Why no Sport Mode during 1,000 mile break-in?

[RSW]

Hi all. New member here. Was lucky and quickly was able to get an orphaned Emira, FE2.0, Nimbus, tan leather, V6, manual that was very close to the car I would have ordered. I've read the various threads about break-in period (not trying to re-hash all the pros and cons), but, unless I missed it, I didn't see any discussion of the reasoning for the "ban" on Sport Mode (and Track Mode) during the 1,000 mile break-in period. I guess I can understand Track Mode, as the manual states that mode should only be used for tracking in dry conditions, etc., but, since probably the majority of drivers would constantly be driving the car on the streets in Sport Mode, I'm wondering why Sport Mode wouldn't be allowed (or perhaps even preferred) during the period of solidifying and sealing up the car. Any thoughts on this? Are people "honoring" this? Thanks.

 

[EZcheezy]

the answer is it probably wont matter. if something horrible goes wrong Lotus will know you used sport or track mode, will it matter? probably not. will they refuse to honor the warranty? probably not.

I honored the no track mode rule, but I used exclusively sport while I was under 1000 miles.

 

[patrickramdial]

I literally switched in to sport mode leaving the dealership. Then read the same thing on facebook and on here about not using sport mode. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use sport mode as long as you stay under the 4000rpm break in limit.

 

[scc.131.fe]

Nice job on the find, and welcome!

Someone made an earlier comment about this likely originating with a concern about the V6 Auto, in that Sport mode would increase the likelihood of spending more time above 4k (higher shift points in the programming). That's the only thing that made sense to me.

I used Sport for maybe 20% of break-in miles, but not doing snap-accelerations or anything stressfull, just casually rowing through the gears.

 

[Rapture]

There is no 4K rev limit during the break in period. You are just not supposed to have sustained higher revs. It's good for an engine to have variable revs during the break in period including some higher rpms.

 

[Sandalwood]

Hi all. New member here. Was lucky and quickly was able to get an orphaned Emira, FE2.0, Nimbus, tan leather, V6, manual that was very close to the car I would have ordered. I've read the various threads about break-in period (not trying to re-hash all the pros and cons), but, unless I missed it, I didn't see any discussion of the reasoning for the "ban" on Sport Mode (and Track Mode) during the 1,000 mile break-in period. I guess I can understand Track Mode, as the manual states that mode should only be used for tracking in dry conditions, etc., but, since probably the majority of drivers would constantly be driving the car on the streets in Sport Mode, I'm wondering why Sport Mode wouldn't be allowed (or perhaps even preferred) during the period of solidifying and sealing up the car. Any thoughts on this? Are people "honoring" this? Thanks.

I followed it to the letter, and did not hit sport mode until 1001 miles. It's probably silly, but I figured perhaps it had to do with fuel richness for the exhaust pop mapping or something similar and it would be better not to risk it if they went to the trouble of specifying it. So I did the "momentum car" driving style and belted around mountain roads at 3k rpm and up to 1.1G laterally (per the dash). That was a pretty difficult way to drive and required frequent shifting.

 

[Emira Fan]

Powertrain driving data is likely highly logged for key metrics. By running in Sport or Track while in the break-in period opens you to the risk of a warranty repair denial.
It's just a wallet decision, do it; if you can afford a powertrain repair outside warranty (some can others may not). There are several threads about break-in if you search for them

 

[Tomwa]

There is no 4K rev limit during the break in period. You are just not supposed to have sustained higher revs. It's good for an engine to have variable revs during the break in period including some higher rpms.

Agreed but I don't think dealerships are reading it that way. Mine didn't at least, kept talking about waiting to rev it and that the demo car shouldn't be reved out because it was still in break-in.

 

[Citizen]

I made my break in period literally in 99% sport mode

After 15k km car is still running flawless

 

[Andy H]

I think it's more important in the i4 (and possibly the V6 auto). In sport mode the car is very eager to hold on to high revs so any kind of enthusiasm can easily see 5-6000rpm without even trying.

 

[Sandalwood]

There is no 4K rev limit during the break in period. You are just not supposed to have sustained higher revs. It's good for an engine to have variable revs during the break in period including some higher rpms.

The updated owner's manual disagrees with you. The original manual did not have this, but the update does and I read it in mine.

 

[PsymonR]

The updated owner's manual disagrees with you. The original manual did not have this, but the update does and I read it in mine.

The 4k rev limit is in both versions of the running in procedure (in the UK owners manual). However, it's not a hard limit, it just says the engine shouldn't be run continuously over 4k rpm and indeed in both variants says that short bursts at higher throttle will be beneficial.

I think it's more important in the i4 (and possibly the V6 auto). In sport mode the car is very eager to hold on to high revs so any kind of enthusiasm can easily see 5-6000rpm without even trying.

I'm guessing that's why the manual says for AT models to not use kickdown, but yeah I've also known the i4 to like holding on to high revs even without kickdown.

The limitation on engine mode was added at the same time as the i4 to the manual, and does match engine mode limitations I've seen in A Class manuals (that include the A45S)... however the limitation isn't specifically called out for the i4 in the running in section like launch control is.

I wonder if it was added on recommendation from Mercedes/AMG and Lotus just decided to add it to the procedure for all variants.