What's the best way to break-in a 2.0 TFSI ?

aiculedtzu

aiculedtzu

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Hi,

My S3 should arrive in a few weeks and i would like to know what's the best way to break in a 2.0 TFSI.

Thanks,
Adrian
 
A crowbar?

Just kidding ;) Petrol engines don't have as long a running in period as they used to so take it easy for the first 400 miles and then give it some welly :D (after you've let it warm up obviously)
 
Drive it normally you dont have to pussy foot around in it just dont thrash it yet. I had mine on the rollers after 100 miles
 
Ours is a normal 2.0TFSI but I would use the same method again if I was lucky enough to have an S3. I took the car out from the dealers and with the car in third gear(so theres a good engine load) on a good road floored it to the redline, I did this about 5 times letting the revs dropping back to about 2k in between runs. I did this as soon as the water was up to temp(I know the oil wasn't up to temp) but wanted to seat the piston rings before there was to much wear on them. I then drove the car for 600 miles not exceeding 3k rpm and another 400 miles after that not going over 4.5k rpm. My method seems to have worked as the car has now been driven pretty hard and has 7.5k miles on it, using only 0.5 of the litre in the boot in the first 4k miles and hasnt gone down since. Some 2.0TFSI owners cars seem to use a fair amount of oil when they drove it really gently from the start.
 
i think the more important thing to worry about on the Turbo engine is letting the turbo cool down after a good thrashing before switching off the engine

the turbo will run at around 600-700 degrees if not more in some cases when thrashed and if the car is switched off when the turbo is this hot then there will be no oil circulation through the turbo bearings etc

so after a good thrashing i always let the car idle for 2mins before i turn it off.
 
I'm sorry its a car, covered by a warranty. I do not give some when its cold but thats about it. I think I ran it in for about 300 miles but that was mainly to get the tyres scrubed. Its not a Ferrari
 
RobinA3 said:
i think the more important thing to worry about on the Turbo engine is letting the turbo cool down after a good thrashing before switching off the engine

the turbo will run at around 600-700 degrees if not more in some cases when thrashed and if the car is switched off when the turbo is this hot then there will be no oil circulation through the turbo bearings etc

so after a good thrashing i always let the car idle for 2mins before i turn it off.
Click to expand...

IMHO I don't belive that it is necessary.

As far as I am aware the turbo cool down period was required in the 80's as my mate had an Escort Cosworth and it stated the very same fact you mention in the hand book. He used to moan about it a lot.

After a bit of welly in my current S3, after I get home I can hear a pump in the engine bay which is recurculating oil around the turbo.

I would imagine this is is on the new S3 too (except I didn't listen for it when I was test driving the car).

There is some advice that you drive slowly for the final 10 mins before parking it on the driveway or in the garage to allow the turbo to cool a little, but as most if us usually don't want to annoy the neighbours this tends to be what we do normally. I had this from Audi when I was asking about driving practices when I got my 1.8TQ some tme ago.
 
dandle said:
I took the car out from the dealers and with the car in third gear(so theres a good engine load) on a good road floored it to the redline, I did this about 5 times letting the revs dropping back to about 2k in between runs. I did this as soon as the water was up to temp(I know the oil wasn't up to temp) but wanted to seat the piston rings before there was to much wear on them. I then drove the car for 600 miles not exceeding 3k rpm and another 400 miles after that not going over 4.5k rpm. My method seems to have worked as the car has now been driven pretty hard and has 7.5k miles on it, using only 0.5 of the litre in the boot in the first 4k miles and hasnt gone down since.
Click to expand...

I saw this comment in another post, can you advise where you got the information? I would have thought the engines would have been run it before placed into the engine bay on the car as part of the final QA inspection?

I always assumed the running in period was to bed in all the components of the car, items such as brakes (so they don't warp, etc), clutch, drivetrain, and so on.

I would appreciate knowing where this information came from so I can decide what is best for the new S3 when it arrives... :arco:
 
It doesn't matter what you do to run it in someone else will know better. Pick a method you are comfortable with and go with it.

