I have a new Civic Type-R shortly to be delivered. It's the first brand new car I've ever bought and I want to look after it well. How carefully does it need to be run in? One piece of advice suggested keeping it to 4000 revs for the first 1000 miles and then increasing it by 500 revs for every 1000 miles driven. However, with an average 10,000 miles driven in a year, it would take me about 9 months before I could completely use the car's full potential.
How much of a difference does it make? What would other people recommend? Should I also give it an oil change (a fairly expensive one) every 6 months?
As an aside, how damaged (if at all) are the ex-demonstrator models, which have obviously been given a good pasting from birth?
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Mattster
There's some good stuff in the site FAQ. Personally, we ran in our Punto HGT with a limit of 4000 rpm for first thousand miles, then increasing by 1000 rpm for each of the next thousand until we were revving to the limit.
I believe that thinking on the oil is to leave your first change until 1 year/1st service interval to give everything time to bed in. Well worth switching to 6 month intervals/6000 miles thereafter.
Never been convinced by demo's - you can never be sure if it was warmed up before the tester was let loose.
Good luck with the CTR
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I think you will find your Honda handbook when you get it will give you excellent advice on running in.
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I agree with Godfrey but personally I always take it easy for 1000mls and then get a bit heavier on the go pedal until about 2,500-3000mls and then I just drive normally.
In the last 3 cars I have run in I have never had any problems up to 120,000 mls doing it this way.
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For a petrol like the Honda, start at circa 3,500 - 4,000 then rise, for a diesel I start at 2,500 then move up from there. It's important to regularly get to the limit you set including the higher ones as you get there, and remember there is nothing worse for a new car than labouring the engine.
Finally try not to sit at constant revs for miles on end on the motorway when running in. Vary the revs from time to time.
Paul
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Some good advice here, but increasing your self-imposed rev limiter in 500rpm increments is too conservative for a performance V-TEC. Personally, I'd start with a 4k/rpm limit, 5k from 2-3000 miles, 6 from 3-4000 and 8 (max revs) from 4k onwards - always keeping a very careful eye on oil consumption, and allowing lengthy warm-up periods.
This is what I'm planning for my own CTR at any rate. I believe Honda offer only general advice on running in, so you have to use your judgement.
As far as servicing is concerned, I'm going to stick to the recommended schedule. Forking out for Grp 18 insurance, frequent changes of Bridgestones and tankerloads of Optimax is going to be expensive enough, without the hassle and expense of short service intervals. And Honda servicing is decidedly not cheap.
Unless your mileage meets Honda's definition of 'severe driving conditions', which in the UK boils down to a life of cold starts and short journeys, I wouldn't bother with interim changes. Just keep it topped up with fully-synth.
I didn't consider an ex-dem CTR personally. For one thing, they're such great value new there's little financial incentive. And, as you say, they are unlikely to have been diligently run-in from new when the best USP of the car is to be discovered >6000rpm!
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I'd agree with Burnout2, except that I would recommend intermediate oil changes. My service interval is 15k, but I get the oil changed every 5k in between. For the sake of 30 odd quid (less if you DIY) it has to be worth it. It doesn't need to be done by the dealer (at over 70 quid a go for mine!). I use AA service at Halfords.
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Firstly all the tyres are new so they need running-in, indeed the initial tread of a tyre has a special compound to facilitate this. Do not labour a new egine in any gear nor rev excessively. Most manufacturers fill their new engines with bedding-in oils so adhere to the manufacturers instructions. After all Honda are the largest engine producer in the world, think of all those lawnmowers, motorcycles, generators etc. They appear to know a thing or two about engines. Going off topic but Honda's first car diesel engine in the new Accord is getting positive reviews in this weeks Autocar, "as good as, if not better than the 320d"
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My last 6 new cars have been company cars, each one I have driven to the red line from new, the mileages before change have ranged from 120k to 230k and although other bits have fallen off, gearboxes blown up, fallen out, etc, the engines have been sweet as a nut, so why bother clogging up the road and getting home half an hour late! just get in and drive its got a 3 year warranty.
