I'm at almost 800 miles. Been running mine in in Individual w/ Sport Trans on so it never goes in 4 cylinder mode. I figured if it's breaking in the engine why would I not want all 8 cylinders broken in equally.

 

Are we allowed to run the Trans on Individual sports mode during break in period? I though it was better not to change anything.

 

You can run it in any mode - so as long as the engine is not rev'd beyond 4000-4500 RPM.

 

My 2018 AMG Supplement said in the list of notes on breaking-in a new vehicle on page 11 of the Supplement:
Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4MATIC+: Drive in drive program C.

The full notes are reproduced copied below here:
Notes on breaking-in a new vehicle
To preserve the engine during the first 1,000 miles (1,500 km):
* Drive at varying road speeds and engine speeds.
* Do not drive faster than 85 mph (140 km/h).
* Only briefly allow the engine to reach a maximum engine speed of 4,500 rpm (4,500 rpm).
* Mercedes-AMG E 43 4MATIC: Drive in drive program C or E.
* Mercedes‑AMG E 63 4MATIC+ and Mercedes‑AMG E 63 S 4MATIC+: Drive in drive program C.
* Move up a gear before the tachometer needle is 2/3 of the way to the red area of the tachometer.
* Do not shift down a gear manually in order to brake.
* Avoid overstraining the vehicle, e.g. driving at full throttle.
* Do not depress the accelerator pedal past the pressure point (kickdown).
* Only increase the engine speed gradually and accelerate the vehicle to full speed after 1,000 miles (1,500 km).

This also applies when the engine or parts of the drivetrain have been replaced.
Please also observe the following breaking-in notes:
*In certain driving and driving safety systems, the sensors adjust automatically while a certain distance is being driven after the vehicle has been delivered or after repairs. Full system
effectiveness is not achieved until the end of this teach-in process.
* Brake linings, brake discs and tires that are either new or have been replaced only achieve optimum braking effect and grip after several hundred kilometers of driving. Compensate
for the reduced braking effect by applying greater force to the brake pedal.

 

I knew I read it somewhere, guess suck running it on C mode until until you hit 1000miles, how does the exhaust sound with sports exhaust turned on when the car is in comfort mode.

 

 

 

My commute to work is 25 miles one way, so I would say it would take me about 3 weeks roughly to get to 1000 miles.

 

Agreed, louder with exhaust in Sport mode, but no crackles or overruns. Need to be in Sport+ or Race to get the full benefit of the great sound.

I did follow the breaking-in instructions to the letter. Mainly because it was my first Merc and I didn't know how **** they would be about any warranty issues. Got a feel for how many computers there are in this thing during the factory tour and as a result, how much opportunity there is for data logging.

I've usually not broken-in anything this gently and all my various cars and race bikes have never had problems.

But in this case we picked up the car in Germany and were doing the European vacation touring thing so the miles went by pretty quickly. Nice mix of roads from really small city streets, to single and double lane highways, and some autobahn. Lots of good engine speed variation so the car never sat there droning along for long at a single RPM number for long.

On the autobahn it was hard to watch the unrestricted portions come and go and see some cars tearing along at warp speed while we trundled along at 140 km/h, but that did give the family a chance to get acclimated to seeing moms in their minivans zipping along at 200 km/h. We still had several days left in Germany when the 1500 km breaking-in period was over so did get to enjoy some higher speed runs on the autobahn. Was raining off and on so needed to wait for a combination of clear weather, traffic, and unrestricted roads before we were able to really open up the car. Hit ~170 mph on the last night on our way back to Stuttgart to turn the car in the next morning. Car was still pulling hard, but had to back out given conditions.

Prepare for a very big smile when you do finally get to open it up ;-)

 

How different is the car in comfort versus race? 20%?

> * Do not shift down a gear manually in order to brake.

How bad is this for a car even after brake in period?

 

The drive train is engineered for the rapid engine speed and torque changes that come with engine braking. You can't do much on a track if you can't downshift hard and often. The car is fine with it. It's just a matter of letting the rings bed and bearings get their bearings. Some people don't believe in breaking in a car, but I think it will pay dividends in engine longevity, oil consumption and power output. Once it's broken in, anything the ECU will let you do is fine.

 

I wonder if it is more... most people lease this car and don't care about it's health after 3 years?

 

 

Generally speaking, and for simplicity sake, it is a good idea not to rev your engine beyond 4000-4500 rpm during break-in-period; the mode makes no difference. If you know this car and have working knowledge or some experience with newer performance cars, it is clear which modes will carry higher revs, and which modes will shift faster - all of which can be manually adjusted. Following all the above steps is just overkill, and I say this through experience.