Question re break-in

[tranquility]

If the car is still in the break-in period, would there be any chance of irreparable damage to the car/engine if someone messed with it (e.g. revved to redline, etc)? What sort of damage would show up?

[MDLFCS]

Not if you do it too much. I would drive carefully though until the 1500 km or 1200 miles are up.

[zEdP]

Originally Posted by tranquility

What sort of damage would show up?

It depends on many things, but one of the symptoms could be that the engine starts to drink oil, much more than it should be. By that time you already will have driven many miles.

There are a lot of different opinions about break-in an engine. Personally I also keep it low in the revs within the first 1000km. But the most important rule of all, warm-up your engine before pushing it, nevertheless driven 1 km or 100.000 km.

EdP

[MikeChrista]

According to BMW UK no as the engine is already 'run in' in the factory.

[Dr Stig 2]

I talked to the techs at the dealer about an oil change at 2000kms after the run in.
Apart from the cost ($420 - of which $250 is the oil!!!) he said they have done it for a few owners who refuse to believe the BMW recommendations on leaving the oil in the car for the first year - and they have yet to see any imprities in the oil changes. No metal, no real discolouration or degredation after the running in period.
I'm starting to think it might be a waste of good money... That I could otherwise spend on petrol!

[Alext]

Doesnt matter if you hit redline a few times during break in.

As far as the oil change is concerned I did an interim one on my N54 engine and it cost $200+ or so. The oil was about $120 and the BMW dealership used top quality BMW-approved Mobil 1 0w-40 (one of my favourite oils actually). An oil change for $400+ is nuts.

I decided to do the oil change at 5000km based on research and oil analysis testing done from member of bobistheoilguy.com ....which is the best source of info on oil on the net imo.

[teagueAMX]

Originally Posted by tranquility

If the car is still in the break-in period, would there be any chance of irreparable damage to the car/engine if someone messed with it (e.g. revved to redline, etc)? What sort of damage would show up?

BMW has a traditional break-in policy which is good. Ferrari on the other hand has a race track right at the factory and every new car is taken around the track for a few hot laps to see if bolts are going to fall off. Who's right or wrong - there are certainly different opinions.

IMO, it's a good thing to vary the engine RPMs, including an occasional short burst of full throttle acceleration. My belief is actually helps the engine by running it through it's full range of performance. The key is moderation. Don't worry about it. Watch a couple of Youtube videos to see how people treat their BMWs - you will be amazed - but they have tough engines.

Click the link below. It features the previous generation Z4, an ///M Coupe. It's a BMW promotional video that will give you insight on how they feel you may drive their cars.

[Serge_Ch]

Originally Posted by Dr Stig 2

I talked to the techs at the dealer about an oil change at 2000kms after the run in.
Apart from the cost ($420 - of which $250 is the oil!!!) he said they have done it for a few owners who refuse to believe the BMW recommendations on leaving the oil in the car for the first year - and they have yet to see any imprities in the oil changes. No metal, no real discolouration or degredation after the running in period.
I'm starting to think it might be a waste of good money... That I could otherwise spend on petrol!

I got the same message from techs at the BMW dealership here, in Vienna, Austria. So, I am going to change oil at the first service in about 9 months from now.

[cdeslandes]

Originally Posted by Dr Stig 2

I talked to the techs at the dealer about an oil change at 2000kms after the run in.
Apart from the cost ($420 - of which $250 is the oil!!!) he said they have done it for a few owners who refuse to believe the BMW recommendations on leaving the oil in the car for the first year - and they have yet to see any imprities in the oil changes. No metal, no real discolouration or degredation after the running in period.
I'm starting to think it might be a waste of good money... That I could otherwise spend on petrol!

I had the dealer change the oil at 1,600 miles (2,600 km) and the tech thought that wasn't a bad idea.

[tranquility]

Thx guys, I feel better now.

[E89Tardis]

($420 - of which $250 is the oil!!!) ?????

Just checked my dealer and it's 79.95 on special... normally 99.95... and I thought that was radical ! Must be one well serviced waiting area !

[Tamman69]

To make you feel even better. On day one I managed to accidently drop a gear instead of going up to 5th when in high'ish revs in 4th (wasn't used to the centre sprung gearbox).

The engine screamed like hell and in another 10 km the car ground to a halt on the highway with dash lights warning trouble. Red-faced I called out an engineer, turned out the onboard computer registered an 'engine-mismatch' and shut down for safety. However absolutely no long term damage was done via the incident.

