[Xplosiv166]

Hi,

So i have finally swapped the 330d for the 440i ( I will post some pictures later when i have more time - but i am extremely happy with the change the engine is brilliant so far - so happy i made the change)

Back to the question:

The manual says not to go over 4,500 rpm which i have been doing but if i leave the car in comfort the car has so much very low down torque (much the same feeling as my 30d) that it changes through the gears and never goes over 3,000 for more than a few seconds always wanting to sit at extremely low rpm (70 miles on the clock so far).

I have been making sure to avoid motorways and varying the speed but the auto box makes varying the revs some what difficult, what have other 40i owners done in terms of break-in?

[Steven1077]

I'm just keeping it under 4500 rpm, that’s all it says in the manual

[Xplosiv166]

don't labour the engine

That is the problem i am having with the auto it seems it really likes labouring the engine ( i.e changing gear at 1800-2400).

Not sure about using the paddles and sports mode, as for some reason i never got use to them in my old car and don't want to fook up and end up at 7000 rpm with only 70 miles on the clock

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Xplosiv166

That is the problem i am having with the auto it seems it really likes labouring the engine ( i.e changing gear at 1800-2400).

Not sure about using the paddles and sports mode, as for some reason i never got use to them in my old car and don't want to fook up and end up at 7000 rpm with only 70 miles on the clock

An auto doesn't really allow an engine to labour, it will change down when needed.

Simply pull the down change paddle to gain a few revs, as and when you want, to help vary the revs and include a few load variations while bedding in. It will revert to full auto within a few seconds.

BTW, the engine will run low rpm, trundle along at about 1,300rpm without effort. Not a problem, once bedded in, but work the engine a bit to ensure it gets enough load to bed the rings in efficiently.

[MashinBenzin]

Yep, I used the paddles to vary the revs a bit, and also gentle spells in sport mode (with gentle throttle it won't hold a gear for too long).

As long as you are sensible with the throttle, you won't accidentally over-rev it before changing up - and as long as it's warm it won't do it any harm anyway.

I did stick to 4.5k for my first 1100 or so miles before letting it off the leash.

[Xplosiv166]

Okay, thanks all.

[225]

I "bedded in the seals" as soon as I left the garage twice once warm.. The odd blip into higher rpm is not going to hurt it! Just be sensible I would say and you will soon go to being able to zing round to 7k rpm in sports plus!
It will get louder and faster as well which is nice.

[Jon D]

I'm in the same situation with the same engine in my 640i. I'm now up to 750 miles and I've been varying the RPM as much as possible whilst keeping below 4000 RPM just about all the time, with a couple of blips up to 4500 in the last 50 miles; also been driving in manual a few times.
This is exactly what I did with my 535d (granted it was a diesel) and my last 640i; both cars used hardly any oil over many thousands of miles, so I must have done something right.
As other posters hav said, the most important thing is to vary the RPM as much as possible and avoid prolonged steady-state motorway driving. Again, as other's have said, if you keep it in Auto it won't let you labour the engine - I only used manual a few times and kept it spinning freely.

[Xplosiv166]

Been out again in comfort for some town driving so lots of 0 to 30 and 0 to 40 with some 0 - 60 on the dual carriageway. Maybe i need to be slightly more aggressive with the throttle (not been past about 25-30% as yet) as i cannot seem to make it move much past 3000 rpm for any length of time- seems to quickly shift into 1000 and below most of the time (possible got the below 1000 wrong not spent a huge amount of time in the car)

Going to try and do the best run-in i can as think i will be keeping this one love the engine so far.

[HighlandPete]

Was interesting when I had the new engine in my 540i, I found I had to work it more than some of my regular easy driving would normally require. No way was it having it too easy, as that is no good for bedding in an engine. They do need some work, so had to think about it a bit, to ensure it had the loads and variations it needed.

My favourite is to take a new engine out into the mountains, plenty of variation, gear changing and heat fluctuations. A couple of hundred miles in one go and it is in a good state to increase loads and revs.

