Sorry, had to dig through the thread to find it!! Remember, this is Fredvon4's recommendation. You should evaluate for yourself what you are willing to do with respect to break-in.
Fred's persoanl break in advice
So you got a new Aluminum 3Cylinder 1 Litre 71 HP Smart car coming!
(I will be using Castrol 30W non synthetic detergent oil for first 500)
(If you are not comfortable with that then leave the free factory stuff in. But understand this...full synthetic oils have exceptionally high shear strength and they actually slow down or prevent effecient break in and wear to the parts that need to be clearecnced or mated to each other)
Here are some tips to make sure BSEG* lasts for many years:
I have posted it before and it always starts a opinion war but here are my ideas on "break in":
Many, Many, I say again M A N Y hot cold hot cycles are the best thing you can do for a new factory assembled motor. On start up try to teach yourself to get in, put in the key, turn to RUN and stop, put on seat belt while the computer boots, NOW turn the key to start, watch the lights and gauges and pay attention to the tachometer for a few seconds. The engine will settle back a few hundred RPM, NOW shift to drive and again pause a little with the brakes on. Release the parking brake (you do ALWAYS use the parking brake don't you).
Now spend some time training yourself to NOT turn the steering wheel UNLESS the car is rolling. I trained myself this technique of steering many years ago and my front ends last years beyond what "normal people" get before ball joints and wheels bearings need replacing. Turning a power steering lock to lock while the vehicle is halted is a BAD thing, teach yourself to NEVER do it! Same goes for turning all the way to the steering limit stops. Never ever continue to keep turning the wheel once the mechanical stop is hit. In fact, TRAIN yourself to ALWAYS back off a tad when you hear/feel the limit stop.
First you need to BED the brakes:
You should do this immediately as you leave the dealer. I do a lot of it in his lot (my dealers lot is big enough). Warped rotors are a myth. BUT, rotor surface “hardening” and pad “material transfer” to the rotor surface are NOT myths. The hard spots, and the material transfer, are what you feel as pulsating brake pedal with your foot. “Bedding in”, or “burnishing” the rotors and pads properly can prevent it from ever happening. This is a very important step on a new brakes and I am disappointed that MB does not do it at the end of the assembly line.
Get up to 30mph and when safe do a very hard (not lockup or ABS starting) but very hard braking just shy of a full stop. As you feel the car about to halt, let off and smoothly accelerate back to 25, 30 mph. Repeat this 4 or 5 times while looking for a clear parking lot or unused back road. Let about 3 or more minutes pass between hard braking series to let the rotors settle to the new temp. Do this in a place where you do NOT have to come to any complete stops with the brakes while the rotors are hot! You are deliberately trying to get the rotors VERY hot.
Once you have a SAFE place to do some more of this, do another hard brake series and get out of it while still rolling as before, but this time just coast to a normal stop. Clear your rear and shift to reverse. Going backwards get up to a fair clip and do a hard brake in reverse, but again NOT to a complete stop. Do this several times as far to the rear as you can in the selected place but try very hard to NOT bring the car to a complete stop with the brakes pads holding the very hot rotor.
What we are doing here is "burnishing" the pads, and forcing very controlled and even heating to the rotors and attaching assemblies. There NO such thing as WARPED rotors. BUT there is a condition called material transfer, caused by superheated Pads that leave some of their material on the rotor and causing them to pulsate due to the uneven surface.
For the first few days try to set up your stopping to NEVER bring you to a full stop with the pads HARD clamped to hot rotors. This is hard to do and do not ever forget safety for you and others. If you must bring the Lil Bugger to a quick and complete stop as soon as you are stopped ease up on the brakes and try to creep if there is room.
Most of the first several days I try to set up stop lights so I have a good buffer between me and cars ahead. I brake fairly aggressively, and with a two car buffer, ease up and roll out until one car buffer then slowly creep up to the car in front. Usually the light changes before I need to full stop. Do this a couple of times during the first 100 miles and your brake pads and rotors will last a long time and stopping power will be greatly enhanced.
OK the motor:
Do not be tempted to try and break in a motor over a weekend with some sort of long trip just to build miles. The setting of the rings can be done in less than 500 miles and takes patience. I must re-state Many, Many hot cold cycles are much better.
During the first 500 miles try to do mostly “in town” type driving. It is OK to be a little hot on the take off. Just refrain from spending ANY time above 3500RPM with no load on the motor or below 1500RPM (lugging the motor) under load.
