took my MY05 sti in for its 1000mile service today, god it is soooo damn good to take it over 4krpm,,woo hoo

 

Just try to remember that doesn't mean you should now bounce it off the limiter.

Increase the revs gradually over the next 1000 miles or so.

Josh

 

What is the limiter set to?

 

i did !!!! and loved it

 

does everyone always keep under 4k revs? I have found it quite difficult with the odd blip to 5k once or twice I usually stick well under 4k to be honest but occasionaly will put the foot down a little and creep up to 4.5k on the odd occasion... Im guessing this once in a while will do no harm :/

 

as long as you don't hit the limiter every time imho it's ok , it's not like years ago when you HAD to really take it easy ,

 

best way of doing it is to pull off just as the turbo starts spinning up.


The turbo starts really spinning at just over 4k-4.5k.

Just gotta get used to changing as it starts spinning on 4.5k. Its quite easy to get into untill you see a M3 driver weaving in and out of traffic that needs showing a lesson.

 

I won't repeat how I ran my WRX (non-Sti) in, as it seems to get slated, but lets just say I didn't stick to under 3k or 4k or whatever the book said.

Only got around 3,500 miles on it so far so it's a bit early for reporting back but it doesn't seem to lose any oil etc.

The only thing I'm **** about is making sure it's pretty much warmed up fully before booting it. And I never hit the redline, as the power seems to start to fade some way before then. It may be a case of waiting for the engine to loosen up fully.

 

i thought it was best to thrash you car from day 1 apparentley make the engine last longer

 

The info I followed was all about making sure the piston rings bedded in properly, thus keeping compression. Apparently (according to my sources) the first 200 - 300 miles are critical. The only fly in my running-in oitment was the delivery mileage (hope the delivery guy drove it hard!) and the fact that I didn't change the oil at 500 miles (left it to the 1,000 mile service).

I must point out, however, that it's a company car so even though I love the thing (sad but true) I can afford to experiment.

 

research in america has proven that under revving the car in the first 500 miles is bad for future life and hp. a gain of around 5% can be had by occasional max revs (sets the rings better) also a oil change very early is recommended as shavings of metal can be removed very early on.the research applies to all 4 stroke engines.

 

Yes and invalidates your warranty in the process
You need to run your engine in as subaru dont bench run them, also other mechanical parts are not worn in and take some time to do so (ever noticed how sticky the gearbox is and then it loosens up?)
NEVER thrash a car from day one, its not good for the engine, and those who say it gives you more power...... 315bhp with panel filter, power rated at 276bhp, ran in nicely with oil change at 1k, ran in a further 500 miles with increments in the rev range.
What you dont want to do in the first 1k is sit at x rpm all day, that doesnt do your engine any good when its new.

Tony

 

well i would take your advice but with this sort of information comming from top tunners i will have to go with them,my scoobs will be getting a thrashing from day 1.

 

Agreed; varying the rpm is, in my opinion, very important, as is not labouring the engine (don't drive it like a taxi driver does...)

 

NO reputable tuner will ever tell you to thrash your car from day one, they will tell you to follow the recommended running in procedure.
Thrash it from day one and the chances of getting failures increase by a considerable ammount, find out that you have abused your car in the running in period and you invalidate your warranty, simple as that.

Tony

 

lucky mine had 1400miles on when i got it then...... return journey from litchfields (175 miles) woo hoo fully run in..........

 

There's definitely some real controversy around this topic, though - and whilst I have actually read a fairly convincing case FOR running a brand new engine hard, I've not read anything scientific that really explains why a new engine should NOT be run hard.

Here is one of a series of articles written about motorcycle engines - the whole series is fascinating reading if you're into that sort of thing.

FWIW, I still ran in my new STI engine according to the conventional 'wisdom', ie. gently.

 

Andy,
People just forget about the rest of the car! but we dont
Gearboxes aint bench run in, bearings aint bench run in, brakes aint bench run in, driveshafts aint bench run in, acutally, the entire car aint bench run in, and if you have a fault doing 160mph in a car that has 200 miles on the clock and something breaks (which is also the reason you have a running in period) then your stuffed.
Those who run their cars in "properly" to the manufacturers specification still see big power gains, if not bigger than those who rag them from day one (315bhp).

Tony

 

I hate threads like this

God knows,its hard enough not smoking in me new car.....

let alone laying awake at night,worrying that I might now be unwittingly potentially harming the flippin' thing by me running it in 'correctly'

Surely the thing is to drive it with a bit of mechanical sympathy?,like not stomping on the pedals and easing the power on and off with a bit more thought than you would otherwise

A lot must also depend on the manufacturing tolerances and qualities used by subaru and their suppliers. Haven't a lot of new-age owners commented recently on how much oil their cars are using until around the 15k mark?

Jon

 

There have been, this is true!
Thou at 11k now, my STi hasnt used one drop, and it was run in correctly

Tony

 

Tony,

What, then, does running-in actually do to components like diffs and gearboxes then? Are there actually rough edges that need to be gently worn away or what? If there are, why don't we change the gearbox and diff oil at 1000 miles too to get rid of all those metal filings?

I think 'running-in' a component is something we often talk about without really understanding what, if any, mechanical processes are actually taking place. I understand new brake pads bedding in - they do actually wear to the exact shape of the disc and caliper - but that's about it. As for everything else, can anyone enlighten me as to exactly which components are affected by the 'running-in' period and how?

 

Andy,

Engineering is, unfortunately not a precise art (unless you pay quite a lot for it) so components will not be a perfect fit most of the time, the running in process will enable these parts to wear evenly rather than unevenly, which, eventually will wear together but may also cause premature wear and tear.
Running in will enable better and quicker wear between connected items, without causing damage, just imagine using a piece of emery cloth on a piece of metal, do smooth strokes and it wears it down to the ammount you want, be rough with it and you can and do take more off than you need, thus premature wear.

Tony

PS, should add that the magnet on the drain plug in the gearbox will collect small shavings between oil changes.

 

New engines are tight and need time to loosen up. Thrashing an engine in the first few thousands miles of its life has a dramatic effect on the reliability and duration of an engine. This may mean they dont produce the same power in later life as a properly run in one, they may expire earlier or like it has been said use oil.

You can take the advice or not its upto you, but for the sake of driving with a little mechanical sympathy for a 1000 miles whats the problem ?

 

Chris

I ran in my engine by the book - but I did have to question whether or not that was actually the right thing to do.

Please do have a read of the article I linked above - the pictures of engines that were stripped down after running in in the two different ways arguably speak for themselves. I was quite shocked.

 

I think this guy answered his own question:-

Q: What is the most common cause of engine problems ???
A: Failure to:
Warm the engine up completely before running it hard !!!

Q: What is the second most common cause of engine problems ???
A: An easy break in !!!


The second is a load of bull, the first is much more important as ive seen the bikers around here rag the *** off their bikes when cold.
How many car engines do you know that have done 100k+ with no problems? lots!
ive also seen cars that have been ragged from day one, most seem ok, but comparing 2 similar vehicles, one i ran in normally and one some else at my old works ran in, mine was the quicker of the 2 after 30k+ miles, and more economical, though modern engines will normally use more oil than older engines, we both used similar ammounts (both turbo diesels).
Take that as you will, but ragging a car from new is not a good idea.

Tony

PS, should also add that driving without warming the engine up to its normal operating temp is also not good for your car on a daily basis (shoppers cars, school runs 1 mile down the road etc).