Earlier today my LT1 HTC Z51 with mag lev suspension went to 4000.

I have to travel to Miami to pick up my first Corvette
My first car love ever was a ‘71 yellow convertible but never got to own one...off to college and emerged a die hard Porsche fanatic... 9 Porsches later and wow, the C8! I am converted, so much respect for what our American design and manufacturing team have pulled off in developing a true world class car (with so much upward potential too).

So to my question, I have about 500-600 or so mile return trip to my home on the FL panhandle. Is there any do’s or don’ts on doing the break in drive back home. We are looking to take a 2-3 day leisurely drive and can do a mix of rural roads and interstate.

I have seen discussions about ditching the break in oil but I fall on the side of the development team certainly should be the most qualified and 7500 is the recommended change so I look to follow the recommendations.

a couple other notes...it was built on Saturday 10/31, curious if anyone has feedback on Saturday builds versus other days of the week.

Finally, as a point of interest, here is how my order cycled through the process:
- order placed in mid January
- March 3: 3000 status
- Oct 9: 3300 status
- Oct 27: 3400 status, build (TPW 10/19)
- Oct 31 car built
#15068 GMVIS 10/30 finish and logged in on 10/31 4:33 AM
- Nov 3: 4000 status

 

The mix of rural roads is the perfect thing to do. Don't worry about the oil, use the brakes some, and just enjoy the crap out of it.

 

Thanks.

I think we will head to Apalachicola and PanamaCity Beach. Rural Florida in the fall

 

As a vehicle tech and motot builder of over 50 years, breakin is not required in the same sense that it once was. Your new motor is tight compared to what all the internal tolerances will be in 10K miles. Heat is your biggest concern so just drive it a bit conservatively and let all the internal moving parts wear in and conform. You won't go wrong adhereing to what the owners manual states as far as breakin miles and first oil change.

 

Simple, just follow the manual.

 

not sure if it really makes any difference to you, but there weren't ANY cars built on Saturday the 31st of October. the last car off the line for your the week was on Friday, with a VIN of 15086.....and the first car off of the line on Monday, 11/2 was 15087...….so what is your last 5 of your VIN??

as far as your break in.....other than regular driving, don't use the cruise control....but you plan to do some back country driving on the way home is a great plan.

 

Corvette Concierge have the date of manufacture as 10/31 so that is what I noted. Didn’t ask about VIN. So I’ll call back and question the build day.
thanks

 

In discussing break-in, Tadge didn't once mention the engine. All he talked about was the transmission. So, lots of variety in shifting and keep the revs within limit.

 

None of these cars are built in a day. I know mine was spread out over several days. Pick one I guess. My car was built on both Friday and Monday.

 

Rural roads are perfect for this. Vary your modest acceleration with modest deceleration by using the paddles to downshift from time to time, lean on the brakes little by little, and don't worry about the hot stink coming off the powertrain for the first 500+ miles. You don't want to baby it, but you don't want to flog it either. And yeah, it's the trans/diff/axles/bearings that are getting broken in, more so than the engine.

Funny.....I'm planning a rural path to Apalachicola and back to get my car from 300 to 1000 miles, with none of it on I-10.

 

I did 500 local road miles avoided highways - that was a long tedious process, but gave the car the varied speeds and use of brakes as in the manual.

 

Follow the procedure in the manual and don't let the revs get too close to redline. The redline will change at specified mileage. I would not use cruise control on your trip home. Vary the speed and rpms a lot and shift the transmission as that is most important break-in component. The lower gears need break-in too so some city traffic driving is beneficial.

 

Yes, don't over think this or try to out-smart the engineers. Here's the text from the manual:

 

For the first few hundred miles, don't go over 55 mph, vary engine, transmission and ground speed to ensure all rotating parts don't develop a harmonic point, and coast frequently to get piston rings seated. Also there is no breakin oil but change it by 1000 miles if possible. Initially brake easily to cure the pads and avoid later pad squeal. Will any of these really make a difference? Maybe not but they sure have worked for me.

 

Enjoy a "backroads trip". One of my favorites is the backroads from Montgomery AL to DeFuniak Springs, FL...... (very close to my home location.

Also consider Florida route 30A from Santa Rosa Beach to Inlet Beach.....a "well kept secret" and some of the best, best beaches in Florida!

 

I agree - follow what the manual recommends for driving the car the first few hundred miles and just enjoy your new car.

 

yeah the Corvette Concierge tend to be "late to the game" a LOT....sometimes a day or 2 late! lol

 

Not correct. Stay under 4000 rpm for the first 500, which could be 100 mph in eighth gear.

Not correct. 7500 miles, as per the owner's manual....written by the engineers at Warren, MI.

Where do people come up with this wive's tale stuff? We're not talking 1968 Impalas here. Stop the madness!

 

I believe it is possible to have a Saturday build date, but it is likely the Friday night second shift working until after midnight. Search for the thread about the 'Restart' where all of this is being tracked. When they added the second shift, some numbers were being reported for Saturday's which as I said were just the second shift from Friday nights. Anyone agree or disagree? If you have your VIN, which I'm sure you do, have a service manager run GMVIS and the build date will be there. Curious to know if that also shows 10/31.

 

Corvette Concierge doesn’t have visibility to the VIN at time of my call. They referred me to my Corvette sales person. I did. He is calling me with details on delivery, VIN etc tomorrow so Ill ask the question. Thank you.