Some will say drive it like your driving Miss Daisy for x miles others will say rag the crap out of it and then theres the drive it normal camp.

Is this your first new car? If not how did you drive the others when you picked them up? Did that method work? Did you go through 20 litres of oil in the first 2K miles, did the engine need replacing at 20K miles.... If your car was fine stick to that methodt. ;)

J.
 
stevec said:
I saw this comment in another post, can you advise where you got the information? I would have thought the engines would have been run it before placed into the engine bay on the car as part of the final QA inspection?

I always assumed the running in period was to bed in all the components of the car, items such as brakes (so they don't warp, etc), clutch, drivetrain, and so on.

I would appreciate knowing where this information came from so I can decide what is best for the new S3 when it arrives... :arco:
Click to expand...

The engine will not be run in before its fitted to the car thats far to costly to do(think of hw many engines VAG make and then picture them all on a test bed for 24-48hrs, its not going to happen). The engine will have run before you recieve the car but not very much. The tollerences are so tight these days and failures on new parts so few and far between that it would just be a waste of fuel. The running in period isnt just to settle in brake discs, pads and tyres. New parts although hard will still harden with use and its doesnt do any harm to go easier on the car while things are still settling into there working life(transmission as well as the engine). Although the engine parts are really closely machined(compered to 20 yrs ago) they are never a perfect fit unless they run together for a length of time to bed in.

Anyone who has a new car will tell you that the MPG will improve over the first 10k miles and this is a sign of things bedding in and friction reducing. If everthing ran that well from new there would be no improvement in MPG.

I got the information about bedding the rings in from here although its a controversial topic so you need to make your own mind up about it. It deffinately worked for our car though compared to the oil useage some people are having with their 2.0TFSIs and I will do it again when we get the next car.
 
The engine will not be run in before its fitted to the car thats far to costly to do....
Click to expand...

According to the guide who was showing us aroung at the Audi plant in Ingolstadt, all the engine are started and run for a couple of hours before release from the engine plant and a percentage are subjected to a much longer test.
 
h5djr said:
According to the guide who was showing us aroung at the Audi plant in Ingolstadt, all the engine are started and run for a couple of hours before release from the engine plant and a percentage are subjected to a much longer test.
Click to expand...

Ok but thats hardly running the engine in, that takes much longer than a couple of hours.
 
Agreed, but just look in the Owner's Manual and follow Audi's advice, after all they make the engines. Unless of course, someone knows far more about Audi engines that Audi.
 
dandle said:
The engine will have run before you recieve the car but not very much. The tollerences are so tight these days and failures on new parts so few and far between that it would just be a waste of fuel. The running in period isnt just to settle in brake discs, pads and tyres. New parts although hard will still harden with use and its doesnt do any harm to go easier on the car while things are still settling into there working life(transmission as well as the engine). Although the engine parts are really closely machined(compered to 20 yrs ago) they are never a perfect fit unless they run together for a length of time to bed in.

I got the information about bedding the rings in from here although its a controversial topic so you need to make your own mind up about it. It deffinately worked for our car though compared to the oil useage some people are having with their 2.0TFSIs and I will do it again when we get the next car.
Click to expand...

Interesting read that URL was. I have had a succession of new cars, until the S3 all had been company cars though, so I have run in a few. What is interesting about the article is the comments about the need to change the engine oil. What is even more fascinating is that due to the variable service on the current petrol engines my S3 did not see the dealership until it had done 18000 miles!

Previously I have never thrashed any car when running them in, but have run it at around 50-60% from new for about 1000 miles, what is of note here is that the article recommneds doing that from the moment you leave the garage... hmm, going to have to do a bit more reading elsewhere on this topic, its quite an interesting proposition. :blink:
 
Couldn't be ***** to rear through the article posted, I like everyone have my own way to run cars in and it seems to work so I'll stick to it, but I did open it up - aren't those engines a lot higher revving than our car engines? So the procedure would be different for a car engine?

Just a thought...
 
