new car break-in

[mwpepper]

I am planning on purchasing either a 135, or a 335 <depending on which I can get the better deal on> and taking advantage of the ultimate delivery program. I plan on picking the car up from the South Carolina plant, and touring the south east afterwards. We will attempt to stay off of the interstates for the most part, but of course there will be some. Is there any thing that I should avoid doing? we are looking putting close to 3000 miles on the car in a very short amount of time. Also what sort of mileage can I expect? One last thing... Do I have to run premium fuel, or would the ECU compensate for low grade or mid grade with a slight performance hit?

Thanks, Mike

 

[Big Daddy]

Break-in periods are all but non-existent now days. I would drive the car the way I normally plan to drive the car. Did my roadster that way and have never had a problem! Yes you need to run premium, the cars systems will adjust for lower octane ratings, but performance will suffer. Not to mention premium gas has more cleaning agents and carbon reducers than non-premium. I have never understood someone owning a BMW and than wanting to save $2.00 per tank by purchasing lower grade fuels.

 

[Kirby]

As Dan said, break in is almost a thing of the past. When I did Euro Delivery, the rep at the BMW center told me to not drive over 3000-3500 rpm for the first 1200 miles, and to avoid hard stops/overheating the brakes. 3200 rpm was good enough to cruise at about 105 - 110 on the Autobahn, hehe. I would expect that the person who handles delivery of your car can give you the specifics, it should also be in the owners' manual.

I have to agree with Dan on the gas. Especially during break in, I personally would use premium (and I did use it in Europe at over $7 a gallon!) In my area, premium is .10 / gal more than mid grade. That's less than $2 a tank difference. On your 3000 mile trip you might use 10 tanks of gas, that's not even $20. Is money REALLY that tight?? If so, you bought the wrong car.

 

[mwpepper]

There are several theroists that say that there is no need to run premium in a normal car. I know that BMW is not the normal car, as in the departure from the major US brands and designed to run on the higher octane fuel. For me, it's more of a matter of oil companies corporate greed, and not wanting to pay more than I need to.

 

[E30m42cab]

There are several theroists that say that there is no need to run premium in a normal car. I know that BMW is not the normal car, as in the departure from the major US brands and designed to run on the higher octane fuel. For me, it's more of a matter of oil companies corporate greed, and not wanting to pay more than I need to.

You won't be paying more than you need to, you'll be paying for what you should be putting in your tank, which is premium.

 

[deutsch100]

Yes, totally agree with everyone in regards to using Premium. You will not save much using 87 or 89 octane, and Premium will keep your injectors cleaner, and your hp at it's premium! If you look inside a lot of German cars, it says "Minimum 93 Octane", so using 91 (max. we have in CA) or 92 in some other states, is what a BMW, Mercedes, Porsche or Audi...needs! For the break in period, just don't floor the accelerator, be gentle to the new rotors and vary your speed a little...but every BMW engine is tested aggressively before it leaves Germany. Drive as you normally would, as long as your normal isn't insane!!

 

[William330]

I broke my 330 in for the first 1,000 miles (kept it under 70MPH, didn't stomp the gas pedal). It wasn't much of a sacrifice, and "better to be safe than sorry" was my thought at the time.

The 1-series is so close in weight and price to the 3-series, that getting the 335 is a no-brainer, IMHO.

Post a photo with your ultimate pick!