cparson

I've been breaking in my B8 2.0T, for the first ~600 miles tried to keep it below 3k rpms, then 3.5k for the next few hundred, and i'm now at 1100 miles and have been going up to 4k rpms whenever I can. Planning to go up 500 rpms while accelerating every few hundred miles till i hit 6k. Haven't changed the oil yet.

Two questions:
1. Am I babying the breakin too much?
2. Now that I'm hitting 4k rpms, i've noticed a weird pulsing in the turbo... When I hold the gas steady from about 3k-4k rpms, i'll feel the turbo kicking in for a half second, then acceleration will drop off for about a half second, then kick in again, and so on. When I accelerate harder it's much smoother. Is this a normal turbo thing? I've only ever driven NAs before, so not sure if this is something I need to have checked out.

Otherwise, fantastic car, and a hell of a lot of fun to drive!

Jacon

Your manual states the proper break-in procedure

Moviela

I don't think you are being too conservative in your break in. After 1000 miles there is no more danger from high RPM operation. The rings have done their job and honed the cylinders. You should always drive with moderation in mind.

Resist the urge to change the oil early. It will not make your car last longer, or keep the bottom end "tidy." The particulates in that oil are actually used to polish the lubricated surfaces. The polished surfaces will yield better mileage later on. I don't know why the finish cannot be fully polished, and the cross-hatching be planar honed when the engine is assembled, but I suspect Audi saves a few pennies on each unit by letting the customer. You don't need to change oil any more often than scheduled. The Mobil 1 0W-40 is a high quality PAO based synthetic oil with an extended additive package that will protect your car. Just make sure the specified VAG oil type is shown on the bottle of oil. Other viscosities of Mobil 1 are not suitable for your Audi.

Welcome to the turbo club. You came late, and lucky for you modern turbo design has all but eliminated turbo lag, bearing coking, turbo whine, and power wasting intake plumbing. Your turbo begins to spin up at low rpms, and it is moving over 100,000 rpm when your crankshaft gets to 3,000 rpm. It is not like the old 930 Porsche's where you hit 6000 rpm, and 2 seconds later the car took off like a scalded ape. I don't think you are feeling any effect of the turbo.

Your car does have something new in street cars. Audi Lift. This is a series of solenoids that can change the exhaust valve cam profile. It occurs about 4,000 RPM as determined by the engine electronics that are looking at the desired power, the actual power, boost, and exhaust gas measurements. You can find a spot where Audi Lift oscillates, and this will cause your observation.

cparson

Awesome, thanks for the advice! Glad to know nothing's out of the ordinary... the audi lift oscillation definitely feels a little strange but doesn't happen that often and will be easy to get used to. The turbo is certainly a different feel but a lot of fun! Hard to believe it's a 4 cylinder.

A4Driver

While in theory, your comment makes sense, I have to question it. It would seem to me that an oil filter would trap any "particulates" circulating around in the oil, would it not? Unless you're going to tell me that the particles are too small to be trapped by the filter? If that were the case, they'd probably be too small to do any honing or "polishing" of the cylinder walls.
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Moviela

Most filters are paper and do a good job of stopping 40 micron particles and larger. They are not as good as the particle gets smaller. The grit used in the machine shop to get a 2 microinch finish (mirror-like) is 1 micron. Most oil filters will allow particles this size flow through in the 60% range. The typical filter that is used will trap more than a new filter. Large particles get trapped in the pores, and thus resist smaller particles better. The SAE has research from the 60's showing valve train wear with 1 micron particles, so trapping them is a good idea. I am not sure if Audi is using the Mann+Hummel polyester filters, but they will trap down to half (0.5) micron. It is not such a good idea to change the filter early, and never disturb it by removing it, and putting it back on. If you would like to see inside some German filters: click me!

If you get a new crankshaft from the parts department, you will discover the one in your engine is a lot smoother on the bearing surfaces. If the shaft is installed without fresh cylinder crosshatching and new rings to contribute particles for polishing, the crankshaft should be sent out to be micropolished before installation.