Speaking from personal experience, I have never, ever followed a manufacturers running-in advice, having always given my cars full beans from the off, and not once has it come back to bite me.
Hmm, there may be elements of luck, your skill, or actual engineering principles which have, to date, served you well. However, would you feel comfortable if another poster here followed your principles, only to end up with engine failure or some lesser engine probs, and whinge "I was only following what S11EPS recommended" ??
Irrespective of what may or may not work for one inividual, or weather it is based on engineering priciples found on some race engine tuners web site - I would still err on the side of caution, and recommend only following the manufacturers instructions. Afterall, it will be VW, and not S11EPS, who pick up the bill for any warranty work!
My current car (Impreza) has survived almost three years and 80-odd thousand miles of hard driving since day one, and uses no oil between 10k mile service intervals.
Yebut, ricers are known for a little more reliability than european motors! And 10k servicing intervals, presumably with a high spec fully synthetic oil is still a relatively conservative regime (but not to Yanks !!).
When my new car arrives on September 1st I will give that exactly the same treatment, because not only has this never given me any problems, but it has produced notably faster cars - colleagues and friends who have read and stuck to manufacturers guidlines in identical cars have ended up with markably slower cars.
Again, hmmmm. A standard car can be made to release its' ultimate power, even if it was run-in to manufacturers guidelines. Regular, hard use after the initial run-in period will still release the same ultimate power as a car thrashed from day one. Your mates may simply not be driving as hard as you in general terms. Indeed, SWMBOs last Astra was repeated thought to be a 2 litre SRI, yet it was only a 1.8 115PS - it was babied during the run-in period, but after that, was regularly "cleared out", and the tecchys at the main stealer said it was way faster than all the other 1.8 Astras they ever had, even the later 130PS variants.
Before anyone suggests that it may produce long term problems, look again at my Impreza. 80-odd thousand miles in just under three years - neither time nor mileage benchmarks can be considered short-term. The car still starts on the button, is sewing-machine smooth, and doesn't leak or burn a drop of oil. Yet it is faster than two friends identical-year Imprezas of identical spec....
As detailed above. ^^^^ Also, 80k miles in three years would indicate that the car has to deal with very few cold starts. Indeed, regular, sustained high speed cruising is considerably kinder to an engine, compared to one with frequent cold starts, short journeys, or dawdling around towns.
One final point to consider - One of (if not the) largest fleet operators in the UK - the Police - do not follow manufacturers guidlines for running in; new cars are received and are straight out in active duty, without imposed rev-limits. If lack of running in bought-on identifiable premature wear do you not think the police would adopt a running-in procedure, or have the cars pre-run-in?
Erm, I think you may be wrong there. Firstly, the Police is not the largest fleet operator, even when all 52 forces are combined as a whole figure. The Police forces that I've had contact with ARE told to comply with running procedures, with a caveat of some "emergency response" exceptions. Given that, most "high speed" operational vehicles (not the routine "panda" type patrol cars) are usually past the run-in period after just a few days anyway. Then there is the maintenance issues, Police vehicles
always have a daily inspection (DI) and the oil (and other levels) is always kept topped up to the max. They are serviced either on, or before manufacturers schedules, invariably to a far greater standard than any civvy motor, with genuine parts. Police vehicles are usually disposed of after three years, and dispite the popular myth that they are "excellent examples" - many are well shagged out, some so bad they are crushed as being unsellable.
Regarding "other" large vehicle fleets - I used to work on such large fleets, and was also involved in their technical documentation - and I can assure you, running in procedures were extremely rigidly enforced.