Deliberately do trips "to the store" where you get her up to full operating temp and while "shopping" she will cool off. Do a LOT of frequent shopping. Don't get everything at the one Lowe’s or AutoZone "in town". Cruise across town to a buddy’s house, drink a beer while he is admiring you new ride. Think safety and drink a soda or two for another hour or so while the engine cools and you detoxify. Repeat for as many buddies as you have. Watch the drinking and driving, your Smart car can not give you enjoyment from a jail cell.
At least once every driving cycle and after fully up to operating temp, do one good strong take off from stop up to 3500-4000rpm. After the 500 mile mark do not be afraid to do this up to 4500rpm on occasion. But try to never spin the motor past 4500 unless it is under load and immediately falls off back to lower rpm.
Constant RPM/Speed (Cruise control? ) is forbidden the first 500 miles! Constant rpm is not good for the rings just yet. The rings on the Mitsubishi can seat any where from 50 to 500 miles. Play it safe and do the break in procedure for at least the first 500.
At 500 miles replace the Factory filter and dino oil with full synth and enjoy the next 500 miles increasing the drive cycles and shortening the cool cycles. I change oil at 1000 also but admit it is overkill. I just dig doing it and LOGGING it, start the habit of checking it also! (You do keep a log book or journal, right?)
I just completed my first oil change (4500 miles).
I figured that the tech dudes at Mercedes could deal with removing the oil drain plug for the first time.
I had Walter's Mercedes (in Riverside CA) do the service: new oil, new filter, new oil drain plug crimp washer, top off all the fluids, and a car wash- $79.00
I am a bit conservative when it come to maintenance, and wanted to be sure everything was "ship shape". At 10K miles, I will return to the regular maintenance schedule.
as with any car. you need to break it in. after the break in period you are supposed to change the oil. most break ins are 500 miles. do you know what happens during this?
ill explain.
the motor is honed at the factory. the pistons are installed with new fine edge rings. rings naturally wear out. where does the metal go? into the oil. because the cylinder wals are honed that leaves a rough wall to seat the rings with. improper break in. and you will notice that after about 10000 miles or so you will begin to burn oil. happens alot. if done right. you should break in your motor and change the oil to remove the metal that wore off the rings.
Finally someone knows what they are talking about. Even the owners manual talks about breaking in the engine. They are using a synthetic oil to start with. This will probably slow down the breaking in of the engine. It is a gigantic big no no to use synthetic oils to break in aircraft piston engines. It delays their breaking in, and some variations of assembly with STP will actually prevent the engine from properly breaking in the rings.
guy with yada yada yada, think I'll be doing approximately the same thing as you and at the same dealer. When I look as the size of the filter, it's hard for me to imagine how much dirt/metal/debris that thing can hold. My Harley filter is twice the size. Wait a minute, may Harley motor is twice the size...
Smart answer! As a driver of a year 2000 smart coupe I can tell - this is what you do if you don't want to drive it just for 20000 and have oil leaking and damage on the cylinders what means a rebuild after a ceased engine. Important is the oil filter change every time, I took out one after 3 oil changes done by a garage, it never got changed. Smaller engines with high revolution need special care and shorter oil change cycles.
This is from the Purolator website... Change Your Oil and Filter: It’s About Time
Release Date: 10/17/2008
BROADVIEW, IL – Generally, car owners are aware of the need to change their vehicle’s oil and filter every 3,000 miles or as frequently as the manufacturer suggests; that's been the rule of thumb for years. However, many have forgotten the other half of the rule – change your oil and filter every three months or 3,000 miles! Those words have taken on critical new importance as the spike in gas prices has resulted in motorists driving less than the traditional thousand miles a month.
So, what does time have to do with the need for changing your oil and filter?
“More than you might think it does,” said Ramon Nuńez, Director of Filtration for Bosch, joint venture owner of Purolator Filters, a leading supplier of filters to the automotive aftermarket. Purolator invented the first automotive oil filter in 1923, and the first “spin-on” filter in 1955.
According to Nuńez, time takes its toll on the life of engine oil, and infrequent driving can actually be oil's enemy.
"Combustion gases enter the crankcase and contaminate the engine oil with raw fuel, burned combustion gases, and tiny particulates, all of which compromise the composition of the oil,” he said. “The raw fuel and exhaust gases can interact chemically with the oil, leading to formation of damaging acids. Furthermore, seasonal changes may result in moisture in the air condensing into water in the crankcase. This dilutes the oil and contributes to the formation of rust, corrosion, and sludge.
