[mjmonjure]

Originally Posted by Il Fenomeno 415

I'm almost coming along into my first month after taking delivery of my 335i xDrive. Loving the car so far at 900 some odd miles on the odometer, mostly driving on Eco Pro only because I've now become obsessed with seeing how high I can get the fuel economy. Next would be Comfort and I dabbled on Sport mode and Sport plus which was crazy! Not used to that much power especially switching from an 2000 Acura TL. This is my first BMW experience...

Was wondering how long it took everyone to get beyond the break in period or 1,200 miles? Also curious to see what majority of the driving mode this was done in?

1 Week - The not going above 4500 RPM is the part that drove me nuts

[GB72]

I'm averaging around 30 mpg at the mo in Eco pro and comfort town and motorway... Only done about 260 miles so a while yet before I unleash the beast!

[PeterM]

Originally Posted by bnekic

30 minutes

Same just let it warm up and broke it in.

[TheObviousChild]

Yeah, I hit 45 miles before I said screw it and hit the throttle. I've always had mixed feelings on the break-in period mentality. A couple of friends who are master techs told me the best way to break it in is to drive it initially the way I intend to drive it in the long run.

[zofinger]

Originally Posted by TheObviousChild

Yeah, I hit 45 miles before I said screw it and hit the throttle. I've always had mixed feelings on the break-in period mentality. A couple of friends who are master techs told me the best way to break it in is to drive it initially the way I intend to drive it in the long run.

I've heard exactly the same from people, like your friends, who have nothing to gain from giving duff information so have gotta assume their opinions are worthy of consideration. If it REALLY mattered BMW would be more expressive with the break-in period and if it REALLY REALLY mattered, they'd hand the car over with the ECU programmed to limit the rev's until 'x' miles have been obtained.

[woderd]

break in period is not needed. Stop being pu$$ies

[WonderWoman]

Got mine dec 22. Almost hitting 1900. Generally in comfort mode, on highways I like going into sport, once in and while I'll do local in sports mode. I went in Eco mode for like 3 mins one time... Haven't yet again. Haha

[pkim1079]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

Under 4 weeks to get past 1200 miles.

Of course I "Broke it in" about a week after owning it.

Lease + free maintenance means I care very little about the long term reliability of this engine. I'll leave it to BMW engineers to worry about that.

Haha me too - i would say break in for a couple of days and said screw it. I might have broken it in on the track - yikes for cpo buyers!

[wayman519]

i think all the drivers in the forum have a heavy foot, thats mostly why we got these cars. The stop, go acceleration is where we kill the efficiency. I love to see the dials sweep across the tach but thats gas out the window. Winter kills efficiency since it takes the oil forever to warm up.

[zofinger]

So winter doesn't help fuel efficiency - that's helpful to know; is there a consensus on how many miles before the car get's it's best MGP? 328i and getting 30mgp combined...please tell me it get's better!

[shivaswrath]

like a week...

[shivaswrath]

Originally Posted by wayman519

i think all the drivers in the forum have a heavy foot, thats mostly why we got these cars. The stop, go acceleration is where we kill the efficiency. I love to see the dials sweep across the tach but thats gas out the window. Winter kills efficiency since it takes the oil forever to warm up.

and the piss winter gas doesn't help mpg either...

[MZ335]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

Lease + free maintenance means I care very little about the long term reliability of this engine. I'll leave it to BMW engineers to worry about that.

You mean the poor sucker who buys your car when you return your lease

One of the reasons I never buy a used car. Nothing but a pain to deal with when the previous owner(s) just didn't give a crap.

[The X Men]

Originally Posted by TheObviousChild

A couple of friends who are master techs told me the best way to break it in is to drive it initially the way I intend to drive it in the long run.

That would work if we were all master techs so we can fix the problem ourself when something goes wrong. Most race car engines dont get a break in period as well, but they rebuilt their engine every few thousand miles.

[bnekic]

Originally Posted by woderd

break in period is not needed. Stop being pu$$ies

+1

[pkim1079]

Mine accelerates hard then brakes hard then holds redline then repeats on every turn until the session is over. And then again. And then again. Every month. Seems to be holding fine. I migt have to add a bit of oil but nothing drastic so far.

[DmitryF30]

It took me 36 hours to get 1162 miles: trip from Greer to Houston via New Orleans. It was difficult not to race the engine after some track time at the performance center; however, getting the break-in period behind so quickly is easier on my psyche than one month of putting around town.

[Yay-Z]

Broke it in after first week.

[vchiu]

If you bought the car off the lot, I'm sure a lot of the people who test drove the car didn't keep the rpms low.

[tandav]

I took 4 months to hit 1200 miles and unleash the beast within - a couple o reasons for the annoyingly slow break in - I live in prob one if the most heavily patrolled districts in the country where the most serious crime is going to be a Jaywalking ! Seriously I think the cops here live a dream life ..... So they pounce on anything that's remotely considered aggressive driving ...... The other reason being I was traveling for almost a month outside the country.

I think it's ok to baby the car for 1200 miles .... Those manuals were written by BMW engineers .... They probably know a thing or two about the engines they build. May not kill the engine but why take a chance. You have all the time in the world over the life of the car to wring its neck. That being said I do believe in varying the rpm with sudden quick bursts if acceleration while still under 4500 rpm not only to ensure optimal working of the gears but also to uncover any latent problems. You don't want to cruise for the first 500 miles at least .

What I find harms the engine evening is flogging from a cold start. I don't care what people say .... Do not redline a cold engine .... Imagine someone forcing you to work at a 100 % just as you're getting up from bed ! Not fun is it ! Respect your car guys ....don't baby it but don't beat the crap out of it either early on its life !