the_indian_kid

Hey guys, I'm a new member to the AMG crowd and would like to get some advice from you AMG owners. Will have the C63 Coupe 507 in less than 2 weeks, and was wondering, since I'll be breaking the car in hopefully a week's timeline, probably 90% highway driving (100 KM/H+), what is the best way to break er in on the highway? Any procedures or technique? I remember some said they drove it hard since day 1. Hope to get some advice, thank you.

avery.whss

beat the living **** out of the car...AMG pre-breaks them in i'm pretty sure..these engines aren't china dolls it won't break if you redline it, it'll just chug gas

whoover

There are obviously two schools. The factory recommends going easy for 1,000 miles. In fact, the rules for break-in are placed on the upper left corner of your windshield so you can't miss them. No kick-down. No exceeding 4,500 RPM or 85 MPH. No full loading of the engine.

I never understood why people consider these recommendations some sort of conspiracy. The engines are not broken in before we get them. I've followed the recommendations in five AMG's and 4 other MB's and all of them have been trouble free, and never used oil or gas unreasonably. Yeah, I've cheated a couple of times but in general I try to do what the book says.

mr747

^^ these engines are broken in from the factory its the diff and tranny that are not broken in

whoover

Only the V-12s are run for a few hours.

mr747

i beg to differ bud

ive seen tv programs in australia of the sls engines getting run in on the dyno
from the merc factory

TTA850

To each his own - I can tell you I ran mine in a lot harder than the reccomended break in, doesn't use a drop of oil, transmission never misses a beat, rear diff just fine, and turned a very healthy 1/4 mile et/mph for a 100% stock car. One thing I don't believe in is the 10k mile oil change, did my first at diff fluid change (2k miles), then at 5k, and every 5k since.

If you really want to know about how run in can effect ring seal, oil consumption, and total power best bet is go talk to a reputable engine builder - never had one say to baby an engine or any other part of a car. Plus if it breaks it was going to break eventually and I'd rather it break sooner than later.

whoover

SLS and V-12 engines are dyno'ed. That's correct. That's not a break-in. All other engines are tested on a "cold test stand," where they are driven by an electrical motor to check for leaks. They are not even started.

You can see the cold stand at
https://www.mercedes-amg.com/about.php?lang=eng

Click Virtual Tour and it's about 4/5 the way through.

None of them are broken in.

mr747

I even had a tech that worked in germany but now migrated to australia tell me the m156 m159 engines are run in at the factory

anyway regardless if it was me i would be hard on the engine from the start and like others have said change oil every 5000kms and the engine will look after you like you have looked after it

whoover

Just the M159 for the SLS. And the V-12. And just for the dyno run. I've been there. Very cool place.

An awful lot of people ignore the break-in instructions and swear by the results. I recognize that. But I'm sure the factory has some reason for their instructions.

dchl21

seriously. .. it doesn't break because its a nice engine ...


why would they put break-in instructions if it doesn't need it. plus ... spending so much on an amg .... you are not going to break it in ?????


foolish if you ask me

LakeShow23

Flip to RS, foot on the brake and smash the gas, and it's broken in.

ZephyrAMG

I just followed what the window sticker said. Wasn't necessarily a grandma but for the first 1000 miles just cycled through all the gears at moderate speeds from highway to side streets.
It's really no big deal. Just don't take the car tracking or drag strip for the first 1000 miles...

Quadcammer

this crap again?

break in instructions are written by lawyers. They also differ in different parts of the world. If this was based solely on the mechanicals, this would not change from country to country.

Tranny, diff, and brakes...exercise reasonable care in not being on these minute one.

Engine...get up to temp, and drive the car hard. utilize the revs, load, engine braking etc.

Anything thats gonna break at 6000rpm is also going to break at 4,000 rpm.

whoover

The sticker's in German, English and French.

Lawyers are part of the conspiracy theory. How are they protecting MB? Why does the factory not want you to break in your engine optimally? Is there a downside to doing it "right" that have the MB lawyers covering their ***?

I just wish someone would explain why MB/AMG pays lawyers to write useless and counter-productive instructions.

the_indian_kid

Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it.

bluejae

for what it's worth... i drove a 2009 c63 for about 40k miles and now my 2010 c63 which is almost at 70k... both cars i drove them like i would any other day... but i distinctly remember going WOT on both cars on my first drive after it was warmed up... no problems

Roswell

Congrats Indian Kid, I remember meeting u in Kingston meet.. Glad u made the jump to the AMG. U will love the 507!

Ingenieur

The instructions are written by engineers
Reliability engineers most likely
Lawyers....absurd

Everybody here is smarter than the pepple who actually design/build the cars

bjonesmd

Hypothetical Situation:

I drive my car like I stole it, drifting off the lot, etc..
Everything is fine except this engine was built on an off day, say Friday before a holiday, and something breaks during the break in period.
I take the car to MB and they check the computer and it reports several episodes of bouncing off the rev limiter. (Okay I am not sure this is possible, but I do believe the computer stores at least the last few minutes of data such as MPH and brake and throttle position, so I would not be surprised.)
Now MB says I did not follow the break in procedure, so my warranty is void and I will have to pay for repairs.

Like I said, it is a hypothetical circumstance, but what is the harm in following the break in procedure. I mostly followed it. I cheated a little, and after I did, I couldn't wait for the break in to be over so I could stop worrying about whether I had broken anything. But then, not everyone is as paranoid as I am.

alpharabbit

Personally I took it fairly easy for the first 1000 miles. No burnouts or drifts however I did drive it in manual mode off the lot and every day since. I did not let the rpms get too crazy (I did cheat a few times). I downshift to brake and have since day one so I did let the tranny get some exercise. After 1000 miles I did full oil change and diff fluid change and have driven it hard since. I'd rather just take my time to get to know the car and let it breathe a little before I go rampaging but that is just my 2 cents.

whoover

I think that's somewhere between hypothetical and paranoid, yes. If MB ever denied a warranty claim for break-in violation I'm sure we'd have heard about it. Doesn't your car have 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination anyway?

The real hypothetical is that your rings don't bed perfectly and you have reduced compression and increased oil consumption as a result. Ring-bedding is the primary concern of break-in restrictions. You want the rings to remove cylinder-wall imperfections, not have the cylinders scuff the rings. This happens best with moderate piston velocity.

Ingenieur

as preecise as modern mfg methods are there are dimensional differences between new components

so running the car under light load/low rpm for a period will allow them to mate up
rings mostly, but also bearings, guides, etc.

do an oil change to flush out any debris

BMW M cars had a strict procedure and an engine oil change at 1200 miles (diff too)
included in purchase price

abcut973

And finally you will get rid of that ugly front fender
Congrats !

the_indian_kid

Haha, it still will stay.