So do any of you prior JCW owners have any words of wisdom for a soon to be JCW owner?

Any critical do's and don'ts for engine break in?

 

You're going to love it. I took it relatively easy for the first 1200 miles. I have 11000 miles now with absolutely no hint of trouble. Get better tires, get coil overs, get an AccessPort. Always use the sport button. My MINI feels SO solid on the road, a thrill every time I pull out of the driveway. Also, be sure and get an NM Engineering Engine Torque Arm Insert. $60 part that only takes a few minutes to install and almost entirely eliminates torque steer. If you do nothing else, at least get this part.

 

Drive it like you stole it.....don't believe in taking it easy during break in, just be sure not to hold the RPM steady, run it up and then back off and force engine braking.

 

@kukaepe,

I'm 100% with you on this one. We've had many new cars over the years (including four new MINIs) and we've done tests on babying the cars when new vs. simply driving them as we normally would. We've never seen any differences between the two whatsoever. Modern engines don't need a run in period. I know that I'll be enjoying the full power of our Coupe from the minute we get it. No sense in wasting the first 1,000 miles by driving it around like an old fart. Life's just way too short for that!

 

You aren't driving it unless you hit the rev limiter. After all what's the limiter for?

I still turn heads from the ricer boys when I smoke them in my "Burble Bee."

Funny how many people have know idea what "JCW" stands for.

 

Just do a hard break in, you will make more power.

 

I second that. Hard break in is best. And pretty much all activity is finished in about 100 miles so maybe watch the RPM for those first critical miles but not the throttle position. You want to use more throttle than you normally would to force the rings out. These turbo cars make a ton of power down low so you will be having a good time while this is going on.

 

Glad I ran into this thread. I've been babying my JCW. So now I can just drive normally.

 

This site is written for the motorcycle community, but the concepts are universal to internal combustion engines:

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

It's not the most well organized series of thoughts, but if you read it all the way through, you will likely understand why the gentle break-in theory is hogwash. Simply driving it like you stole it isn't ideal, either, but it is probably a better way to seat the piston rings while you have the chance.

 

Thanks for the link, it was an interesting read.

 

Ditto on thanking you for the link, Bill. I was going to baby the crap out of my S; not so much anymore!

 

+1

30,000 miles later and I have had zero issues with the engine. I had the clutch replaced under warranty at 28,500

 

http://www.aera.org/downloads/BIP.pdf

 

Most of that pdf won't apply directly to a consumer breaking in anengine that already has a few hours/miles on it from the factory. but this part is similar, although less thorough, than the break-in procedures outlined in my link above:


5. Start engine again and make a test run on the road at 30 MPH in “drive” range or select the proper gears for standard transmission. Periodically accelerate to 50 MPH and decelerate rapidly. Repeat this procedure at least 10 times. For a large truck or industrial engine, accelerate in intermediate gears as above.

NOTE: Applying loads to the engine for short periods of time causes increased ring pressure against the cylinder walls and helps to seat the rings. This is especially important because you are “breaking-in” the engine with heavy duty oils. The rapid deceleration increases vacuum and gives extra lubrication to the piston and ring assemblies

 

My JCW Coupe is at the docks in NJ, and due at the dealer on Monday so should be getting it Wednesday, but I intend on following MotoMan and seating the ring seals properly on the drive home. Does anyone know if these motors come with synthetic oil from Mini or conventional break in formula?

 

I just posted for the sake of discussion is all.

Unless something has changed they use synthetic, and not a break in oil.

 

Pretty sure that they're delivered with the same synthetic oil that your dealer sells.

 

Do yourself and the next owner a favor...Break it in as the Mini book says.

gary

 

Sounds like you have a bad story to share?

 

from the "drive it hard" group, did anyone bother to dump the synthetic from the factory in favor of DINO oil before doing the crucial ring seal setting in? That's the question in my mind now....do I show up, drive around the corner and do an oil change with a topsider oil changer and put in DINO oil before the critical "20 miles" ???

 

Was wondering the same thing?

 

I think this is my plan....picking this item up this afternoon, and tomorrow when I pick my car up, will drive down the block from the dealer, perform a quick oil siphon and replace with DINO oil for the break in period. Will follow the MFG break in but also add in the hard accel and decel (not to redline), taking mountain roads to work to get the ring seals seated, then continue for the remaining MFG break in miles before putting the synthetic back in for the remainder of its life...it was either that or load the car on a trailer to bring it home to change the oil, or keep the synthetic in....

http://www.tractorsupply.com/liquiva...asedPricingCmd