Break in?

[yeaitsgotaturbo]

Hmmm so i just bought a 2011 wrx and in the owners manual theres a suggested break in period that you should keep it under 4k rpm. has anyone expierienced problems or know why we have to keep it slow? its starting to get really hard to not get into that beautiful turbo :/

[sheltonmega]

any new machine need to break in, wrx is no exception. we better follow the instructions.

[mjboudreaux77]

If you search this forum, you will find countless posts on the subject. It seems to be a religious debate that always ends in "do what the manufacturer suggests."

While I don't agree with all the posts, the most "popular" reason to not follow the manual is to "break the car in the way it is going to be driven." The most popular reason to follow the manual is so that valves and rings seat properly and last longer. I chose to believe the latter - so I stuck to break in.

Also - the manual doesn't just say keep below 4K RPM. It also says to avoid driving at constant RPMs for long periods of time during the break in. This actually supports the "seating properly" argument many mechanics make.

[teflon_jones]

Follow the instructions, but you should take it over 4k sometimes. Just not too many times. You need to redline it sometimes.

[synolimit]

break it in hard "er", harder you do better you seat the rings. do not follow manual

Break-in engine - WikiNASIOC

Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

[mangostick]

for a guy that doesn't care for dealers.. warranty or longevity.. This quote from the nasioc wiki is very imporant to mention instead of leaving it out and saying NOT to follow the manual.

It is important to realize that the original manufactures has a different motive and intent behind his break in recommendations than the auto enthusiast. The manufacturer is giving a series of recommendations aimed at the lowest common denominator customer with very conservative guidelines that make it nearly impossible for the new owner to damage the car. The Manufacturer is also attempting to minimize warranty issues and maximize reliability during that warranty period with little regard to absolute maximum performance.

The auto enthusiast is interested in an entirely different result and has a different intent in his break in strategy. In this case the objective is usually maximum over all lifetime for the engine (200k Miles), maximum efficiency and gas mileage, or maximum power output in exchange for a reasonable reduction in the engines ultimate life time. As in all similar situations there is no free lunch and you must trade one attribute for another when you choose your break in process.

The manufactures break in procedures usually will give very long engine life, near zero chance of injuring the engine mechanically, acceptable (rated) performance, acceptable oil consumption, and acceptable gasoline milage.

The high performance break in puts highest priority on maximum achievable power production with out physical damage to the engine. Very low oil consumption, and high compression due to good ring sealing, in exchange for some small but real risk of engine damage during break in, and the possibility of a slight reduction in the long term operational life time of the engine.

Weigh it.. a little romp now n then is ok and wont hurt it (probably help) .. but ripping around like you stole (aka beating the piss out of it) it WILL hurt it.

I got mine with 63mi on it.. I know it was test driven and given that the salesman was encouraging me to "give it a lil more" on the test drive... I'm sure somebody took care of my "load break in" for me.

Now all that said, during my first 1k mi I did keep it under 4grand as best as possible, but did however quickly accelerate to that point often in 2nd 3rd and 4th gears (hell just about daily) ...

so bottom line, if you drive this car like it was meant to be driven (spirited) whilest maintaining some level of common sense (no prolonged redline activity) .... it will be fine.

[nello]

I'd say the connecting rods gotta stretch...rev it!! But don't beat on it.

[Mikie13]

I hate when this issue is brought up...

The manual says it for a reason. Why wouldn't you want to follow the manual and MANUFACTURER specs, if it prolongs longevity and reliability? As SD_GR says all the time, Engineers at Subaru designed it, built it, and manufactured these cars, so why would you listen otherwise?

Be smart with it, follow the manual in general, but do have a little fun and get a little spirited here and there to make sure that it can and will handle it when it is ready to get used properly. Just be wise.

[SD_GR]

Thanks Mikie13! I have basically given up at this point... Whenever this question comes up, links are posted, experiences are relayed, opinions stated -- yet none of them from someone that has actually designed and supported a Subaru motor.

In fact, the only information we have from people that have designed and support a Subaru motor is the information that so many people tend to question, the information in the owner's manual. The motives are questioned; the validity is questioned, the reasoning is questioned, and so on. Frankly I see no basis for any of that.

Luckily, although the motor, from what I have seen, is not without its problems (we're all just human, we're all fallible in our designs and implementations), it at least seems to be built well enough to generally withstand "expert advice" with respect to break in. My guess and hope is that the motor will be OK even when advice from people that have neither designed it, nor built it, nor support it is followed by the owner.

[zax]

break it in hard "er", harder you do better you seat the rings. do not follow manual

Break-in engine - WikiNASIOC

Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

I'd trust Automotive engineers over some mechanic yahoo trying to make a name for himself. Frankly, information can be found on the internet supporting both sides of ANY argument. Subaru engineers care about the longevity of your car -- high mileage cars spell good reputation for Subaru and less repairs during warranty periods. Whether or not your car makes it to 100,000 miles probably doesn't mean crap to "MotoMan" and I especially wouldn't trust his argument when it's surrounded by Budweiser and pornography adverts. Show me an actual, technical whitepaper and I may begin to think the argument has merit.

