Run in oil?

Caydus · 05-04-2011, 07:29 PM

So during the service, I asked the Ford technician about whether I can do an oil change before 15k kms and he said that the engine oil that's in right now is "run in oil" and for me not to touch it before 15,000kms.

Anyone know what the deal is with that?

Also, going to be driving up to the Gold Coast from Sydney for the 5 day easter break. Car's got about 3500kms on it so far, anything to look out for or prepare for?

geelong festy · 05-04-2011, 09:30 PM

He's right about the run-in period. As a mechanic it's what I'd usually suggest. You can't run an engine in on fully synthetic oil on MOST cars. Euro & prestige cars use synthetic from new but they're assembly tolerances are tighter. My 2010 WS Fiesta is just about to hit 15,000 and I have bought the fully synthetic 0-30 engine oil and K&N oil filter ready to go in at the dealer service. I'm also supplying new fully synthetic 75-85 transmission oil as well for the dealer to use. I have a j1 induction system fitted from the UK, so they wont need to fit (& charge) that. You must remember that with these parts variations from the service schedule you may invalidate your warranty. Cheers, Lee, Geelong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caydus

So during the service, I asked the Ford technician about whether I can do an oil change before 15k kms and he said that the engine oil that's in right now is "run in oil" and for me not to touch it before 15,000kms.

Anyone know what the deal is with that?

Also, going to be driving up to the Gold Coast from Sydney for the 5 day easter break. Car's got about 3500kms on it so far, anything to look out for or prepare for?

somers181 · 06-04-2011, 11:27 AM

I was told the same thing as i just had my 3,000 km "adjustment" where they check out the car and make sure nothing is loose, no oil changes until 15,000km which is when the car is "run in". If you have any issues they will look at it during the 3000 adjustment but thats it. When discussing my issues with the powershift box in peak hour all they could say yes they have had others tell them the same thing and when reversing it actually feels like it changes up a gear but thats normal too. The only thing i would consider buying is a pipercross air filter to replace standard paper filter, uk forum tend to rave about the improved airflow and the prices are not too bad........ it would be good to see how it runs on a long trip, let us know when you get back.....

Caydus · 06-04-2011, 01:35 PM

U got a link to that thread for the air filters? just had a look and 35 pounds doesnt seem to bad.

somers181 · 06-04-2011, 04:50 PM

It was a couple of months back but their website is: www.ukfiestanetwork.com
Have a look through this site under Fiesta mk7 (their equivalent of WS/WT and look for the 1.6 motor)

Junkie · 07-04-2011, 07:35 AM

Was considering going down this path with our Fiesta.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Waddya Think?

Caydus · 07-04-2011, 09:23 AM

Very interesting read there. Site looks like it belongs to some crazy Koop aid drinking cult, but valuable insightful info nonetheless.

I've always been told to blast new engines, so we did. My dad bought an auto corolla 4 years ago and we did that on it. Or at least we tried. Traditional torque converter autos seem to like changing up at 3000rpm max unless you give it full throttle to force the kickdown.

So we drove with with it in L off the mark until we were at higher speeds and had Overdrive on all the time. Fuel economy was shot to hell but about a year later, one of my dad's mates who bought an identical corolla at the same time borrowed ours and was amazed at how much more responsive ours felt.

Now that's hardly evidence and I can't really prove anything based on that, but riding a new engine hard always made sense to me.

Luckily with these DSG autos, it loves revving the engine. Even without trying I end up redlining my engine at least once every decently long trip (not a run to the shops).
The one thing I'm worried about is about the oil change. They recommend to change it right away? I'm already past the 1500 mile point :(

Spinner77 · 07-04-2011, 03:08 PM

Call me old-fashioned, but I cannot think of any reason to run a new engine from zero to 15,000 km on the original oil. Not run in until 15,000 km? Seriously?

You might get away with it in the majority of cases (just watch that red-lining), but that's not the point. Do you want to take the risk? Preemptive maintenance is about reducing risks.

Caydus · 07-04-2011, 06:49 PM

I don't think by riding it hard he meant riding it to the point of destruction, as in red line all the time. Think it was meant more for revving it up but not ever keeping it there. At least that's my interpretation.

geelong festy · 16-04-2011, 11:01 PM

As an apprentice I was taught that drive it any way you want too, but just don't rev it up or load it up - anything that causes excessive heat for the first 3000 miles and then change the oil every 3000 miles after that. I've used that on motorbikes and cars and I've never had an engine failure and have always got good milage. I race karts and 2 stroke bikes for years and always ran them in for no more than 30 mins over 3 sessions on mineral oil then changed over to synthetic oil as the piston & rings would not bed-in properly running-in on synthetic oil. 15,000k on one oil change is no problem for modern cars & bikes on modern oils but I usually halve the distance cos I'm old fashioned too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caydus

I don't think by riding it hard he meant riding it to the point of destruction, as in red line all the time. Think it was meant more for revving it up but not ever keeping it there. At least that's my interpretation.

greenfoam · 17-04-2011, 12:32 AM

Because our Fiesta had to go off the showroom floor straight into commuting it didn't get an ideal run in straight away. But the oil consumption has progressively improved over time, from needing a top up at 7000 is ks before the first oil change to 10,000 at about 50,000 ks and now with 90,000 it'll go the full 15,000 ks without a top up *just*. So things are still on the improve. With oils these days the metal on metal wear is almost nothing so it takes a very long time for everything to fit just right. Once the warranty is out I'll be changing it at 10,000 anyway

Franco Cozzo · 17-04-2011, 02:50 PM

I changed the oil in mine at 5000km to full synthetic.

