I'm one of the unfortunate locked in status 90 waiting for my car to be released from port. In the interim, I wanted to impose on this forum's collective to get opinions on break-in? Was just reading on another thread that there is an actual break-in period for the engine, then someone else posted that there isn't and that all engines are broken in "on the bench?" My '14 Spider that I traded in for this Speciale was "broken-in" at the track, redlining every gear. Never owned it long enough to know if any problems as a result? Does the Speciale need to be properly broken in or do you drive it like you stole it??
Drive it like you stole it, Ferrari make the best engines in the world. They would have driven your car before it left the factory anyway. And those Italian's don't drive Miss Daisy. Please post pics of your car when it arrives, congrats and enjoy.
keep reading the countless "break in" threads, although you'll continue to see different opinions Here is mine, based on input from Ferrari engineers, Ferrari race teams and my friend the Ferrari Master Tech: New engines are run on the dyno briefly after assembly to ensure they are operating within spec. They are not "run in" before assembly New cars are test driven (to confirm everything works, more like a functional test and squeak/rattle check). The are driven on local roads around Maranello. Again, a relatively short loop. As with any tight tolerance machinery, sets of heat cycles and load cycles ("break in") are actually a GOOD idea. Do you NEED to? probably. Should you? absolutely. There's a view that the "break in" is actually aimed at drivers, so they don't go out and wreck the car or hurt someone in the first 500 miles. Not a technical requirement, but probably a reasonably good idea. Last- brakes. BED YOUR BRAKE PADS. They do not come bedded from the factory. Proper bedding of CCM brakes makes a huge difference in stopping capability and pedal feel. Again, this topic seems to enjoy a lot of debate, but it's well documented. Additionally, bedding brakes can be fun and you will be able to feel the difference in the brakes when done properly. Enjoy your car! We love ours (2K miles now, followed this procedure, and have a 1700 mile road trip planned for August)
It will envoke many other comments, for sure .... Lots of people will say: drive it to the max, so all problems will come out in time ...
I can't say I did a break in period per se. I have a rule of no fast driving or racing on public roads. So the Speciale didn't really get a workout till its first track event and I think I had about 400-500 miles on it at that point. The real question is there a downside to breaking in or taking it easy for a while? No. I do agree with Entropy. In the proper environment, bed your brakes. The journey is half the fun but believe the second half is that much better!! Enjoy!
Sorry for my ignorance, what is "Bedding Brakes". am familiar with all the break in lingo…but first time I heard this term. Thanks for the lesson in advance! MJ
here is a good article... Stock Brake System Bed-in Carbon/Ceramic brakes essentially follow this, though they tend to need/like more heat to work properly. You should actually be able to smell hot ceramic brakes when you do it properly
I agree completely. Unless you drive it in auto and wet mode, it's near impossible to follow the recommended break in period restrictions of under 5k revs. That happens in a heartbeat with the Speciale in first and second gear. Agree, bed the brakes and also agree that the break in period seems more focused on allowing a new driver to acclimate to the speed and power of these Fcars.
I agree on the brakes, left the showroom with my new Italia and thought where are these brakes, as I just came out of a Turbo S ceramic, they are fine now. new brakes and wet roads did not bode well
The manual for italia says 900 miles. I would not drive it in auto as the revs are kept too low in sport mode. Use manual paddle shifts and keep the revs between 3-6k until 900 miles. That's what I would do with a new Ferrari.
Here are procedures that Roger (fchat RC33) put together (I think they are in another thread, but I can't find it). I followed these procedures to bed my CCM brakes. I'm sure there are other procedures that would also work well. Instructions - Bedding CCM Brakes Step 1 Brake 16 times from 50 to 20 MPH LIGHT-MEDIUM pedal pressure Cycle time 10 seconds between brake applications Drive 2+ miles to cool brakes NOTE: cool down period is minimum - can be longer. Step 2 Brake 16 times from 75 to 20 MPH MEDIUM pedal pressure Cycle time 15 seconds between brake applications Drive 2+ miles to cool brakes NOTE: cool down period is minimum - can be longer. Step 3 Brake 10 times from 80 to 20 MPH HEAVY pedal pressure Cycle time 20 seconds between brake applications Drive 2.5+ miles to cool brakes NOTE: cool down period is minimum - can be longer. Step 4 Brake 3 times from 60 to 0 MPH FULL ABS pedal pressure Cycle time 10 seconds between brake applications Drive 5+ miles to cool brakes NOTE: cool down period is minimum - can be longer. Inspect disks to ensure there is a good/consistent Coating of pad material on the disk surface. NOTE: Throughout the first three phases, the stops in question need to be done without activating ABS, i.e threshold braking the car, so that a constant pressure is kept on the pad during the stop. This is to help build up the heat in the pad. The goal here is to bake off the top layer of bonding agent from the pad so that air pocket forming becomes impossible or highly unlikely. Basically what you're looking for is the pad to start fading badly during the bedding procedure. That generally happens in Step 3, when braking distances feel like they are increasing dramatically. Once this point has hit, the gasses are beginning to boil off. A few more stops after that point and the brakes will feel like they're grabbing before you even touch the pedal.
Thanks to all for the great opinions and comments. I just learned today that my car is unfortunately one of the recalled vehicles. So, even if I ever get out of "status 90" and get it released and to the dealer, they have to then replace the stupid airbag? Who knows how long that's going to take? I'll have a '15 finally by the end of our summer here in NE Ohio, just in time to get it in the garage for winter. Great.
I don't know why exactly, but for some reason this reminded me of the scene in an old Steve Martin movie "The Jerk" where the guy from Texas is upset because the leather seats in his jet are cracked and worn and he's embarrassed to fly his buddies to the Super Bowl. LOL http://youtu.be/huOBOkN8jVA
Haha, just watched the link. That movie was hilarious then and still is today. My son 13 year old son is in Mazetlan, Mexico on a missions trip and finally got a chance to talk to him for a couple of minutes last night (miss the little turd, terribly). He was sharing his eye opening experiences of the poverty and squalor people live in. (There's a large waste dump where people built shelters to live and search for food for existence). Thank you for putting this all back in perspective!!!!!!
i hope i didn't make you feel bad... a couple months ago i was complaining loud and often about Ferrari not allowing me to delete the radio from my Speciale. Some guys on this forum gently reminded me how lucky i was to have such a problem. i finally got the message My wife and i at times lose sight of the "big picture", and when we do i am always reminded of that scene in The Jerk with the rich Texan complaining about the cracked and worn seats in his jet. LOL. I bet your son will be a better person for having seen with his own eyes how hard life is for so many people.
How did i break mine in? See below. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
