New V6 Cup - running in

[Mark Allin]

Next Sunday is D-day - collecting the V6 Cup after what seems an age and many delays. But anticipation is a state of grace. Co-owned third lotus after Elise 135 and Exige 240 Cup. Pewter Grey with orange detailing to follow.

Happy to meet other owners in Hants, Sussex, Surrey, London. Any advice or experiences with running in welcome.

Pics to follow next week but will look something like this.

Mark

Edited February 23, 2014 by mallin

[Stubox]

Hi, pewter with orange detailing sounds interesting, look forward to the pics.

As for running in....put the kettle and google it. Once you're thoroughly confused by that and all the various comments just go and drive it, don't let the engine labour at all, better to spin it, always remember its not just the engine you're running in ie gearbox brakes etc. so use them.

Oh and do it as quickly as you can, because if you think waiting for it took time wait till you've got it and you're waiting for 1000 mile to arrive before you can 'make progress'

Stu

[Mark Allin]

Hi Stu

Cheers - makes sense. Will be finding routes to help me get through that 1000 miles quickly!

Mark

[Bibs]

I'll volunteer to help if it's of any assistance

[ramjet]

Welcome to TLF Mark.

 

Congrats on the car.

 

You should duck over to the Introductions section and say hi in there as well.

[Mark Allin]

I'll volunteer to help if it's of any assistance

You're on!!

Welcome to TLF Mark.

 

Congrats on the car.

 

You should duck over to the Introductions section and say hi in there as well.

Will do - thanks

[The Pits]

Many congratulations and welcome to a very exclusive club.

 

I have some video of a Pewter Grey car in action here. They look really fantastic.

 

 

I just played it by the book when it came to running in. But it was no sweat with 25mph/1000 in top you can maintain reasonable speeds on motorways and I can guarantee you won't be holding anything up in the corners!

 

I was told once that it's very beneficial to vary the revs on a motorway, don't sit at a constant cruise for too long. Surging between 70 and (ahem) at bit more on the motorway will do it the power of good, you won't need to use full throttle, the car pulls strongly on a light throttle (another benefit of such a light kerb weight). I was always told the worst thing for the engine is to let it bog down in too high a gear, make sure you're above 3000 rpm before squeezing the throttle down.

 

What I will say is to be sure to book a trackday after you've done the running in. My car was running very rich, coughing occasionally, I'm guessing because of all the gentle driving but a proper workout at Silverstone had it running sweet as a nut.

 

Either way I hope to see the car out and about soon.

 

Edited February 24, 2014 by The Pits

[Mark Allin]

Cheers Jonny. Will certainly follow the running in advice and thanks for that. Also have a number of track days booked including Hethel and the Ring. Might see you round the roads in Hampshire soon (near Petersfield).

Mark

Many congratulations and welcome to a very exclusive club.

 

I have some video of a Pewter Grey car in action here. They look really fantastic.

 

 

I just played it by the book when it came to running in. But it was no sweat with 25mph/1000 in top you can maintain reasonable speeds on motorways and I can guarantee you won't be holding anything up in the corners!

 

Great video and pleased you like the colour. Jamie at B&C told me it was originally designed to put someone off a car Lotus wanted to keep but everyone loved it!

I was told once that it's very beneficial to vary the revs on a motorway, don't sit at a constant cruise for too long. Surging between 70 and (ahem) at bit more on the motorway will do it the power of good, you won't need to use full throttle, the car pulls strongly on a light throttle (another benefit of such a light kerb weight). I was always told the worst thing for the engine is to let it bog down in too high a gear, make sure you're above 3000 rpm before squeezing the throttle down.

 

What I will say is to be sure to book a trackday after you've done the running in. My car was running very rich, coughing occasionally, I'm guessing because of all the gentle driving but a proper workout at Silverstone had it running sweet as a nut.

 

Either way I hope to see the car out and about soon.

 

[Bibs]

Don't take it from me, but I'm told that the running in period on a modern Toyota engined Lotus is more for the driver to become accustomed to a mid engined rear wheel drive car than to actually run the engine in. 

[Mark Allin]

Yeah I heard that too. Really I see it as getting to the 1000 mile service - car and driver being kind to each other - checking all is good then ...go!!!

[The Pits]

The debate about running-in is still going strong. However the way I look at it, if it's worth 2bhp to break the engine in according to the manual I'll do it. I think a lot of people just don't have the patience for it but until it's proven that thrashing from brand new is in some way beneficial I'll stick to the advice from the manufacturer - in this case that includes 'occasional bursts of full throttle will be beneficial' from 500 miles onwards. As mentioned it was no hardship with up to 100mph available in top gear from day one.

