I hit 3.5k today and the engine changed characteristics almost instantly. It's a completely different car to drive all of a sudden, much quicker and smoother. it coincided with a 175 mile trip as well, same trip I did a few weeks ago, this time mpg jumped to 50.3 from 43.4 last time I made the trip.

Bizarre but very happy about it.

Mine has been the same in recent weeks, just gone past 4k and there's been a noticeable improvement in eagerness, although my mpg is yet to improve. Must admit I thought I was being daft but maybe not....

Many modern cars today are programmed this way to aid running in, i.e they dont produce full power until they hit a certain mileage your not imagining it.

Many modern cars today are programmed this way to aid running in, i.e they dont produce full power until they hit a certain mileage your not imagining it.

 

 

Do you have the source for this information?

I hope this is true because my diesel 150 feels very underpowered when compared to our diesel 140 VW Caddy Maxi Life.

Many modern cars today are programmed this way to aid running in, i.e they dont produce full power until they hit a certain mileage your not imagining it.

 

from wiki:

 

Modern versus older break-in regimens[edit]

For many kinds of equipment (with automotive engines being the prime example), the time it takes to complete break-in procedures has decreased significantly from a number of days to a few hours, for several reasons.

The main reason is that the factories in which they are produced are now capable of better machining and assembly. For example, it is easier to hold tighter tolerances now, and the average surface finish of a new cylinder wall has improved. Manufacturers decades ago were capable of such accuracy and precision, but not with as low a unit cost or with as much ease. Therefore, the average engine made today resembles, in some technical respects, the top-end custom work of back then.^[5] For some equipment, break-in is now done at the factory, obviating end-user break-in. This is advantageous for several reasons. It is a selling point with customers who don't want to have to worry about break-in and want full performance "right out of the box". And it also aligns with the fact that compliance rates are always uncertain in the hands of end users. As with medical compliance or regulatory compliance, an authority can give all the instructions it wants, but there is no guarantee that the end user will follow them.

The other reason for shorter break-in regimens today is that a greater amount of science has been applied to the understanding of break-in, and this has led to the realization that some of the old, long, painstaking break-in regimens were based on specious reasoning^{[citation needed]}. People developed elaborate theories on what was needed and why, and it was hard to sift the empirical evidence in trying to test or confirm the theories. Anecdotal evidence and confirmation bias definitely played at least some part. Today engineers can confidently advise users not to put too much stock in old theories of long, elaborate break-in regimens^{[citation needed]}. Some users will not give credence to the engineers and will stick to their own ideas anyway; but their careful break-in beliefs are still harmless and serve roughly like a placebo in allowing them to assure themselves that they've maximized the equipment's working lifespan through their due diligence.

 

So is the whole concept of breaking-in based on remembered experience of old engines?

I hope this is true because my diesel 150 feels very underpowered when compared to our diesel 140 VW Caddy Maxi Life.

 

My 190 was only pushing out 170 bhp when tested on a rolling road... so you may be correct!

190bhp at the fly is probably 170bhp at the wheel for FWD.

190bhp at the fly is probably 170bhp at the wheel for FWD.

 

132 at the wheels = 171 at the flywheel!

 

Torque was also only 388 Nm (should be 400)

Wow that's crap, remap time??

Go on Martin - I know you are chomping at the bit .  

 

 

 

( i caught only part of the conversation at the meet )

Dealer told me the car monitors your driving style for the first 1,000 miles then locks to you. Done a bit above that now and haven't noticed much yet, look forward to 3,500 miles to see if that makes a difference.

Sent from my GT-I8190N using Tapatalk

I think that "locks to you" sounds like utter BS. If you had a car that did that, that would be groundbreaking. "Oh, so this guy uses the throttle after removing his foot from the brake and then he applies the brake again at a later point - let me adapt to that". 

Yeah I agree, pretty sure that would be a headline selling point for the car if it was true. And would be an extra costing 2 grand.

Were they not referring to the 'fuzzy logic' of the DSG box, which does indeed learn your driving style and react accordingly? If you do a lot of full bore accelerations, it'll learn to change up at higher revs and accelerate harder. If you are sedate and change up very early, it'll adapt and do likewise... It's not new either.

I think that "locks to you" sounds like utter BS. If you had a car that did that, that would be groundbreaking. "Oh, so this guy uses the throttle after removing his foot from the brake and then he applies the brake again at a later point - let me adapt to that". 

How on earth would you sell it on if it was `locked to you`. As you say...pure BS.

How on earth would you sell it on if it was `locked to you`. As you say...pure BS.

 

Not pure BS, just poorly worded. See my post above yours.

Were they not referring to the 'fuzzy logic' of the DSG box, which does indeed learn your driving style and react accordingly? If you do a lot of full bore accelerations, it'll learn to change up at higher revs and accelerate harder. If you are sedate and change up very early, it'll adapt and do likewise... It's not new either.

If this is true I need to drive the car for the next 3500 miles lest my wife turns it into a total granny wagon!

I've been trying to drive sedately and in a "Sloskoda" manner for the first 1,000 miles. Hope it doesn't "lock-on" to me and become a permanent granny wagon!

I see some are experiencing low HP output on the 190 engine, has anyone gotten a comment from their dealer?

Not pure BS, just poorly worded. See my post above yours.

It didn't help I was typing on my phone, and couldn't remember exactly what the dealer said.  Not a DSG  thing as I've got a manual.  I queried about selling on and was told something can be reset somewhere so it restarts the learning procedure.

 

Dealer could have got the wrong end of the stick as he did say he'd only just heard of it.

 

Thought I'd pass on what I was told, wish I hadn't bothered now.

It didn't help I was typing on my phone, and couldn't remember exactly what the dealer said.  Not a DSG  thing as I've got a manual.  I queried about selling on and was told something can be reset somewhere so it restarts the learning procedure.

 

Dealer could have got the wrong end of the stick as he did say he'd only just heard of it.

 

Thought I'd pass on what I was told, wish I hadn't bothered now

 

It's really useful to pass on what dealers say actually, even if it's 'enthusiastic' with the truth - it lets everyone know some of the tricks that the dealers may be employing to get people to buy the car or explain away unexpectedly poor performance etc., or indeed highlight the fact that they sometimes know even less about the cars than we do!  

 

No one is getting at you personally:-) 

It didn't help I was typing on my phone, and couldn't remember exactly what the dealer said.  Not a DSG  thing as I've got a manual.  I queried about selling on and was told something can be reset somewhere so it restarts the learning procedure.

 

Dealer could have got the wrong end of the stick as he did say he'd only just heard of it.

 

Thought I'd pass on what I was told, wish I hadn't bothered now.

You're dealer obviously doesn't know what he's talking about. I can guarantee you that your car will not tune itself to your driving style. Even if it would identify different people driving (eg. by using the memory seats), the process of learning someones driving behaviour will take very long as people don't encounter all driving situations all the time. And, even if it would learn, why would it lower horse power, if you wanted lower HP, you would just take a smaller engine.

Either way mines still like a different car now. Much more responsive. Just done my weekly trip between Surrey and Devon, 165 miles, acc on something way above "economical" and returned 48.5. Last week it was 42.8.