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wranglerguyman
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gutentagit
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Brilliant! How’d you make that?
wranglerguyman
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DesertRat
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wranglerguyman
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JBall
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Here's what I compiled form various sources, mostly from this forum, and used on my 2018 Rubi:
Engine Break-In
from 2018 Jeep Wrangler Owner's Manual, pg 310
Drive moderately during the first 300 miles.
After the initial 60 miles speeds up to 50 or 55 mph are desirable.
While cruising, brief full-throttle acceleration contributes to a good break-in. Wide-open throttle acceleration in low gear can be detrimental and should be avoided.
NOTE: A new engine may consume some oil during its first few thousand miles of operation. This should be considered a normal part of the break-in and not interpreted as a problem.
other tips/advice during engine break-in:
Avoid short-distance travel/let engine fully warm up to allow for everything to break-in at normal operating temperature.
Do not exceed 4000 RPMs MAX
Do not to use cruise control or constantly maintain any certain engine RPM for the first 1000 miles.
Change oil at 500 miles, again at 5000 miles.
I would highly recommend taking backroads in the first hundred miles of your drive home, and vary the throttle and load. Don't hot rod it, and stay under 4000 rpms for at least the first 500 miles and you should be good to go. 4000 rpms, according to Acura and Corvette engineers, is the point at which you cause problems with piston rings, if they are not seated. Also, long runs at the same rpm are bad. I'd start out on slower streets and back roads, then after 60 miles, go to faster back roads, then state highways, then after about 300 miles, I'd get on the interstate, but would NOT use cruise control. I'd continue to vary the speed between 55 and 75, or whatever the max is, until 500 miles. After 500, you should be good to light her up and do whatever you want. That plan would err on the side of caution, but would guarantee a proper break-in. Other than going over 4000rpm, droning down the highway at a constant speed would be the worst thing you can do to that engine in the first 300 miles. Mine will get its first 60 miles right when I pick it up, and it will be city streets and country roads. I'll do that up to 100 miles. I'm not even going to shut it off until I hit 100 miles. I don't want to do a cold start until the ring seating is well under way.
Here is what appears to be common among manufacturers: Vary the throttle and speed, intentionally. Don't stay at one speed for very long, and NEVER go past 4000rpm. That seems to be the tipping point. It will actually prevent your rings from seating properly. The mileage in which they recommend these things may vary, but the general consensus does not. The more expensive and powerful the engine, the more sensitive it is to break-in. The Pentastar appears to be a real sweetheart engine that is harder to hurt, but with as much as we are shelling out for these things, I'd err on the side of doing it by the book, and doing it carefully. After the break-in, let her rip! The rings will have already seated, and it will handle it. Doing it too early will not allow them to seat properly. You may never know it, but the engine won't go as far, ultimately, and it may have a higher chance of using oil.
Captain OCD here... I went old school...
1st oil change 550 miles
2nd oil change 1550 miles
3rd oil change 5000 miles
There is a lot of debate about seating rings. I doubt they are seated at factory. I've talked to many people on this and one in particular has a full custom shop for over 20 years and he said there is seating that takes place in those first few hundred miles and you don't want to go beating on the RPMs.
Engine Break-In
from 2018 Jeep Wrangler Owner's Manual, pg 310
Drive moderately during the first 300 miles.
After the initial 60 miles speeds up to 50 or 55 mph are desirable.
While cruising, brief full-throttle acceleration contributes to a good break-in. Wide-open throttle acceleration in low gear can be detrimental and should be avoided.
NOTE: A new engine may consume some oil during its first few thousand miles of operation. This should be considered a normal part of the break-in and not interpreted as a problem.
other tips/advice during engine break-in:
Avoid short-distance travel/let engine fully warm up to allow for everything to break-in at normal operating temperature.
Do not exceed 4000 RPMs MAX
Do not to use cruise control or constantly maintain any certain engine RPM for the first 1000 miles.
Change oil at 500 miles, again at 5000 miles.
