Why? Just a waste of money, oil will last a long time, some Lexus go for 120,000 on the oil in them, my Yeti does about 20k on the same oil, as for the fabia it gets a regular top up so like changing without draining it!

I suppose it is your personal choice but there is no need.

It is not about the oil going "bad", loosing its properties or anything to do with the oil itself. It is to do with what is "SWIMMING" in that oil:). While engine is being run in from new there is lots of "swarf", debris floating in it from metal shed by part working against each other. This is mostly picked up by the oil filter (to certain size of a particle in microns) but not all of it. Again, this may be considered ott and perhaps a good quality magnetic sump plug would suffice?

Are engines not run in at all in the factory? Or are they bolted together and fitted straight into the car with no testing??

There is testing and theoretically they are run in in the factory. Look up U-tube for production videos of Octavia and 3 Series Beemer, there is some footage of engines being run in - 5 mins is all!. Long vids but I am sad enough I became fascinated by them . They rely on oil filtration systems these days heavily. When I drop the oil I will take a photo of what a strong magnet managed to pick up from the bowl before I take it to the recycling station. I myself am rather curious about this experiment

they are run in the factory. We've been there on the briky prague trip iun sept.... they drive each car onto a rolling road, and run it through the gears/revs ect to make sure everything is ok...

and on the engines they make there, they take a "sample" engine off the line every so often and run it to death on the test rig......

This might explain it, my engine might have been the one that got run to death! lol

they are run in the factory. We've been there on the briky prague trip iun sept.... they drive each car onto a rolling road, and run it through the gears/revs ect to make sure everything is ok...

and on the engines they make there, they take a "sample" engine off the line every so often and run it to death on the test rig......

Running the car through gears and rev range on a RR is hardly getting it run in me thinks. just because it doesn't spit out its rings or start giving smokie signals from the turbo doesn't mean it is "OK"...

That is just basic car functionality testing really, not running in. Even the revered User Manual has a bit about running the car in.

@James I

I am afraid it looks like that

sorry, misunder standing... I meant they are run "in the factory" lol....

and I wouldnt change the oil, there is the school of thought that they need the initial "wear" you are worried about to seat properly ......

I would trust the millions spent on design processes.... I simply ran mine "normally" from new... 40k, no issues

I doubt an oil change at that low miles will have any effect at all on whether your car will use oil or not , but I hope you have got a good one! I feel sorry for the people struggling with so many problems...

Edited 8 November, 201213 yr by sharkrider

You can't run an engine in properly with synthetic oil

thats a bit of a sweeping statement... I have done 50-100k a year for many years now, and never had a problem... my last (grande punto sporting 1.9 diesel) had 18k service intervals, i drove that from new "as normal" mapped it at 4k, and ran it to 110k without using a drop of oil, and never having even one engine issue (or any other issue that wasn't electrics for that matter) it still drove "as new" at 100k with original engine turbo clutch gearbox ect ect... 18k service intervals.

same with the vRS... (and my last vRS 90k) 40k so far, doesn't use a drop...

my longest was a saxo VTR on 20k service intervals, that i ran from new to 155,000 miles, and the engine was a sweet as a nut.... you cant say it wasn't "properly run in" ....

I could go on listing them, but wont waste my time...

as far as my experiance is concerned, I havent spent any special effort "running in" (in fact I would argue the phrase is redundant with regards to engine... but required for tyres and brakes) and my cars have all been fine.

Edited 8 November, 201213 yr by sharkrider

thats a bit of a sweeping statement... I have done 50-100k a year for many years now, and never had a problem... my last (grande punto sporting 1.9 diesel) had 18k service intervals, i drove that from new "as normal" mapped it at 4k, and ran it to 110k without using a drop of oil, and never having even one engine issue (or any other issue that wasn't electrics for that matter) it still drove "as new" at 100k with original engine turbo clutch gearbox ect ect... 18k service intervals.

same with the vRS... (and my last vRS 90k) 40k so far, doesn't use a drop...

my longest was a saxo VTR on 20k service intervals, that i ran from new to 155,000 miles, and the engine was a sweet as a nut.... you cant say it wasn't "properly run in" ....

I could go on listing them, but wont waste my time...

as far as my experiance is concerned, I havent spent any special effort "running in" (in fact I would argue the phrase is redundant with regards to engine... but required for tyres and brakes) and my cars have all been fine.

