Break-in period

agarbati · 06-10-2005, 11:37 PM

My sales rep told me to take it easy and keep it under 4500 rpm for the first 1200 miles. Now occasionally I have had to rev her up to 4 - 4.5 k in traffic to make lane changes etc. Otherwise I've kept it to 2-3.5 k rpm.

Do you baby your E90 during break in? Have I done any damage? Are BMW E90 engines nickasil coated like higher end sports and luxury cars?

Thanks.

Aabid · 06-11-2005, 02:00 AM

No - you have not done any harm if you dont rev it up for constant period of time. Good break break in requires the engine to go thru a spectrum of RPM. So it a good idea to break in the car in the city with varing RPMs versus taking it on a trip and keeping it at a constant RPM.

Broken1 · 06-11-2005, 06:27 AM

I've read so many posts on break in. I don't think it really matters TOO much. Just don't punish your car while it's new, drive normally and sedately, if you need to rev to 7000 to get out of a sticky situation, I would do it. As long as you are not always redlining for the first few km's...it should all be fine.

Just remeber, you do the most damage to your engine when it is cold, so take it easy for the first 10-15 mins of driving all the time. Ps. The water temp gauge isn't there, but it was useless anyways.

Nathan · 06-11-2005, 07:03 AM

Guys, i've already revved up the engine to 7000 RPM and still haven't redlined it. Like someone else said, just don't do it constantly, although i find that i often can't really help myself.

Nathan

Bimmerguy · 06-11-2005, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Broken1

The water temp gauge isn't there, but it was useless anyways.

I'm curious. Why do you say that the water temperature gauge was useless?

Robin_NL · 06-11-2005, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bimmerguy

I'm curious. Why do you say that the water temperature gauge was useless?

Good question, in my former E87 120d there wasn't a watertemp gauge either.

Why not?(I asked this question before on a E87 board but I didn't get an answer)

batmanwagon · 06-11-2005, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin Hood

Good question, in my former E87 120d there wasn't a watertemp gauge either.

Why not?(I asked this question before on a E87 board but I didn't get an answer)

Because water temp doesn't translate to engine oil temp which is much more important. Your water temp can be warm while the engine oil is still cold. Secondly, the new electric water pump further reduces the relationship between engine oil/operating temp and water temp, so its really just a feel-good indicator and from what I've read isn't even calibrated all that accurately. Best thing is to drive sedately for 15 or so minutes and then you can be more aggressive.

Robin_NL · 06-11-2005, 09:30 AM

thanx for answering batmanwagon and come to think of it your answer is very logical indeed.

Broken1 · 06-11-2005, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by batmanwagon

Because water temp doesn't translate to engine oil temp which is much more important. Your water temp can be warm while the engine oil is still cold. Secondly, the new electric water pump further reduces the relationship between engine oil/operating temp and water temp, so its really just a feel-good indicator and from what I've read isn't even calibrated all that accurately. Best thing is to drive sedately for 15 or so minutes and then you can be more aggressive.

I concur doctor :-)

Armen52 · 06-11-2005, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan

Guys, i've already revved up the engine to 7000 RPM and still haven't redlined it. Like someone else said, just don't do it constantly, although i find that i often can't really help myself.

Nathan

How is this possible when 7000 is the redline?

quackman · 06-12-2005, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armen52

How is this possible when 7000 is the redline?

What he means is, he's found that VERY FINE line at which he is revving it at 7000rpm, yet is JUST under redline. You have to use complicated math to figure that out, I guess we know what he went to college for.

Broken1 · 06-12-2005, 07:17 AM

He most likely means he's revved it to just before 7000 rpm, just before the rev limiter kicks in...

CC 330i · 06-12-2005, 01:28 PM

I am just under 1,000 miles now. Can't wait until 1,200. I have had my car up to about 6,500 RPM a few times, mostly by mistake because it revs so freely. My wife actually did 2 of the 3 revs to 6,500 or so because she got carried away! I looked over and was like: "ok you can shift now!"

She's a little speed demon

oly8080 · 06-14-2005, 10:00 AM

Nathan,
I am from Bartlett, IL. Where did you get your 330i? I am looking at Motor Werks at Barrington. What price did you get it for?

bookman2 · 06-14-2005, 10:56 AM

I'd stick to the BMW manual's recommendations as far as break-in is concerned. That way you really can't go wrong.

dynamics · 08-10-2005, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agarbati

My sales rep told me to take it easy and keep it under 4500 rpm for the first 1200 miles. Now occasionally I have had to rev her up to 4 - 4.5 k in traffic to make lane changes etc. Otherwise I've kept it to 2-3.5 k rpm.

Do you baby your E90 during break in? Have I done any damage? Are BMW E90 engines nickasil coated like higher end sports and luxury cars?

