break in procedure

[Meltdown70]

I'm new to breaking in a muscle car like the 5.0 I'm getting in a week. How would you suggest I break this bad boy in so it runs smooth for a long time. I read one guy suggest change oil at 200, 500, then every 1000 to 1500 until 10k. He didnt mention how to drive it though.. I think he said take it easy.. but taking it easy for 10k? Is that necessary?

I have a friend who's into cars and he says that manufacturing now is advanced enough were if you want to play it safe I can change oil at 500 then normal from then on out (for me its 3k, dino oil till 10k then mobil 1 from then on out). He said drive it 150 miles changing rpm's all the time and letting the engine rev down rather than clutching to stop. But after letting it rest over night from that... drive it like i stole it.

Your opinions?

 

[jag989]

Take it easy for the first 4-500, vary RPMs on the highway. You don't really need to do anything fancy on a modern car to break it in.

Changing the oil every 1,000 miles though....

 

[Meltdown70]

change oil every 1000 until???? or just forever After reading one post I'm sold on going synthetic after 10k and changing it every 3k for life.

 

[232_slowness]

Had a manager at the dealership tell me to do whatever I want with it. If it breaks he'll fix it, lol. I obviously didn't do this... well... Maybe a little... Right now I'm at just over 3k miles still haven't changed the oil (waiting till 5000) and no problems at all. Really these modern cars I don't think you have to worry as much as far as breaking it in.

 

[Coyote5.0]

Waiting for about 3K to do the first oil change. I've got a case of Mobil 1 waiting for when I do.

My first full throttle/red line run was at about 1500 miles. With newer cars, you can probably do it right away, or after just a few hundred, but I'm a bit old fashioned in terms of break-in, so I was just playing it safe. I did plenty of half to two-third throttle runs up to 4-5K RPM in the first 500 miles, though. I've always been under the impression that that is good for it.

As for letting the engine rev down instead of putting the clutch in, I think that is more to help break in the transmission and rear end gears (i.e. you want to load the powertrain in both directions so that all the faces of the gear teeth have a chance to be loaded). I would recommend that all the time, not just during break-in. Decelerating in gear will help the fuel economy. The computer completely cuts fuel as low as 1000 RPM in 5th and 6th gears when you completely let off the gas with those gears engaged.

 

[LAVAgt2012]

I've had 6 vehicles I've purchased new, 3 of them being sport cars with a good amount of HP per Liter, I use that because 2 of the 3 were imports.....But with all 6 of the new vehicles I've always stuck with the 3k miles, never done anything fancy, and i have yet to seen a problem

 

[Meltdown70]

thanks for the info

 

[FordCustSrvc]

I'm new to breaking in a muscle car like the 5.0 I'm getting in a week. How would you suggest I break this bad boy in so it runs smooth for a long time. I read one guy suggest change oil at 200, 500, then every 1000 to 1500 until 10k. He didnt mention how to drive it though.. I think he said take it easy.. but taking it easy for 10k? Is that necessary?

Hi Meltdown70,

Congrats on the upcoming 'stang! It doesn't need an extensive break-in, but try not to drive continuously at the same speed for the first 1,000 miles, and vary your speed frequently in order to give the moving parts a chance to break in. Drive your new Mustang at least 100 miles before performing extended wide open throttle maneuvers and at least 1,000 miles before performance/competition conditions. Your Mustang will be equipped with the Intelligent Oil Life Monitor - a system that uses real-time data to calculate optimal oil change intervals. The message center will display ENGINE OIL CHANGE SOON when 5 percent of the oil life remains, and OIL CHANGE REQUIRED when 0 percent of the oil life remains.

I also suggest creating a personalized account at Official Ford, Lincoln & Mercury Owner Site | Personalized Owner Information. This site provides the recommended maintenance schedule for your vehicle, as well as quarterly service offers from your preferred servicing dealer. Enjoy your new muscle car!

~Natasha

 

[642mx]

I'm new to breaking in a muscle car like the 5.0 I'm getting in a week. How would you suggest I break this bad boy in so it runs smooth for a long time. I read one guy suggest change oil at 200, 500, then every 1000 to 1500 until 10k. He didnt mention how to drive it though.. I think he said take it easy.. but taking it easy for 10k? Is that necessary?

I have a friend who's into cars and he says that manufacturing now is advanced enough were if you want to play it safe I can change oil at 500 then normal from then on out (for me its 3k, dino oil till 10k then mobil 1 from then on out). He said drive it 150 miles changing rpm's all the time and letting the engine rev down rather than clutching to stop. But after letting it rest over night from that... drive it like i stole it.

Your opinions?

Don't worry... the detailers at the dealership will mostlikely seat the rings in before you take delivery.

I was easy on mine for the first 1000 miles, I didn't hold it on the floor, but I didn't baby it around either. After that 1000 miles, I drove it like Ford meant for it to be used. I did change my oil (with Royal Purple) at 2000 miles because the oil started looking a little dark.

Congrats on the new ride!

 

[Meltdown70]

They better not
Although I did break in the car I test drove

Great info all. Thanks

 

[LAVAgt2012]

They better not
Although I did break in the car I test drove

Great info all. Thanks

Same, when I test drove the 5.0 i beat the dog snot out of it, had a young car salesman straight out the army....Great guy, soon as i got out of sight of the dealership he's like give er' hell, got what he asked for, turned of the traction control had her going sideways around a couple corners, when I was done it definetly won me over because I was between mainly that and a challenger by this point. So i bought a stang 2 weeks later just not the one I test drove

 

[Omcar]

Drove it at varying speeds for 300 miles. At 300 went to the track and ran a 12.63 @ 112.

 

[Modenausa1]

Personally I'd go about 500 miles before any wot runs or track visits.. First oil change at 3,000...I def think you should go to synthetic.. Some recommend 7000 miles or more between oil changes..that's a little much for me.. Max I'll go on synthetic is 5000... Regular oil every 3000. Dont Forget about the rest of the fluids

 

[Eldo In the Weeds]

Natasha's recommendations above are all you need to do. I have 13,000 miles on my 2011 5.0 and it gets faster the more you drive it--so drive it a lot. It used 2 liters of oil before 5000 miles and none since, so check your oil every other time you gas it when you first get it.

 

[thelastsumurai]

All engines need a break in period

I broke my car in old school like cust service advises. Don't change the oil too soon there is a break in additive that comes in the factory fill. I changed mine at 5600 miles and don't burn a drop of oil. At this point I have 12600 miles on it, no ticks, noises or problems at all. Anyone that tells you you don't have to break in an engine is a fool, I don't care who they claim to be or what they say......Change your oil every 5000 miles. Now I use Mobil one extended performance in all my vehicles and am very happy with it.
Rick B. ME

 

[tfalk]

The break-in instructions that came with my 2011 Saleen say to keep it under 4K rpm for the first 500 miles, under 5K rpm for the first 1000 and change to 5w20 full synthetic at 500 miles... a bit on the conservative side IMHO but I'm trying....