Running In (C4S)

I am expecting my new C4S on 27th June (Can't wait) this is a couple of weeks later than I originally hoped it would arrive. My problem is, I have also booked a place on 3rd July Track Day in Castle Combe, leaving me less than a week to run it in. How many miles will it take to properly run the C4S in? As I don' t want to damage it.

The handbook says that the parts will take some time to wear together and that you should avoid racing or hard driving during this time. Most of this process occurs during the first 3000 km. I did the following 1. 0-900 miles, keep below 4000 rpm and use only half throttle 2. 900-1800 miles, keep below 5000 rpm and use 2/3rds throttle 3. Drive as normal (avoid the rev limiter which comes up quick in 1st and 2nd), although it took me a while to get the hang of it and ramp up. In all cases take it gently till the engine is warm. The say oil consumption can be up to 1.5 litres/1000 km, and more whole running in. In 3500 miles I have used 2/3rds of litre of Mobil1. Perhaps I was more gentle than necessary, but it runs fine now and has loosened up nicely. When I picked it up I got 11mpg, but this is now 28 at steady 90mph. I have always run in my cars carefully and never drive them hard when cold, and they seem to purr along for years, despite some quite hard use.

Julian. Stuart is spot on. Also note there is a note in the handbook re running in which states someting along the lines of ' no speed work before 3000km' And with modern data logging on the porker they will know if in the unlikely event you had a problem. Blown engine and no warrenty, that could be expensive. So be patient run it in properly and you' ll be rewarded with minimal oil consumption thereafter. Regards

I did exactly as Stuart says too with mine. Agonizing but worth it, I also had an oil change at 1500 miles (not called for by the service manual). I certainly wouldn' t do a trackday if you' re not happy you have run the car in fully! Alan.

I kept it under 3k for the first 600 miles, then 4k for the next 200 & then gradually increased the revs 5k at 900 6k at 1000 then 7k & a good thrashing from 1100. If you thrash it from day one you will get higher oil consumption during the life of the car, but once it has run in a I believe a bit of hard driving will make it a quicker car in the long run. Let us know how you enjoy your new toy.

They also recommend that you take longs runs, rather than short ones. I did about 8 100 mile runs, plus some 40-50 miles ones. So it spent most of its running time warm and well lubricated. I have always taken the view that once out of the running in period, as long as the car is warm, then you can do what you like. Keep out of the red zone though. You have the rev limiter when accelerating, but when changing down you can over rev. For the first few days I found I was selecting 4th instead of 2nd and 5th instead of 3rd. It was normally a higher gear than I meant. There was no problem, it just takes a few days to get used to since the double H gate is quite close together. However, on a track changing into 2nd instead of 4th might be bad. I don' t let it idle to warm up, but wait 20-30 secs to let the oil circulate then drive off. Apart from taking longer to warm up when idling, I believe idling may increase carbon deposits in the engine.

Thank you all for your advice. I am going to delay my new car a week and have one last blast in my C2, I don't want to waste my place at Castle Combe or risk damaging the new one.