sworksone

I'd love to see actual Audi stats on this - oil consumption for those who followed manufacturer recommendations versus those who were more aggressive. My experience with three Audi's supports following the break-in procedure so I'll continue to do so until proven otherwise.

jrem1969

i also followed the factory guidelines for for former 2004 s4 and 2007 rs4(very strict break in guidelines, btw). neither car used any oil in the time period i owned them. never had to put in any extra between oil changes. and i had the s4 for 50000 miles and the rs4 for 20000 miles. so i will follow as closely as i can the factory break in guidelines but i will probably do my first oil change on my 2010 at 2500 miles and then again at 5000 and then every 5000 therafter.

DrGP

All I know is that I have "Worn in" my latest cars (95 Cobra, 98 M3, 2002 A6 2.7T, 04 S4,04 350Z, 07 335i, 08 Lexus IS250 and my 10 S4) Aggressively. Did not beat the car. Ran WOT (after reaching normal operating temps)to redline from day #1 3-4 times per day in a controlled manner, followed by engine braking. WOTs below redline as desired. NONE of my cars have used any appreciable oil. ALL care will consume small amounts of oil. Many who have followed my recommendations have thanked me. NO one has ever come back and said that they had engine problems or oil consumption issues who followed my(or Motoman's) recommendations. That cannot be said about the Audi easy break in technique. Not all that follow the easy break in WILL have problems. But too many will. So you can WEAR it in aggressively(I don't recommend the drive like you stole it method even though I believe it is actually better than the gentle break in technique), or you can follow the manufacturer's recommendation and take your chances. But what could I possible know and why would Audi recommend a break in technique that might result in oil consumption issues? BECAUSE, Audi sets the criteria for excess oil consumption so high that they know that they will almost never have a claim or need to do any remediation. BUT if someone over does the break in and over revs a cold engine and it goes BOOM, that could be out big money. It always about the money.

Inclined

The piston rings will probably seat fine however you break in the motor .
Audi owners with Quattro should worry more about the all the brand spanking new sharp edged meshing gears in the car's AWD system. These cars aren't 1970s RWD V8 pony cars with sloppy motor build tolerances.

Going WOT out of the box ( below 500 miles ) is risking drivetrain" howling " down the road, IMO.

DrGP

They also do not have cross hatched cast iron cylinder walls. The alusil cylinder walls are extremely hard and don't wear in near as well as the cast iron.