Thanks.

Hi Friend,

I met a BMW Asia Area Service Manager (a German) recently and I took the opportunity to ask him about the Run-in / Break-in question. His replied was that as long as the engine has warmed up, it is ok to even go beyond the 4500rpm mark. It will not do any harm to the engine, just that you will not get the full rated power as yet until the engine has surpassed the 2000 km mark. Also, in any case, one should not rev up the engine to the red line when the engine has not warmed up. You will do harm to the engine in this manner. I hope that helps. Anyway, I rarely have a chance to go to the red line unless I floored the accelerator as mine is a auto-transmission. It will change to a lower gear even before it reaches 4500 rpm.

Cheers.

jlr · 08-10-2005, 08:08 AM

The car should have both water and oil tempature guages. The water
in your car will heat up around 2 miles or so depending on the outside
tempature. The engin/oil take around 10 miles to heat up. When the outside temp is very cold the bigger the difference. Also, back in the
1970s I added a bigger carb, cam and headers to my 1971 383
charger. Fortunatly I installed an oil, water and volt guage. I noticed
when beat the hell out of her the the water temp was always good
but the oil would go the red. I installed an oil cooler to resolve the
problem saving my engin. I am sure BMW has this covered as
most people's oil heats up durring high speed driving. After going
X speed for 20 minutes the oil will stablize. Just my two cents.

GRANDCHAMP · 08-10-2005, 09:13 AM

My car has close to 2000 miles on it... Lot of it highway, and I've stuck to the recomended break in per the manual. I see myself pushing the car a lil more each day, and the response has exponentially gotten better.

ward · 08-10-2005, 09:28 AM

the old water temp gauge on E46...............................

wasn't really even a gauge, it was a 3 postion item. if the temp is in the normal range the needle shows right in the middle, and never moves even as water temp changed, unless you got dangerously hot.

the gauge had lost it's usefullness do to people freaking out when the temp started climbing on hot days in traffic, we lost that gauge as a usefull feature a long time ago

AlexE90 · 08-11-2005, 05:16 AM

The car came with fully synthetic oil, which to me means the engine was broken in @ the factory. It's the accessories, belts, brakes, suspension, tires etc that needs to be babied for an initial period.

My 325i Auto has about 2000 km on the clock. It's seen 100mph before the 1200km mark. 2 days ago I floored it for the first few times, took it to 125mph and found the soundtrack addictive.

The main thing during break in is to vary the RPMs and not to stomp on it all the way to redline while driving off the dealer's lot.

davinet78 · 08-11-2005, 06:31 AM

the ideal thing on how to do the break in period is to drive in a normal manner and not to abuse the system.

