How to run in your new car?

MANILA: After saving for years, cutting on all your expenses and retaining each penny – you were finally able to collect the money to buy your own car. It's straight out of the showroom, still smelling of the fresh paint and all you wish now, is to get behind the wheel, turn on the ignition, press the metal and just unleash this beast at its maximum speed. But wait, before you take this fuel guzzler for a ride, remember why auto manufacturers always recommended to take it easy on your car for the first few days. Driving your car at a prescribed speed for the first few days is known as the running-in period, wherein your car's engine and its parts take the time to adjust and perform to its best ability. Call us conventional, but we at CarBay strongly suggest you to ease it during the running-in period. This ensures your car will not only perform flawlessly but will also remain your long time companion.

Running in Period:

The running-in period is the time taken or kilometers driven by your car, in order to provide time to its engine to adjust towards the day to day driving and reach the manufacturer set optimal driving performance. Driving according to manufacturer's recommendations during the running-in period highly affect your car's future performance and longevity. During the run-in time, the piston rings settle, ensuring that both bearings and cylinder wear accordingly. Not just the engine, the brake, and tires also require time to settle in. Your car's long-term performance, efficiency and endurance highly depend on how you treat it for the first 1500 to 2000 Km.

What to do?

Speed limits are an essential part of the running-in period, and we also advise you to always stick to the manufacturer prescribed speed limits. No matter how much you want to release this devil, sticking to the speed limit is a must. Each car's speed limit and RPM varies depending on the engine, therefore, refer to your car manual to know about that.

Usually, for a petrol engine, manufacturer restrict the RPMs at 2,500 for the first 1,000 km and post that 3,000 RPMs until 1,500 km and then, gradually increase it to the maximum by 2,500 km. Whereas for the diesel engine, makers restrict the RPMs to about 2,200 for the first 1,000 km. After that, you can increase the limit to 2,500 - 2,800 RPMs until 1,500 km. Then, gradually increase it to the maximum by 2,500 km.

During the run-in period, driving your car on a highway is not the right way to go. Throughout the running-in period, it is important to cover all types of terrains from highways to city lanes. The idea is to subject the car's engine to ranges of RPMs on different terrains and conditions.

Proper oiling of your car is crucial, not only old cars but even new cars require precise lubrication. Many manufacturers set the oil change during the first service, but we advocate to change the engine oil post 1000Km, as some metal slivers of the new engine might make its way to the oil, clogging the oil filter. Post that, you can stick to company recommended intervals. Also do not opt for synthetic oil before covering 10,000Km, as the advance lubrication properties of synthetic oil slow the run-in process.

During the run-in, avoid brisk accelerating and braking. Also, while switching gears, ease in with the transmission. The trick is to drive your car smoothly. Applying light acceleration immediately after starting the ignition does warm the engine up, but not enough for undue wear.

Another instruction is to free your car from any unnecessary load. Excess of the load increases engine pressure, resulting in uneven wear. Keep the car lightly loaded, avoid heavy luggage or bulky trailers, at least for the initial run-in period.

By following these simple steps, you can ensure that your engine reaches its maximum performance and endurance condition. This will maximize you car’s power, fuel economy, and engine life. Many new cars are designed to minimize damage from a poor running-in, but even these engines benefit from the advantages of a proper run-in regime.