Here's how the fastest Stingers broke in their engines

[Eric Arroyo]

I figured this would be a helpful addition to the community for those of you who haven't yet purchased a Stinger and are buying one new. That said, I'm gonna need some help from @Tonkabob, @STINGER, @Kinvara8017, @Angel, @Get Stung, @TorkMe, @Stinger33, @Kato_the_kia_stinger, @Crewdawg130, @DaBears4Lyfe, and @ScottyCole.

If you guys could reply with quick answers to these common questions, I can edit this first post and include all your break in procedures in a single post.

The questions:
1. Drove it hard from the start, babied it, or kept it somewhere in the middle?
2. How many miles (roughly) did you use as a "break in" period?
3. When did you do your first oil change?
4. Did you mod your car from day one, or wait until after your break in period?
5. (If applicable) Did your stock 0-60 / 1/4 mile times (after break in) look like they were faster than the average stock Stinger times you've seen? Obviously, if you didn't do any stock runs, just ignore this question.

Thanks in advance for any responses!

Responses:
@Angel: Followed the manual's break in procedure (see below). First oil change at 1000 miles. Second oil change at 3000 miles. Drove the car hard after 1500 miles. Didn't mod until after 1500 miles. Recommends NOT modding until at least 1500 miles.

@Tonkabob: On it hard from day 1. Race Chip, plugs, K&N Filter, and Catback in the first month and at the track early on. ECU tune a few months later.

@Kinvara8017: Spirited driving, but usually babied for the first 1k miles. First oil change at 1500 miles, then every 2500 after that. Chipped the car 1 month after purchase (I'm assuming after the first 1,000 miles). Suggests only a JB4 and intakes to start since they are easy to take off if you end up not liking the car. "Give yourself some time to like the car and then look into modding it"

Not that this is a very useful data point, but here's what I did:
Kept it between 2k and 4k RPM for the first 600 miles (as per owners manual). Oil change at 600, then drove it hard-ish ever since. No mods yet and I still need to pick up a Dragy to get a baseline.

 

[terrelltechsup]

Drove it like we stole it from the beginning. Moded it in the first week. First oil change at 5000k miles. BG 44k and MOA at each oil change.

 

[Angel]

Don’t mod your car from day one. The break in procedure is on the Stinger manual when you buy the car, follow that. After 1000 miles do an oil change this won’t be on the manual recommendation. Put in new filter and full synthetic oil. After 1,500 miles drive the car hard. Then start modding al your please. Simple as that. I personally did oil changes at 1000 miles and 3000 miles. You don’t have to do what I did but I did that for peace of mind and past experiences on building engines.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Religiously followed the manual: first 600 miles I held the RPMs between 2K and 4K using Sport mode and/or manual gate. Changed the oil at 3K miles and every 3-4K after that. I push the RPMs above 5K whenever I can get "pole position" at a light and the road is open before me. Passing fast also vigorously pushes the RPMs up. But I didn't do any of that in the first 600 miles.

 

[runner1]

Just treat it like a car....there is no right there r wrong....drive it like you want

 

[Shrikecorp]

Don’t mod your car from day one. The break in procedure is on the Stinger manual when you buy the car, follow that. After 1000 miles do an oil change this won’t be on the manual recommendation. Put in new filter and full synthetic oil. After 1,500 miles drive the car hard. Then start modding al your please. Simple as that. I personally did oil changes at 1000 miles and 3000 miles. You don’t have to do what I did but I did that for peace of mind and past experiences on building engines.

My approach is quite different, but that's off topic. @Angel is first to answer the question, looking forward to other responses.

 

[Kamauxx]

Launch control out of the dealership parking lot or bust!

 

[Eric Arroyo]

Don’t mod your car from day one. The break in procedure is on the Stinger manual when you buy the car, follow that.

Thanks for the response! Glad to hear that I was on the right track with following the manual's break in procedure. I added your break-in procedure to the original post.

