How many miles upon dealer delivery?

[RingMeister01]

Originally Posted by bruce.augenstein@comcast.

This may be the worst string ever. Guaranteed to make people worry about how their car has been treated before they picked it up - regardless of miles.

Look, here's the deal:

Your car has definitely been mistreated (by your standards) more than once before you took delivery. In no order of importance:

A) BMW runs the M engines at full throttle, under load and at high revs right after they've been bolted together.

B) Decades back, I watched Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs being driven off the end of the assembly line. They were started up for the first time ever, thrown into gear, and pretty much ten times out of ten, squealing tires were involved as they drove the cars out to the lot. Why? Because they had to get the damned cars out to the lot and get back in time to pick up the next one.

C) In the lot, guys would once again fire up from dead cold, throw them into gear, and squeal the tires as they drove to the waiting trucks. Why? Same deal.

D) I guarantee you that, in Germany, they're gunning the cars out of the lot in order to drive them onto the ship. Same deal. Get back real quick so the damned ship can get loaded and out to sea. At the destination port, get the damned cars unloaded so the ship can get back to load some more. Time is money. A lot of throttle and squealing tires (from dead cold) is pretty much mandatory.

E) I recently read and commented in these pages about Ford's development and testing procedures in regard to the current 5.0 engines. Part of the deal was to start the test engine from dead cold on a dyno stand and instantly go to full throttle, running to red line under load. After a few dozen runs (all starting from dead cold), they'd tear the engine down and look for any unusual wear or wear patterns. If any were found, they go back to the drawing board and make changes.

You think Ford is any more demanding than BMW? Think again.

F) All the break-in strings in these pages prove that it pretty much doesn't matter. You have folks who swear by flooring the car right out of the dealer's lot, to folks who swear by being gentle until several thousand miles. All, ALL claim smooth running engines that don't burn oil, no problems, etc.

Anecdotally, I have personally broken in cars using the complete spectrum of "best" methods, and have essentially found no difference. None.

So folks, rest easy. Your car has definitely been abused before you got it - and it just doesn't matter.

You see you're wrong but you aren't the only one

In a nutshell, the cars being "gunned" out of the factory and on off the trucks aren't being mistreated and it's intentional. They are actually doing you a favor. The only way to properly seal the rings on the pistons is under load. You also only have a short distance to do so, typically 20 miles of first operation. Properly sealing the rings results in greater power output and less oil consumption. Many manufacturers require you to sign a waiver that you've recieved your vehicle with Xmiles. Why? Probably because the Tech took your ride and floored it from 60-130 a couple of times (a regular practice on Ducati's).

Every car, bike, boat I've owned I make sure that either myself or a tech I trust at the dealership runs the car/bike (as soon as it's unloaded from the truck) at 100% throttle from 40% - 80% rpm range in 3 increments, all above 100 MPH (you need the speed for resistance). After this change the oil and proceed with manufacturers recommended break in.
I'm not understanding why people are uncomfortable with this.

[serieD]

3

[dclowd9901]

Originally Posted by RingMeister01

You see you're wrong but you aren't the only one

In a nutshell, the cars being "gunned" out of the factory and on off the trucks aren't being mistreated and it's intentional. They are actually doing you a favor. The only way to properly seal the rings on the pistons is under load. You also only have a short distance to do so, typically 20 miles of first operation. Properly sealing the rings results in greater power output and less oil consumption. Many manufacturers require you to sign a waiver that you've recieved your vehicle with Xmiles. Why? Probably because the Tech took your ride and floored it from 60-130 a couple of times (a regular practice on Ducati's).

Every car, bike, boat I've owned I make sure that either myself or a tech I trust at the dealership runs the car/bike (as soon as it's unloaded from the truck) at 100% throttle from 40% - 80% rpm range in 3 increments, all above 100 MPH (you need the speed for resistance). After this change the oil and proceed with manufacturers recommended break in.
I'm not understanding why people are uncomfortable with this.

