Well, the car should be here in a couple weeks now and I was wondering what some of you did as far as a break-in period for the engine. I've read that for the first 500 miles or so that applying shorts burts of throttle and engine breaking between 3,000 and 5,000 rpm helped to properly set the piston rings. Also to not WOT to redline or cruise at highway speeds for extended amounts off time. Any advice would be greatly apprectiated

 

I just drove my '11 GT/CS.....kind of like I stole it. I found nothing special required by Ford for break in.

In normal day to day driving, you have all the makings of the old style break in period....short WOT bursts, no steady speed and the such. Only if you were traveling a long distance would you be likely to cruise at a steady speed.....and I don't even do that in any vehicle just for a change.

As I said, I would just drive it and since mine is a daily driver, its performance is great.

 

i broke mine in wide open,,,i pulled out of the dealer with 16 miles on the car smoking the tires lol!!!!

 

The manual on my 10' GT simply said to not drive it at constant speeds for an extended period of time on the first 1,000 miles.

 

......haven't had a problem....ever!

The only item to watch out for is oil consumption. I had to add almost 1 quart of oil after my 1st week with the car. That was the only time I had to add oil in between oil changes.

Good luck with the new car!

 

i didn't pay too much attention to breaking mine in - i hit WOT a few times in the first 1K. can't say i've ever heard of someone having an engine problem that was attributed to improper break in. check back with me in 100K miles and we'll see.

 

I've been told that a break-in is not really required for this engine. Not sure if that is true or not, but yea redline was achieved multiple times first 5000 miles.

 

I asked the salesman the same thing when I got my car. He said the engine is basically already broken in from the factory.

I did not do anything crazy with my car until 1500 mi on the ODO, (WOT, etc), but even during that time, I did not drive at a constant speed too long. Varying some DD and some spirited in between to expose the engine to a wide variety of conditions.

 

05-10 Mustang:

"BREAKING-IN YOUR VEHICLE
Your vehicle does not need an extensive break-in. Try not to drive
continuously at the same speed for the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of
new vehicle operation. Vary your speed frequently in order to give the
moving parts a chance to break in.
Drive your new vehicle at least 1,000 miles (1,600 km) before towing a
trailer. For more detailed information about towing a trailer, refer to
Trailer towing in the Tires, Wheels and Loading chapter.
Do not add friction modifier compounds or special break-in oils since
these additives may prevent piston ring seating. See Engine oil in the
Maintenance and Specifications chapter for more information on oil"

2011 Mustang:

"BREAKING-IN YOUR VEHICLE
Your vehicle does not need an extensive break-in. Try not to drive
continuously at the same speed for the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of
new vehicle operation. Vary your speed frequently in order to give the
moving parts a chance to break in.
Drive your new vehicle at least 100 miles (160 km) before performing
extended wide open throttle maneuvers and at least 1,000 miles
(1,600 km) before towing a trailer or before performance/competition
conditions. For more detailed information about towing a trailer, refer to
Trailer towing in the Tires, Wheels and Loading chapter."

 

This guy is a real man! I did the same thing when I picked my car from the dealer, laid a burnout through all of second gear right off the lot. Break in periods are for Camry's.