Tips for breaking in a brand new engine?

[REXman]

Maybe 5-6 mins if its freezing~!!

[Corey_R]

Is this light you speak of a standard feature? If so, what does it say in the owners manual about it?

The reason I ask is, I've checked the (USA) owners manual for the MPS3 and the MPS6 and cannot find any mention of this light.
In their starting procedures, both say to start the car, wait for 10 seconds, and then proceed to drive.
Both do have a mention that "in extremely cold weather" (for which they define that as below -18c) to let the car warm up without the use of the accelerator, so to me that would indicate a longer idle time, but that situation does not count for Australia.
In that same section they also said that you should do this if the car hasn't been driven for many days.
Both mention to avoid long warmups. One the engine is running smoothly to drive off. (So, I would assume that with Mazdas, the engine is running smoothly as soon as the idle rpm drops from its initial elevated rpm to it's regular idle rpm - just like most other road cars).
Specifically in relation to the turbo they only mention to not shut the car down too quickly after you've been at freeway speeds or driving up long hills or "racing the engine".

So I'd be interested to know more - because from the information I can see in the manuals for the car, you are doing exactly what they recommend against!

[REXman]

What more can I say about it, its a standard feature. The dealer even mentioned it to us when we were buying it a better way than waiting for the temp gauge. Not sure about the manuals you are checking, but it is what it is.

Do you have the car also?

Its a blue light that come's on, and the idea is, when the blue light switches off, you go. You should'nt be driving off really before that. But ofcourse you always have the option to.

[REXman]

And I believe we have already seen info about warming the car down being effective..

It does seem that It might not be a bad idea to take that little bit of extra care after all IMO.

[hooba]

Its a blue light that come's on, and the idea is, when the blue light switches off, you go. You should'nt be driving off really before that. But ofcourse you always have the option to.

Doesn't the manual say to drive it carefully and avoid high revs whilst the blue light is on, and once it is off, you can thrash it?

[pologti18t]

Doesn't the manual say to drive it carefully and avoid high revs whilst the blue light is on, and once it is off, you can thrash it?

Isn't the light there because the MPS3 doesn't have a temp gauge....

[WhiteJames]

DSG:

When the brake is applied going down-hills with the DSG in ‘Drive’, the DSG knocks down by a couple of gears to allow for some engine-braking.

At first, I thought there was a problem with the gearbox or megatronic unit – I don’t believe this is the case as I’ve read reviews indicating this type of DSG behaviour in other Mark 6 GTI's.

The old MKV GTI DSG was not programmed to do this.

The Mark 6 DSG is proactive in Drive as well as Sport function.

Sometimes the down change in gears is not always welcomed, esp. when its two gears at a time.

On the other hand, I have been using the paddles a bit during break-in period.

Cheers.
WJ

[Corey_R]

What more can I say about it, its a standard feature. The dealer even mentioned it to us when we were buying it a better way than waiting for the temp gauge. Not sure about the manuals you are checking, but it is what it is.

Do you have the car also?

Its a blue light that come's on, and the idea is, when the blue light switches off, you go. You should'nt be driving off really before that. But ofcourse you always have the option to.

No, couldn't stand the MPS when I drove it....
But Mazda USA has all their car manuals available online here. As I said, they discourage long idle times and say you should drive away gently after 10 seconds.

Even the Good Driving Habits of the Mazda Australian site says:
"Starting up from cold is when most engine wear occurs. So give your Mazda a few minutes to warm up by using low engine revs as you drive." There is nothing which says 'Excluding the MPS which you should idle for 3 to 6 minutes before driving'.

Anyway, as I said, I'd be interested about what it says in your owners manual, rather than what some sales dude told you about the light.

[REXman]

I reckon though, in the interest of selling cars, a car manufacturer would never narrow its market by trying to suggest that "their" cars would like a 3 mins to warm up. Think of all the practical - I dont care for my car like a mad man - I just want it to go to go" types that would pass.

Engine oil warm = less engine wear

Too long idling = (not good) heatsoak in engine bay

winter in sydney = wait until the temp has risen at least half way to normal, off the cold line and drive calmly for a little.

[prise]

My last car was a 6MPS (same engine as the 3MPS) and there were no restrictions on driving after starting it other than the normal recommendation to avoid high revs until the engine had warmed up. There was however a warning about not switching off the engine immediately after high speed driving, presumably for the normal reason of avoiding post shut down heat soak killing the turbo bearings.

I don't know if its as true these days for modern engines with their accurate fuel metering, but idleing for extended periods of time on a cold engine used to be considered bad as while the cylinder block was still cold, fuel and water produced by the combustion would condense onto the cylinder walls, dilute the oil and be scraped by the rings back into the sump area leading to a) the sump oil being diluted by unburnt fuel and water b) increased piston ring wear. Also the water produced from the combustion combined with any sulpur in the fuel to form a dilute sulphuric acid. This is one of the reaons why shorter oil change intervals are recommended if the vehicle is used for a lot of short trips.

The advice today still seems to be the same - bring the engine up to temerature quickly, but without stressing it.