hey guys

Seen so many different POV's on this....
Does anyone actually know what the mileage is before broken in and what the correct method!!

Lets get this grey area either black or white!!

Caerwyn

read the manual, but from what i've read, 500 miles

yeah but that just until you can hammer it.... I mean really broken in!???!!!

I have heard that an engine doesnt really settle/break in for like 20,000 miles....
meaning the ENTIRE engine is completely "set"...

DO NOT QUOTE ME ON THAT!!!!! i just heard it from someone that is knowledgeable with engines... not sure if this applies to newer engines or just the old school stuff...

BUT!!!!! you can hammer it all you want above 500 miles SAFELY because thats how long it usually takes the rings and stuff to break in....

^ Yeah I have heard the engine is going to be at its peak in life around 15k-25k miles, thats where people start seeing the good increase in MPG and stuff, but every car and motor is different.

With proper care almost any good motor can make it 500k miles (yes, half a million), and would then say its broken in at 100k...

Ol' School Hot Rodders will tell you the best way is to ride the piss out of it ever so often. :)

But 500ish is about right. I've had to break in about 3 different engines, the key is not letting them idle for too long as it's bad on new rings, and could potentially scar the cylinder bore (more thought of as an urban legend, but I believe it), and to get the majority of your break in miles as around town driving and not all highway as that kind of coincides with the idling. The pistons/rings moving at the same consistency for an elongated amount of time isn't good for proper ring seating.

Just my .02c though everyones break in procedure will differ but it is highly recommended that an oil change should follow shortly there after. My wife's will be at around the 1000 mark. So only 998 more miles to go!

Remember that there is more than just the engine to break in. Differential gears need polishing front and back sides on the ring/pinion, transmission gears the same. There are many different types of sliding surfaces in the engine -- piston rings, cam lobes, cam bearings, crankshaft bearings, wrist pins, etc. The "old school" as well as the factory manual always said to vary engine speeds during break in. I don't race my cars, and I do expect them to last 150,000 plus, so I do it the old way. Intuitively, it would make sense that the faster and more vigorous the break in, the faster the engine will be expected to wear in and wear out. My GTO LS2 got 500 miles of constantly varying speeds up and back, up and back. My 3.8L supercharged GTP got the same break in and I just returned from a round trip to Phoenix from Joplin, Missouri on I-40 (over mountains at Albuquerque and into Phoenix) and got a total round trip mileage of 33.1 (EPA rated 28 Hy) running 80 on the interstate.

Thats awesome mileage!! Good info thanks fellas.

The time needed to break it in varies from engine to engine, even if they're the 'same' engine. Sticking to the manual is good advice for all engines though.

As for riding the piss out of it every so often, do it. There is actual evidence from aviation engineering studies involving fighter aircraft. The pilots are encouraged to once in a while push the aircraft hard every way they can, resulting in a phenomenon know as crack growth retardation. In a nutshell, the one big stress slows down the results of little stresses, with the big stress doing less damage than unheeded little stresses.

However, a police officer may not understand/appreciate the engineering involved, so be discreet when applying the mechanical 'treatments' to improve the longevity of your car.

Agreed on working to get the whole drivetrain broken in, but some of the "wait to floor it" philosophy comes from the old flat tappet cams which indeed needed plenty of wear-in. Modern roller tappets and the like are essentially ready from the start. The main issue with today's engines are getting max ring seal.
My routine for break in is working to vary rpm and ensure plenty of engine breaking/down shifting (easy on a manual, fine with G8 in manual shift mode) for increasing engine vacuum. This off-throttle vacuum helps suck the rings firmly against the wall and is key for getting rings to seat properly and quickly.
Mid rpm WOT is also important - increses cylindar pressure without high rpm stress to other components. My $.02.

the manual says

300 miles to break in the brakes (so take it easy when braking!)

500 miles till you can hammer it on the lower gears (1st 2nd and 3rd)

500-3000 miles try NOT TO go higher than 70mph and not more than 5 mins at a time.

After that supposidly according to the manual... its broken in

the manual says

300 miles to break in the brakes (so take it easy when braking!)

500 miles till you can hammer it on the lower gears (1st 2nd and 3rd)

500-3000 miles try NOT TO go higher than 70mph and not more than 5 mins at a time.

After that supposidly according to the manual... its broken in

Yeah, I'm a bit puzzled about the miles/hr limitation. In 6th gear, you're running well under 2,000 RPM at 70 mph, so it isn't an engine RPM/bearing consideration. You can use heavy acceleration in lower gears but not go over 68mph. I'd like a logical explanation.

On my GT, I used the varied speed (both vehicle and RPM) for the first 500 miles, then simply highway driving on an interstate with coastdown on downhills to around 55mph and a 6-5th upshift to climb slight grades back up to 65-70. This gives constantly varied RPM and vehicle speeds without heavy engine loads. The main thing the manual advised against is a steady speed for 3,000 miles. That is why I NEVER consider buying a dealer-transferred vehicle where some brain-dead old retired guy takes the new car out on the interstate, sets the cruise on 75mph and drives 200 miles to deliver the vehicle. :oldfogey:

So it would make sense to drive the G8 in manu-matic mode during the break-in period. It would keep the rpms changing more often than in auto mode. But be careful not to exceed the specified rpms as stated in the owners manual until after break-in.