 

[terrelltechsup]

Religiously followed the manual

Just curious, did you ever get your name on the board in elementary school?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Just curious, did you ever get your name on the board in elementary school?

Not that I recall, for good behavior, anyway. But I don't try to remember public school, because it was a devastating way to face daily life.

 

[techguy888]

Last vehicle was a 450whp STI (on a Mustang dyno even). My tuner has built a lot of engines in his time, he says that in his experience the engines that make the most power are those that are driven the hardest in the early days. Conventional wisdom says that a break-in period is necessary, nowadays they run the engines at high RPM for extended periods before they leave the factory. Break-in is more about the driver getting used to the vehicle, and the ECU adjusting to the driver's habits than anything to do with protecting engine components.

 

[Shrikecorp]

Actually, seems like I've read about Kia doing some pretty tough burn in prior to shipping the car... I don't know if that's apocryphal or not. Anyone? If so, it may not make too much difference what we do in the first little while.

 

[Gtecko]

so how would you say the engine would be impacted if you drove it from the first 1000km in Eco mode ? or kept very low rpm because your commute was basically traffic every morning ?

 

[techguy888]

so how would you say the engine would be impacted if you drove it from the first 1000km in Eco mode ? or kept very low rpm because your commute was basically traffic every morning ?

Let me put it this way: I spun a bearing on my STI engine from driving at high load/low RPM/high gear. I only drive this car in sport mode now after trying smart for a couple weeks and observing the behavior. Less than 2000 RPM cruising in 7th on the highway and giving it a little gas to accelerate a bit from time to time resulting in no downshift made me very nervous. I know there's a long warranty on these vehicles and it's one of the main reasons I bought it but if I can avoid having the engine replaced just by changing the driving mode I would rather do that than have extended downtime.

 

[Adamdan]

I pulled out of dealer warmed car up put into sport mode and started trying launch control right away. After 1000km I started modding and did my first oil change at 5000km.

 

[MerlintheMad]

so how would you say the engine would be impacted if you drove it from the first 1000km in Eco mode ? or kept very low rpm because your commute was basically traffic every morning ?

The manual specifically warns against that! Don't hold extended, steady RPM. And if you are in sustained stop and go, slow traffic, that is "severe" driving conditions and requires oil/filter changes twice as often. The engine loves RPM variation. That's its natural element.

 

[Gtecko]

I understands it is not recommended... I was asking if anyone knew how it would impact the engine - so only have an oil changed earlier than 6k ?

 

[Tonkabob]

Actually, seems like I've read about Kia doing some pretty tough burn in prior to shipping the car... I don't know if that's apocryphal or not. Anyone? If so, it may not make too much difference what we do in the first little while.

Kia claims to do an extended stress test on every engine so they are already broken in when we buy them. The manual says no special break in required but if you still have the urge do XYZ to make people feel more comfy.
My car was typical slowish 0-60 when stock. Nothing special.

 

[Eric Arroyo]

Kia claims to do an extended stress test on every engine so they are already broken in when we buy them. The manual says no special break in required but if you still have the urge do XYZ to make people feel more comfy.
My car was typical slowish 0-60 when stock. Nothing special.

So did you just start modding and pushing the car hard from day 1 then? Also, good to know that you didn't notice any real difference when stock compared to other stock Stingers.

 

[Eric Arroyo]

I understands it is not recommended... I was asking if anyone knew how it would impact the engine - so only have an oil changed earlier than 6k ?

As Tonkabob and a few others have mentioned, Kia says they stress test the engines before we buy them so chances are pretty high that it doesn't matter much. That said, I like to err on the side of caution and do the first oil change early on. I did mine at 600 miles, but I've seen other people do theirs at 1000, 5000, and 6000. Definitely don't go past 6k though.

And I wouldn't be concerned about having "damaged" the car because of that type of driving. The reason I started this thread was to get an idea of how different break-in procedures affect 1/4 mile performance. If the 10 to 15 fastest Stinger owners did completely different things during the break-in period, we'll know that it doesn't actually matter how you break it in as long as you stay on top of your maintenance.