How many miles for running in?

[p3asa]

I don't like it on my Dad's DSG GTD for the very reason that you're seemingly waiting an age for the car to react to your accelerator prod (3/4 of a second sometimes seems like an age when you're looking to move away from a roundabout (maybe another reason why the manual can be a bit more economical if DSGers have a general preference to turn stop-start off?).

I don't mind Stop/Start at all on my manual but I would never allow it to kick in on a roundabout.
Even with a manual I'd always have it in gear and ready to roll as soon as that gap appeared. I don't think I'd be any different when changing to the DSG.
Certainly traffic lights are different as you aren't aiming for a gap.

[Finglonga]

I disabled the Stop/Start using OBDeleven.

As for running in, keep an eye on oil usage and if it is using some give it some welly and that will help bed the rings in correctly. You can be too kind to modern engines and that causes them to use oil.

[Mike J]

My previous, a Mk5 never needed any oil between any of its services.

Anyone thrashing a new car, any car, before its bedded itself in (650-1000 miles typically) is either leasing it or doesn't care about (or realise) the damage they might be doing.


Boothy, your 19mpg or a little over 
I used to get more than that with Land Rover 110 2.5 TDI going cross country 50% of the time.
Id buy Oil shares and get some back if I was you 

[phazer]

My previous, a Mk5 never needed any oil between any of its services.

Anyone thrashing a new car, any car, before its bedded itself in (650-1000 miles typically) is either leasing it or doesn't care about (or realise) the damage they might be doing.

No-one is suggesting thrashing a new engine but modern VAG diesels do need working firm but fair from new otherwise oil consumption will be very high. Fannying about for the first 1000 miles is almost guaranteed to give you this problem.

If the mileage is still low it can be made better if not cured by doing as I and others have suggested.

[Mike J]

[quote author=phazer modern VAG diesels do need working firm but fair from new otherwise oil consumption will be very high. Fannying about for the first 1000 miles is almost guaranteed to give you this problem.[/quote]



I suppose its a question of words or phrases and what each of us means by those we use.

Eg;
'Thrashing' to me is running the engine above 2/3 max in any gear for extended (2-5min) periods, or traffic light sprints when the engine hasn't reached its working temperature.

Can you explain what you mean by 'fair but firm' and 'fannying about' please?
Also what would you consider a high oil consumption in a quantity?  (say, between services).


Q: Does anyone know if there is any accurate documentation that states clear running-in figures (and expected oil consumption) or is the handbook all we have to go on?

[phazer]

It's really not difficult. Bounding off the rev limiter whether hot or cold would be considered thrashing. Shoving the gear stick into first from 5th or 6th at high speed would be thrashing it. Pulling away hard from traffic lights is not (how you deliver the power vs. traction and it's effect on the transmission is another matter).

Firm but fair - Up to temperature, using the whole power band, which includes high revs but not limiter and not outside the power band of the engine as that's pointless. Hard acceleration in lower gears, again using the power band. Not taking 4 hours to accelerate to 40mph.
There's a school of thought of hard acceleration in third and then backing off to use cylinder pressure to force the rings to seat tightly against the cylinder bores and a bunch of other stuff - as I said before search on google, there's loads of info on this sort of run in.

Fannying about - serious question?  You really don't know what sort of driving this would be? Oh well....Keeping the revs really low and accelerating really slowly, only doing 50 on the motorway for miles and miles etc etc ergo fannying about, driving miss daisy, like an old fart...whatever you want to call it  Not ever going above 2/3 of the rev range for a relatively short period of time would also fit into that....you need to drive your car harder.

The handbook is the only official information you will find on this topic along with the official acceptable oil consumption figures (I don't know anyone who thinks the top end of this would be acceptable but hey ho). VW's own "run in" information is pretty good actually, it certainly advocates working the engine properly in not so many words.

[I wanted a GTi]

I have never run in a car apart from making sure it was up to temp before using more than 2/3 of the rev range. The only car I have ever had that used oil over the last years was a bought second hand Range Rover and to check the oil in that I just looked under it in the morning

It's not rocket science, just drive normally and don't either rag it or baby it.

[mattwilko92]

I just took it easy for the first 1000 miles, not only for the engine to bed in / run in, but also for the tyres, breaks etc to bed in. Also a car is made up of loads of mechanical parts, id rather know if something wasn't correctly going at an easy speed rather than ragging it!

[monkeyhanger]

Phazer is spot on.

Had 8 VWs from new and the only one that used oil between services (using enough oil to warrant top-ups between services) was ran in on motorway miles - its first 700 miles were spent mainly sat in 6th maintaining 80mph on the motorway. It was a 140TDI PD MK5 Golf, and at 350 miles (driven straight from the Burnley dealership, to Southampton and then across to LeHavre on the ferry), just landed in France and I get the amber oil top up warning and it took the whole litre top-up bottle that came with the car. Back to Southampton and then home to Newcastle and it took another litre. From then on it used a litre every 1000 miles, it was sluggish and mpg was atrocious for a diesel.

The other 7 VWs have been run in on varied driving, and the cars have not been babied. I err on the side of not being afraid to get 2/3 of the performance out of a new engine once warm for the first 500 miles, 3/4 of the performance for the next 500 miles and then whatever you like after that. You have to do it responsibly, more for the sake of the tyres and brakes not being at their best for the first few hundred miles.

Without good ring seating you're going to get high oil and fuel consumption and be down on power, and you need to give the engine a bit of a workout early days to get good ring seating and avoid glazed bores.

You'll do more a far worse job of running in by babying the engine (tickling the throttle, labouring the engine in a high gear etc) rather than giving it a slightly enthusiastic workout.

[Mark V GTD]

Need a 'like button' for Monkeyhangers post above