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Vehicle Break-In and Out of State Purchase

Hughesonthenet

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Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

Some people are very OCD about their new vehicle's "break-in period." Others, not so much. The JL owners manual says this about break-in:

ENGINE BREAK-IN RECOMMENDATIONS
A long break-in period is not required for the engine and drivetrain (transmission and axle) in your vehicle. Drive moderately during the first 300 miles (500 km). After the initial 60 miles (100 km), speeds up to 50 or 55 mph (80 or 90 km/h) are desirable.

So then I was thinking about out-of-state purchases (Koons and others) which will likely result in a long drive home. In my case, if I go with Koons, I'll have a 900-mile drive home, and almost 90% of that drive will be on I-95 (speed limit 70 mph).

Perhaps the answer is simply "stay off the interstate" for the first 300 miles.

Ready? Discuss! :)
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K9Jeeper

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Honestly, it would be BEST to follow the guidelines, and allow an extra day or two to rack up 300 miles prior to hitting the 70 mph interstates. But I’m sure less than half will
 

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Im sure there is a NHRA approved track somewhere near Koons where you can rack up some miles a 1/4 mile at a time. I bet they will throw in a new set of tires at -5% under invoice for you ride home if needed:rock:
 

simpleJL

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If you are serious about following the manufacturers recommended break in - take back roads for that 300 miles, or you can rent a truck/vehicle trailer and tow it home.

I will have to only go 120 miles home from my dealer. I will be taking some back roads.
 

TIDALWAVE

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Different advice when I picked up my Mustang GT. Moderate speed (<70 mph) for the first 500 miles...but a few wide-open-throttles on the freeway to help seat the rings.
 

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I will be doing about 900 miles as well, but all of that is back roads.

I hate the interstate and avoid it at all costs.

Get to see more of the nation that way and some very interesting places.

I bought from Koon's as well and driving to Florida.
 

CRC

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Lucky me, if I were to go Koons, that first 300 miles would be straight across West Virginia backroads as the most direct route.
 

DanW

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Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

Some people are very OCD about their new vehicle's "break-in period." Others, not so much. The JL owners manual says this about break-in:

ENGINE BREAK-IN RECOMMENDATIONS
A long break-in period is not required for the engine and drivetrain (transmission and axle) in your vehicle. Drive moderately during the first 300 miles (500 km). After the initial 60 miles (100 km), speeds up to 50 or 55 mph (80 or 90 km/h) are desirable.

So then I was thinking about out-of-state purchases (Koons and others) which will likely result in a long drive home. In my case, if I go with Koons, I'll have a 900-mile drive home, and almost 90% of that drive will be on I-95 (speed limit 70 mph).

Perhaps the answer is simply "stay off the interstate" for the first 300 miles.

Ready? Discuss! :)
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.
 

DanW

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Different advice when I picked up my Mustang GT. Moderate speed (<70 mph) for the first 500 miles...but a few wide-open-throttles on the freeway to help seat the rings.
Nope. I'll try and post the video where they show how Acura breaks in their NSX engines before even putting them in the car. You won't find an engineer who designs car engines who will tell you going over 4000rpm is a good idea. Wives tales are where the full throttle break ins occur. My brother swears by them, but never keeps a car past 100,000 miles. He told me once that BMW recommended hard throttle during break-in to seat the rings, but the research I did said BMW recommends the opposite.

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.
 

macintux

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A really good local Jeep guy did a diff regear for someone who immediately drove it to Moab, ignoring the break-in advice. Of course it blew up.

Always go by the book. The engineers who made the equipment know better than you, or your best buddy, or that random YouTube video.
 

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macintux

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I hate the interstate and avoid it at all costs.
I drove from southern Indiana to central Florida using 4 miles of Interstate: 2 because I couldn’t find another convenient way across some water, 2 because the signs tricked me. Best road trip ever.
 

Demonic

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I love when I see people who think that any modern car company would design, mass produce, and warranty engines whose longevity was based on people on the internet arguing over how best to break them in.
 

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I love when I see people who think that any modern car company would design, mass produce, and warranty engines whose longevity was based on people on the internet arguing over how best to break them in.
FLMAO
 

DanW

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Here ya go:

This is the one that references how Acura breaks-in the NSX engine.



All that said, you probably won't hurt it no matter what you do. I just spoke to my nephew about this. He is president of 4 Piston Racing, which builds 500hp normally aspirated drag racing engines. He and his partner engineer these engines themselves. I just spoke to him and here is what he said:

Most manufacturers will run the engine on a dyno before it is even shipped out of the engine factory. The rings are probably already set.

It is a VERY good idea to follow the manufacturer's break-in procedure. However, you probably won't do any damage to the engine, no matter what you do. The rings seat very quickly, and will pretty much be there after only a short time at the engine factory on the dyno. He said they run the engine up to full operating temperature, then do all kinds of checks, again, before it ever gets shipped out of the factory to the Jeep, or whatever, assembly plant.

That said, he agrees that 4,000 rpm limit during break-in, is a very good idea, just to be safe.

Here is a video to show you who he is and what he does. This guy knows high performance engines. He works with Honda Performance Development engineers on a regular basis, solving problems for them.

 

DanW

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You may laugh, but ultimate longevity CAN be effected by break-in. Fortunately they do the most critical point of the break in at the engine factory when they fire them up for their initial production checks on the dyno. Manufacturers take the risk out of it for you, but they still have a break-in procedure. Plus, they aren't covering their engines as long now. Ford is 60k, as is GM. GM used to be 100k. I'm not sure off the top of my head where Jeep ends theirs. I think only Hundai and luxury brands cover them longer.

Most people don't care because they won't keep them long enough to worry. I keep mine for hundreds of thousands of miles, so it matters, for me.
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