I think there exists a very large correlation between a) the kind of person who has enough money to buy an M3 and b) a Type A personality, who wants everything exactly in a specific way. From what I've gathered after being on this forum for a few months -- seeing the beautiful garages that users maintain, what they've complained about as imperfections in the car -- is that the typical bimmerpost user would like their car delivered to them directly from the factory -- without the wheels even having been rolled -- crated, and as hermetically sealed as a surgical operating tool.

Anything beyond this is full on rape of their vehicle.

[bruce.augenstein@comcast.]

Originally Posted by RingMeister01

You see you're wrong but you aren't the only one

I see I'm wrong? What does that even mean?

Originally Posted by RingMeister01

In a nutshell, the cars being "gunned" out of the factory and on off the trucks aren't being mistreated and it's intentional. They are actually doing you a favor. The only way to properly seal the rings on the pistons is under load. You also only have a short distance to do so, typically 20 miles of first operation. Properly sealing the rings results in greater power output and less oil consumption. Many manufacturers require you to sign a waiver that you've recieved your vehicle with Xmiles. Why? Probably because the Tech took your ride and floored it from 60-130 a couple of times (a regular practice on Ducati's).

First of all, gunning a car at low revs from dead cold two or three times in no way breaks in the rings.

Second, I've broken cars in your way, and although they ran well, they weren't any better than cars broken in using manufacturers recommendations. The last car I broke in this way was a 2007 Acura TL type S which saw full throttle at 12 miles (delivered with 8), red line at 15 miles, and it ran smoothly, with little to no oil consumption between changes. But it wasn't anything special in terms of performance (14.0 at just a hair over 100 MPH).

Third, the strongest performer (compared to the norm) I've ever owned was a '93 LT1 6-speed Vette, and that car was broken in gently, according to Chevrolet recommendations. It ran a 12.97 @ 108.95 while 100.00% dead stock, right down to the recommended 35 psi in the tires. Calls to Corvette engineering, the proving grounds and two Corvette magazines resulted in nobody ever hearing of a stock LT-1 Corvette that quick and fast.

Originally Posted by RingMeister01

Every car, bike, boat I've owned I make sure that either myself or a tech I trust at the dealership runs the car/bike (as soon as it's unloaded from the truck) at 100% throttle from 40% - 80% rpm range in 3 increments, all above 100 MPH (you need the speed for resistance). After this change the oil and proceed with manufacturers recommended break in.
I'm not understanding why people are uncomfortable with this.

They're uncomfortable with this for the obvious reason that it goes dead against manufacturer's recommendations. Duh.

Look, I'm not arguing against your preferred break-in procedures. I'm just arguing that the entire gamut of break-in procedures also work.

Oh, and you needn't bother with an early oil change, unless you're just uncomfortable. It really isn't needed any more often than the manufacturer recommends.

[Zeroblade]

I dunno if all factories do this but I've seen Ford take a random truck out to their test track to make sure their current batch is up to snuff. I can't recall if its something they just do or law but its to catch any random problems. So its just another thing that could add to the number.

[RingMeister01]

Originally Posted by dclowd9901

I think there exists a very large correlation between a) the kind of person who has enough money to buy an M3 and b) a Type A personality, who wants everything exactly in a specific way. From what I've gathered after being on this forum for a few months -- seeing the beautiful garages that users maintain, what they've complained about as imperfections in the car -- is that the typical bimmerpost user would like their car delivered to them directly from the factory -- without the wheels even having been rolled -- crated, and as hermetically sealed as a surgical operating tool.

Anything beyond this is full on rape of their vehicle.

I 1000% agree and Im the anal guy BTW. I go as far as asking the dealer to call me when the truck is on the way so I can overlook every moment of preparation, to insure my car isn't… raped.

Originally Posted by bruce.augenstein@comcast.

I see I'm wrong? What does that even mean?



First of all, gunning a car at low revs from dead cold two or three times in no way breaks in the rings.

Second, I've broken cars in your way, and although they ran well, they weren't any better than cars broken in using manufacturers recommendations. The last car I broke in this way was a 2007 Acura TL type S which saw full throttle at 12 miles (delivered with 8), red line at 15 miles, and it ran smoothly, with little to no oil consumption between changes. But it wasn't anything special in terms of performance (14.0 at just a hair over 100 MPH).

