-in despite the fact that I'll be getting new cars in 3 years time. So for me, it's primarily respect for the machine, as well as respect for whoever decides to pick my car up on the CPO lot after my lease return. In my younger days I used to purchase used cars (that's all I could afford), so I know the feeling of having purchased a car which looked great on paper, but falls apart because the previous owner may have abused it.

I'm not an engineer, but from my understanding, it's not so much that not properly breaking in WILL cause issues with longevity. It's that not breaking it in properly increases the chances that there may be issues down the line such as increased oil consumption (if oil gets into the cylinder wall), piston rings not being properly aligned in the cylinder wall causing the cylinder wall to wear out, etc.

Once I'm past the break-in, I still make sure to have fun with the car (afterall, that's one of the reasons for getting a BMW), but I never overtly abuse it.

[Alan l.]

^^ I agree 100%

I always follow break in as much as i can for the first 1200 miles. If you look at those that get blackstone labs oil analysis done at every oil change it will tell you that engines do wear in during the first few thousand miles showing increase metal content in the oil samples. Thats enough for me to follow the break in procedure.

Now does it make a difference if you are breaking in the engine at a casual 2K rpm or living life at redline? Who knows but to me I respect my cars like i would a person so that's why I take care of them lease or buy. Doesn't mean I fully baby it all the way up to 1200 miles either. Just no full throttle accelerations and try to keep the rpms under 3-4k 99% of the time.

[Mo2002]

I lease my cars and I baby them for the first 1200 miles. Not going past 4k RPM.

[teefive]

Whenever I get a new car I research this ad nauseum. This is where I always land:
-Avoid short trips
-No cruise control
-Vary the engine speed once at operating temp
-Long pulls at 75% throttle are good (highway speeds), while aggressive starts strain the drivetrain
-Easy on the brakes and tires for the first few hundred miles

I got so into this I read owner's manuals of multiple performance cars and always see the above as consistent themes.

[teefive]

One more quick note. I took delivery of a 6MT F80 in Munich in 2016. Great car, and actually a noticed a difference in gearbox and clutch feel after 1k miles. Thought to myself maybe this whole break in thing isn't a conspiracy like the internet says.