+1 mate, well said. Mine also used normally from day 1 and no oil issue. Same goes for every car I've owned..... :-)

I also have a Yeti and that has no issue at all, driven normally from day one the same as the Fabia has been, just less miles on the Fabia. Come to think of it I towed a 1500kilo caravan 150 miles when the Yeti only had about 1000 miles on it, did use about half a litre of oil that day but nothing since.

thats a bit of a sweeping statement....

It's a fact, I'd be stunned if the engines aren't built and then run on a running in or mineral oil for a short time before the oil is replaced with synthetic

It's a fact, I'd be stunned if the engines aren't built and then run on a running in or mineral oil for a short time before the oil is replaced with synthetic

True in respect of a running in oil. Many years ago when you bought a new car the first oil change would be after a 1000 miles or so. The oil itself would be almost a straight base oil with a minimal additive package used in the formulation. My previous Subaru (2001) had an oil change after just such a distance.

My understanding (and I'm not an engineer, just a chemist) is that with modern manufacturing processes it is possible to manufacture components to sufficient tolerances that there is no longer a need to conduct a running in process to abrade the 'high' spots off the components. However, there is still a need to bed the engine in.

All that said though, I was generally sympathetic to my engine from new and now have another one, Sharkrider treated his as if it was no different to his Punto that had covered 100+ k miles and has suffered no issues. So who is right?

It's a fact, I'd be stunned if the engines aren't built and then run on a running in or mineral oil for a short time before the oil is replaced with synthetic

we were at the skoda factory recently Rich at the international Prague meet... we watched them building engines and putting them in cars... they are simply assembled (with some being taken out and bench tested to death) and put in the cars... then put on the RR (in the assembled cars at the last point) and run through the revs and gears,to make sure it all works, and thensent off to the sales points

I understood the engines werent built in Prague??

A quick google shows this from Opie Oils

Using synthetic-oil in engine break-ins

By Road & Track, Technical Correspondence Column, July 2000 issue

Many readers have questioned us on engine break-in procedures when using synthetic oil. Conventional wisdom has it that a new or freshly rebuilt engine should be broken in using mineral oil, then, once enough mileage has accumulated to ensure rings and cylinder walls have lapped themselves into harmony, synthetic oil can be used.

Readers have correctly pointed out that several major brands come from the factory with synthetic oil, among these being Corvette, Mercedes-Benz and Viper. How can these engines break-in if run on synthetic oil from day one, they ask?

To find out, we spoke with Mobil and Redline Oil companies for their take on the synthetic break-in question. Mobil's response was that engines break-in just fine on synthetics, and that any wear point in the engine significant enough to be an interference, and thus susceptible to rapid wear, would be a wear point no matter what lubricant is used.

Redline, on the other hand, has found it best to recommend a mineral oil break-in. Occasionally an engine will glaze its cylinder walls when initially run on Redline, they say, so by using a mineral oil for 2000 miles, verifying there is no oil consumption and then switching to the synthetic, glazing is eliminated.

Cylinder-wall glazing is not a deposit left on the cylinder wall, but rather a displacement of cylinder-wall metal. This happens when the high spots of the cylinder wall crosshatch are not cut or worn off by the piston rings, but rather rolled over into the valleys or grooves of the crosshatch. This leaves a surface that oil adheres to poorly, against which the rings cannot seal well. Compression is lost and oil consumed, and the only cure is to tear down the engine to physically restore the cylinder-wall finish by honing.

Why is glazing not a problem for the major manufacturer? Because they have complete, accurate control over their cylinder-wall finish and ring type. Redline deals with a huge variety of engines and manufacturers, both OEM and from the aftermarket. Cylinder-wall finish and ring type thus vary greatly, and glazing can therefore occur, albeit rarely.

While we were at it, we queried about synthetic oil-change intervals. Mobil says to use the maximum change interval specified by the engine manufacturer, regardless of oil type. Redline said that once past an OEM warranty, anywhere from 10,000 to 18,000 miles, or one year, whichever comes first, is appropriate depending on conditions (dust, short trips). They also recommend changing just the oil filter at 6000 to 7000 miles as a precaution against overloading the filter. Redline further noted a caution when using synthetics with leaded fuels, as synthetics do not hold lead in suspension as well as mineral oil. Aviation is one area where leaded fuel is still widespread, and avgas is often used by off-road and racing enthusiasts, so a relatively short oil change interval may thus be indicated.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Synthetic Break-in

By Tom Wilson

Road & Track, Technical Correspondence Column, November 2001 issue

Exxon/Mobil's official policy is that their synthetic oil may be used at any mileage, including factory fill, unless otherwise stated by the vehicle manufacturer. Mobil pointed out, as you did, that all Corvettes, Vipers, Porsches and Aston Martins are factory filled with Mobil 1 synthetic. We can only conclude that improvements in cylinder-wall finish and ring design or materials makes this possible.

