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      01-16-2015, 06:49 PM   #1
SaMaster14
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Break-in Period and warm up time?

Hey guys, I know that there are a lot of mixed ideas about break in period, but I would like some opinions. I get my car in March.
I've heard many things including:
-there is NO break in period, they do that for you, just drive
-Keep revs low (under 3/4k) for 1000 miles
-stagger driving and do not drive long distances in the same gear/same rpm
-etc


Also, nothing to do with the first question, but what is standard warm-up time for the S55 engine? And what do you guys normally keep your revs below?

I know for my 335is, I was told to keep revs under 2500rpm until the oil temperature gauge started rising. YET, I've seen people here talking about revving the car on cold starts etc.

Thanks!
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      01-16-2015, 07:03 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SaMaster14 View Post
Hey guys, I know that there are a lot of mixed ideas about break in period, but I would like some opinions. I get my car in March.
I've heard many things including:
-there is NO break in period, they do that for you, just drive
-Keep revs low (under 3/4k) for 1000 miles
-stagger driving and do not drive long distances in the same gear/same rpm
-etc


Also, nothing to do with the first question, but what is standard warm-up time for the S55 engine? And what do you guys normally keep your revs below?

I know for my 335is, I was told to keep revs under 2500rpm until the oil temperature gauge started rising. YET, I've seen people here talking about revving the car on cold starts etc.

Thanks!
My friend...you will find answers from both sides of the spectrum from extreme conservatism to total disregard regarding RPM and speed limit during the 1200 mile break in period. Interestingly enough, I followed the break in period restrictions not to "follow the rules" but to safely acclimate to the horsepower and torque of the M3. It is a beast and requires attention even with DSC on.

The anticipation is fun...the reality of the car even better.
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      01-16-2015, 07:16 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vigilant View Post
My friend...you will find answers from both sides of the spectrum from extreme conservatism to total disregard regarding RPM and speed limit during the 1200 mile break in period. Interestingly enough, I followed the break in period restrictions not to "follow the rules" but to safely acclimate to the horsepower and torque of the M3. It is a beast and requires attention even with DSC on.

The anticipation is fun...the reality of the car even better.
I know I'm gonna get a lot of opinions. Just want to see my options haha. So you didn't follow the rules in the booklet? How exactly did you break the car in, or did you just drive as you do now?

Also, what is your warm up time? What revs do u keep on cold start?
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      01-16-2015, 07:23 PM   #4
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You find all sorts of opinions but for some reason everyone thinks their opinion carries the same weight as the experts. BMW engineers say to break it gradually for 1200 miles then change oil diff and trans. Then work your way up. They built it and engineered it so why not trust them over some nut with a forum account? All the demo units and delivery center cars are broken in by BMW. Period. I have asked the head of M marketing personally because of yahoos say they don't. You also get yahoos that even work as techs at dealerships say drive it like you stole it. First, they are not engineers, secondly if it breaks they get business and third and most important they will say silly things like I drove all my M3s in the past without breaking in and no problems. The problem with that is that many change cars every 3 years or blame something else for the failures. Nikasil engines failed yet some are fine? I wonder how many of them were broken in properly?

Finally and most telling of how non-sensical quoting past experiences with previous engines or motorcycle guys that say during break in you have the most friction so run it hard to seat piston and rings is that your M3 and M4 does not use old school iron cylinder liners but a fairly new liner where material is added directly to the aluminum block through a welding process so past experience with previous BMW motors means very little in that respect. The combination of cylinder wall and rings is different with F80 than previous engines. Not to mention other components like diff and trans that benefit from break-in.

So be smart. If in doubt listen to BMW. They tell you how to break it in. Hope that helps end your dilemma.

As far was warm up drive it mellow to let all the alloys come up to temp and finally don't gun your engine right before turning it off as many do. This spools up the turbos which keep spinning after you shut then engine off. I don't know of the current car continues to push oil through the turbo bearings after shut down so just get into habit of not revving it just before shutting off motor.

