is break-in still a thing

[scottiep]

Hi all,

If all goes well, I hope to be purchasing a new 2019 GT tomorrow. One pressing question I have is about break-in periods. I haven't purchased a new car in close to 20 years, so I don't know if this is even a thing anymore.

I ask because I'm traveling around 175 miles from the dealer back home.

Thanks in advance. This forum has been great for info and I cannot wait to learn more about my Stinger here.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Kia thinks so. They say that you don't have to break in the engine. But if you follow some precautions you may get longer engine life and better performance. Simply, the first 600 miles you keep the RPMs between 2K and 4K and don't go for extended periods with constant RPMs at any level. Avoid using launch control during the "break in" period. Accelerate moderately, which is what the 2K to 4K RPM range is about. Avoid harsh braking as the brake pads seat.

 

[scottiep]

Kia thinks so. They say that you don't have to break in the engine. But if you follow some precautions you may get longer engine life and better performance. Simply, the first 600 miles you keep the RPMs between 2K and 4K and don't go for extended periods with constant RPMs at any level. Avoid using launch control during the "break in" period. Accelerate moderately, which is what the 2K to 4K RPM range is about. Avoid harsh braking as the brake pads seat.

Thanks so much Merlin.

So, as far as constant RPMs, would you say that using the cruise control for a couple of hours on mostly flat would be ill advised? Maybe just use the cruise sparingly?

 

[Kgh31386]

It’s interesting though, when you see videos of car assembly lines etc...they almost all get put on a dyno. If you watch closely on some of the BMW or Toyota ones, they’re up around 95-100mph on a dyno before they ever leave the factory.

 

[Revvdmedia]

Break-in is still currently and may forever be a point of contention for professionals and enthusiasts. I don't feel there is enough apples to apples data out there for an equally manufactured and differently broken in engine to come to a true consensus; too many variables. In regards to your questions, a common theme I see with engines is that breaking them in with long drives and constant RPMs is often not advised. When I have purchased new cars and road trips happened within the break-in period, I would put the car into manual mode (unless that car was manual transmission) and I would change gears about every 30 seconds or so. Here and there and I would vary my speed about +10/-10km/h from the speed limit to change the engine revolutions. Basically the engine never saw static RPMs for more than a minute. It hurt fuel economy over the length of the drive, but in the longer run it gave me piece of mind.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Thanks so much Merlin.

So, as far as constant RPMs, would you say that using the cruise control for a couple of hours on mostly flat would be ill advised? Maybe just use the cruise sparingly?

I used Sport and the shifter paddles for the first 600 miles, to make it easy to stay above 2K RPM. The last 100+ miles of the first 600, I was on a road trip and I tried cruise control out, but only for a little while. I tend to believe what the experts say when I see it in print. And the manual was ever before my eyes, and using cruise for more than half an hour at a time made me nervous!

To show you how literal I am, almost the instant I saw "600" on my odometer, I swung out and passed a lineup of 18 wheelers and trapped cars between and pushed the MPH up to 130 and the RPMs well over 4K.

 

[Revvdmedia]

To show you how literal I am, almost the instant I saw "600" on my odometer, I swung out and passed a lineup of 18 wheelers and trapped cars between and pushed the MPH up to 130 and the RPMs well over 4K.

This is me in the last 4 new cars I have owned. Religiously follow the instructions on break-in, and the exact moment I saw the magic number on the odometer, WOT.

My Mustang recommended 2000km (1250mi) before going hard on it, and I bought the car in April when the roads were clean and dry. Nearly killed me waiting that long.

 

[GenesisG70]

The manual says to maintain certain RMP this I think is to keep the cylinders from adapting and you might get better MPG if you follow the brake in recommendations, I did and I am getting 26 mpg without trying much and 28 if am careful with the pedal.

 

[scottiep]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I made my purchase today and followed your suggestions. I stayed away from the cruise and used the manual mode for most of my 200 mile trip.

One thing that was a pleasant surprise is this 2019 GT didn’t have the KIA badge on the rear with the small Stinger logo. Instead, it has the large logo like all the mods that drivers have done here in the U.S.

So, that’s one less thing I have to fool with!

 

[MerlintheMad]

View attachment 28547 Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I made my purchase today and followed your suggestions. I stayed away from the cruise and used the manual mode for most of my 200 mile trip.

One thing that was a pleasant surprise is this 2019 GT didn’t have the KIA badge on the rear with the small Stinger logo. Instead, it has the large logo like all the mods that drivers have done here in the U.S.

So, that’s one less thing I have to fool with!

Looks like you got a nice bumper PPF with "Stinger" in it too. I haven't seen one of those before. That should come in handy when somebody drags their luggage out and whacks your bumper. I may look into getting one of those.

 

[scottiep]

Looks like you got a nice bumper PPF with "Stinger" in it too. I haven't seen one of those before. That should come in handy when somebody drags their luggage out and whacks your bumper. I may look into getting one of those.

Good eye! I noticed that as the salesperson was showing me the car and I figured it wasn’t standard.

