Taking delivery of 2016 F-type S manual gearbox next week. I want to do a good job breaking it. Here is my plan for the first 5,000 - warm up engine 1-2 minutes prior to driving, once warm, take the car through full range of RPMs by shifting late. Do first oil change super early.

Q1: 1000km or 5000km for the first oil change?
Q2: Change gear box oil at 5K or not?
Q3: Once warm, drive it like you stole it or drive it like grandma on her way to bingo game?

 

Cant answer with authority question 1 or 2 but I can take a stab at question 3.

Answer: Once warm drive it like grandma stole it and she ran it as a getaway car after she just heisted the proceeds of the bingo game

 

Here are the JLR recommendations for break-in...

BREAKING-IN

This vehicle is built using high-precision manufacturing methods, but the moving parts of the engine must still bed in relative to one another. The process occurs mainly in the first 2 000 miles (3 000 km) of operation.

During this Breaking-in period of 2 000 miles (3 000 km) you should:

• Avoid frequent cold starts followed by short-distance driving.
• Preferably take longer trips.
• Do not use full throttle during starts and normal driving.
• Avoid continuous operation at high engine speed and abrupt stops.
• Do not participate in track days, sports driving schools, or similar.

In addition specifically up to 1 200 miles (2 000 km):

• Drive at varying engine and road speeds, but do not exceed an engine speed of 4500 rpm (revolutions per minute) and a road speed of 105 mph (170 km/h).

From 1 200 miles (2 000 km) to 2 000 miles (3 000 km):

• Engine and road speeds can be increased gradually.
• Engine speeds in excess of 5 000 rpm should only be used briefly, e.g., when passing.

At all times, not just during the Breaking-in period:

• Do not exceed 4 000 rpm until the engine has reached full operating temperature.
• Avoid laboring the engine by operating the engine in too high a gear at low speeds.

 

I'm with this guy. I had mine at the drag strip about 1 month after I got mine And it's performed flawlessly every since...

 

I think the whole point of manufacturers' break-in guidance is to achieve maximum engine longevity, and whether one follows that guidance or not is generally irrelevant until way past the warranty period.

 

I never follow the manufacturers break-in method. I always drive my cars hard from the start.

 

Exactly. That's why the warranty exists... so it breaks within that period. haha.

 

I've always driven my cars the way I intend to drive them from day one. Warm them up and go. Hope I don't have to slam breaks on first 500! Never had a problem! Last 2 were bought out of state and put 300-400 miles on them first day. On my SLK55 there is a part of highway in Utah with 80 limit, went 120 passing! Car was flawless the 2 years I owned it!

 

Also not following the official recommendation. F-Type is my weekend/summer car so I could spend whole first year doing just break-in.

I drove it carefully for the first 500km, not exceeding RPM above 4,000, not running high speeds. Then always doing a proper warm up and driving it as needed (but not doing track days or long hi-speed runs). And changed oil after 3,000 - 4,000km.

 

I tend to own my cars long time, so if reliability is reasonable (who knows, it is a Jag) I will hold on to it for many years. So I will be breaking it in for myself. If not, this will be my gift to the next owner.

I always go above-and-beyond on maintenance since I tend to push the car around.

Follow-up questions:
Q1: Does anyone know if LSD already has synthetic gear oil in it?
Q2: Manual gearbox, does it come with synthetic gear oil or do I need to upgrade?
Q3: I asked dealer to update all car firmware and maps and permanently disable start&stop prior to delivery. Can you think of anything else?
Q4: These cars are mostly aluminum, but I live in corrosion-inducing area. Do I need to oil spray it?

Thank you.
Q4:

 

My views below in bold:

 

+1 on all counts.

 

+2

Dave

 

Got a call from the dealership, they informed me they won't disable start/stop as part of delivery.

I will have to go with Tel's method and do it myself.

Follow-up questions

Q1: How does start&stop works with a manual gearbox? Seems like asking for a stall. When I pull to a stoplight I will generally put car into neutral while holding brakes. However, sometimes if wait is short I will hold the car in gear while holding clutch. If it turns off engine on me at that point it will be very hard not to stall.

Anyone with a manual gearbox could chime in?

Q2: Does start and stop puts additional wear and tear on the engine?

 

Try keeping an open mind on Eco-mode. I've grown to actually like it, and it is not at all intrusive or problematic. I've had it on a half-dozen cars now of different makes, and it's operated flawlessly on all of them.

 

Engine will only stop if you have the car in neutral, your foot is off the clutch, and you are rolling less than 2mph. Engine restarts as soon as you depress the clutch, you put any right or left pressure on the steering wheel, too much vacuum is bled from the power brake system, or the climate control calls for more air conditioning.During any stop, it will only cycle once with any of these conditions. I usually depress the clutch before I anticipate a light turning green just to be confident the engine will be running when I need it. The only additional wear might be on the starter, but they are so overbuilt, it's unlikely to be an issue.

 

I've also noticed that the engine doesn't crank nearly as long from an Eco stop as it does from cold start. This kind of lends credence to my theory that the ECU knows which cylinder(s) is fuel charged and ready to fire when Eco stop is released; just a quick bump of the starter maybe to make sure that it turns the right way to start.

 

I agree with this. I keep the stop-start enabled on mine on all the time. In fact, now that I'm used to it, I kind of miss it in other vehicles when it's not there.

 

Fully agree, and wish I had it on my daily driver. With a little practice, you can restart (in anticipation of a launch) by relieving brake pressure to just enough to prevent rolling....it restarts and is ready to rock. Releasing to a very light brake touch at the end of a roll to a stop also keeps ECO Stop from engaging - also handy in select situations.

Desert Hiker

 

I think you guys are a bit nuts...I cannot stand Eco. Every time the engine stops my heart does as well. Maybe I have been driving/boating too many years but once I start an engine, I want to be the one to stop it.
I am in the process of trying to train myself to push Eco every time I start the car so it is OFF, but my muscle memory is not there yet. I tried to unplug in the trunk but that did not separate easily and I do not want to break the connector. I am simply not willing to change!


Larry