Last edited by nachob; 01-16-2015 at 09:03 PM..
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      01-16-2015, 07:24 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SaMaster14 View Post
I know I'm gonna get a lot of opinions. Just want to see my options haha. So you didn't follow the rules in the booklet? How exactly did you break the car in, or did you just drive as you do now?

Also, what is your warm up time? What revs do u keep on cold start?
I would say I tend to follow the rules more so than break them...

I let the cold start occur without additional throttle modulation.

I drove the M3 as I currently do now...Sport/passive suspension/Sport and in D2 or S2. I will say that I kept the mph below 90 for the break in. In fact, I have not had an opportunity to exceed 85-90 for more than a couple of seconds when passing due to concerns regarding a ticket or more importantly endangering my life or others in the process.

Warm up time even in sub 50 degree weather takes 5 minutes on average...just as important is the tire temp for improved traction.
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      01-16-2015, 08:36 PM   #6
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Thanks for the responses guys! I'll probably just follow what the manual has to say and keep revs low.
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      01-16-2015, 09:39 PM   #7
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There are LOTS of break in threads. What to do, are you an Internet car scientist with metallurgy if so prove it. But no one really asks how they actually broke in their car. I am finishing break in this weekend and I will tell you. I tried. I tried hard; I have driven it easy since I got it, varied RPMs, always let it warm up drive like I have eggshells under my feet in efficient mode. For many hundreds of miles I did it; then one day you are driving, its warmed up and you want to see what M1 feels/sounds like. Oh nice. I can stop at 5000 rpm, one full throttle won't hurt. Oh NICE! Then you are closer to break in and you want to turn the TC off, just once. OH SHIT...let's just go ahead and turn that back on. It's hard man. If you can go 1200 miles without 1 or 2 blasts and surprising yourself more than a few times you are a better man than I am. Either that or you are an Internet scientist with skills and willpower far beyond my own.
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      01-16-2015, 10:40 PM   #8
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I have 1000 miles on my M3, and I loosely followed the break-in procedure. Meaning, I followed the major rules- no WOT, proper warm-up, varying RPM- but otherwise drove it how I would normally drive it after the break-in. I find it difficult to push this car further without breaking the law or seriously hurting myself. This car demands track and that's what I plan on doing (for the first time) when the spring comes.
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      01-17-2015, 01:30 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brady1984 View Post
There are LOTS of break in threads. What to do, are you an Internet car scientist with metallurgy if so prove it. But no one really asks how they actually broke in their car. I am finishing break in this weekend and I will tell you. I tried. I tried hard; I have driven it easy since I got it, varied RPMs, always let it warm up drive like I have eggshells under my feet in efficient mode. For many hundreds of miles I did it; then one day you are driving, its warmed up and you want to see what M1 feels/sounds like. Oh nice. I can stop at 5000 rpm, one full throttle won't hurt. Oh NICE! Then you are closer to break in and you want to turn the TC off, just once. OH SHIT...let's just go ahead and turn that back on. It's hard man. If you can go 1200 miles without 1 or 2 blasts and surprising yourself more than a few times you are a better man than I am. Either that or you are an Internet scientist with skills and willpower far beyond my own.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BK9731 View Post
I have 1000 miles on my M3, and I loosely followed the break-in procedure. Meaning, I followed the major rules- no WOT, proper warm-up, varying RPM- but otherwise drove it how I would normally drive it after the break-in. I find it difficult to push this car further without breaking the law or seriously hurting myself. This car demands track and that's what I plan on doing (for the first time) when the spring comes.
Thanks for the replies guys. Sounds about right! haha
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      03-13-2015, 09:00 AM   #10
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I am currently at 350 miles and have been trying to drive as much as possible. Personally I have noticed that in town you really have to go out of your way to get thing outside the "specified" break-in parameters. It seems like with the gearing you can pretty much go on any road in town and accelerate up to 10 over the speed limit without breaking 2500 RPM. I almost have to go out of my way to get it to 4500 occasionally or to give a bit more throttle to vary it up a little. I did find a nice mountain road to drive it on though in the mean time to get it a little more varied speeds/RPMs and that seems to be working out well because its nice and fun for me and less stop and go for the car. Just my experience so far.
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