hckymstr19

Hey guys, brand new to the audi world here! I will be picking up my brand new S4 in a couple weeks and was just wondering if i could get a few opinions. I have read alot about the break in procedures and I have chosen to go with the MOTOMAN break in. But the issue is that I live in buffalo/albany, NY and will be picking the car up from New Hampshire. It may not even be as big a deal as I thinking but I thought I would get some opinions. How would you guys suggest I break in the car during the ride back from the dealership to my house since it will be a few hundred miles. I have read that you should not just cruise on the thruway for hundreds of miles, so should i just occasionally throughout the ride just do a couple WOT pulls and engine braking? Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks

DrGP

First of all I am one of the biggest Motoman diciples on the forums. I picked up my 2004 s4 100 miles away and drove it back home on the intersate. What I suggest is that you constantly change speed and vary form 4th/5th and 6th gears through your highway travel. You cn do some WOTS getting on the highway and in any gear any time. Engine braking back to cruising speed is most important. WOT to redline when you get home.

RickFLS4

I just followed the owner's manual.

brooklyn86

I'm assuming he meants 2014. But regardless, listen to this guy!

I, too, followed the Motoman method of break-in thanks to DrGPs posts and have not had any oil burning issues on my 2012 Audi S4, ~28,500 miles and 2 years later (knock on wood haha).

DrGP

Actually I did mean 2004. I've had 3 s4s. '04/'10/'14. Those that have used the Motoman technique or something similar, know that it works and would never break in their engines any other way. Can't remember anyone who used the technique ever report excessive oil consumption or engine problems.

NWS4Guy

Like Dr said, wait till it's warmed up then don't be afraid to thrash it some, it's a sports car and meant to be driven as such. The sleeves in the engine are Alusil and very hard, they will take 1,500 miles or so to fully break in, and the engine is very tight (poor MPG) for the first 1K-1200 miles as a result.

uscmatt99

I'm a new member but have been lurking for awhile, deciding what options to include on the 2015 S4 I'll be ordering in the next few months. I have a very newbie question regarding engine braking for the Motoman technique with an automatic transmission. Do you just let your foot off the throttle, or do you use the paddle shifters to downshift through gears? I'm coming off an A5 lease and after babying it for the first 1000 miles, I had an oil consumer, looking to avoid this for the next car.

NWS4Guy

Both. You want to keep the RPM's higher to induce engine braking, I usually shift to where they go up to 3000-4000RPM's then drop as I coast down to 2000-2500, then downshift again, this keeps the RPM's high enough to let the engine pull the revs down rather than no downshifting.

Timmay

Interesting, the the first 1,500 miles or will inherently show a less than average MPG due to the engine not being fully broken in yet? I had never heard that and am somewhat relieved if true because I'm getting terrible mileage so far. I have only 350 or so miles on the odometer so far. It's funny because I almost find myself going through withdrawals as I'm out of the country on business and unable to drive my car! Lol.

RickFLS4

I actually got about .5 MPG better for the first 1,500 miles than I have for the total 28K miles I have driven since getting the car (22.5 vs 22 overall), likely because I did the opposite of what others are advocating and took it pretty easy on the car for the first 1,000 - 1,500 miles. I've gotten everywhere from 16.7 to 27.1 MPG since getting the car in Aug. '12, depending on type of driving and speed. The 27.1 came recently right after getting a speeding ticket and slowing down for a while to avoid another one.