My father was an engine guy, he rebuild lots of Diesel engines, (Caterpillar and the like), he always reckoned "get them to work". Obviously not flat out, but moderate loads once hot, and no idling.

[Rukka]

Originally Posted by 225

I "bedded in the seals" as soon as I left the garage twice once warm.. The odd blip into higher rpm is not going to hurt it! Just be sensible I would say and you will soon go to being able to zing round to 7k rpm in sports plus!
It will get louder and faster as well which is nice.

I did exactly this, straight from the dealer, warmed her up and up to redline - letting it coast back down to 2000rpm then same again. Helps to seal the rings

After that, just drove it as normal but kept (mostly) below 4500

[Grant_7]

Originally Posted by Rukka

I did exactly this, straight from the dealer, warmed her up and up to redline - letting it coast back down to 2000rpm then same again. Helps to seal the rings

After that, just drove it as normal but kept (mostly) below 4500

And me. Straight out the dealers, warm to full oil temp and then run to 7000rpm with full coast-downs. Lovely jublee.

[Torque of the Devil]

Given I never keep a car outside the warranty I just drive it normally straight from collection, never had a problem. I'm more considerate of the tyres and brakes than I am of the engine to start with.

[Twenty2Three]

Might start giving mine the beans ... its covered 73K!

[elstoof]

I was feeling cheeky and gave it the beans a little early - sadly at 1170 miles as soon I hit 5000rpm and the whole engine fell out the bay. should have waited until it was ready

[insanecoder]

Originally Posted by elstoof

I was feeling cheeky and gave it the beans a little early - sadly at 1170 miles as soon I hit 5000rpm and the whole engine fell out the bay. should have waited until it was ready

?
Breakin or no breakin.. engines should not be falling out of its bay

[Torque of the Devil]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

?
Breakin or no breakin.. engines should not be falling out of its bay

It's called sarcasm, know your limits and stick to the American section you'll find it much easier

[Russbmw]

I was told by 3 different friends, all who have worked in the car industry selling new cars for a long time now, that modern cars don't "need" breaking in as such - and the best thing to do is, as has been said above, to just drive the car as you would normally, and most important is to vary the load on the engine. The dealership I got mine from said the same.

So don't go pootling round at 2k rpm thinking you're doing the engine a favour.

I think you just need to be a bit sensible about it to be honest.

Have to say, personally I wouldn't have gone fanging the crap out of it straight out of it straight out of the dealers - but the odd brief excursion to higher rpm won't do it any harm IMO.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Russbmw

I was told by 3 different friends, all who have worked in the car industry selling new cars for a long time now, that modern cars don't "need" breaking in as such - and the best thing to do is, as has been said above, to just drive the car as you would normally, and most important is to vary the load on the engine. The dealership I got mine from said the same.

So don't go pootling round at 2k rpm thinking you're doing the engine a favour.

I think you just need to be a bit sensible about it to be honest.

Have to say, personally I wouldn't have gone fanging the crap out of it straight out of it straight out of the dealers - but the odd brief excursion to higher rpm won't do it any harm IMO.

Yes, the good old sensible, moderate and balanced approach.

We often simply think 'engine' when bedding in a car, many parts also benefit from similar moderate use initially. Tyres, brakes, drivetrain components, etc.

Too little work and low loads are just as bad. Many drivers who first moved to diesel and found they had decent performance in the lower rev range (compared to petrol), trundled around from new with not much more than 2,500 rpm. Then wondered why their engines burned oil.

[v6Jules]

So far I've done 500 or so miles on mine and I've been mostly driving in a mixture of sport and comfort as sport seems to use and vary the revs a bit more. Now I intend to explore sport plus and manual a little more between roundabouts (I work in MK) and gradually increase the load with the revs. Did this with my VRS working up to full performance at 1000 miles and after 18k it had used no oil at all.

Driving really gently then suddenly giving it hell at 1000+ doesn't sound like an ideal way to run in a new machine in my opinion.

[Torque of the Devil]

The tolerances are so accurate on engines these days they do not need running in