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Before I bought my Audi I test drove one with 0 miles on the clock. Was I careful!
Then I decided to buy one. When I asked the dealer about running it in he said not to bother. I wish I'd thrashed the demo car now.
I would have thought the dealer would have a vested interest in ensuring the cars he sold didn't get blown up in the first 10 miles.
I was, however, quite careful for the first 1000 miles.
(A friend of mine has had plenty of company cars in his time and thrashes them from new and when cold. He's never had an engine blow up on him yet)
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a caveat.
In my younger days I had a few hire cars with 0 miles on the clock. These I am ashamed to say were thrashed mercilessly (not just by me) and invariably went back misfiring.
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Mattster,
Ignore the car-book instructions, they're there just to reduce warranty claims for faulty new engines ("you didn't run it in properly? No warranty!"). Engines have some bit of run-in right from the factory, and I'm not talking about 4000rpm.
My suggested way: Be very careful to warm up your engine properly, to about normal operating temp. For the first say 1000 miles, be conservative, by which I mean don't thrash it, but go normal otherwise. Then change the oil and filter, and you're ready for the red lines! - And I know exactly the sound of a v-tec going over 8000 rpm... I've applied this with two new cars, and none has had any problems whatsoever. Absolutely no oil consumption.
There is also another method, which is supposed to bed-in piston rings to seal the combustion chamber: Warm up, go through second, third, even fourth gear to the red line. Then, let it slow down on its own (gear still engaged) and go easy for a minute or two. Repeat this two-three times. Possibly you will see some smoke coming from the exhaust when letting go of the gas pedal, but don't worry, it's the inlet-manifold vacuum sucking up oil from the cylinder walls. After about 50 miles go change oil and filter and you're set.
Now, I know this method sounds "barbarian" and contradicts with every car-book, car salesman, most engineers, etc. but those backing it swear it's the best you can do for your engine. See mototuneusa.com/thanx.htm for more details.
Vagelis.
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Thanks everyone for the advice - the concensus seems to be that engines don't really need much of a running in, if at all. I think I'll take the middle ground - warm up properly, limit the revs to 4000 for the first 1000 miles, then increase by 1000 revs per 1000 miles after that. I may go for the intermediate oil changes if they're not over-expensive.
Those of you who have thrashed their cars from new and not had them blow up - maybe they would have gone on past 200,000 miles if they had been sympathetically run in? I know not many people own their cars that long but it could help prop up resale values if cars were expected to last longer. Trouble is that would require everyone to treat their cars well.....
Maybe I'm just being soft as it's my first baby with a certain history of being looked after!
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I have always relied on this site for good advice and until now have received it and am very grateful for same but one piece of advice I will not be taking is "Ignore the car-book instructions"!!!
HJ gives clear, easy-to-follow advice in his FAQs as per box on left of this page (see item 10) and in my experience his ideas are in line with those expressed by the Makers...surely we should give credit to those who designed the product?
I recently purchased a new Honda (the world's largest engine maker). The Dealer wrote to me saying "We strongly recommend that you have your oil and filter changed at 1000 miles".
HJ says "Current thinking is to leave the factory filled oil in the engine for the first 12 months or 10,000 miles in order to promote some wear and enable the piston rings and bores to bed themselves in". The Honda service schedule says nothing about a change at 1000 miles. I spoke to their technical people direct and they (without putting words in their mouths) said exactly what HJ says.
I intend to take their advice. The world would be a better place if we stopped ignoring the Maker's instructions.
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A friend of mine works in an Audi garage, a new Audi came in the owner complaining of oil use, they had tried several things but couldn't cure it, after he left the head mechanic said it was the drivers own fault because he drove the car so gently that the piston rings etc weren't bedded in, and reckoned that the engine would always use oil and probably wouldn't last long.
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