I've also followed the advice in that link whilst running in my new TDI and so far so good. It has only just done 1000 miles and is just under a month old but I made sure I loaded the engine up a fair few times in the first few hundred miles. Not checked the oil lately (must do that) but I'm starting to get up towards the limiter now and it's pulling like a train.
 
Hi All

New here, but not new to audis, and not new to engine building.

I think you should think about engine running in logically, based on the each individual engine components. Some components benefit from some wear piston compression rings, mains and big end bearings, other components are at there best from the factory and degrade from day one, cam lobes, valve seat for example.

So if you want an engine to be strong early in it's life then you need to promote the wear early, something very difficult to do with modern synthetic oils. This is what I wanted with the engines I built so I would start with a low grade oil, load the car with weight, and take it for a drive. Since the engine would inevitably be finished at 1am the day before a meet, requiring a 6am leave, the weight would be four mates in the car, and a lap of the M25 at 50ish mph (or 4K RPM) NEVER LABOUR the engine. A quick oil and filter change to the good stuff, and the engine was ready for the track. These engine would be refreshed every season, or about 3K miles.

Most people (me included for my road cars) want long engine life, and long service intervals, so do as the manual says, and build it up slowly, until you have 1K miles on the clock and NEVER LABOUR the engine. The oil is so good these days that the wear will not be sufficient until the engine has about 20K miles on it anyway, which is about when the first service is due.

Tyres, brakes etc all need running as well, but don't worry about it, just enjoy your S3

Chris.
 
FWIW, as I said I took the "hard run-in" approach, loading the engine up early, and now, having done 1200-odd miles, it hasn't used a single drop of oil. My last A3 had used a litre by 2000, and I ran that one in very gently.

Make of this what you will :)
 
I remember when I picked up my 8L S3 in Germany, I told the dealer I was planning on taking it easy. He said "why, these engines are bench run at the factory. Go out and enjoy the autobahns!". I later found out that he once used to work at the vw/audi engine factory. Anyway, I did take the opportunity to cruise at 140 for a bit on the autobahn, settling down to about 100. It was great.

Obviously, that is just one fellas statement, and no detail of how long the engines are run for. Plus, if the statement is true, who knows if they will do the same thing with the new S3 2.0TFSI?

Once back from Germany, I did try and treat the engine with some sympathy, not using full revs, but sometimes using high-ish revs. I think its important to use variable revs, not being stuck at the same revs all the time. But I have to say there were quite a few occasions where I gave the car some whelly. :eek:

The 1.8T engine itself was uprated on the 8L S3. Bit like how the 2.0TFSI has been uprated in the 8P S3. So strengthened components should also give you confidence, that the engine doesn't need to be treated too softly.

I think its more important these days to run-in all the other car components, sensors, hoses, brakes, tyres, gearbox etc. Letting them bed-in.

But who knows. Just try to follow what it says in the manual. I'm going to try, but it takes a lot of will power not to give it some whelly - in that sense I failed with my 8L S3.

AL
 
i have put 600+ miles on my S3 only using upto 4.5k revs, but have now started to open it up alot more, at lunchtime I will be giving it some welly after reading this thread. The guy who delivered the car instructed me to take it easy for the first few hundred miles, then start to open it up.
 
They arent run in from the factory, if they were you wouldnt see a massive improvement in mpg over the first 10k miles as the engine loosens up. They will be started and run in the factory but no where near enough to run them in.
 
Well apparently it's all about loading the engine (once fully warmed) very early in its life to properly seal the piston rings which improves power and oil consumption by reducing blow-by at the piston heads. The first 200-odd miles are supposed to be critical - if you take it too easy in this period the rings will never seal properly, no matter how hard you drive it later.

My experience would seem to back this up as the current car has yet to use a drop of oil yet the last one, which I ran in really gently, drank it like you wouldn't believe!
 
Vertigo1 said:
Well apparently it's all about loading the engine (once fully warmed) very early in its life to properly seal the piston rings which improves power and oil consumption by reducing blow-by at the piston heads. The first 200-odd miles are supposed to be critical - if you take it too easy in this period the rings will never seal properly, no matter how hard you drive it later.

