Gents, as per the title.

Once run in, does a modern petrol turbo engine need to be given a good work out once in a while, or is it okay to drive gently (up to say 3,500 revs) all the time?

Would appreciate your thoughts!

I give mine the beans pretty regularly, but a mate (different car, 3 litre petrol turbo, 248 bhp, 251 lb ft) thinks it'll do no harm to drive gently all the time. He want his car to be a keeper and doesn't want to thrash it.

Cheers guys.

I think your correct and your mate is wrong ! Giving a well maintained engine a good thrashing occasionaly can only be a good thing for many reasons.

I once took my mums BMW petrol for a brisk 200 mile run. When she next drove it she commented on how nice it felt .

IMHO the car would thank him to stretch "her" 248bhp long legs...

 

AFAIK there is no harm if the oil is warm.

 

Ciao

Thanks gents. Factual correction - my mate's car is 3.5L NA rather than Turbocharged.

It may not alter your views however.

Edited 2 March, 201412 yr by dunc69

I'd be more inclined to ask "why buy a 3.5l car and not want to drive it properly?" - also is it a new car or a classic? 248bhp from 3.5l seems poor by modern standards unless it's American.

If it's a classic I'd be inclined to enjoy it and keep it away from the redline - same's goes if it's American! :-)

There are no benefits in giving any car full beans, other than getting somewhere quicker or putting a smile on your face.

...well, at least it's the cheapest way to keep its internals clean

There are no benefits in giving any car full beans, other than getting somewhere quicker or putting a smile on your face.

No benefit at all, keep all the carbon and junk lining the cylinders, valves, inlet and exhaust system. 

 

What has giving a car the beans ever done for us.....

There are no benefits in giving any car full beans, other than getting somewhere quicker or putting a smile on your face.

Not true at all.

Ah yes, an Italian service. Give it some beans, it'll be fine.

I completely agere with Orville, with a modern electronically controlled engine there is no need drive a special way to keep the engine running well or to "clean" the internal components.

Conversely, there is also no reason while driving the car to its limits of performance will cause any harm either.

 

 

A car is just like anything you own, if you aren't careful with it & don't untertake the appropriate service schedule you will have problems.

No benefit at all, keep all the carbon and junk lining the cylinders, valves, inlet and exhaust system. 

 

What has giving a car the beans ever done for us.....

and what does giving it full welly do? It creates higher levels of carbon deposits and junk, and degrades the oil faster. Thrashing a car does not clean out the internals at all. The best way to clean the internals is to change the oil and filters at recommended periods.

For a petrol, maybe. But a diesel needs som RPM´s once in a while.

Don't put beans in ur car

Don't put beans in ur car

Is this because they lead to random backfiring?

 

 

 

Seriously, thrashing any car (petrol and diesel) will provide no benefits for reliability, economy or cleanliness of running. Diesel cars with DPF's may require the odd regen, but this is not thrashing, merely driving along at ~2.5k rpm for an extended period to burn the DPF back into life.

248bhp from 3.5l seems poor by modern standards unless it's American.

Skoda Superb V6 anyone?

 

 

Seriously, thrashing any car (petrol and diesel) will provide no benefits for reliability, economy or cleanliness of running. Diesel cars with DPF's may require the odd regen, but this is not thrashing, merely driving along at ~2.5k rpm for an extended period to burn the DPF back into life.

Really.... So after a 200 mile 90mph motorway blast in wifeys 206 GTi it suddenly got 2mpg better on all her round town journeys and that wasn't because it cleaned itself out?

 

And with all VAG VNT equipped diesels running them constantly like Miss Daisy kills them, they need a good run to clear them out or else the VNT clogs up with carbon and the EGR gets gummed up.  And that's pre DPF tech, even worse with one of those treating the car gently but hey, doesn't cause any issues does it?

 

Behave.

I'm definitelt with Sheldon (and my cars too ). Just look at how many clogged EGR valves reports on the Internet...

I'm definitelt with Sheldon (and my cars too ). Just look at how many clogged EGR valves reports on the Internet...

+1

+2. Known in my day as an Italian Tune-up.

Really.... So after a 200 mile 90mph motorway blast in wifeys 206 GTi it suddenly got 2mpg better on all her round town journeys and that wasn't because it cleaned itself out?

And with all VAG VNT equipped diesels running them constantly like Miss Daisy kills them, they need a good run to clear them out or else the VNT clogs up with carbon and the EGR gets gummed up. And that's pre DPF tech, even worse with one of those treating the car gently but hey, doesn't cause any issues does it?

Behave.

Please show me where it says thrashing a cars engine is beneficial for it within any owners manual? Perhaps you are better informed than all of the manufacturers?

.and we were talking about thrashing, not holding steady rpm on the motorway

..and OP's post regards petrols.

All, thanks for your views and thoughts! As ever, entertaining stuff, but opposing views.

Any mechanics / engineers out there who could assist with a technical viewpoint?

Anyone who has followed a Mk3 Mondeo TDCi accelerating hard down the motorway will know driving like this doesn't do much to clean the turbo & EGR valve.

 

There's no technical reason to "thrash" the car to clean the internal components.

Normal driving & regular maintenance (plus a bit of luck you don't have a Friday afternoon car) is all that's needed.

Just want to say, I didn't say 'thrash'.

I just wondered if decent 'progress', i.e. giving the car a proper workout (without hugely overdoing it) once in a while was either helpful or necessary in keeping a petrol engine in fine fettle.

Anyone who has followed a Mk3 Mondeo TDCi accelerating hard down the motorway will know driving like this doesn't do much to clean the turbo & EGR valve.

 

There's no technical reason to "thrash" the car to clean the internal components.

Normal driving & regular maintenance (plus a bit of luck you don't have a Friday afternoon car) is all that's needed.

You've just answered your own comment.... All the gunk coming out the back of that Mondeo would have stayed in the exhaust/turbo/egr/inlet etc.  It needs exercising... not thrashing... just using the full range of rpm every now and then when at temperature in a well maintained car to keep the internals as clean as possible.... Something fuel additives alone can help with but not do on their own.