Engine Break In - C7
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 10,909
Likes: 2,701
From: Phila Suburbs 2023 C8 & 2013 650ix
I did the same thing and it makes sense. It takes time for the rings, rocker arms, lifters etc. to wear the slight high spots and lap in! Also the trans and rear end gears. I drove home and used 4th gear and all three overdrives (5th, 6th and 7th) to vary the engine speed. Fun to do. We just bought a BMW SUV and it limits the I6 to 4500 rpm for 1200 miles. Then it says gradually increase until you reach the 7000 rpm red line. Pretty sophisticated DI engine (double over head cams, 4 valves per cylinder and twin turbos -300 hp for 3 liters. That would be equivalent to 620 hp if 6.2 liters) and no doubt it has been machined to very tight tolerances.
The engineers/designers actually do know something about engines and drive trains.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,205
Likes: 67
From: Cumming GA
Finished the day at 690 miles total. Nothing like a road trip to Nashville for work to break in the car. I took an alternate route up their to avoid highway speeds and then took time to drive around Nashville.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,458
Likes: 625
From: Southeast, FL.
I have a little over 400 miles on our car. When driving on expressway without the cruise on and in tour mode, the engine switches to V4 quickly and often. Is there any damage that can occur being in V4 this early in the break-in?
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 222
Likes: 6
From: Daytona Beach Florida
they aren't "letting us". You choose to drive the interstate. I bought mine in Ohio and drove it home to Florida. The car never seen an interstate until we got down to Georgia. Drove all secondary roads until then which let me learn much more about my new car and appreciate my new car than driving an interstate would have. And all "broken in" within factory recommendations.
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Race Director
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,581
Likes: 252
From: SE TEX
You would think if something 'bad' could happen than V4 mode would be turned off until after the 500 mile break in period
Only 120 more miles to worry about
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,449
Likes: 770
Having owned 10 Vettes, 2 Ferraris and 3 Porsches, I have researched this topic extensively. Some of the folks that I spoke to include:
A buddy who is one of less than 24 Master Ferrari Mechanics in North America who works for Ferrari, owns a Ferrari and a C6 Z06.
Probably the most respected Porsche mechanic (35 years and still going strong) here in So Cal.
The head one of the Porsche district office out here.
The head of service for my local Porsche dealer who is a Porsche owner and considered a Porsche "genius"
The head Corvette mechanic at one of the dealers out here in So Cal who has over 20 years of Corvette experience.
The head of the local Corvette district office.
They all say the same thing....not driving over a certain rpm until hitting a certain mileage (500 for Corvette, 2000 for Porsche, 0 for Ferrari) is just crap. Furthermore, an engine will perform better and have less problems if that procedure is ignored. The key is oil temperture. DO NOT drive over 3000-4000 rpms in any gear until the oil warms up to about 160-170 degrees. Once the oil is warm, drive the hell out of the car. And this rule is not just for the first X number of miles, but for always. It does make sense with a new car not to cruise in a particular gear at a particular speed for a long period of time, and it also makes sense to ease onto the brakes at first. However, these modern engines do not need a brake in period. They are all run up to redline at the factory.
I have never had an engine problem with any of my cars. I put almost 20K miles a year on a car and they run like new forever. So forget the brake in period when it comes to max rpms.
A buddy who is one of less than 24 Master Ferrari Mechanics in North America who works for Ferrari, owns a Ferrari and a C6 Z06.
Probably the most respected Porsche mechanic (35 years and still going strong) here in So Cal.
The head one of the Porsche district office out here.
The head of service for my local Porsche dealer who is a Porsche owner and considered a Porsche "genius"
The head Corvette mechanic at one of the dealers out here in So Cal who has over 20 years of Corvette experience.
The head of the local Corvette district office.
They all say the same thing....not driving over a certain rpm until hitting a certain mileage (500 for Corvette, 2000 for Porsche, 0 for Ferrari) is just crap. Furthermore, an engine will perform better and have less problems if that procedure is ignored. The key is oil temperture. DO NOT drive over 3000-4000 rpms in any gear until the oil warms up to about 160-170 degrees. Once the oil is warm, drive the hell out of the car. And this rule is not just for the first X number of miles, but for always. It does make sense with a new car not to cruise in a particular gear at a particular speed for a long period of time, and it also makes sense to ease onto the brakes at first. However, these modern engines do not need a brake in period. They are all run up to redline at the factory.
I have never had an engine problem with any of my cars. I put almost 20K miles a year on a car and they run like new forever. So forget the brake in period when it comes to max rpms.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 469
Likes: 23
From: Schaumburg IL
Having owned 10 Vettes, 2 Ferraris and 3 Porsches, I have researched this topic extensively. Some of the folks that I spoke to include:
A buddy who is one of less than 24 Master Ferrari Mechanics in North America who works for Ferrari, owns a Ferrari and a C6 Z06.
Probably the most respected Porsche mechanic (35 years and still going strong) here in So Cal.
The head one of the Porsche district office out here.
The head of service for my local Porsche dealer who is a Porsche owner and considered a Porsche "genius"
The head Corvette mechanic at one of the dealers out here in So Cal who has over 20 years of Corvette experience.
The head of the local Corvette district office.
