Engine Break-in

[SpeedJunkie]

I just got my new 2018 Raptor on Friday. It had about 50miles on it when I picked it up and now I am only at about 160 miles.

Is there any merit to breaking these engines in? I have got on it just once or twice, for very short periods and to be honest, it didn't feel all that fast to me compared to my 2015 F150 3.5EB. Do these engines get faster with break-in? Is there some kind of protection built into them that de-tunes it until so many miles are put on?

 

[BurnOut]

As far as de-tuning, I'm not aware of anything. Something to keep in mind regarding the Raptor vs. your 2015 is that it is heavier, has taller/heavier tires, and has more (aerodynamic) drag, so there probably isn't all that much difference in performance vs. your other truck.

 

[tmd11111]

I'm sure it was broke in on those 50 miles of test drives

 

[jaz13]

I just got my new 2018 Raptor on Friday. It had about 50miles on it when I picked it up and now I am only at about 160 miles.

Is there any merit to breaking these engines in? I have got on it just once or twice, for very short periods and to be honest, it didn't feel all that fast to me compared to my 2015 F150 3.5EB. Do these engines get faster with break-in? Is there some kind of protection built into them that de-tunes it until so many miles are put on?

Saw a 2mpg gain in the first few thousand miles as the drivetrain broke-in, but I doubt it would be a noticeable difference in seat-of-the pants feel.

 

[SpeedJunkie]

Thanks for the input. I did have 35s on the F150. I also had an MPT tune on it (until the engine blew) and it was fast. This doesn't feel quite as fast as the MPT, but faster than it was without the MPT, just not a huge difference.

I don't want to risk another tune that doesn't come with a warranty, so I guess I will wait and hope that Ford Performance comes out with a tune for these trucks soon.

That being said, took it out this morning for a bit and I could have been imagining it, but it did seem a little bit livelier.

Overall, I love it. But as my username implies, I like fast things...

 

[kpg81]

Thanks for the input. I did have 35s on the F150. I also had an MPT tune on it (until the engine blew) and it was fast. This doesn't feel quite as fast as the MPT, but faster than it was without the MPT, just not a huge difference.

I don't want to risk another tune that doesn't come with a warranty, so I guess I will wait and hope that Ford Performance comes out with a tune for these trucks soon.

That being said, took it out this morning for a bit and I could have been imagining it, but it did seem a little bit livelier.

Overall, I love it. But as my username implies, I like fast things...

So... you blew a motor that was running the MPT tune? Not good

 

[SpeedJunkie]

So... you blew a motor that was running the MPT tune? Not good

Yes. Threw a rod through the block. Truck had 33k miles, of which the tune was on it for about 31k. 91 PRX, I always used 91 from the same pump, same station, unless I was traveling across the country.

To be clear, I'm not saying it was the fault of the tune. I have no way of knowing for sure.

My dealer was really good to me. I was upfront about the tune and never hid that from them, and they warrantied it regardless. But I'm not willing to take the chance again. I'm guessing if I brought another tuned truck in to them they might not be so eager to warranty it, and it's not worth the hassle arguing about it, if it came to that.

So, the only way I would tune again is if it was covered by a warranty.

 

[davidl81]

The 2015 3.5EB F150 does 5.8 0-60 times (number may vary depending on who's timing it) so the Raptor is not really that much faster. I think people who notice it more are people going from the Gen 1 to the Gen 2 or maybe people who have a GM w/ the 5.3L (really any NA V8 supercrew truck). The TT 3.5 is a crazy fast engine especially once those turbos kick in.

 

[VSTOLG4]

thought it was sluggish and slow until sport mode was engaged...felt much better after that. Normal mode is still sluggish to me.

 

[SpeedJunkie]

thought it was sluggish and slow until sport mode was engaged...felt much better after that. Normal mode is still sluggish to me.

Sport mode does help. I hate that it alway switches me back into 2wd though. I run it in 4A most of the time. Seems like sport mode should default to that so you don’t spin your wheels off the line.

Hoping forscan can change that.