Long story short, follow the plan Subaru engineers designed... this formula has allowed many Subarus to break the 250,000 mile mark.

[anxiouz]

Weigh it.. a little romp now n then is ok and wont hurt it (probably help) .. but ripping around like you stole (aka beating the piss out of it) it WILL hurt it.

Now all that said, during my first 1k mi I did keep it under 4grand as best as possible, but did however quickly accelerate to that point often in 2nd 3rd and 4th gears (hell just about daily) ...

+1 to this. I drove the car as gently as I could but I definitely didn't baby it. I did NOT however (1) ever hit redline or (2) go full WOT. But I did accelerate briskly, build boost (partial, not max), and I varied my speed a lot which means I was on and off throttle quite a bit. But I made sure I never put full load on the engine.

I personally feel that you need to be "gentler" during break-in for sure. Everything is new and needs to ease into it's routine. I mean, just look at car reviews...almost always when they re-test a car after a few k miles it performs better. So right off the boat they need some time.

But I think the way I did it was perfectly in-between "baby it" and "drive it like you stole it".

[Chader]

Follow the instructions, but you should take it over 4k sometimes. Just not too many times. You need to redline it sometimes.

Contradictory statement is contradictory

Don't eat bacon because it's bad for you... eat bacon at least once a week

[synolimit]

I hate when this issue is brought up...

The manual says it for a reason. Why wouldn't you want to follow the manual and MANUFACTURER specs, if it prolongs longevity and reliability? As SD_GR says all the time, Engineers at Subaru designed it, built it, and manufactured these cars, so why would you listen otherwise?

Be smart with it, follow the manual in general, but do have a little fun and get a little spirited here and there to make sure that it can and will handle it when it is ready to get used properly. Just be wise.

so you will have your car 200K miles and are ok with poorer performance, gas mileage and oil consumption? Also your car is bone stock right? I mean why would you put anything else on it otherwise, subi knows best right? Cause I think they do! I love that they put glass trannies in 02-07 wrx’s. I love that they keep putting in crappy cast pistons that break ringlands. I love that they put bad bearings in 08 and 09 wrxs and blow tons of motors. And last I love that they put in crappy tunes just to stay legal EPA wise and run 14.5 AFR at WOT till about 3500-4000RPM. Yeaaa for subi knows best!

[synolimit]

I'd trust Automotive engineers over some mechanic yahoo trying to make a name for himself. Frankly, information can be found on the internet supporting both sides of ANY argument. Subaru engineers care about the longevity of your car -- high mileage cars spell good reputation for Subaru and less repairs during warranty periods. Whether or not your car makes it to 100,000 miles probably doesn't mean crap to "MotoMan" and I especially wouldn't trust his argument when it's surrounded by Budweiser and pornography adverts. Show me an actual, technical whitepaper and I may begin to think the argument has merit.

Long story short, follow the plan Subaru engineers designed... this formula has allowed many Subarus to break the 250,000 mile mark.

motoman or not ive built motors for race bikes and torn down many factory motors and seen what their life has been through. ive seen tons of them and what makes more power, less oil consumption and better gas mileage. this motor is no different. subi motors, ford motors, honda motors have all made it to 250,000 miles. when was the last time you knew of a motor at that mileage that didnt drink oil like it was its job? it just happens, things break down.

all i care about is having a motor that lasts while i own it. i broke my motor in harder than what subi says and my "technical white paper" is 1. my almost zero blow by in my catch can that vents both CC and valves. 2. my awesome oil analysis showing well above normal numbers across the board. 3. my great dyno numbers and my good gas mileage 24-26 average a tank. 28-29 all highway.

[SD_GR]

so you will have your car 200K miles and are ok with poorer performance, gas mileage and oil consumption?

Where are the data indicating that performance, gas mileage, and oil consumption are improved when the manufacturer's break-in suggestions are not followed? No link provided has shown any such data; in fact, no link provided has even begun to prove such data exist.

Also your car is bone stock right? I mean why would you put anything else on it otherwise, subi knows best right?

In the absence of data proving otherwise, it is IMO reasonable to expect that the people that designed, manufactured, and supported a product are the most qualified to tell users how break-in should be done.

I love that they put glass trannies in 02-07 wrx’s. I love that they keep putting in crappy cast pistons that break ringlands. I love that they put bad bearings in 08 and 09 wrxs and blow tons of motors. And last I love that they put in crappy tunes just to stay legal EPA wise and run 14.5 AFR at WOT till about 3500-4000RPM. Yeaaa for subi knows best!

They are not infallible. However they are more experienced, have more resources, and have better infrastructure than anyone in any of the links provided. In fact, they're more experienced than any "engine builder" as none of the engine builders commonly discussed actually build engines. They assemble engines, using some parts from other sources, maybe some parts they've made themselves, and many, many parts from... Subaru.

If Subaru are not the best builders of Subaru motors, who is?