GT Break in Procedure

[Zig]

Thats what my dealer said on delivery, they said ford told us you don’t need to break in anymore, drive it the way you want, and don’t come back before 10,000 KM for the first service.

Am going up to 4-4.5k rpm, not more and haven’t gone WOT yet, not sure if i should while things are still settling in.

The ‘break-in’ period is not solely for the engine.

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[krisk]

I know many say to drive it hard from day one and no break in is required. My thoughts are it’s probably wise to follow what is said in the owner’s manual. Right or wrong, I don’t figure taking it easy is going to cause any damage, but pushing it too hard from the start could. Will it cause damage to drive hard from day one? Maybe or maybe not, but better safe than sorry.

As said by others, break in is not just about the engine.

 

[keithwalton]

Out of interest can you see the cam profiles / followers through the oil filler cap ? or is it mounted to remote ?

 

[Zig]

Out of interest can you see the cam profiles / followers through the oil filler cap ? or is it mounted to remote ?

 

[keithwalton]

Shame, that will take a borescope then, inline engines tend to have the cap on the cam cover and unless they put a splash shield in the way you can see the valve train of one cylinder.

Piston rings want a hard break in sure, but all bearings (crank, cam, rockers) do not. Cam lobes / followers will have a few faint lines on them early days which should fade over time. If they're permanent they had a hard early life and the hidden bearings could be the same.

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

Unless you get your car with zero to a couple of miles on it, it’s been beat on during test drives. Agree with others above, once the oil is up to temp just drive it. Don’t baby it.

 

[YamenGT650]

I know many say to drive it hard from day one and no break in is required. My thoughts are it’s probably wise to follow what is said in the owner’s manual. Right or wrong, I don’t figure taking it easy is going to cause any damage, but pushing it too hard from the start could. Will it cause damage to drive hard from day one? Maybe or maybe not, but better safe than sorry.

As said by others, break in is not just about the engine.

I agree with all u said, quite weird that they removed that from the physical and pdf manual.

 

[Loucas]

DO NOT baby it, granny it, cruise on the highway at a low RPM, or otherwise be nice to it for the first whatever miles.

We build engines, and this is by far the #1 misconception about a new engine. If you baby an engine it will never break in and it will be just as not broken in at 2,000 miles as it was at 2 miles.

In order for rings to seat you need high cylinder pressure to press the rings against the cross hatch of the cylinder walls, which means you need to get on it, often.

Once an engine is up to temperature it is ready to be beaten on, regardless of how many miles are on it.

^ What he said. Get it up to operating temperature and let it rip.

 

[ListedGuru]

DO NOT baby it, granny it, cruise on the highway at a low RPM, or otherwise be nice to it for the first whatever miles.

We build engines, and this is by far the #1 misconception about a new engine. If you baby an engine it will never break in and it will be just as not broken in at 2,000 miles as it was at 2 miles.

In order for rings to seat you need high cylinder pressure to press the rings against the cross hatch of the cylinder walls, which means you need to get on it, often.

Once an engine is up to temperature it is ready to be beaten on, regardless of how many miles are on it.

You mention not cruising on the highway at a low RPM? Surely you can take a little trip on the highway in your new Mustang without harm I would assume?

 

[YamenGT650]

You mention not cruising on the highway at a low RPM? Surely you can take a little trip on the highway in your new Mustang without harm I would assume?

It’s best to run across different rpm ranges not to stay constant at same rpm for prolonged duration, i also tend to drive over different gears manually at different speeds, i believe it ensures all gears are well settled by wearing off any excess edges.

 

[HWill]

Can anyone confirm this works?

You mention not cruising on the highway at a low RPM? Surely you can take a little trip on the highway in your new Mustang without harm I would assume?

You should drive it off the lot the same way you plan on driving it any other time. There are lots of people that take their new car out on long trips after purchase even some that buy in other states.

I have drove cars straight to the dyno and/or track from the dealership.

What ArthurJGuy said is the best advice in this thread.

 

[Zig]

You should drive it off the lot the same way you plan on driving it any other time. There are lots of people that take their new car out on long trips after purchase even some that buy in other states.

I have drove cars straight to the dyno and/or track from the dealership.

What ArthurJGuy said is the best advice in this thread.

If taking it easy results in a never broken in engine what is the indicator if one decides to do it quickly? Is there a click a sound a noise or more power?

 

[HWill]

If taking it easy results in a never broken in engine what is the indicator if one decides to do it quickly? Is there a click a sound a noise or more power?

Your commonsense indicator will go "ding"!

 

[ArthurJGuy]

The ‘break-in’ period is not solely for the engine.

What, specifically, is it for then? There is nothing on the car that needs mileage to break in.

You mention not cruising on the highway at a low RPM? Surely you can take a little trip on the highway in your new Mustang without harm I would assume?

The issue comes from staying at a steady RPM for an extended period of time before the rings have seated.

 

[SAL-E]

What, specifically, is it for then? There is nothing on the car that needs mileage to break in.

Off the top of my head...
Brakes
Transmission, both A10 and M6
Rear end

Probably a few other more subtle ones, but this is a start...

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