Advice on running in a GTI, please.

[FroGTI]

I have had lots of new cars in my time (I'm old, not rich ), but nearly all have been diesels.

What advice would you give me on running in a new, high-performance petrol engine like that in the GTI? Dealers say that running-in is a thing of the past, but I'm not so sure...

TIA

[VWKev]

For me, running it in is just putting a good bit of miles on the clock. Doing things like some motorway travel at certain speeds, going faster each time. If you do want to floor it, make sure the engine has warmed up completely.

With the dealers saying its a thing of the past, I can see where they come from as the engine will be 'run-in' through quality control to ensure all is well before the car is shipped out.

[Horney]

With the dealers saying its a thing of the past, I can see where they come from as the engine will be 'run-in' through quality control to ensure all is well before the car is shipped out.

What in the 5 miles it'll get driven before delivery? I also doubt they bench run every engine for a set period either.

nick

[VWKev]

With the dealers saying its a thing of the past, I can see where they come from as the engine will be 'run-in' through quality control to ensure all is well before the car is shipped out.

What in the 5 miles it'll get driven before delivery? I also doubt they bench run every engine for a set period either.

nick

The car doesn't get driven before delivery when running in the engine (yes they may drive a sample of cars after manufacturing), each engine is ran through its paces and unless I'm mistaken this happens to every engine before the car is built or while its being built, it gives the chance for a break-in/run in period.

Unless I'm corrected, this is always the way I've known for it to be done.

[Horney]

With the dealers saying its a thing of the past, I can see where they come from as the engine will be 'run-in' through quality control to ensure all is well before the car is shipped out.

What in the 5 miles it'll get driven before delivery? I also doubt they bench run every engine for a set period either.

nick

The car doesn't get driven before delivery when running in the engine (yes they may drive a sample of cars after manufacturing), each engine is ran through its paces and unless I'm mistaken this happens to every engine before the car is built or while its being built, it gives the chance for a break-in/run in period.

Unless I'm corrected, this is always the way I've known for it to be done.

If you can provide proof then I'll happily eat my hat. My old mans worked in the motor industry most of his life and I've been in my fair share of factories over the years. The cars are ragged off the line and given a beasting on the brake test then racked up on the transporter to go to the yards. Engines are never run on the line and won't be fired up until they're taken off the end of the line for the drive to the transporter.

Engines are normally delivered to the line on a crate from the engine plant and dropped straight in. The engineplant will likely test 1 engine in a batch to check everything but certainly 99% of engines will hit the car having had nothing more than a turn over by hand. This doesn't apply quite so much to bentelys and Rolls Royces etc but your average eurobox like the GTi is not a hand built performance car is it? It's a fridge with wheels and you don't see indesit road testing every fridge before delivery do you?

nick

[topher]

Allegedly they're run in on a bench, but the sensible advice is still to take it easy for the first 1000 miles. Half throttle and no red-lining between gear changes.

VW will tell you that you don't need to run it in. They told us that with one of our brand new company passat TDIs. 6 months later it had to have a new engine fitted and they changed their mind about the run-in procedure

[VWKev]

With the dealers saying its a thing of the past, I can see where they come from as the engine will be 'run-in' through quality control to ensure all is well before the car is shipped out.

What in the 5 miles it'll get driven before delivery? I also doubt they bench run every engine for a set period either.

nick

The car doesn't get driven before delivery when running in the engine (yes they may drive a sample of cars after manufacturing), each engine is ran through its paces and unless I'm mistaken this happens to every engine before the car is built or while its being built, it gives the chance for a break-in/run in period.

Unless I'm corrected, this is always the way I've known for it to be done.

If you can provide proof then I'll happily eat my hat. My old mans worked in the motor industry most of his life and I've been in my fair share of factories over the years. The cars are ragged off the line and given a beasting on the brake test then racked up on the transporter to go to the yards. Engines are never run on the line and won't be fired up until they're taken off the end of the line for the drive to the transporter.

Engines are normally delivered to the line on a crate from the engine plant and dropped straight in. The engineplant will likely test 1 engine in a batch to check everything but certainly 99% of engines will hit the car having had nothing more than a turn over by hand. This doesn't apply quite so much to bentelys and Rolls Royces etc but your average eurobox like the GTi is not a hand built performance car is it? It's a fridge with wheels and you don't see indesit road testing every fridge before delivery do you?

nick

If you can provide proof I'll eat my hat too.   

[Horney]

What hat have you got? I'm not sure whether to tuck into a baseball cap or my Fedora? I think the Baseball cap may take longer to digest.

I shall do some digging and see what I can find out in respect of VW engines and bench running and I'll let you know who gets to hat munch!

nick

[VWKev]

What hat have you got? I'm not sure whether to tuck into a baseball cap or my Fedora? I think the Baseball cap may take longer to digest.

I shall do some digging and see what I can find out in respect of VW engines and bench running and I'll let you know who gets to hat munch!

nick

Hmm, good point, If there's any hat eating to happen you can go first. 

As for checking the bench running etc, it would be good, not only to see if anything has changed over the years or if it still gets done the same way I thought it had, but will ultimately help the original poster 

[Rhyso]

this topic is a proper can of worms - search the MK5 section as i'm sure it was done to death a while back

my advice - follow the handbook which is what Topher has basically said!

Simples!!