I think this is why I've never had any issues, always had a manual in my sports cars.

I dont know about all of you here but...
500-3000 miles try NOT TO go higher than 70mph and not more than 5 mins at a time.

This would nearly be impossible for me. 3k of miles is like 3 months of grandma cruising.

Yeah, I'm a bit puzzled about the miles/hr limitation. In 6th gear, you're running well under 2,000 RPM at 70 mph, so it isn't an engine RPM/bearing consideration. You can use heavy acceleration in lower gears but not go over 68mph. I'd like a logical explanation.
On my GT, I used the varied speed (both vehicle and RPM) for the first 500 miles, then simply highway driving on an interstate with coastdown on downhills to around 55mph and a 6-5th upshift to climb slight grades back up to 65-70. This gives constantly varied RPM and vehicle speeds without heavy engine loads. The main thing the manual advised against is a steady speed for 3,000 miles. That is why I NEVER consider buying a dealer-transferred vehicle where some brain-dead old retired guy takes the new car out on the interstate, sets the cruise on 75mph and drives 200 miles to deliver the vehicle. :oldfogey:

Just a guess here, but the rear diff doesn't know what gear or engine RPM is, so it could be due to the rear end break in. Time limit would tell me that overheating could be a problem until break-in, maybe the gears have to wear down all the ridges and high spots on the teeth to run cooler.

I broke in my GTO in one day, following the below 55 no constant throttle....bought in Ohio, drove to Alabama with an overnight in Tennessee...That was very irritating the first day.

I am thinking of doing my oil change at about 1000 miles and using mobile 1 extended life 15,000 mile oil and a k%n oil filter. I did put a filter mag on the oil filter when I got the car about 150 miles from the dealer and after I ordered it. I do plan on cutting the stock oil filter with a cutter if anyone wants to see the pictures, not sure if I will go to 1500 miles or close to 1000. I would like to put the new oil right away and then change it when it tells me to or 3500 on the second one again with the filter mag(300 psi) version installed. Let me know what anyone thinks, thanks. Also I noticed in the garage for a sec on idle, the oil meter was at 1 bar, not sure it is a concern, like when I shifted from drive to park it did that.

Im not sure what protocol Pontiac has for this engine. If the filter it came with from the showroom floor is the first one it ever had, then the insides will be ugly - and pretty normal from my experience. If the second still has significant large particles, then not so good.

For the reasonable cost, I would get that initial oil and filter out of there in the first couple hundred miles. I won't switch to synthetic until at least 2000 miles, though most agree 1000 is min for proper ring seal.

I don't pick my GT up until this Saturday, but 48548, how long does it stay at 1 bar oil pressure? If each bar is equal and you are seeing 1 of 6, then I wouldn't like that. Problem is that most factory sensors (oil pres, air/water temp) do not behave the way a mechanical guage does, and difference between the bars may actually be slight or within range for an idling motor. I would expect this motor to have an oil pressure bypass valve to maintain consistent pressure regardless of rpm.

As for the varied rpm the manual calls for, I believe that to be the simple way to get people to vary the cilyndar pressures/engine vacuum for ring seating as well as to wear-in both facings on multiple drive-line pieces. I will not hesitate to make 500 mile trip on the freeway early on - will simply be creative in keeping things from being static. Nor will I worry about some "spirited" driving. The track may wait a short time, but...

I have 89 miles on it and I have a nice thick coating of rubber on my rear fenders :gears:

I haven't changed the filter yet and or oil. It is still at about 700 miles, but I will probably change as close to 1000 miles as possible. Then I am going to put the k&n oil filter and the mobile 1 extended life oil... Seeing how the gto and corvette come with synthetic, I don't have or see an issue with that. I am curious how much metal I will see when I cut the filter open, as this is the first filter I will cut open bought a cutter just for this car. As for the oil pressure, since it is still stock, it was only at one bar for a split second then back up to 2 bars at idle. I guess I will have to monitor that and see it it happens more often.

So it would make sense to drive the G8 in manu-matic mode during the break-in period. It would keep the rpms changing more often than in auto mode. But be careful not to exceed the specified rpms as stated in the owners manual until after break-in.

I think this is why I've never had any issues, always had a manual in my sports cars.
Not sure I can figure out how to over-rev an engine that has fuel cutoff at 4000RPM in Park & N. Cutoff is at 6000RPM when driving. It's actually embarassing to go WOT in 1st gear in manual mode as the engine hits 6000RPM so fast you don't have time to bump into 2nd gear before fuel cut off and you slow down real fast. The only way to get going fast at launch is use S mode and make sure it starts in 1, not 2. Then,..........HANG ON!

the manual says

300 miles to break in the brakes (so take it easy when braking!)

500 miles till you can hammer it on the lower gears (1st 2nd and 3rd)

500-3000 miles try NOT TO go higher than 70mph and not more than 5 mins at a time.

After that supposidly according to the manual... its broken in

I was disappointed when I read that in the manual. I drove my G8 GT a little over 100 miles this past weekend and parked it until this coming weekend. I can't keep my car under 70 MPH to and from work! I'm in a hurry to get to work and if I had a bad night I will want to hammer it on the way home. Good thing I keep the Camaro!