Hello everyone, I take delivery of my new FF this weekend, super exciting. Whats the concensus of opinion regards 'running-in'. The dealer says there is no need, the engine they say is run in on the bench. I am a bit old fashioned perhaps, but surely it will need a bit of care over the first 1,000 miles or so ? Oliver
In the US, the manual for the F12 says 650 miles for break-in period. Likely the same for the FF as both are V-12's. The break in was not to go over 4000 rpm (from memory). Enjoy.
There are endless threads on this and different viewpoints. I have never run a modern car in, never. Yes, in the days of Daytonas and Boxers the materials required it, but there is a school of thought that today the engine actually benefits from full throttle at the earliest opportunity, especially as it will already have had some of that from the Factory. Go for it, and natural driving conditions in the States will limit you anyway. When I collect my tdf from the factory, there is no way I will run it in back to the UK I can assure you.
Super, thanks for all the responses. I suspect it will be difficult to stretch the performance envelope here on the congested UK road network....still, nice place to sit whilst my life ebbs away stuck in London traffic.
As long as internal combustion engines still use piston rings, these rings must be "seated" properly when new. Here is a good explanation...(link below) Bottom line? Take it easy for the first 500 miles or so. New Engine Break-in Procedure
As your in the UK it is law ( ) that you must collect your car and drive upto Scotland and complete the north500 as quick as you possibly can. Clockwise seems to be the preferred direction for scenery. Nice clear roads to stretch its legs. https://www.northcoast500.com/home.aspx With regards to run in. A modern engine made up of fine tolerances, electronic pulses, sensors and switches etc has no need to run in like the older engines when all you needed was a few scanners, a hammer and a set of feeler gauges. But whilst you get used to the car you will probably take it easy the first few hundred miles anyway. Enjoy. !
+1 OP, endless discussions without a consensus, as they told you, but I think it's very healthy to take some care in the first 800-1000 km. Very few guidelines: - allow reaching working temperature (this is actually valid forever) - refrain from using the higher 1/3 of the rpm range - If you want to perform an active, medium to proper run in, when close to the 1000 km or so, proggressively increase rpm range, maintain rpm for a few seconds, watch temp build up, release for cooling for a few minutes, repeat several times then increase rpm range, repeat a few times until nearly top of the rpm. Space this procedure in, say, a couple hundred km, a couple of days. You'll even notice how the sound of the engine changes a little. Have fun with it
They state "no synthetic oil" during break in or for sure will have glazing...that seems counter to a Factory like Ferrari sending their cars out from the Factory with synthetic oil....hmmmm.
Its not just the engine. The gears in the transmission, differentials, etc all need to mate. If you plan on keeping the car, it wont hurt to take it easy the first 500 miles or so.
I am pretty mechanically sympathetic anyway, and only stretch a car on the track, which is not what my FF is for. I have GT3 RS and GT4 for track use (blasphemy on a Ferrari site, sorry!). Thanks again for all the advice, great forum by the way.
I assure you that any new Ferrari has been driven harder than 99.99% of owners will ever drive it. Scrub in the tyres, for say 50 miles and then let it fly. Just beware of how the pads have been run in. That is the only real key to a new Ferrari
If there was a real need for a "break-in" period then they would also require an oil change after that period ended but the dealer and factory swear there is no need for an oil change on new cars for 12K miles. The brakes definitely need breaking in.
To say nothing of the time the engine spends in the engine dyno room before even going into the car. If you've ever walked by that part of the factory, even with all the sound-proofing, the wail of the engines being broken in and tested is a symphony worth hearing. There's little any of us could do to the engine that hasn't been done in that room. I always figure the warning in the manual to take it easy for the first however many miles is more about breaking in the software blob of flesh behind the steering wheel than any mechanical bits.