They all say the same thing....not driving over a certain rpm until hitting a certain mileage (500 for Corvette, 2000 for Porsche, 0 for Ferrari) is just crap. Furthermore, an engine will perform better and have less problems if that procedure is ignored. The key is oil temperture. DO NOT drive over 3000-4000 rpms in any gear until the oil warms up to about 160-170 degrees. Once the oil is warm, drive the hell out of the car. And this rule is not just for the first X number of miles, but for always. It does make sense with a new car not to cruise in a particular gear at a particular speed for a long period of time, and it also makes sense to ease onto the brakes at first. However, these modern engines do not need a brake in period. They are all run up to redline at the factory.
I have never had an engine problem with any of my cars. I put almost 20K miles a year on a car and they run like new forever. So forget the brake in period when it comes to max rpms.
A buddy who is one of less than 24 Master Ferrari Mechanics in North America who works for Ferrari, owns a Ferrari and a C6 Z06.
Probably the most respected Porsche mechanic (35 years and still going strong) here in So Cal.
The head one of the Porsche district office out here.
The head of service for my local Porsche dealer who is a Porsche owner and considered a Porsche "genius"
The head Corvette mechanic at one of the dealers out here in So Cal who has over 20 years of Corvette experience.
The head of the local Corvette district office.
They all say the same thing....not driving over a certain rpm until hitting a certain mileage (500 for Corvette, 2000 for Porsche, 0 for Ferrari) is just crap. Furthermore, an engine will perform better and have less problems if that procedure is ignored. The key is oil temperture. DO NOT drive over 3000-4000 rpms in any gear until the oil warms up to about 160-170 degrees. Once the oil is warm, drive the hell out of the car. And this rule is not just for the first X number of miles, but for always. It does make sense with a new car not to cruise in a particular gear at a particular speed for a long period of time, and it also makes sense to ease onto the brakes at first. However, these modern engines do not need a brake in period. They are all run up to redline at the factory.
I have never had an engine problem with any of my cars. I put almost 20K miles a year on a car and they run like new forever. So forget the brake in period when it comes to max rpms.
Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
From: Strasburg PA
We had an 1100 mile drive home from Museum delivery with no problems. We drove interstates when possible. I did my best to vary the speed and keep well below 4000 rpms. It was very cool to see the yellow line on the tach drop back at 500 miles. Someone referred to it as break in but it does the same thing when the engine is cold. We had a fabulous drive home and much to my surprise averaged 28 mpg's. Haven't touched that now that I'm home and doing mixed driving. This is one incredible car!
Pro
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 604
Likes: 129
The Consigliere
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 22,998
Likes: 6,045
From: 2023 Z06 & 2010 ZR1
Having owned 10 Vettes, 2 Ferraris and 3 Porsches, I have researched this topic extensively. Some of the folks that I spoke to include:
A buddy who is one of less than 24 Master Ferrari Mechanics in North America who works for Ferrari, owns a Ferrari and a C6 Z06.
Probably the most respected Porsche mechanic (35 years and still going strong) here in So Cal.
The head one of the Porsche district office out here.
The head of service for my local Porsche dealer who is a Porsche owner and considered a Porsche "genius"
The head Corvette mechanic at one of the dealers out here in So Cal who has over 20 years of Corvette experience.
The head of the local Corvette district office.
They all say the same thing....not driving over a certain rpm until hitting a certain mileage (500 for Corvette, 2000 for Porsche, 0 for Ferrari) is just crap. Furthermore, an engine will perform better and have less problems if that procedure is ignored. The key is oil temperture. DO NOT drive over 3000-4000 rpms in any gear until the oil warms up to about 160-170 degrees. Once the oil is warm, drive the hell out of the car. And this rule is not just for the first X number of miles, but for always. It does make sense with a new car not to cruise in a particular gear at a particular speed for a long period of time, and it also makes sense to ease onto the brakes at first. However, these modern engines do not need a brake in period. They are all run up to redline at the factory.
I have never had an engine problem with any of my cars. I put almost 20K miles a year on a car and they run like new forever. So forget the brake in period when it comes to max rpms.
A buddy who is one of less than 24 Master Ferrari Mechanics in North America who works for Ferrari, owns a Ferrari and a C6 Z06.
Probably the most respected Porsche mechanic (35 years and still going strong) here in So Cal.
The head one of the Porsche district office out here.
The head of service for my local Porsche dealer who is a Porsche owner and considered a Porsche "genius"
The head Corvette mechanic at one of the dealers out here in So Cal who has over 20 years of Corvette experience.
The head of the local Corvette district office.
They all say the same thing....not driving over a certain rpm until hitting a certain mileage (500 for Corvette, 2000 for Porsche, 0 for Ferrari) is just crap. Furthermore, an engine will perform better and have less problems if that procedure is ignored. The key is oil temperture. DO NOT drive over 3000-4000 rpms in any gear until the oil warms up to about 160-170 degrees. Once the oil is warm, drive the hell out of the car. And this rule is not just for the first X number of miles, but for always. It does make sense with a new car not to cruise in a particular gear at a particular speed for a long period of time, and it also makes sense to ease onto the brakes at first. However, these modern engines do not need a brake in period. They are all run up to redline at the factory.
I have never had an engine problem with any of my cars. I put almost 20K miles a year on a car and they run like new forever. So forget the brake in period when it comes to max rpms.
I've heard the break-in period is less important for a modern engine, and more for the sake of the trans gear sets, clutch and rear diff.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 11,825
Likes: 2,477
From: Ft Lauderdale
Tech Contributor
only if you drag race/tracked it all for the first weekend would they do something like that...and bragged about all over facebook....and then it self destructed...