My experience would seem to back this up as the current car has yet to use a drop of oil yet the last one, which I ran in really gently, drank it like you wouldn't believe!
Click to expand...

That's the opposite of my experience.
I have always run my Audis in gently, and none of them have used oil.

(My 2.0T is still on the full mark !)
 
There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to Audi oil consumption.
My A4 and A3 were driven the same from new,so I'm damned if anyone'll convince me running-in makes a difference.
One didn't use any oil,one uses lots.
 
aiculedtzu said:
Hi,

what's the best way to break in a 2.0 TFSI.

Thanks,
Adrian
Click to expand...


Pedal in the middle usually does the job! ;)
 
An acquaintance of mine, a one time Audi mechanic, told me that the trick is make sure that the engine is well lubed, especially over the first few thousand miles, and especially for cars with high pressure pumpe-duse injection diesels. Check the oil regularly and top up to the upper line (but don't overfill, obviously, as this will b***er the expensive catalyst). The salesmen give you a litre of oil on delivery of the vehicle, sometimes in a fancy pouch, but often don't explain that this is the reason why.
 
All very confusing. Not too sure whether to rag it or drive like a granny?!?
Oh well I got my A3 last week and am taking it easy in it. It is the way I broke in my last 5 cars and none of them have let me down or mechanically broke down. Bit annoyed that I drive so few miles these days that it might take a few weeks but my experience tells me its worth the effort.
 
I picked up my 2.0TFSI Q S-line SE in May last year. Asked the dealer before I left, does it need running in. He said no, don't be gentle with it from day one, use all the revs, just don't red line it as the TFSI engine will respond better if you give it some stick from the start. 6,600 miles later and all is well (and used just under half a litre of oil). S3 coming end of March, so will do the same with that!
 
After a bit of welly in my current S3, after I get home I can hear a pump in the engine bay which is recurculating oil around the turbo.

I would imagine this is is on the new S3 too (except I didn't listen for it when I was test driving the car).
Click to expand...

I'm sure that the pump you can hear on the 8L S3 when you switch off the engine is not oil being pumped through the turbo, I'm sure its coolant being pumped throught it.
 
audi upgrades
Vertigo1 said:
Well apparently it's all about loading the engine (once fully warmed) very early in its life to properly seal the piston rings which improves power and oil consumption by reducing blow-by at the piston heads. The first 200-odd miles are supposed to be critical - if you take it too easy in this period the rings will never seal properly, no matter how hard you drive it later.

My experience would seem to back this up as the current car has yet to use a drop of oil yet the last one, which I ran in really gently, drank it like you wouldn't believe!
Click to expand...

+1, my last A3 was run in slowly by the wifey, it drank oil like a good un, only stopping at around 15,000 miles, this one (ex demo-that should explain the running in!) has never used a drop from when I bought it with 5000mile.........
 
One of the guys at the uk-mkivs meet down at Superchips on Saturday had a TDI140 ex-demonstrator, i.e. one that was driven hard from brand new, and it was putting out 155bhp before they touched it (192bhp afterward!)

EDIT: I'd be interested to see if any of the 170s burn much oil as I'd imagine it would play havoc with the DPF if they burnt a lot of it.
 
Well, i picked up my S3 last tuesday and i am running it in slowly. I used this method on other new cars and they were just fine, plus the user manual confirms this theory.

So for the first 600 miles (which are almost done) i will use up to 3.000-3.200 rpm and between 600 and 1.000 miles i will increase the revs until 3.500-4.000 rpm.

After that, i'll drive it like it was meant to be :racer:

P.S. I had an Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 TS, which i bought at 4.000 miles (ex demo car). It was great but used around 500ml of oil every 600 miles !!!
 
I find it strange that the "running in" procedure is questioned, when its clearly printed in the manual. After all we all follow the manual for tyre pressures, and how to use the radio, so why take the dealers word for how to run the car in when the manufacture is printed a procedure.

At the end of the day you paid for the new car, it's yours and you can treat it as you like.

Chris.
 
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