Double J

Hi All,

I'm inching closer to pulling the trigger on a brand new Z51 and joining the family. I've found a deal in Tennessee, and I live in FL. I was planning on flying to purchase, and to drive it home. It's about a 600 mile journey, and I've read the recommendations about the 200 and 500 mile break in guidelines. How important is it to follow those closely, and am I making a mistake by planning the road trip off the lot? Thanks for the feedback!

Boiler_81

No problem, just vary RPM using the gear selector. This is obviously trivial with a manual. On an automatic you can put it into Manual mode and change gears. There is a recommended 500 mile oil change for dry sump engines. I would be comfortable in exceeding the recommended oil change by 100 miles and doing it when you get back to Orlando.

VETJAZZ

I picked mine up at the Museum and drove it home to Phoenix - 1,800 miles in 3 days. I just didn't use cruise the first day. That was 3 years ago and no issues whatsoever.

Eff A Ford

I've never broken in my various new cars. I drive em like I stole em from day one.

Nice Ride

Sounds like a great opportunity to enjoy your new car. Adding a few extra miles to the first oil change interval should not be any problem. As was stated you want to vary your speed and keep motor RPM's consistent with the owner guide recommendations for the brake in period. Spend a little extra time with the dealer going over the features and enjoy your trip.

MikeLsx

Its not important, if it was that important it would be stressed a lot more.

ExRedRacer

You only have this one chance to do it right so why not follow the recommendations of the ones who built the car? They might just know what they are talking about. I'd certainly trust the engineer's advice more than that of some guys on the Internet.

Just sayin'...

Rooster OG

I did museum delivery and drove mine home 2000 miles to Northern California. It was a blast, it's an awesome road trip car!

bigblock427

KrikGS

This thread has the potential to get as ridiculous as the paying cash for Corvettes thread.

OP, this isn't towards you. Just that every break-in thread breaks down to the follow the manufacturer's recommendations camp vs the drive it like you stole it camp. lol

I drove mine from Atlanta to Tampa. I just varied the RPM's using the paddle shifters on the interstate. You'll be fine. Enjoy the ride!

revilingfool

Your main objective here is to seat the rings.

I break motors in in two parts.

Part one is idle up to temp while going over everything that was just assembled, check for coolant leaks etc. However, in a manufactured car this is not quite as important.

Part two is the real deal. You need to force the rings outwards against the cylinder wall cross hatch and "file" them true to the cylinder. This requires engine breaking, and acceleration and varying rpms. Get in second, get on the gas some, then engine break down to 20-15, repeat maybe 10 times.

yeller z06

SLWRNU

That was true years ago. Today's materials do not require that procedure. Won't hurt to do it but not necessary.
Reason for the 500 mile oil change on dry sump motors is to get out any contaminates in the oil caused by the sealant put on the tray pan during the build. 500 miles is recommended but a few hundred more miles before changing the oil certainly won't cause any issues.

OnPoint

OP, if you're going to be driving during warm/hot ambient temps, you should stop every couple hours and let the car sit/cool down for a good half hour. The gear sets in the trans and differential are being broke in the first few hundred miles, and they can generate a good measure of heat during that, particularly the diff. If you do this, your rear diff will thank you.

felkebg

I was even asking my wife if she needed anything at the store to have an excuse to drive it when I first got it. 500 came quickly and holding off made me have something to look forward to......

Bill Dearborn

But that doesn't mean you can't take delivery of a zero mile car and drive it 3K miles to get home. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions. They don't suggest limiting the speed anymore. They just say to vary the rpm's so you aren't driving at a consistent rpm which is bad to do on a new engine. The tach gives you a warning so you don't exceed the max rpms they want you to stay under during the first 500 miles. If you drive at that rpm in 7th gear you will be one of the people who make the national headlines after the police put you in jail. You will reach the 500 mile mark at either the end of the first day on the road or sometime during the second day on the road so if you have a dry sump car you will need to start looking for a dealer along the way to do the 500 mile oil change. That isn't a big deal other than the time it can take.

If you are driving on an interstate that never seems to end you can use cruise control also. Just remember to change gears every so often (5 to 10 minutes) so the rpms vary.

Bill

NSC5

As others noted it is easy to follow the factory recommended break-in on the drive home. Mine was a museum delivery and by the time I got it home I was nearly to the 500 mile first oil change (Z06 with LT-4 dry sump). Mine is an A8 and I left it in manual mode the entire way so that it wouldn't go into AFM/4 cylinder mode allowing for even break-in. I used mostly 2 lane highways to allow more easy variance of speed without creating traffic issues and ran it across a wide range of speeds with different gears selected to allow for varying RPM and overall powertrain speed within the recommended level.

Or you can drive it however you want to but following the recommended break-in procedure increases the probability of a trouble free engine providing normal power and efficiency. The lead engine builder from BGAP had an informative post early on explaining why proper break-in is once again quite important with different engine materials used now that lead usage (bearings not fuel) has been severely restricted and the new polymer materials definitely benefit from a proper procedure.