Third, the strongest performer (compared to the norm) I've ever owned was a '93 LT1 6-speed Vette, and that car was broken in gently, according to Chevrolet recommendations. It ran a 12.97 @ 108.95 while 100.00% dead stock, right down to the recommended 35 psi in the tires. Calls to Corvette engineering, the proving grounds and two Corvette magazines resulted in nobody ever hearing of a stock LT-1 Corvette that quick and fast.



They're uncomfortable with this for the obvious reason that it goes dead against manufacturer's recommendations. Duh.

Look, I'm not arguing against your preferred break-in procedures. I'm just arguing that the entire gamut of break-in procedures also work.

Oh, and you needn't bother with an early oil change, unless you're just uncomfortable. It really isn't needed any more often than the manufacturer recommends.

For reference - Break-in secrets

I'm not in anyway arguing with you bro. I kind of went off tangent on that one lol. Yes, motors are an interesting creature and we all try to apply our own methods on how to treat our machines best as possible to extract as much as possible. Your LT1 sounds like a beast. Maybe not from your brake in method but possibly your connecting rods, piston, rod bearings, etc may have been paired successfully (by lotto) to make a perfectly balanced motor! I'm just saying that from factory to your delivery involves a process at which miles are accumulated… its been a long day and I don't even know what the original subject was about.

You all are very lucky to even be able to post delivery miles. Im still waiting

[CanAutM3]

2km at the Welt
4876km at the dealer

[Jdebitjr]

9 miles

[Jim300186]

6 miles.

[BMWM5NYC]

All you guys worrying about delivery miles, you know you can get engine damage with 1 mile on the car if the car is revved at idle with the engine cold too right? Don't over think things. Just get your car and enjoy it.

[Fifth Echelon]

1.5 miles at the Welt, 1052 miles at dropoff. Still waiting on redelivery. Don't REALLY care what the added miles are unless they are an unreasonable amount (>100 miles or thereabouts).

[SOURCE1064]

10mi as I had them take it to service first to put nitrogen in the tires.

[BitchinManWheels]

1 mi at Welt and 1495 mi at drop off in Nice. Still waiting to take delivery in LA.
For those of you who have done ED, how many miles were put on between drop off in Europe and pick up at your US dealer?

[Miko M3]

12

[bruce.augenstein@comcast.]

Originally Posted by bmwm3nyc

All you guys worrying about delivery miles, you know you can get engine damage with 1 mile on the car if the car is revved at idle with the engine cold too right? Don't over think things. Just get your car and enjoy it.

Revving from idle when cold won't cause engine damage.

[Bmwguy11]

Merged post whoops.

[M3PGH]

8

[Ghetto2315]

About 10 miles or less. There have been times where BMW (not the dealer) does random testing and plucks one to test so that may have about <50.

[X2Board]

1

[kunzjob]

I plan on doing the same thing I do with my motorcycles... Always, always give the engine a proper warmup, not the bottom of the temp gauge, but let it get up there. Then drive the wheels off the damn thing. Like others have mentioned, you need to seat the piston rings. They do all this during engine testing, car testing, before a car/engine is ever released to us clowns. Plus everything is under warranty... Why the hell would you spend 75k to drive it like a granny? Screw that noise.

[Crisp]

2 miles on mine.

I love the responses of "I've broken in all 3 of my cars like this and had no issues".

Great sample set guys. I wonder what kind of company BMW would be if the tests they ran were based on 3 out of 3 motors making it through. Or even 20 out of 20 motors.

Unless someone comes to me with hardcore data, showing that they've tested hundreds of the same motors for thousands of miles under different conditions, I'll stick to the manufacturer recommended procedure, or my own head.

FYI: I've always stuck to my own head and never manufacturer's recommendations. I drive my cars the same way on day 1 as I would for the rest of their lives - this means I run them under load but I DO NOT abuse them. I let them properly warm up, avoid kick-downs and other abrupt movements to the motor (WOT, let off, WOT, and so on).
I don't really keep them past 15k miles or so, so don't listen to my method. I do however, enjoy every single mile in my cars.

[N55]

6