Tips for breaking in a brand new engine?

[blanch0b]

this is all a great read guys - cheers - this is something i never thought of before (having never had a new car) will be taking everything in moderation for the first thousand k's

WA is a bit tricky with our road network - its really either freeway driving or city driving (we dont have curvy mountain like roads anywhere like VIC and NSW...) Anyone living in Perth know of any good roads (perhaps swan valley/chittering valley/margaret river?) to test out my new baby??

[WhiteJames]

The cylinder liners are finished in a three-stage fluid jet honing process and with stronger piston rings in the Mark 6 GTI as opposed to the earlier MKV GTI making for a longer break-in process due to the closer tolerances between the rings and bore. Break-in time may take the entire 15,000km that the GTI is required use mineral based oil as the Volkswagen service guys indicate. The owner’s manual states that 500ml oil consumption per 1,000kms can be expected in regular use – esp. in stop/start driving with short journeys or hard core use. The manual also indicates that above 500ml oil consumption per 1,000km – perhaps 500ml to 1 litre per 1,000km – can be expected during initial break-in of the TSI motor.

When oil becomes hot, it thins out, causing some of it to slip past the piston rings and cylinder bore and be burnt up in the combustion process. Similar thing when the GTI is idling in traffic when there is a lack of cool air against the oil cooler, intercooler and radiator to keep the oil from thinning in addition to not having enough compression on the piston rings forcing them to expand to trap the oil sitting in the cross hones of the cylinder bore.

As with the last MKV GTI from new, I planned on taking a few short weeks at work and some leave to ensure that the first 20-30 hours of break-in of the Mark 6 GTI was overwhelmingly extra-urban tourist type drives with load on/load off the motor.

As stated earlier in this thread: the cross hatch section on the recessed part of the oil dipstick equates to about 1 litre of oil from top to bottom. Being 1/3rd down in 2,000km would mean that you’ve used 660ml in 2,000km – or 330ml per 1,000km. Still under the 500ml per 1,000km recommended max that the owner’s manual suggests.

Cheers
WJ

[Cossor]

Hey Guys
A fantastic thread for me to remember when MY 118TSI arrives.
While less features than a GTI, I assume all the cautions re temp on start up and cool down at
end of trip will still apply. Will certainly use 98 fuel to avoid oil contamination (among other reasons)
My current Corolla (125000km) has hardly ever used any oil between service (10K)
The only idle ? warm up is when slowly back out of garage and driveway, then always drive at low to medium throttle up first streets (50K speed limit) (BTW, severe frosts my area)
I do believe in relaxed driving for first 3~400KM, then short bursts of speed up to legal limit for about next 1~2000km before sustained cruising at F/Way speeds.

[Corey_R]

Hey Cossor, I'm not sure that the 118TSI has an oil temp display in the MFD (can anyone confirm that?), so you may not be able to actually check what your temps are getting to. The temp display that is found in most cars these days, including the 'regular' Golfs is the water temp. In my experience (and I don't have my MK6 Golf yet, so...) it usually takes around an extra 5 minutes for oil temp to get to it's operating temp after the water has reached its operating temp. I've also found that the water temp guage will get to its operating temp and then just stay there and no go up and down much with load - unlike the oil temp display on the GTIs and Rs.

If the 118TSI does have an oil temp display in the MFD, just keep in mind that it will have its own unique operating range which may vary slightly from what has been discussed by WhiteJames.

But other than that - the theory is all the same, so enjoy

[hooba]

In my experience (and I don't have my MK6 Golf yet, so...) it usually takes around an extra 5 minutes for oil temp to get to it's operating temp after the water has reached its operating temp.

I don't know if it is due to the cold weather or because I'm babying it during the run in period, however I'm finding that the oil can take up to 10 minutes to get into operating temperature after the water has hit 90 degrees. It is taking me around 7 minutes just to register 50 degrees on the oil temp MFD.

I've also found that the water temp guage will get to its operating temp and then just stay there and no go up and down much with load - unlike the oil temp display on the GTIs and Rs.

This is correct.

[WhiteJames]

Judging by the readings I have done on the EA888 TSI Golf GTI motor – the ideal operating temperature for the GTI is in range of 95 – 100 degrees Celsius. The oil thermostat does not open until 95 degrees and is completely open at 105 degrees.

Being a MKV GTI owner in the past, I always felt that it took the DSG gearbox about 3 times as long to reach idea operating temperature versus the coolant temp of 90 degrees Celsius. The super smooth DSG changes were always a bit clunky until about 3 times longer than the coolant hitting ideal operating temperature. The addition of the oil temperature gauge on the Mark 6 GTI confirms this. If it takes you 7 minutes for the coolant to hit ideal operating temperature – you’re looking at up to 21 minutes for the engine and DSG oil to reach idea operating temperature of 95 degrees Celsius. It’s not reassuring if you live within 20 minutes drive from work – your oil temperature has just warmed up. Additionally: As the motor is in the process of warming up, some of the pollutants are recirculated back through the motor as an anti-pollution measure required in new vehicles these days, which in the longer term, may cause the oil to sludge-up. Sludgy oil causes motors to seize. It’s always good to change the oil with greater frequency if driving frequent short distance trips.

Cheers
WJ

[prise]

I know from experience that light aircraft engines have a minimum oil temperature specified before the pilot can use full power. With the Rotax 1.5 litre turbocharged engine for example the minimum oil temperature was 50 degrees. Below that the oil would be too thick to provide the flow required to lubricate the engine at high RPM. Conversely if the oil got too hot (130 degrees from memory) its would be too thin too maintain adequate oil pressure. It would be useful to know what oil temperature VW regards as required for adequate lubrication at max throttle. I did notice that the oil temperature reading on my MFD doesn't display until the oil has reached 50 deg.

One of the features on the 1.4l TSI engines which should improve longevity is that the oil pump adjusts its pumping volume to maintain a constant oil pressure rather than use a constant volume pump with a pressure relief valve. This gives better oil pressure at low revs which is where engines spend most of their time.

[WhiteJames]

The Volkswagen 2.0 Litre
Chain-Driven TSI Engine

Lubrication System

Oil Pump
The external gear oil pump is housed in the oil pan
top section and is chain-driven by the crankshaft.
The oil pressure is controlled inside the pump by
a control spring and piston. The system is also
protected against overpressure by a spring loaded
valve ball (cold start valve).

Excessively high oil pressures can occur at high oil
viscosity levels during cold starting.

Cheers
WJ

[Transporter]

If you do only short trips you could cover radiator grill up, leaving only small (or no) opening for the air to flow through.

I remember that some cars and trucks from 70's had curtains in front of the radiators, so they could reach operating temperature faster especially in below 0degC.

I'm going to cover radiator grill on our new Tig for running in period since it's cold in the morning and it takes forever to warm up the engine.

[G-rig]

If you do only short trips you could cover radiator grill up, leaving only small (or no) opening for the air to flow through.

I remember that some cars and trucks from 70's had curtains in front of the radiators, so they could reach operating temperature faster especially in below 0degC.

I'm going to cover radiator grill on our new Tig for running in period since it's cold in the morning and it takes forever to warm up the engine.

..or just don't thrash it when it's cold till it warms up (ie keep the revs under 3-4k rpm).