[suvidh]

Originally Posted by E89Tardis

($420 - of which $250 is the oil!!!) ?????

Just checked my dealer and it's 79.95 on special... normally 99.95... and I thought that was radical ! Must be one well serviced waiting area !

$420 is probably australian $

But i am sure the oil and service costs much higher outside the US. I paid US$275 for the oil change couple of days ago. Most of the bill was for the oil & (filter maybe) and a small sum for labour and taxes.

S

[E89Tardis]

Sorry I didn't catch that it was Australian $.... I was thinking Connecticut dollars cuz my brain didn't process the Quote Box. Thanks for setting me straight.

I just had my first free oil change at 4K and 1 yr under the maintenance program... While it was there I had them bring in their traveling dent wizard to fix a slight ding behind the drivers door that I made as I was getting out of the car with a plastic bag of groceries. It really hurt but they made it absolutely disappear for a flat rate of 130 and positively no new access holes drilled. Felt much better.

[Dr Stig 2]

I dont worry about converting to USD - the FX is only .85 to .95 usually these days...

There is mainly a HUGE issue with the price for the oil over here...
$250 for 8 litres of oil. rediculous!
$60 filter
$50 labour
then 10% tax on top...

[richard in NC]

Originally Posted by teagueAMX

Click the link below. It features the previous generation Z4, and ///M Coupe. It's a BMW promotional video that will give you insight on how they feel you may drive their cars.

This is how the BMW Performance Center instructors drive their cars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwdpcJKjYxI

They do pay special attention to break in the ///M's by the book before running them that hard.

I agree that varying the RPMs and occasionally exercising the motor is good.
I think 4500 is a guide line during the 1st 1200 miles. 4501 won't break the motor but repeated 7000 rpm runs may shorten its life or increase the oil consumption. On the 550i, I did hit 5000-55000 a couple of times just under 1000 miles and no issues....

You also don't have to floor it to get plenty of acceleration thru the gears.
I'd avoid head snapping tire smoking launches until broke in.

EDIT: One more video. The audio is choppy but you can see the steering needed for that kind of car control here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e0OG...eature=related

[teagueAMX]

Originally Posted by richard in NC

This is how the BMW Performance Center instructors drive their cars:

They do pay special attention to break in the ///M's by the book before running them that hard.

I agree that varying the RPMs and occasionally exercising the motor is good.
I think 4500 is a guide line during the 1st 1200 miles. 4501 won't break the motor but repeated 7000 rpm runs may shorten its life or increase the oil consumption. On the 550i, I did hit 5000-55000 a couple of times just under 1000 miles and no issues....

You also don't have to floor it to get plenty of acceleration thru the gears.
I'd avoid head snapping tire smoking launches until broke in.

EDIT: One more video. The audio is choppy but you can see the steering needed for that kind of car control here:

Now that's what I'm talking about! That's the first hundred miles, right?

Kidding aside, +1 Richard.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by richard in NC

On the 550i, I did hit 5000-55000 a couple of times just under 1000 miles and no issues....

What kind of car did you have??? A special order??? LOL.

[Otago]

Oil change + filter + labour costs are definitely expensive in Aussie & US. In HK, US$120 can get the job done. By the way, BMW uses Caltex or Shell engine oil?

[MDLFCS]

On mine, Castrol was listed on the oil cap. I thought Mobil-1 is the best. I have to ask my dealer one day to find out what brand they use for sure.

[Alext]

BMW uses 'German Castrol' as standard factory fill on the N54. The closest available locally in Australia over the counter is Castrol Edge (very similar) and a lot cheaper. German Castrol is a very very good oil!

And so is the Mobil 1, although it isnt as highly regarded as it once was, but for my purposes it is more than adequate.

At the end of the day, as long as you use a quality synthetic that meets BMW LL (long life) 04 and the relevant API standards then you are going to be fine!

For our engines you will only need around 6.5 litres of oil.

See this thread why it may be a good idea to change your oil sooner on the N54:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=280168

(Im not saying your SHOULD DEFINITELY do it BTW...just FYI)

[Rubber Ducky]

Admin: we need a sticky on break-ins. Then shovel all the comments in the multiple threads on this topic into two piles, one that says "RTFP" and the other labeled "Ignore what BMW says and beat the crap out of it."