It is also likely that vehicle manufacturers not using synthetics as the factory fill are also not optimizing their cylinder and ring packages for the slippery sythetics, in which case approximately 1000 miles on mineral oil should prove ample break-in time. In fact, in modern engines a very high percentage of ring break-in takes place very quickly, probably in the first 10 to 20 minutes of engine running. Certainly, some final lapping of the rings and cylinders takes place over several hundred miles after initial break-in.

Just to add some confusion, Porsche dynos all of its engines before installing them in the chassis. We were unable to determine what oil is used for the dyno session, but would presume it's Mobil 1

My own experience was that engines that I rebuilt bedded in better with mineral oil than even a semi-synthetic, but it boils down to "Why take the risk?" you may end up with some customers who have engines that burn oil

There is a lot to be said for buying something, reading the owners manual, & following the manufactures recommendations, have professionals do any servicing or remedial or warranty work.

A little knowledge or the internet forums are a dangerous thing.

http://www.kewengine...r_oils_faqs.htm

http://auto.howstuff...nthetic-oil.htm

?How many do their own home boiler/heating servicing

or modify the Gas & Electric and plumbing from internet advice from people they do not know & have never met?

Do they call out someone that is Trained & registered or the guy next door that fitted a Calor Gas stove in a campervan 20 years ago & knows all about heaters.

george

You know what? If nobody here had any problems with oil consumption issues and even if they had some but there was a straightforward fix for it then you would not have any of this running in, design, tolerances etc discussions. It would be deemed that some units are faulty because of XYZ and replacing that XYZ cures the problem. No jiggery-pokery required. No philosophical discussions (I am yet to see any hard evidence one way or another, all we have is " I did it this way and noticed better performance, compression" etc) on what is the best way of running a new engine in etc.

In short the "no oil usage" brigade is right and careful running in etc camp has its merits as well...

P.S. By hard evidence I'd consider laboratory testing regime where two batches of say 5 engines each are broken-in in a certain way and the other in a different way then the engines would be stripped, all things measured and results compared to measurements taken before the engines were subjected to testing. But nobody will pay for this I am afraid :p

indeed, lots of information provided, and as always alot of it is contradictory..... it will always come down to the individuals "opinion" me and rich may disagree, but then the oil companies in the post he put up, even disagree with each other! the closest we will get is the current data being retrieved by someone on here with which they are going to give their conclusions.... (I look forward to that) but even then its not scientific, as most people join forums when they have a problem! lol...

all I can say, is good luck to all of you with new cars, and I hope they work as well as mine does.... I would be happy to buy the same set-up, if thats whats offered in the rapid vRS for example, and I'd treat it the same as I've treated all my other cars.....

Just checked the oil last night for the first time. Check the Review Thread (link in the signature below).

Yesterday my local dealer carried out the breather fix and ECU update in accordance with the latest TPI. This is the first one they have done (very few MkII vRS's in this neck of the woods). It will be very interesting to see whether oil consumption reduces over the next few weeks. I'm not yet sure what will constitute an acceptable level and SUK have not been forthcoming with this. The handbook states up to 500ml per 1000km. I was well within this in the early days but certainly over after 10,000 miles when the situation got a lot worse.

So will skoda recall all the CAVE engines to fit the new breather. Mine has done 750 miles and put oil in today 3/4L can anyone tell if this is a oil burner. When can you tell

So will skoda recall all the CAVE engines to fit the new breather. Mine has done 750 miles and put oil in today 3/4L can anyone tell if this is a oil burner. When can you tell

Id keep your eye on it. Mine at 1200miles did 750ml in 300miles

So will skoda recall all the CAVE engines to fit the new breather. Mine has done 750 miles and put oil in today 3/4L can anyone tell if this is a oil burner. When can you tell

After speaking with SUK on Tuesday, they said no re call, each case will be dealt with individually, this involves oil usage test, then replace breather then run the car then take it back because it is still the same then another oil usage test then a few calls and emails and eventually a new engine but that could also be the same as your last engine and the saga continues