 

It is true that all the V6s come with 'running-in' oil from the factory which is changed at the first service. It's deliberately not a fully synthetic oil to allow for just the right amount of engine wear. So there is something going on during the first 1000 miles.

 

The V6 Cup also has some specific bedding-in instructions for the 2 piece brakes in the supplementary manual, that's also worth a read even if it relates mainly to preparing your brakes for track use and or racing.

 

But I think running-in is part of the fun of owning a car from new and I'm glad I had the patience to do it with mine.

[Mark Allin]

The debate about running-in is still going strong. However the way I look at it, if it's worth 2bhp to break the engine in according to the manual I'll do it. I think a lot of people just don't have the patience for it but until it's proven that thrashing from brand new is in some way beneficial I'll stick to the advice from the manufacturer - in this case that includes 'occasional bursts of full throttle will be beneficial' from 500 miles onwards. As mentioned it was no hardship with up to 100mph available in top gear from day one.

 

It is true that all the V6s come with 'running-in' oil from the factory which is changed at the first service. It's deliberately not a fully synthetic oil to allow for just the right amount of engine wear. So there is something going on during the first 1000 miles.

 

The V6 Cup also has some specific bedding-in instructions for the 2 piece brakes in the supplementary manual, that's also worth a read even if it relates mainly to preparing your brakes for track use and or racing.

 

But I think running-in is part of the fun of owning a car from new and I'm glad I had the patience to do it with mine.

Cheers. Agreed that running in is part of the ownership experience. Hey it gives me an excuse to spend three days in the New Forest! Only two days to go.....pics to follow.

[CTRMint]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I've just got to 650 miles on my Cup and Im following the running in procedure as per the manual, but I'm wondering about the greater freedom on the throttle. Any advice? To date I've not taken her over 4k rpm, can i now bring on 1 or 2 of the rpm tell tale lights? Or is that too much? I've also been very mindful of throttle pedal travel. I personally don't find the literature that helpful.

[PhilS]

My advice would be (and is what I did on mine) that now you have over 600 miles, when the engine is up to temperature you can (and should!) allow yourself brief periods of full throttle and full revs. Probably don't bang it off the limiter, so two shift lights might be a good target whilst you get the feel for how it revs. Also note that the limiter is set lower in Tour mode, and on my car feels like its a bit more severe than when in Sport.

 

Time to start enjoying it now (in moderation, of course until after the first service when you will have the proper oil put in)

 

Phil.

[The Pits]

I'd build it up gradually from 4k. Do another 500rpm every time you do a decent journey. Going for surges on the motorway is good, don't stay too long sat at 70mph. It's better to surge between 65 and 90. Most important thing is to avoid labouring the engine. Keep using the gearbox, don't lug too high a gear, don't let the engine bog down. If the car isn't accelerating on a light throttle, change down a gear. You're better off running to the limiter than labouring the engine at 3,000 rpm. I just used to take the scenic route in my car and generally avoided motorways, it was more fun, I racked up more miles and used all the gears much more often.

 

If you live on the Isle of Man then everywhere's the scenic route. You can't go far wrong.

 

Can we have some video of the car on the mountain please?

 

[Mark Allin]

With these engines there is little damage you can do. Keep it up and down the revs as Jonny says and just get used to the feel of the car. Happy days and I promise you will love it. Join us on our next Ring and Spa trip next summer!

[CTRMint]

 

If you live on the Isle of Man then everywhere's the scenic route. You can't go far wrong.

 

Can we have some video of the car on the mountain please?

 

You're right apart from the journey home from Jct600 she has never seen a motorway, which means 500 miles of the TT course. This usually means varied country roads until the Mountain where I gently build more speed, briefly to about 100 and averaging 50 to 80.

It's amazing how much pace these get without any real throttle pressure.

If I'm now ok to build to full throttle and one tell tale, can I switch the DPM to sport?

With these engines there is little damage you can do. Keep it up and down the revs as Jonny says and just get used to the feel of the car. Happy days and I promise you will love it. Join us on our next Ring and Spa trip next summer!

I think such trips would be a bit over optimistic at present. Oulton park would be a good starting point.

[The Pits]

I left 'sport' that until the first service had been done. I doubt it would have made any difference but it was nice to keep a bit back, plus it's plenty quick enough in 'tour' which is what I still use on the road most of the time.