Spinner77 · 17-04-2011, 03:06 PM

Quote:

oils these days the metal on metal wear is almost nothing so it takes a very long time for everything to fit just right

Just my opinion, but I am cautious of statements like this, although I accept that they serve a marketing purpose.

The one fact is that the tolerances of manufacturing have improved dramatically over the past decade. What this means mainly is that there is less variation in the finished products. Less, not none. With an auto engine, you are not buying a scientific instrument or an expensive digital camera.

Even there, the state-of-the-art manufacturing is not as good as most people assume. Here's an example. If you buy a DSLR for a few thousand, you might expect the focus to be spot-on. The reality is that very often it is slightly off. The reason is that the most modern manufacturing is not yet up to producing perfect focus every time. If you want that, the final adjustments must be made by hand. That is part of the high price of a Leica M9, for instance.

Caydus · 27-04-2011, 08:20 PM

So, just came back from a (very) long weekend away on the Gold Coast from Sydney in the Fiesta. 3 adults, with the luggage that that entails, so boot completely full, and the air con on the entire way.
Did around 2050kms, ~1700 of which was highway.

Ended up getting an average of 7.25L/100kms.

Car's done around 5800kms in total now with one oil change.
Just a little dissapointed, expected high sixes. Does this look normal, or is it a tad high?

In Focus · 27-04-2011, 10:08 PM

I've worked out that an adult adds about 0.3L/100km to our Fiesta's combo, so add 2 would add 0.6, and perhaps the luggage and air con added another 0.3. We got 6.0 on a 200km trip with 2 adults and sitting on or around 110kph most of the way with the a/c on the lowest setting.

Make of all that what you will, but yours sounds a tad high, depending on whether you were fighting headwinds or going uphill a lot.

Caydus · 27-04-2011, 10:37 PM

Hmmm, sounds about right i suppose. The Pacific Highway going from Syd to Gold Coast section isn't the straightest road out there, going there, there were a few bits of stop/start bumper to bumper action and coming back it was ****ing down.

Don't know how long the "still running in" excuse is going to last.

somers181 · 28-04-2011, 03:05 PM

I have found with previously purchased new Fords: Focus, XR6T, Falcon, Linx & TX3 once i had done 10,000 kms or more they did rum a lot smoother, the fuel useage was much closer to the claimed amounts and the car had all the bugs sorted.............. have only just hit 4,000 in the WT and cant wait to see it improve................ still not happy with some of the excuses from Ford in regards to "issues"....................

Fiesta God · 28-04-2011, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caydus

So, just came back from a (very) long weekend away on the Gold Coast from Sydney in the Fiesta. 3 adults, with the luggage that that entails, so boot completely full, and the air con on the entire way.
Did around 2050kms, ~1700 of which was highway.

Ended up getting an average of 7.25L/100kms.

Car's done around 5800kms in total now with one oil change.
Just a little dissapointed, expected high sixes. Does this look normal, or is it a tad high?

Personally found that the aircon in my manual WS adds about 0.7L/100km to the petrol consumption ... I can get mid 5's on the highway with no aircon and just myself in the car, sitting on 100-110 ...

Three passengers, luggage and aircon on the whole way - by my reckoning the load + the aircon would add about 1.5-2L/100km to your consumption.

I found my fuel consumption improved significantly from about 15-20,000kms onwards. After the first oil change (at 7500kms I did one) the engine revved a bit more freely, but it started to really feel good once I hit about 15,000kms ...

Am now on 40,000kms and with oil changes every 7.5k, I average roughly 5.5L/100km on the highway with no aircon, and about 7.5L/100km around the city in heavy traffic.

IMO nothing wrong with running the car in on the original oil until 15,000kms. I change mine every 7.5k regardless but these cars undergo a lot of testing, and they put 260,000kms on a test Fiesta with the standard service intervals before it went to market (15k oil changes). They wouldn't spec it if it was going to destroy the engine.

But definitely more frequent oil changes will help longevity and IMO that sort of preventative maintenance is ALWAYS worth it.

Spinner77 · 29-04-2011, 04:16 PM

Quote:

... they put 260,000kms on a test Fiesta with the standard service intervals before it went to market (15k oil changes)

No doubt this is absolutely true. But I wonder to what extent it met real-world conditions.

For one thing, how was aging of the vehicle and the engine modelled? How many cold starts were there? What was the test load? There are lots of other variables you can think of.

But my point is the same. Preventive maintenance pays off.