Running in new engine

[Hobojim]

A lot of the  posts have been about diesels. Does the same apply to petrol engines?

[AAddict]

A lot of the  posts have been about diesels. Does the same apply to petrol engines?

Petrol? Drive it like you stole from the second you leave the forecourt. You don't wanna end up with a wimp of an engine in your GTI.

[monkeyhanger]

A lot of the  posts have been about diesels. Does the same apply to petrol engines?

The principles are the same, although compression ratio of a petrol engine is much lower than that of a diesel. Haven't had TSIs to know if it makes that much of a difference on a TSI

[Bill_the_Bear]

I did some digging again for *reliable* information.  I was looking for articles either by a professional organisation, rather than just someone's unqualified opinion, or with technical explanations to back up the claims.  I found a few you might like to read if you're interested, I've put them in quote bubbles below.

The AA and Honest John each have short bullet point articles which take only a minute to read:

AA advice:
http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/general-advice/running-in-a-new-car.html

Honest John:
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/running-in-a-petrol-engine/
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/running-in-a-diesel/

Now, this article is much more extensive and is specifically pitched at VW/Audi TDI engines.  I haven't read the whole thing yet because its much longer than the previous articles, but it looks good to me:

Article specifically on VW diesels:
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/engine-break-in.htm

[monkeyhanger]

Bill: http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/engine-break-in.htm

Great article, and the giste of it is moderation - too hard or too soft can both be bad.

If I was facing a long drive in mine on the motorway to get home from the dealership a broker used then I would be dropping a gear occasionally to vary the revs, let the car decelerate to 50mph and maybe do half a mile at 50mph  (behind a lorry/caravan) and gently accelerate to 70mph maybe once or twice every 10 miles or so etc. Worst thing for me on a badly run-in enginne is it's thirst for oil.