ok i just got my cobalt yesterday and ive never owned a new car before so what should i do to break it in properly, i mean of course ive floored it already and stuff but im pretty sure everybody does to see what the cars got, but i dont want to be harder on it until its safe, any suggestions would help thanks!


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go easy on it for the first 500 miles, no hard starts. change the oil after that, sticking with conventional. give it a couple good runs letting it cool for a few minutes between runs. drive it around normal and change it again @ 3000. you can switch to synthetic then if you want.

i used this on my ion (same car underneith as yours ). if you switch to synthetic like i did, be sure you wait till at least 2500 miles. synthetic oil protects too well for the rings to form a wear pattern on the cylnder walls. let the engine break on the conventional, and definalty change it after 500 miles--you'd be surprised at the oil out of a fresh engine. on the eco's you use a element filter instead of the canister, you can pull it apart and see what's been flowwing through your engine. fyi to change the filter you'll need a 1 1/4 socket (some say 30-something mm metric but that size fits perfect on mine), make sure it's a short socket, a deep well type won't fit into the spot.



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-DS

Is your car a manual or automatic? If it's a manual, definitely do not take it over 4000 RPMs until you've hit 1000 miles.


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I have worked in 2 different small car manufacturing plants in north america, and can tell you that every car that comes off the line is revved to redline multiple times in the first 5 min the engine is fired. they start it, test let it idle for a couple min, then send it strieght on a full throttle flog on the dyno. Then it is taken on a full throttle run dow a test track and back with a few bumps and curves just to make sure everything is ok. This along with loading onto a truck/train is the reason you won't buy a zero mile car (unless you have a dealer willing to reset it for you)

I used to have a web site with a gentleman for california that had 2 300,000 mile vehicles, a ford t-bird and chevy pickup. His break in method was to let a vehicle warm up, then drive it while going all the way throught the RPM range, not abusing the drivetrain by launching the acar but smoothly accelerating though each gear, do do this with a few stops, semi highway conditions for about 20 mi. Then have the oil changed.
The first thing i realized by this is that by allowing the engine to be ran at higher RPM for short periods of time during break in, you will get a better ring/bore mateing, then change the oil/fliter right away to get the debris that the break in caused right away.
He had data he had collected that showed that this improved compression (better seal) and nominally increase hp over a conventianal method, and with a steady diet of synthetic oil drastically slows down wear.

After that drive it like you normally would, remember that metal parts do temper to stress, i have heard countless stories of people buying 50-70k mi. grandma driven vehicles in pristine condition, only to break as soon as somone buys it and romps on it a bit. Again abuse is bad, going out and doing burnouts and luanching the car like Johm force is not good in the short or long term.