Cpages2

Want the best break in method? Drive it like you stole it...


I have been driving performance cars for years and everyone of my friends who have followed the break in to a T has had issue after issue down the line. Where as myself and friends who just drive it and have fun have not had the same issues. Just my .02

Larry Cable

just FYI RSRNurburg (one of the local ring rental companies) ask renters if they
have used a video game to 'learn' the track, and they then require an instructor
to ride along with them initially.

Despite the sophistication of many of these games they do not accurately
model some of the key dynamics of the track, and therefore "teach" potentially
dangerous habits/approaches to driving it...

watching full lap videos are FAR superior in presenting an accurate and realistic line.

Cpages2

A good instructor friend of mine was telling me how some World Forza Champion (XBOX) went to the ring and crashed like 5 minutes in because he thought he 100% knew the track. Real Cars/Tracks DO NOT EQUAL video games.

mathfuzzy

I'm taking the over on 7 pages. And putting my thumb on the scale, so to speak, by posting.

For break-in, I'm a fan of some WOT, but not exploring the top of the rev range in the first couple thousand miles. Or, rather, gradually increasing use of higher revs.

For video games, right, they're no substitute for learning a track. But they are awfully helpful in getting a general sense of which way the track goes and flow. But only a dumb-*** jumps in and tries to go 10/10ths on their first lap based on their vast experience gained from a video game. Unfortunately, there are dumb-asses.

TRAKCAR

I just want to know if were going left or right, its better than just studying tree lines.
Ordered GT6 maybe that helps, I need to "drive" not watch to learn.
Maybe after "driving" enough I can remember the video better.

I've done 6 laps.. Just enough to know how dangerous it is to think you recognize a corner LOL.
Its no different than learning 5 tracks in one go, kinda like Mancation but without the night rest in between the next set of corners..

Larry Cable

doesn't surprise me one little bit, if you are turning Stefan Bellof times sitting
on your couch at home with the steering wheel clenched between your knees
chances are you are not as good as Stefan was...

The one time I tried to drive the ring (after 10+ years of actually driving it)
I crashed my virtual car on the 2nd corner!

Larry Cable

chuck911

What interests me about this is the science behind it. Good piston ring seal improves pressure which improves horsepower and overall engine responsiveness. Because combustion gases that blow by poorly seated rings contain lots of corrosive and otherwise harmful contaminants that lead to increased engine wear, good piston ring seal also leads to longer engine life. This in brief explains everything you just said about problems down the line.

So how do you get good piston ring seal? Piston rings have springs, but most of the seating results because the piston and rings are designed to channel combustion pressure into pushing the piston ring out into the cylinder wall.

All cylinders are honed or otherwise made to have a surface that is microscopically rough. This allows the low areas to retain oil. It also creates high areas that under pressure act like files that polish or wear the rings into matching the cylinder wall for a perfect fit.

But this fit only results from high pressure. If the engine is babied then the high spots wear down without ever achieving the pressure needed to cause the rings to conform to the cylinder. This is a very small window, which means the sooner the engine is run hard, the better.

So while "drive it like you stole it" might seem like a nifty sound bite without substance, nothing could be further from the truth.

4forme

+1

worldattorney

I'm a little late to the post but I think it's important to divide the advice here into two parts: a) breaking-in an ENGINE; and b) breaking-in a CAR

A) Engines:

I have built both motorcycle and car engines since my teens...and have built both NA and turbo auto engines...give them an hour of varied engine RPM below redline...then go all out... interesting bit of trivia: 'back in the day' Suzuki used to take their brand new motorcycles engines..right off the assembly line and run them at redline for xnumber of minutes to make sure they didn't blow up before sending the motorcycle anywhere.

B) Cars

I'm picking up my TTS ED end of next month...for the first 500 miles I am going to slowly start pushing the car. Humans and machines make mistakes...I don't yet know if all my parts were put on right or if there is some structural defect in the steel of the tie rod, ('insert other part here'), etc.. I want to give the car some time to tell me if anything major is wrong before I'm going 300kph.

Then there are the brakes....letting the pads mate with the rotors is all-important..then a proper bedding procedure to make sure the resins holding together the pad compound are 'cooked out' (this is called 'maturing') is essential if you want maximum brake performance.

Engine: An hour of varied RPM then it's yours
Chassis: Make sure it's put together right and nothing breaks then drive it hard
Brakes: Bed them and you're good to go