Hey guys, Im new to cars in general so this might sound dumb!


So I am about to get myself a 08 cobalt sport

this is my first "brand new" car and I was wondering how you guys break in your engine and what is the optimal way of doing it.

I found an article here : http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

It seems to propose a new way of breaking your engine in and it seems logical but again im an idiot when it comes to cars.

thanks guys for the input

 

This kind of question can result in many opinionated answers! Best thing to do -- read your car's owners manual and follow what it says to do. That way you will meet the warranty requirements.

 

I think what is says in the manual is don't get on it for the first 500 to 1000 miles, but don't go too slow either. Nice car i am still happy with mine at 45,000 miles.

 

With my 2.2 I didn't go over 55mph for the first 100 miles, which was easy because I never had to travel on the interstate. Then for the first 1,000 miles I didn't accelerate quickly or gun it, and still rarely do this. Then, maybe it's just me, but after about 1,000 miles it seemed like the engine started running better and I was able to accelerate a bit quicker.

 

meh. I drove mine like i stole it from day 1 39 miles. No issues yet.

 

Because you did steal it

 

I have a 2.4 and mine did the same thing. Before I hit the 1000 mile mark I gunned it just to see what it could do once i hit 100mph it started to hesitate like it couldn't go any faster. Now its got about 4000 miles on it and doesn't hesitate at all.

 

Same here... I seem to have less issues with all the cars that I've owned which I bag the **** out of then some of my friends who follow these break in rules to a tee

 

hmm... you posted this twice... i replied in the other one, but I'll say it again here:

i have a 08 sport i have 1910 miles on it. just don't gun it till you have at least 1-1500 miles on it. (well ok I admit i did gun it a few times...) that's what I did. then again my dealer said the engine was already broken in sooo I dunno.... *shrugs* and yes this is my first brand new car too this car is awesome! just word of advice though go easy and a bit slow on 3rd and 4th gear. It likes to grind sometimes especially if the engine is cold. But other than that i have no complaints. as for that website... i have no idea cause i was/still is like you

 

Engines are pretty much broken in from factory, don't really need to worry about it. If anything, don't be too nice to it. Rings need some nice WOT to seal. But like I said, everything is good from Day 1.

 

hmm so I guess the dealer dude was right then

 

Even if the engine was broken in fully from the factory (which I don't think they are) you still need to break in the clutch if it's a 5 speed. This is important unless you want to have clutch problems later on.

 

and how would I go about breaking-in the clutch?

 

I broke my car it by taking it to the Dyno with 15 miles, track @ 75 miles, and 2.5 pulley setup @ 150 miles.

 

Keep it under 4000 rpm for the first 500 miles. Then go out and beat the crap out of it.

 

That is exactly what you don't want to do. Rings need lots of varying to seal properly, including lots of WOT and high RPM.

Just don't worry about and drive the car however you normally would.

 

well i have 20,000km on mine and drove it normal for the first 5000km in the 5 months ive owned it.

 

There will be many different opinions on this, just drive it like you normally would not to fast and not to slow and vary the speed. You want to at least let the clutch and cat. break in the first 500 miles or so. This is was I've read and have been told.

 

I drive my 08 5spd manual like it was my first car. (I do take well care of it though )
You've got a 100,000 mile warranty and 36k on everything else. I'd say drive it however u feel most comfortable driving it!

 

yeah xtorted.. your right .. I do have a pretty good warranty on it

well thanks alot guys for all the input.

What I will do is this:

I want to make sure I break it in properly... most people here told me to drive it like I would normally do,others told me to gun it to create more pressure on the piston(which is what I believe makes sense, and others telling me to go easy till 500miles), but to be on the safe side and make sure its well broken-in this is what i thought,

I will drive from the dealer to a long straight i know off. this will take around 10mins.. just enough to warm the engine up and all the fluids

from there, I will vary rpm, and also let the engine break the car so I create a vacuum in the piston.

After that I will let it cool down and then go around 30-45% throttle for like 15-30 secs and let it rest by driving slowly , then I will go 50-60% throttle for 15-30secs and again let it cool down by driving slowly around and also not using the clutch-in break to stop but instead let the engine slow down on its own.

eventually I will work myself up towards WOT for the full length of the straight and then let it cool down before going home.

I will repeat the day after and then go for an oil and filter change

Im pretty sure after that my car should be all set up and break-in

 

Sounds like a soft-core porno if you ask me

 

with VVT you need to have the rpms all over the charts to break in those cams.

 

hahaha :P