“Shorter trips don't give the engine a chance to warm up fully and burn off the raw fuel, condensation and other materials that can collect in the oil. Usually, these liquids and vapors are burned away harmlessly in long turnpike-type driving, which is now more the exception than the rule.”
Some motor oils are marketed as 'extended life' lubricants, with suggested oil change intervals of as much as 25,000 miles or more. And though the chemistry of these oils may well perform the job for that long a period of time, grit and other particulates continue to accumulate in increasing and potentially damaging quantities unless they're flushed away during an oil change.
"Our PureOne premium oil filter can capture up to 13 grams of microscopic contaminants, including dirt and metal shavings – the equivalent of 31 standard-size paper clips," said Nuńez. "If the oil and filter are not changed in a timely fashion and the filter becomes clogged, the bypass valve (a safety valve built into quality oil filters) will allow gritty, unfiltered oil into critical areas of the engine where it can cause catastrophic damage.
"In these tough economic times, when people are holding onto their cars longer, it's even more important to protect the engine so it provides the longest and most reliable service possible,” Nuńez. "Changing your oil and filter every three months or 3,000 miles is the cheapest insurance you can buy."
The Car Care Council, a consumer group, warns drivers, that if your driving is ‘severe’ – frequent short trips, driving in stop-and-go traffic, idling for extended periods of time, driving where the air is dusty or dirty, living in a cold region or towing a trailer, it’s better to always stick to the three months or 3,000 miles schedule.
Interesting, I have about 200 babied miles on a new vehicle with Synthetic, however it's due for an oil change because the oil is old. Is it too late to take the synthetic out and replace it with non synthetic detergent free and do this "breaking in procedure" for the next 300 miles?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dunerunner
Sorry, had to dig through the thread to find it!! Remember, this is Fredvon4's recommendation. You should evaluate for yourself what you are willing to do with respect to break-in.
Fred's persoanl break in advice
So you got a new Aluminum 3Cylinder 1 Litre 71 HP Smart car coming!
(I will be using Castrol 30W non synthetic detergent oil for first 500)
(If you are not comfortable with that then leave the free factory stuff in. But understand this...full synthetic oils have exceptionally high shear strength and they actually slow down or prevent effecient break in and wear to the parts that need to be clearecnced or mated to each other)
Here are some tips to make sure BSEG* lasts for many years:
I have posted it before and it always starts a opinion war but here are my ideas on "break in":
Many, Many, I say again M A N Y hot cold hot cycles are the best thing you can do for a new factory assembled motor. On start up try to teach yourself to get in, put in the key, turn to RUN and stop, put on seat belt while the computer boots, NOW turn the key to start, watch the lights and gauges and pay attention to the tachometer for a few seconds. The engine will settle back a few hundred RPM, NOW shift to drive and again pause a little with the brakes on. Release the parking brake (you do ALWAYS use the parking brake don't you).
Now spend some time training yourself to NOT turn the steering wheel UNLESS the car is rolling. I trained myself this technique of steering many years ago and my front ends last years beyond what "normal people" get before ball joints and wheels bearings need replacing. Turning a power steering lock to lock while the vehicle is halted is a BAD thing, teach yourself to NEVER do it! Same goes for turning all the way to the steering limit stops. Never ever continue to keep turning the wheel once the mechanical stop is hit. In fact, TRAIN yourself to ALWAYS back off a tad when you hear/feel the limit stop.
First you need to BED the brakes:
You should do this immediately as you leave the dealer. I do a lot of it in his lot (my dealers lot is big enough). Warped rotors are a myth. BUT, rotor surface “hardening” and pad “material transfer” to the rotor surface are NOT myths. The hard spots, and the material transfer, are what you feel as pulsating brake pedal with your foot. “Bedding in”, or “burnishing” the rotors and pads properly can prevent it from ever happening. This is a very important step on a new brakes and I am disappointed that MB does not do it at the end of the assembly line.
Get up to 30mph and when safe do a very hard (not lockup or ABS starting) but very hard braking just shy of a full stop. As you feel the car about to halt, let off and smoothly accelerate back to 25, 30 mph. Repeat this 4 or 5 times while looking for a clear parking lot or unused back road. Let about 3 or more minutes pass between hard braking series to let the rotors settle to the new temp. Do this in a place where you do NOT have to come to any complete stops with the brakes while the rotors are hot! You are deliberately trying to get the rotors VERY hot.
