Mike O'Daniel

I've heard different stories.

Michael A

Important. Your only guide should be the owner's manual, and the tachometer adjusts the engine redline down for the first 500 miles.

Michael

george vee

I think it's important, most of break in period is for the drive train.

KingMotley

I've heard completely opposite sides from very reputable sources. My take on it is, drive it easy for the first thousand when ever possible, but don't be afraid to play either.

I managed to take it easy for the first 500, after that, not so much.

Gr8ful

Gently at least until after the 500miles. Always wait for the oil temp to reach normal operating range before any WOT.
Just my $0.02 worth and the engineers that designed and built the engine.

LT1xL82

The differences in opinion on this subject are unreal!

Me? Don't heavily load the engine with full throttle pulls from low rpm. Increasingly longer heat cycles when new. SLOWLY accelerate to progressively higher rpms over time. Limit WOT early on and increase duration over time. Always let the engine warm up before doing anything but easy driving. SHORT periods of high RPM is not totally out of the question early on as long as it is not obtained by WOT from low rpm. High torque early on is not good. Neither is high rpm for long periods of time. Good fuel. Good oil and filters. Good to go.

I have never understood the "Drive it like you stole it" approach to breaking in a motor.

-CM-

Try a search in this forum and all the others. I don't think anything new can be said.

stubone

I just sold my c6 after having it 8 plus years and putting 104,000 miles on it. Every vehicle I have ever had including motorcycles I have never really followed the manufacturers guidelines and have never really had any issues what so ever. I don't go wot on anything really but I sure don't baby it from the get go. Most people don't drive their corvettes as much as I did either so I would think even less possibilities of a problem. Friends seem to think My bikes and my cars always seem to pull harder than their exact types also. I think it's due to me not following but honestly I'm no mechanic or anything. Just a thought. Lots of articles on both sides of the coin.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

This is one I kind of liked. Granted its about motorcycles mostly.

SCM_Crash

The engineers that built the car know more about the car and what testing yielded as far as best results.

Nobody here was really there for that and therefore we cannot be any more informed than the engineers. So I follow the engineer's guidelines. Anything other than that would be like self-medicating.

I think people lose sight of the value of the education and experience of those that we've relied on to engineer the things we want. "Thanks GM for building an amazing car, and a technological marvel. But I'll take it from here. I know what's best."

stubone

Well sometimes that engineering is used so well that they know roughly how long you can expect a car to last based on what they put into it. Every company does that. Research the light bulb that has been burning for 100 plus years. Why don't they all do that? Instead they make light bulbs with stated lengths of usage and what do you know they last almost exactly that. They know what they are doing. If they sold a light bulb that lasted 100 years we wouldn't buy many and soon they would be out of business. You think they don't know how to build a better one?? Of course they do but that would ruin everything. Lol. Or what about gm buying up battery technology to try and stop the switch to electric cars or atleast controlling it. Companies aren't always just looking out for your best interest. They are there to make money and service is a big money maker.

v26278

Since its only the first 500 miles, better to be safe than sorry and follow the program, at least within reason. I'm sure you can put your foot into it once or twice in the mid range RPM's and not hurt it.

robvuk

The lightbulb example is a poor one. The lightbulb that lasts for 100 years doesn't put out much light.. It's an engineering tradeoff. You want bright or you want life? You can't have both without new technology like LED's…. and they're making them and improving them every day. I do not believe there is any conspiracy to snuff out technology.

HummelS

If you've ever been to the plant, and watched the dyno test of a new 'vette after it comes off the line - well, it's pretty brutal: i.e. near-redline testing through the gears while hooked up to a computer. I think a key is not to get yourself in situations where you have to use heavy brake applications, and to get used to what 400-plus HP means if you're not used to it.

If you read the owner's manual, it's pretty clear lawyers had a heavy hand in it, in addition to the techies: "Don't do this, because you get hurt, don't do that because you could be killed." Etc.

SCM_Crash

Sure, but I don't think legal has anything to do with break in.

HummelS

"Legal" has everything to do with it: trying to prevent newbie owners from hurting themselves with 300 more horsepower than they are used to, and then suing Chevy because the car "got away from me."

Many of the cautions in the owner's manual are performance-related, and I would wager were inserted by legal staff. Maybe (Paul) Talon90 can comment on this.

SCM_Crash

Again, not sure how that has anything to do with a break-in procedure. If you read the break in procedure, it has very specific routines and limits. And from what I can see, it has no wording that protects GM from a law suit like that. GM has plenty of other facts they can use in court. A car "getting away" from the driver wouldn't be prevented by any wording in the break in procedure, because that wording says nothing about learning how to drive the car.

jkcam6017

IMHO the first 500-1000 miles should include as many cold starts, and as many gear and rpm changes as possible. Getting in your car and driving 500 miles at 60 mph doesn't cut it.

SCM_Crash

I agree... You're not supposed to keep the RPMs at the same RPM for a long time. I was cruising at a steady 65-70 MPH, but I kept shifting between 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th... It was fun, but I got really crappy economy because of it. (If you consider 16 mpg crappy)

ProfessorDeath

I personally like the 500miles rule. Then again, I can easily put 500 miles on my car in a couple days if I decide to make it a priority, then let the fun begin.

green2000

I managed to keep below 55 MPH for the first 100 miles with moderate shifting and braking. This next 100 miles I'm starting to loosen it up quite a bit.