There was some drama when I first arrived to check out the car and do the deal. Turns out the car that we’d been negotiating on had just thrown a code a day or two earlier, and apparently has a bad fuel injector, or possibly something else. To his credit, the salesperson told me this as soon as I walked in, but he had quickly worked to get an identical model from another dealer that was just down the road (lucky for me there are a high concentration of KIA dealerships in NE Atlanta.

So, it all worked out. That said, he probably could’ve told me this before I made the 200 mile journey.

I’m more frustrated that I got swindled into an extra $700 for “gap insurance.” The finance lady was in a hurry to move me along (because they had so many deals to process) and by that time I had been there 3 hours, so I was ready to get back on the road. When she finally showed me the sheet with my interest rate and my monthly payment, it was sort of a “multiple choice” of options, of which I chose the cheapest, “basic” option that included gap insurance.

I thought the monthly rate was higher than I’d expected and I raised that question, but she as pretty dismissive. So, I just figured that perhaps I was wrong. And she tried to up-sell me to a higher package with additional warranty stuff.

I’m kicking myself for not looking more closely at the final financing form that I signed—there I would’ve seen why the numbers seemed off.

This is my purchase of a new car in 20 years, But I should’ve known to watch them more closely. I’m just frustrated because I worked hard to get the price down to something I felt OK about only to make a $700 mistake.

I’ll definitely be posting this in the dealer forum as a warning to all.

 

[NS_Stinger]

Congrats! Did you lease or finance?

 

[MerlintheMad]

I’m kicking myself for not looking more closely at the final financing form that I signed—there I would’ve seen why the numbers seemed off.

This is my purchase of a new car in 20 years, But I should’ve known to watch them more closely. I’m just frustrated because I worked hard to get the price down to something I felt OK about only to make a $700 mistake.

I’ll definitely be posting this in the dealer forum as a warning to all.

Don't beat yourself up over $700, imho.
You were in a hurry to get on with your "new" life.
We already know that dealers tack on anything extra that they can get away with. If the final price is ballpark, it should be good.
Alerting everyone to normal practice isn't really informing anyone of anything significant, imho.

 

[NoVAGT2]

This is my purchase of a new car in 20 years, But I should’ve known to watch them more closely.

Exactly this. They close deals every day, but for us it is a lot less frequent. They know the tricks and use them. Caveat emptor!

That said, like Merlin said, enjoy your new ride! Have any plans to mod it?

Congrats!

 

[Kgh31386]

You can cancel the gap insurance still. Just need to call them and Kia finance to let them know. And as far as folks dragging luggage, that’s why I’m always excited to be polite and get their bag for them lol

 

[scottiep]

You can cancel the gap insurance still. Just need to call them and Kia finance to let them know. And as far as folks dragging luggage, that’s why I’m always excited to be polite and get their bag for them lol

Yeah, my wife is always one to get some “customer service” so she’s convinced me to demand some in this case.

I definitely should’ve caught it on the finance docs, but it was deliberately presented in a way that made it appear not to be optional. It’s simply wrong and unacceptable and preys on trusting and unsuspecting people.

I’ve reached out to them via email—I suspect I’ll be getting a response.

 

[scottiep]

Congrats! Did you lease or finance?

Finance.

 

[scottiep]

Exactly this. They close deals every day, but for us it is a lot less frequent. They know the tricks and use them. Caveat emptor!

That said, like Merlin said, enjoy your new ride! Have any plans to mod it?

Congrats!

I don’t have any plans at this time. I do have a subwoofer/amp box that I’d like to install in the rear. I had it installed a year or two ago in my previous car (09 VW CC) and it made all the distance in the world.

I’m interested in what mods other Stinger owners are doing, but a big reason for me taking the leap on a KIA was the impressive warranty, so I’ll likely stay away from anything that would put that in jeopardy.

That said, in addition to being somewhat disappointed sound in the GT, I’m also wishing I had that larger touch screen that’s available in other trims.

 

[Kgh31386]

Yeah, my wife is always one get for some “customer service” so she’s convinced me to demand some in this case.

I definitely should’ve caught it before finance docs, but it was deliberately presented in a way that made it appear not to be optional. It’s simply wrong and unacceptable and preys on trusting and unsuspecting people.

I’ve reached out to them via email—I suspect I’ll be getting a response.

Yep! When I went through finance, it woulda been funny the crap they tried except you’re right, they try to screw people baaaaadly. They tried to sneak around numbers and crap here and there. Once I told him stop all the number trick BS, he tried the upsell of all the extra coverages left and right. When I didn’t budge, his boss came in and tried even harder. They made it sound like my car would explode tomorrow and I’d be screwed out of thousands in repairs. I called their BS on it and kept saying no way I’d pay that much for coverage and showed the quotes of warranties from other dealers. They still didn’t budge and got more pissed. Then they tried the whole you have to make a year of payments before you pay it off, or else the dealer will take back all rebates. No sir, the truth is Kia goes and takes the dealer’s incentive back...nothing to do with me.