Once you have a SAFE place to do some more of this, do another hard brake series and get out of it while still rolling as before, but this time just coast to a normal stop. Clear your rear and shift to reverse. Going backwards get up to a fair clip and do a hard brake in reverse, but again NOT to a complete stop. Do this several times as far to the rear as you can in the selected place but try very hard to NOT bring the car to a complete stop with the brakes pads holding the very hot rotor.
What we are doing here is "burnishing" the pads, and forcing very controlled and even heating to the rotors and attaching assemblies. There NO such thing as WARPED rotors. BUT there is a condition called material transfer, caused by superheated Pads that leave some of their material on the rotor and causing them to pulsate due to the uneven surface.
For the first few days try to set up your stopping to NEVER bring you to a full stop with the pads HARD clamped to hot rotors. This is hard to do and do not ever forget safety for you and others. If you must bring the Lil Bugger to a quick and complete stop as soon as you are stopped ease up on the brakes and try to creep if there is room.
Most of the first several days I try to set up stop lights so I have a good buffer between me and cars ahead. I brake fairly aggressively, and with a two car buffer, ease up and roll out until one car buffer then slowly creep up to the car in front. Usually the light changes before I need to full stop. Do this a couple of times during the first 100 miles and your brake pads and rotors will last a long time and stopping power will be greatly enhanced.
OK the motor:
Do not be tempted to try and break in a motor over a weekend with some sort of long trip just to build miles. The setting of the rings can be done in less than 500 miles and takes patience. I must re-state Many, Many hot cold cycles are much better.
During the first 500 miles try to do mostly “in town” type driving. It is OK to be a little hot on the take off. Just refrain from spending ANY time above 3500RPM with no load on the motor or below 1500RPM (lugging the motor) under load.
Deliberately do trips "to the store" where you get her up to full operating temp and while "shopping" she will cool off. Do a LOT of frequent shopping. Don't get everything at the one Lowe’s or AutoZone "in town". Cruise across town to a buddy’s house, drink a beer while he is admiring you new ride. Think safety and drink a soda or two for another hour or so while the engine cools and you detoxify. Repeat for as many buddies as you have. Watch the drinking and driving, your Smart car can not give you enjoyment from a jail cell.
At least once every driving cycle and after fully up to operating temp, do one good strong take off from stop up to 3500-4000rpm. After the 500 mile mark do not be afraid to do this up to 4500rpm on occasion. But try to never spin the motor past 4500 unless it is under load and immediately falls off back to lower rpm.
Constant RPM/Speed (Cruise control? ) is forbidden the first 500 miles! Constant rpm is not good for the rings just yet. The rings on the Mitsubishi can seat any where from 50 to 500 miles. Play it safe and do the break in procedure for at least the first 500.
At 500 miles replace the Factory filter and dino oil with full synth and enjoy the next 500 miles increasing the drive cycles and shortening the cool cycles. I change oil at 1000 also but admit it is overkill. I just dig doing it and LOGGING it, start the habit of checking it also! (You do keep a log book or journal, right?)
Interesting, I have about 200 babied miles on a new vehicle with Synthetic, however it's due for an oil change because the oil is old. Is it too late to take the synthetic out and replace it with non synthetic detergent free and do this "breaking in procedure" for the next 300 miles?
It has been said that the most critical time in break-in is the first 20 miles, then the process continues a little slower for the next 300-500 if on non-synthetic. My smart was delivered with 14 miles on the odo on non-synthetic, a good chunk of the 20.
Your Brab has some amount of that initial 20 on non-synthetic on yours; the engines come from the Mitsu engine plant filled with non-synthetic, and the oil isn't changed by smart at Hambach. Recently, smartUSA has been changing to full-synthetic (Mobil 1 0W-40) at the U.S. vehicle reception centers before sending them to the dealers. {They now don't want the cars going on non-synthetic until the first 12mo./10,000mi. service before their first dose of synthetic.}
In my case, I changed my Mitsu fill of non-synthetic immediately upon return home from delivery and replaced it with another non-synthetic and filter until 500 miles (then to synthetic). Had I known then that my JUN '08 smart was delivered with non-synthetic oil I wouldn't have done the early change at 65 miles - I was already good-to-go.
Last edited by Old smart; 06-09-2009 at 05:36 AM.
Reason: clarity in {...}
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