I would highly recommend taking backroads in the first hundred miles of your drive home, and vary the throttle and load. Don't hot rod it, and stay under 4000 rpms for at least the first 500 miles and you should be good to go. 4000 rpms, according to Acura and Corvette engineers, is the point at which you cause problems with piston rings, if they are not seated. Also, long runs at the same rpm are bad. I'd start out on slower streets and back roads, then after 60 miles, go to faster back roads, then state highways, then after about 300 miles, I'd get on the interstate, but would NOT use cruise control. I'd continue to vary the speed between 55 and 75, or whatever the max is, until 500 miles. After 500, you should be good to light her up and do whatever you want. That plan would err on the side of caution, but would guarantee a proper break-in. Other than going over 4000rpm, droning down the highway at a constant speed would be the worst thing you can do to that engine in the first 300 miles. Mine will get its first 60 miles right when I pick it up, and it will be city streets and country roads. I'll do that up to 100 miles. I'm not even going to shut it off until I hit 100 miles. I don't want to do a cold start until the ring seating is well under way.
Here is what appears to be common among manufacturers: Vary the throttle and speed, intentionally. Don't stay at one speed for very long, and NEVER go past 4000rpm. That seems to be the tipping point. It will actually prevent your rings from seating properly. The mileage in which they recommend these things may vary, but the general consensus does not. The more expensive and powerful the engine, the more sensitive it is to break-in. The Pentastar appears to be a real sweetheart engine that is harder to hurt, but with as much as we are shelling out for these things, I'd err on the side of doing it by the book, and doing it carefully. After the break-in, let her rip! The rings will have already seated, and it will handle it. Doing it too early will not allow them to seat properly. You may never know it, but the engine won't go as far, ultimately, and it may have a higher chance of using oil.
Captain OCD here... I went old school...
1st oil change 550 miles
2nd oil change 1550 miles
3rd oil change 5000 miles
There is a lot of debate about seating rings. I doubt they are seated at factory. I've talked to many people on this and one in particular has a full custom shop for over 20 years and he said there is seating that takes place in those first few hundred miles and you don't want to go beating on the RPMs.
Mike630
Well-Known Member
Wouldn’t the “short bursts of WOT at cruising speed” contradict staying below 4K rpm? As soon as you WOT at cruising speed, you’re going to downshift into 4th gear and be right around 5 or even 6k rpm.
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RangerRobAZ
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There was another thread somewhere on this same topic, but I can not find it now. Many ignored the break in recommendation in manual. Others said why not follow the manufactures recommendation for the first 300 miles, not too hard to do. On my 2016 JK I didn’t even know there was a break in procedure and drove it normally from day one. Traded in at 55k miles, never had any issues. Of course I also change my oil when the car tells me (around 8k miles using cheapest stuff the dealer has) and don’t change diff / other fluid unless recommended in owners manual. Maybe if I kept the car 300k miles it would have an issue. I also had a 2001 Ford Explorer. Ran it to 200k miles with no repairs. Never changed any oils except engine oil and transmission fluid once, which was a mistake to do even once (auto transmission and it started slipping a little after that).
I don’t know anything about vehicles other than the basics, so I rely on the manufacturer who spent millions of dollars designing and building it to tell me what maintenance schedule to follow. If running the engine at over 4K rpm for the first 1000 miles would ruin it, I would think they’d tell us, since they would be on the hook for a lot of warranty claims if that was the case. Or maybe they are giving us bad advice so the engine explodes after warranty runs out and we are forced to buy a new vehicle (of course it wouldn’t likely be the same manufacturer)
I generally followed what they said in the owners manual for the first 300 miles with my JL. I’m not doing more than that, as it seemed like even that much probably wasn’t needed.
I don’t know anything about vehicles other than the basics, so I rely on the manufacturer who spent millions of dollars designing and building it to tell me what maintenance schedule to follow. If running the engine at over 4K rpm for the first 1000 miles would ruin it, I would think they’d tell us, since they would be on the hook for a lot of warranty claims if that was the case. Or maybe they are giving us bad advice so the engine explodes after warranty runs out and we are forced to buy a new vehicle (of course it wouldn’t likely be the same manufacturer)
I generally followed what they said in the owners manual for the first 300 miles with my JL. I’m not doing more than that, as it seemed like even that much probably wasn’t needed.
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gutentagit
Member
Appreciate that!!
MJM
Active Member
We followed the dealers recommendation, drive it like you stole it for the first 500 miles. Apparently, the computer is supposed to learn your driving style. So, if you want it to perform fully all the time, you have to "teach it" to do so. I have no idea if this is actually true, but runs great and feels just as wrong as the day we drove it off the lot.
mazeppa
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Very subjective, but this is the method I use on all of my new vehicles, it has served me well. Many will disagree with the technique I use and rightfully so. I don't use the cruise control until about 500 miles.
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
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OP
OP
