redrocker55

For what it's worth...I'm a very high mileage driver...40,000 miles a year. I usually trade my cars in after 3-4 years and I normally have around 140,000-160,000 miles on them. I drive sedans and I can list them all for you if you want. My wife drives about 25,000 miles a year and she drives SUV's.

I've owned everything from Merkur XR4Ti to Acura, Infiniti, Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford, GM, Nissan, etc.

I've never had any trouble with any of my vehicles burning oil or feeling that they were not putting out their appropriate horsepower.

I'm usually pretty gentle on them for the first 1,000 miles. And then I do an oil change. Gentle for me means, no aggressive starts, stops. No constant highway driving as I want to vary my engine RPM's...so no long trips at 2,500 RPM for 4 hours. And I like to keep the rev's below some number depending on the engine I'm breaking in. For the S4 I'm guessing it's going to be in the 3,000 range...since there is quite a bit of torque low in the rev range.

After 1,000 miles I open it up and drive pretty aggressively...after the engine/trans. is warmed up.

(I've always believed most engine wear happens in the first few minutes after you start up a car...so I go pretty easy for the first 5 minutes or so depending on the temp outside and if it's been parked in my garage or in -10 degree weather in Iowa)

So for me...until I see something change with how I break in an engine...I'm going to keep doing this. I just can't bring myself to hammering on my new $50,000+ car right after I take delivery. It just doesn't feel right to me.

ChrisMT79

^ agreed

DrGP

Sorry for you guys that heard heard my sermon before. BUT, if you follow the owners manual you risk having a car with less than optimal performance and burns oil. Will it definitely happen? Perhaps not. But will it happen to some ? DEFINITELY. What you have to realise is with ALL car manufactures its all about the money. The main reason they recommend an easy break in is because they want to insure that someone doesn't go overboard an blow an engine. Which will cost them big dollars. The consequences of the easy break in are incomplete piston ring seating which will result in lower performance and OIL CONSUMPTION. But the manufacturers don't care about either of those issues. They set the tolerance so high for "excess oil consumption" that they will almost never have a claim. 1 qt /12000 mile bing "within acceptable tolerances" is RIDICULOUS! Performance is not a warranty issue.

I am a fan of the Motoman technique but have modified it somewhat. So here goes. From day one, accelerate the car to the redline(or just below the redline) Wide Open Throttle. Not from a standing start. Not like a drag race. Not necessarily in first gear.Any gear will do. After you have hit the redline or just below for the squeamish( just remember the car has a rev limiter). Let off the gas and let the car coast back to normal RPMs(ENGINE BRAKING) . The engine braking is the most important aspect of the technique. Repeat the WOT to RL 2-3 times a day NO MORE. DO NOT BEAT THE CAR. DO NOT DO BACK TO BACK WOTs. Make sure the car is up to normal operating temp before you do any WOTS.

I have been using this technique for over 15 yrs and NONE of my cars hs ever used any significant amount of oil(all cars will consume small amounts of oil. I have been advocating this technique on the forums since my B6 S4 AW days. NO ONE, who has tried it has ever come back to post that they had engine problems or oil consumption issues. Many that have used the technique, have thanked me. Those that have used the technique KNOW that it works. You will have one opportunity to break in the engine. I like to call ir WEAR IN the engine. BUT how could I know better than what Audi recommends? Its all about the money.

Hobbes

I have been using this exact same technique for nearly 20 years with equal results. I originally learned of it from a book about how to extend the life of your car. I've used it on every new car I've bought and they have run strong and smooth with no oil burning in excess of 150K miles. It works.

DrGP

Its not a secret. BUT unfortunately there are those that blindly follow the manufacturers recommendations. IMHO, its not the fualt of the owner but the manufacturers. The owners manual SHOULD be the the ultimate word. Unfortuantely, when it comes to WEAR IN procedures, the recomendations are not in the best interest of the owner.

rktskicar

I'm sorry Dr GP, but I have "generally" followed manufacturers reccommendations for break in for last 25 years or so and have no oil burning/consumption problems.

Bruce

drrick89

"...From day one, accelerate the car to the redline(or just below the redline) Wide Open Throttle...Let off the gas and let the car coast back to normal RPMs(ENGINE BRAKING). The engine braking is the most important aspect of the technique. Repeat the WOT to RL 2-3 times a day NO MORE. DO NOT BEAT THE CAR. DO NOT DO BACK TO BACK WOTs..."


This is a technique? This is the way I drive normally! LOL

chairman

Drive it like you stole it....

Seriously, if I am not mistaken, these engines have had some "run in time" at the factory. My B6 S4 was broken in by using average driving with occasional hard(no red line stuff)bursts during the first 1500 miles or so. The thing does not burn or use oil and runs like a top. The engine computers seem to be "programed" to allow higher revs from about 3k miles on. Search "break in" on other boards, like the RS4 and the B6, B7 S4. Plenty of discussion there.

Twowheelsgood

For the squeamish out there who might be reluctant to follow DrGP's sage advice one further slight modification is to limit peak RPM but still absolutely use WOT for accel and decel. I believe the key point is to get high cylinder pressures, not necessarily high piston speeds. On my RS125 race bike I have to break in new pistons every 300 miles and new cylinders every 1500. I follow DrGP's plan but build up from 10,000 to the 13,000 rpm over successive runs, which is more aggrressive than recommended in the HRC manual. So far no seizures in 10 years (knock wood). I also usually heat cycle the motor twice without load, but I'm guessing this is already done (if not much more) by Audi before you recieve the car.

DrGP

Not bad advice. So the first WOT might be 1000 rpm below redline and then work up to redline on succesive WOTS. Thast would be OK with me if you are really wooried about something breaking.(which it won't). And yes, the cars are run to the redline at the factory. Not sure how long and it is done on a machine. That does not constitute a proper break in.