140miles in and......

[Bamf]

I agree with phantom. Easy on the first 1000 miles. Then after that give it beans once everything's warm. As soon as the Rev limit moves from 5500 to just under 7000 the engine diffs and gearbox are all fully warmed.

The standard wheels look pretty cool. I'm thinking of a set with winter tires on for this year.

[feeltheburn]

I obviously followed exactly what my manual said with mine, however there has been much written about how to run in an engine, any engine. 2 main options:- LOAD it from day one, or follow the recommended run in procedure in the manual. In ALL cases it is critical that the engine is up to temperature [oil temperature that is!] before asking too much from the engine. [forget the rev limit change over as a guide, once the oil is +90degc then and only then is it is up to temperature- the change over in RPM limit is more to do with the sophisticated way the RS6 controls it's coolant circulation in order to warm up quicker]

Manufacturer Run-in:
Theory: Gives all drive train components time to bed into each other. Also brakes are bedded in, tyres are no longer green, Oil will stay in good condition for longer….

Pro: Safe, unlikely to put much strain on any part of the car’s drive train.
Con: Time consuming, some evidence that oil usage can be higher later on- potential loss of power

LOADing:
Theory: Honing of engine barrels is much finer now than in the past. The remaining roughness only lasts a short while- possibly only for the first hour. The remaining roughness of the barrel/piston ring is needed to perform the final hone of the barrel and piston ring such that they conform better to each other. The ring is only really pushed out hard against the barrel under LOAD [not to be confused with just revving the nuts off it!]. Poor fit leads to piston blow-by and also to oil usage.

Pro: You can enjoy the engine from the get go. Minimal oil usage, less blow-by
Con: Needs to be loaded as soon as you get it while barrel/ring roughness still remains. Early oil change recommended.

My son has a race kart, single piston, 2 stroke, revs to 16500rpm rarely below 10,000 rpm [water cooled, crankcase and 6 speed gear box]. Our kart engine builder is world renowned and he is only concerned about the first 5 minutes of running. His run in guidance is to let the kart engine warm up on the first lap, heavily load the kart engine out of every corner, never stay at the same RPM for more than a few seconds, gradually increase revs from 3/4 to max over 7 to 8 laps- then go racing! It is all about the final honing that only the engine bore and piston ring can achieve and is only possible in a small window when the engine is fresh.

Granted the kart engine does need a top end refresh every 5 hours or so and a complete rebuild around 15hours- however this is because it is an engine that is purely for racing with many things taken to the ragged edge and not because of how it was run in.

I am not recommending anyone goes against the manufacturers instructions…..just chipping in to the discussion

[10biscuits]

all your views are interesting on " running in ". On my dealers suggestion of 3k revs 3k miles this may go back to my B7,dealt with the dealers for years and they made the same suggestion with the B7. Albeit that was 9 years ago !!! when I got rid of it ,had done 128000 miles and they said it was the best engine they had ever seen.
Just from a tech point of view my C7 kicks in big time at 3k revs,sports exhaust note changes and it surges,is this the turbos kicking in--excuse my ignorance!!
Just a coincidence in what they are saying. --the C7 is an outstanding car and seems to draw a huge amount of attention both here and abroad-enjoy all.

[mat776]

I agree entirely with feeltheburn and would always prefer to load the car as explained, maybe on a dyno if possible.

The problem though is that by the time your car has got to you with 30-80 miles on the clock that window of opportunity has already passed. Probably needs to be done in the first 20 miles I think.

So my question would be; does it actually make any difference at all what you do as long as you are gentle until oil gets to operating temperature ?

[feeltheburn]

I am with you mat776; the process of getting the oil to +90degc is the most important part of your journey regardless of engine age. Lets face it, engine management systems are so sophisticated now, Audi could force you to follow the run in process described in the manual, or at the very least flash some messages to warn you you were doing it wrong and potentially going to break something

[W8PMC]

Well the manual says don't rag it for the first 1000 miles. 3000rpm max for 3000 miles, I don't think so, how the hell do you overtake anything? My simple rule is, first couple of hundred miles take it easy to bed the brakes etc in. After that just drive it but without ragging it until it's fully warmed up.

Oh and welcome to the sepang club

Ignore the book & drive it like you stole it after about 500 miles (once the engine's warmed up of course). Does the C7 RS6 have a run in service?

[mat776]

In relation to loading the engine, an early oil change would be required as well.

But as Audi don't require an early service, it makes me think that they stick it on a dyno during production and that wears the honing pattern and seals the rings.

Maybe they don't - maybe they prefer non optimal run-in and more work for there dealership service departments later.

Does anyone know what they do ?

RS products generally have more delivery miles on them anyway, does anyone know why ?

[kieranp1]

The big wheels make the car imo. First box to be ticked.

They are big wheels!!!!! All 20".

I was really unsure about the wheels, to the extent that i had found a fully tired up brand new set of gloss black 21". But once the car had arrived and I saw the wheels in the flesh I was more than happy with them, the dish is immense!

[kieranp1]

Oh I love this car

[almoRS]

In relation to loading the engine, an early oil change would be required as well.

But as Audi don't require an early service, it makes me think that they stick it on a dyno during production and that wears the honing pattern and seals the rings.

Maybe they don't - maybe they prefer non optimal run-in and more work for there dealership service departments later.

Does anyone know what they do ?

RS products generally have more delivery miles on them anyway, does anyone know why ?

My understanding is that Audi run all RS engines on a bench prior to putting them in the car and normally have a drive in period also by the factory (hence higher mileage). 1000 miles is recommended run in once on the road which is pretty much the same as other high-end engines e.g. AMG.

[Performance]

My understanding is that Audi run all RS engines on a bench prior to putting them in the car and normally have a drive in period also by the factory (hence higher mileage). 1000 miles is recommended run in once on the road which is pretty much the same as other high-end engines e.g. AMG.

All BMW "M" engines need an early 1200 Mile service, can't see why AUDI's do not.
All My M Car engines get warmed through to operating temp and then pushed to 5500 RPM in lower gears allowing gears to slow me down for the first 50 miles.
After that drive normally.
Never put a drop of Oil in these : E90 M3 : LCI M5 2014 : M6 CG CP 2015.
Also did the same with the : Audi S8V10 : B7 RS4 : RS6 (previous Model).
Never a problem with Oil used.

[M1R XE]

Thats true a friend has got a M4 recently and went in today for what they call the performance service. Dont know why audi does not need this.

[boff]

I was told by Audi City as they gave me the keys; nowadays there is no formal running in procedure - but mr B, please remember that this is a new car and the bits are all together for the first time; brakes; suspension, etc etc.

Guidance was to be sensitive but crack on; therefore warmed it right up before any extension of the performance ; and then lets it cool before switching it off.

Some decent 300 mile run's gave me the scope to do this.

[W8PMC]

IIRC, the 1200 mile Service for actual M cars is required (must be done or invalidates the warranty) to replace the Engine & M-DCT Gearbox oil as they're supplied from the factory with special lubricants to aid the running in process. This has been the case since i had my 1st BMW M car over 10yrs ago.

No idea why BMW do this but Audi don't, however once done on the M5 the car runs to a semi long life service so Engine oil changes are roughly every 13-15k miles.

[Dumbo]

I believe the difference between BMW and Audi is that the RS6 engine is run in on a bench beforehand - so the load has already been applied before you receive your car. I expect the initial oil (which will contain the shards and filings that naturally flake from a new engine) is then changed in the audi engine before you receive your car.

M engines are not pre-run in and therefore the oil needs changing in the run-in service.

The advice for run-in for the RS 6 relates to the broader drivechain, brakes, suspension etc.