06-10-2005, 11:37 PM	#1
agarbati Second Lieutenant 39 Rep 279 Posts Drives: E90, Saph Blk 330i Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Minneapolis iTrader: (0)	Break-in period My sales rep told me to take it easy and keep it under 4500 rpm for the first 1200 miles. Now occasionally I have had to rev her up to 4 - 4.5 k in traffic to make lane changes etc. Otherwise I've kept it to 2-3.5 k rpm. Do you baby your E90 during break in? Have I done any damage? Are BMW E90 engines nickasil coated like higher end sports and luxury cars? Thanks.
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06-11-2005, 02:00 AM	#2
Aabid 330i Jet Black/Beige Interior with Sports, Premium, Cold Weather, Steptronics, Active Steering, Navigation, Comfort Access 5 Rep 39 Posts Drives: 330i & X3 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ashburn, VA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 330i [0.00]	No - you have not done any harm if you dont rev it up for constant period of time. Good break break in requires the engine to go thru a spectrum of RPM. So it a good idea to break in the car in the city with varing RPMs versus taking it on a trip and keeping it at a constant RPM.
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06-11-2005, 06:27 AM	#3
Broken1 Addict 203 Rep 2,074 Posts Drives: 2024 X5 40i M-Sport Join Date: May 2005 Location: Ontario iTrader: (0)	I've read so many posts on break in. I don't think it really matters TOO much. Just don't punish your car while it's new, drive normally and sedately, if you need to rev to 7000 to get out of a sticky situation, I would do it. As long as you are not always redlining for the first few km's...it should all be fine. Just remeber, you do the most damage to your engine when it is cold, so take it easy for the first 10-15 mins of driving all the time. Ps. The water temp gauge isn't there, but it was useless anyways.
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06-11-2005, 07:03 AM	#4
Nathan First Lieutenant 101 Rep 374 Posts Drives: 2010 X5 3.0 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The Windy City iTrader: (0)	Guys, i've already revved up the engine to 7000 RPM and still haven't redlined it. Like someone else said, just don't do it constantly, although i find that i often can't really help myself. Nathan __________________ [ US 2010 X5 3.0 \| Space Gray \| Black Nevada Leather \| Dark Bamboo Wood Trim \| Premium Package \| Sport Activity Package \| Premium Sound Package \| Technology Package \| Heated Front Seats \| Multi-Contour Seats \| Smartphone Integration \| Space Saver \| iPhone 3GS ]
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06-11-2005, 09:30 AM	#8
Robin_NL S0THPAW 8717 Rep 7,846 Posts Drives: HS M2 Competition Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: The Netherlands iTrader: (0)	thanx for answering batmanwagon and come to think of it your answer is very logical indeed.
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06-12-2005, 07:17 AM	#12
Broken1 Addict 203 Rep 2,074 Posts Drives: 2024 X5 40i M-Sport Join Date: May 2005 Location: Ontario iTrader: (0)	He most likely means he's revved it to just before 7000 rpm, just before the rev limiter kicks in...
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06-12-2005, 01:28 PM	#13
CC 330i Captain 44 Rep 722 Posts Drives: 330i SG/Blk/Alum Join Date: May 2005 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (0)	I am just under 1,000 miles now. Can't wait until 1,200. I have had my car up to about 6,500 RPM a few times, mostly by mistake because it revs so freely. My wife actually did 2 of the 3 revs to 6,500 or so because she got carried away! I looked over and was like: "ok you can shift now!" She's a little speed demon
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06-14-2005, 10:00 AM	#14
oly8080 New Member 3 Rep 11 Posts Drives: Honda Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bartlett, IL iTrader: (0)	Where did you get? Nathan, I am from Bartlett, IL. Where did you get your 330i? I am looking at Motor Werks at Barrington. What price did you get it for?
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06-14-2005, 10:56 AM	#15
bookman2 Second Lieutenant 4 Rep 203 Posts Drives: 2006 330i SP, PP Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chicago, IL iTrader: (0)	I'd stick to the BMW manual's recommendations as far as break-in is concerned. That way you really can't go wrong.
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08-10-2005, 08:08 AM	#17
jlr Enlisted Member 1 Rep 35 Posts Drives: 2006 33i Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta iTrader: (0)	oil temp vs water temp The car should have both water and oil tempature guages. The water in your car will heat up around 2 miles or so depending on the outside tempature. The engin/oil take around 10 miles to heat up. When the outside temp is very cold the bigger the difference. Also, back in the 1970s I added a bigger carb, cam and headers to my 1971 383 charger. Fortunatly I installed an oil, water and volt guage. I noticed when beat the hell out of her the the water temp was always good but the oil would go the red. I installed an oil cooler to resolve the problem saving my engin. I am sure BMW has this covered as most people's oil heats up durring high speed driving. After going X speed for 20 minutes the oil will stablize. Just my two cents.
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08-10-2005, 09:13 AM	#18
GRANDCHAMP Private 2 Rep 58 Posts Drives: 330I,BLK,CW,SP,PP Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: ROCKLAND, NY iTrader: (1)	My car has close to 2000 miles on it... Lot of it highway, and I've stuck to the recomended break in per the manual. I see myself pushing the car a lil more each day, and the response has exponentially gotten better.
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08-10-2005, 09:28 AM	#19
ward Major General 155 Rep 6,158 Posts Drives: F Join Date: May 2005 Location: T iTrader: (0)	the old water temp gauge on E46............................... wasn't really even a gauge, it was a 3 postion item. if the temp is in the normal range the needle shows right in the middle, and never moves even as water temp changed, unless you got dangerously hot. the gauge had lost it's usefullness do to people freaking out when the temp started climbing on hot days in traffic, we lost that gauge as a usefull feature a long time ago
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08-11-2005, 05:16 AM	#20
AlexE90 New Member 0 Rep 7 Posts Drives: E92 335i Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Malaysia iTrader: (0)	The car came with fully synthetic oil, which to me means the engine was broken in @ the factory. It's the accessories, belts, brakes, suspension, tires etc that needs to be babied for an initial period. My 325i Auto has about 2000 km on the clock. It's seen 100mph before the 1200km mark. 2 days ago I floored it for the first few times, took it to 125mph and found the soundtrack addictive. The main thing during break in is to vary the RPMs and not to stomp on it all the way to redline while driving off the dealer's lot.
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08-11-2005, 06:31 AM	#21
davinet78 Lieutenant Colonel 28 Rep 1,832 Posts Drives: bmw e90 320d Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: gibraltar(europe) iTrader: (0) Garage List 2005 bmw 320d E90 [0.00]	the ideal thing on how to do the break in period is to drive in a normal manner and not to abuse the system. __________________ e90 320d,arktis,lumber support, hifi speaker, alarm, dakota beige, 162 18", xenon with washer spray,window chrome trimmings, professional radio, 6 cd changer wood trimmings 6 speed manual.
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