ExRedRacer

Got my new '16 last week and just did the 500 mile oil change this morning. How many more miles should I go before I really open it up? This is my first new Corvette and I want to do it right. It was interesting watching the Red Line go from 4.5k to 6.5k as I got to 500 miles and I know according to the manual, that I'm good to go.

However I was just reading a Consumer Report review of the Corvette and mention was made of a 2,000 mile break-in period.

What's the opinion of those who want to maximize the life of your Vette?

zone 5

Never ever believe consumers report unless you are talking about Toyota.

Believe Chevy and have fun/go for it.

https://www.chevrolet.com/content/da...ers-manual.pdf

Page 174/175

purple heart

I HAVE 1550 MILES ON MY 2016 Stingray conv. and I am planning on waiting until 2000 miles too...just a mind thing I guess but I like to wait until car is fully "broken in" before I WOT her. I've done that to all 8 corvettes I bought new of the 13 total I've owned and never had a problem with anything.
How can you go wrong and like they say...Patience in a virtue-I guess. LOL

ExRedRacer

Actually the Chevy recommendation is not that far off from the CR recommendation....1,500 mile vs 2,000 mile break-in before the WOT fun begins.

Foosh

The manual says don't take it to the track until 1500 miles. To me that means if you want to play it safe, wait until then.

PLRX

I did WOT to 6,200 RPMS right at 500.0 miles. It was beautiful.

C7 BOB

My philosophy is to break in the engine, transmission, brakes and everything else gradually. And when I hit 1,000 miles, I feel that I'm good to go.

JerryU

I worked my way up after 500 miles and hit redline after my 1st oil change at 1500 miles. Since the GM bulletin on 500 mile change did not come out about a year after I got my Z51 the change at 1500 miles was just a precaution.

Although I did not change oil at 500 miles (the GM bulletin saying to do so did not come out for 13 months after I got my Z51 C7) I had no issues with oil dripping from my air cleaner or oil in the air duct. My oil level was never overfilled, it was 1/4 inch (~1/4 quart) below Max after I drove the car ~120 miles home from the dealer. At the first change there were posts about overfilling so I left it half way in the hatched area, about 1/2 quart below Max. That's what I still do.

From 1000 miles to 1500 I was over 5500 from time to time. But that was not at a sustained high speed as when tracking, which according to the GM bulletin is where the oil foaming "may occur" with the original oil fill.

dvilin

Right after I hit 500 miles it was WOT time, no point in waiting any longer.

Maxpowers

I did it at the 500 mile mark and haven't stopped since.

rcooper

I gave mine the gas at 500+ but not sustained, didn't really redline it much through the gears until it was closer to 1000. I now have almost 26,000 on the car and no issues. Car has only been in the shop for 4 oil changes and an alignment.

C7Joy

My thoughts too. When you whack the happy peddle for the first time, make sure you have lots of room on a straight stretch of road. 2 hands on the wheel. Even with the nannies running, she may get squirrelly on you!

Larry/car

Gee, I must be really conservative, I have not had my engine much higher than 5,000 rpm. My usual shift point is 3000 to 3500 rpm.

billythekid310

WOT as soon as I left museum chasing my old man down the highway.

Woodson

Why are you doing that to yourself?

Foosh

Since it's a direct injection engine, which are more susceptible to valve deposits, the developing consensus is that it's better to let the engine operate at high revs fairly routinely. That is thought to slow the progression of valve deposits.

You don't have to operate a highly illegal speeds on public roads to do this. Just don't shift out of 3rd until near redline when merging on to a freeway.

obxchartercaptain

When the car leaves the assembly line it goes WOT.....Anyone who did a factory tour KNOWS that. And, when they drive it .... God forbid they find a problem....It sees WOT ALOT....I saw that in person where a Factory Worker drove around the facility with a Z06....full throttle starts and stops. On the way home from the BG I opened it up many many times.....6000 miles of smiles later it runs like new with absolutely no problems.

obxchartercaptain

They let me TRACK it on their track after my museum delivery.....but thats another story.

Foosh

Yes, this kind of discussion has replayed itself 10's of 1000's of times on virtually every car forum. It's the old "the manual says . . . ," vs. "I went WOT w/ 3 miles on the odometer leaving the dealer parking lot."

It's your car, and you can do whatever you want. I can see it being fine to do it right away, after all most high-performance engines are tested that way right after assembly, but I can also see that break-in recommendations and limitations always appear in most manufacturer owner's manuals for a reason.

I think the most important engine break-in technique is to continuously vary the revs. You can do it conservatively within the rev-range and mileage guidelines specified in the manual or you can do it zero-to-WOT . . . your choice. I do the former, and I attempt to stay within the manual constraints, although I may slip by that limit every so often. :-)

DAFFYDRUNK

I guess it depends on the definition of WOT. For a couple seconds or to the 6600 fuel cut off? The former I did after about an hour of driving or 70 mi always keeping it under 4K. After a couple hundred miles I let myself go to 4500. At 501 miles I went through the gears all the way to fuel cut off. No lift shift at 600 miles.

Personally I think y'all are being too easy on your cars. This is 2016 not 1966. My break-in was the most aggressive interpretation of the manual, and mine runs very strong. When they say don't track it till 1500 the mean don't beat in it in a sustained fashion till then. You can certainly get I it long before that. If it's fails it's defective, not because you were slamming gears at 501 mi.