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Running-In

Running-in is the subject of a lot of discussion among all owners of new performance vehicles, partly because they are impatient to "unleash the beast" and partly because they want to do the best for their new thoroughbred. There's the odd story (apocryphal - I hope!) about new owners leaving 4 black lines on the showroom floor, but the official statement (from the '96 Turbo owners manual) is:

The first 1,000 miles

The performance and long life of your vehicle are dependant on how you handle and care for your vehicle while it is new. Follow these instructions during the first 1,000 miles:

• Do not race the engine, and do not allow engine speed to exceed 4,000 rpm except in an emergency.
• Do not drive at one constant speed for a long time, either fast or slow.
• Avoid starting suddenly and rapid acceleration, except in an emergency.
• Avoid hard braking, except in an emergency.

1,000 miles seems pretty arbitrary, and it does seem strange that at 999.99 miles you can only do 4,000 rpm but 10 feet later you can redline it. Remember though that (in the UK at least) there is an oil change at 1,000 miles, where the (reportedly) special thin running-in oil is replaced by normal stuff.

In countries outside the UK, there can be no restrictions on running in the cars, and the first service does not appear until 7,500 miles (or 6 months).

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Copyright 1998-2000 Steve Breen, Peter Croney, Adam Curtin, John Stewart, see Copyright page for details