How to take care of your GTI/GTD

[Hawaii-Five-O]

I find this difficult to understand to be honest (my fault not yours).  Not going over 2/3 throttle, yet not driving like a nun... What I think of as driving like a nun would be for a large part not going over 2/3 throttle.

Do you mean fast acceleration is good, but cut it short so you don't go high on the revs? I'm confused a bit.

Seeing as you'll get 3/4 of your performance from 2/3 of the throttle (diminishing returns at the higher end), I wouldn't  consider 2/3 throttle driving like a nun - was thinking more like someone only using a third of the throttle and maybe only taking the revs up to 40% of the red line, driving it ultra economically.

Moderate acceleration, up to 3/4 of the rev range and using 2/3 of the throttle to get there is what i'd be aiming to do for the first 500 miles and then work up a little from there from 500 to 1000 miles then do what you like after that (when the engine is warm). Lots of variation over the first couple of weeks of ownership.

Monkeyhanger, no word of a lie, when I test drove the GTI this week the sales guy sat next to me said its fine to thrash it from new! He said they're already "run in" when you drive it away for the first time.

That goes against everything we've read on this forum

I'm not saying I'm gonna take his advice - just passing on what he said.

[Snoopy]

Im for ever reading about running a car in.
I wish people would just RTFM...

Anyway on a lighter note. 

Depends what you class as take care of your GTI/gtd
With a new car that I hope to keep a long time I :
I always do a full detail.
I always waxoyl the entire underneath, all box sections, inside doors bootlid etc etc especially on modern cars as they cost cut like crazy on paint and underseal and with vw reputation for rusting golfs even more so.

[monkeyhanger]

I find this difficult to understand to be honest (my fault not yours).  Not going over 2/3 throttle, yet not driving like a nun... What I think of as driving like a nun would be for a large part not going over 2/3 throttle.

Do you mean fast acceleration is good, but cut it short so you don't go high on the revs? I'm confused a bit.

Seeing as you'll get 3/4 of your performance from 2/3 of the throttle (diminishing returns at the higher end), I wouldn't  consider 2/3 throttle driving like a nun - was thinking more like someone only using a third of the throttle and maybe only taking the revs up to 40% of the red line, driving it ultra economically.

Moderate acceleration, up to 3/4 of the rev range and using 2/3 of the throttle to get there is what i'd be aiming to do for the first 500 miles and then work up a little from there from 500 to 1000 miles then do what you like after that (when the engine is warm). Lots of variation over the first couple of weeks of ownership.

Monkeyhanger, no word of a lie, when I test drove the GTI this week the sales guy sat next to me said its fine to thrash it from new! He said they're already "run in" when you drive it away for the first time.

That goes against everything we've read on this forum

I'm not saying I'm gonna take his advice - just passing on what he said.

Exactly what the salesman said to my dad about the GTD when he picked it up.

On the other hand, the salesman have demonstrated many times they know feck all about the products they sell and they're not mechanics. If you're only keeping it 3 years then VW's warranty will pick up the slack no matter what goes wrong.

I've never driven very hard from day one and had good results from 5 new TDIs (principal should be the same for a turboed petrol, especially with their direct injection, TSIs are engineered more like a diesel than ever before. I only babied one engine (by having it sit on a motorway for the first 300 miles of it's life at 70mph) and that didn't turn out great. So I can't vouch for the thrashing method - i've never done it, but moderate acceleration and plenty of  variation have worked well for me in the past including very recent VAG engines. Babying is a definite no-no for me.

[JonnyG]

A few common sense tips I've picked up over the years are :-

1.  Always drive nice and gently until your oil temperature is up to normal (both running in and then forever)
2.  Vary the revs if you can while running in (especially with DSG which will stick to low revs in D mode).  I tend to run mine in like Monkeyhanger says above. 
3.  Check your oil and coolant levels regularly over the first 5000 miles - they can sometimes drop quite a bit with these new engines.
4.  Don't drive too close to the car in front (this will save you loads of stone chips - believe me  ).  Maybe the new ADC will assist with this 
5.  Use a wax or sealant regularly and remove bird sh~t and any other nasty contaminants as soon as possible (keep a microfiber cloth and QD spray in your boot)
6. Use a glass sealant - they really do make washing the windscreen a lot easier in the Summer - squashed insects just wash off with a jet wash and/or light wipe with a soapy wash mitt. 
7.  Watch your tyre treads and switch over front to rear at a suitable time to even out the wear.  You can then prolong the need for new tyres and get a full matching set of 4 tyres when you do need to change.
8.  Always park well away from kerbs and keep those nice new alloys in tip top condition (free of kerbing).  You can bet in 6 months time there will be a few threads entitled "Where can I get my kerbed alloy repaired ?"   
9.  Keep you alloys well sealed and try and avoid harsh cleaners on them.  VW alloys have a tendency to suffer from something nicknamed "the dreaded white worm" over time.  Harsh cleaners can also fade the brake calipers.   
10  Get a boot liner to protect your boot carpet.
11. Stick to the appropriate VW service regime and keep within a few 100 miles of the intervals if you can (this will help with any warranty work later on and even goodwill contributions by VW after the warranty has expired).

[Chief1337]

I've been following this and other 'running in' related threads closely since ordering my GTI.

What's clear is that there is a lot of mixed option!

However, the general concensus seems to be to ensure that you 'vary' your driving style over the first 1000 or so miles. A balanced drive some might say.

I'm going for the DSG gearbox in my GTi. So would the following plan seem sensible for running in?

1) Always ensure that the engine is fully up to temp before taking it out of D.
2) Pop the car into manual every 5 miles or so and take a couple of gears up to around 6000rpm?
3) Don't redline the car until at around 3000 on the clock ?

One of my main concerns is that I do a lot of motorway miles. The majority of my driving is motorway based, so conscious that i'll be doing more damage than good stuck at 70 for hours on end for the first 1000 miles. If I say varied the speed (when safe) between 50-70 at varying revs would that be a good idea?

Another concern is that ill be half way across the country and the oil/coolant will drop too low. I guess it's best to keep stock in the boot in this scenario ? If so what oil should I be buying?

[Snoopy]

As I said earlier read the manual.
Read the manual when you pick the car up. The Running in procedure  is in the manual.
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.
 
 
Read the manual.
..
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VW engineers will know better how to run the car in
 .
 .
 
 .
 READ THE MANUAL.

 

 

[Bill_the_Bear]

As I said earlier read the manual.
Read the manual when you pick the car up. The Running in procedure  is in the manual.
.
.
 
 
Read the manual.
..
.
.
VW engineers will know better how to run the car in
 .
 .
 
 .
 READ THE MANUAL.

You don't see the manual until you have the car at which point what you are going to do with it for the next 500miles may well be determined already.  For example I'm picking mine up from a dealer half way across the country, I need to plan my route back.

Now if VW would put the manuals online things would be a lot easier.

Also we might need more detail, the manual tends to devote one sentence to run in.

[JoeGTI]

Serious over-thinking things going on here. Just drive the blooming thing and use reasonable common sense.

[SRGTD]

Another concern is that ill be half way across the country and the oil/coolant will drop too low. I guess it's best to keep stock in the boot in this scenario ? If so what oil should I be buying?

Get a litre of oil for topping up from the dealer when you pick your car up. That way, you should get the right spec oil for your engine.

[Gryzor]

Serious over-thinking things going on here. Just drive the blooming thing and use reasonable common sense.

Most sensible post in here yet (next to reading the manual of course!)