When you receive a new car such as the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette, the temptation is to hit the pedal straight from the dealer’s parking lot. But that can be disastrous for a factory-fresh engine.
Don’t worry if that new car is one Corvette of the C8 generation – GM has a slick way of making sure you follow the engine break-in procedure.
The C8 comes with a V8 that develops a healthy 495 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque, but you can’t use all of that at first. Like the Detroit Free Press reports, for the first 500 miles, you’re limited to 330 lb-ft in first and second gears. The rev limit is also lowered to 4,000 rpm.
Back in the day, a buyer read the owner’s manual and understood the need to take it easy for a certain number of miles. At the time, it was very important to get all moving parts used to each other before aiming for peak power.
Mike Kociba, assistant chief engineer on GM’s small-block engines, agrees. From the free press:
People really rolled the dice when they opened the engine too early 10 or 20 years ago
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And while improved technology and materials make motorcycles more durable today, don’t leave the dealer’s parking lot while the engine is banging off the rev limiter. So the Corvette has software that limits the engine power until you have 500 miles on the clock. Joel Beltramo, Ford’s powertrain engineering manager, thinks these electronic controls protect owners and prevent damage by having too much fun too soon. From the Freep:
The manufacture and tolerances of our engines are so good now, and the software controls that monitor temperature rises are so effective that even if you leave a dealer 10 minutes after you left a dealer, the engine will protect itself through cooling. so that you don’t harm the life of the engine.
Do you have to do that all the time before the engine is completely run in? No. That is why we recommend that owners consult the owner’s manual in their car.
Once owners cross that 500-mile threshold, all they have to do is restart the car to unlock full vehicle power and the 6,600 rpm rev ceiling.
While the Corvette has this handy fail-safe, owners are still encouraged to read their manuals. Corvette Blogger published the complete Corvette walk-in procedure straight from the owner’s manual.
To date, the Corvette is the only vehicle in GM’s line-up to feature this technology. Frankly, I think most cars with a specific break-in procedure should have something like this. I am curious how many problems a good burglary occurs in modern cars.