New car questions

[Flibb]

Hi peeps!
My wife has been given the option of a company car fo work wahey so over thr last few weeks have been looking around. Out of the test drives etc we have narrowed it down to either a 1.6SE honda civic, or the 1.6 new astra. My current fav after a test drive is the astra 1.6xsi, unfortunately the wife prefers the honda
Weve been to have a look againtoday and she's a bit warmer towards the astra. What suprised me was the ride quality of the astra. I found the ride in the civic to be very hard and the engine needed a lot revs to do anything, the astra was still sporty but without the harshness of the civic and didnt require thrashing all the time.

So any comments on the shortlist? Gonna order this week

Last question
Any tips on running in a new motor

[Russ]

either are beautiful motors, theres no right or wrong answer.

as for running it in, just take it calmly for the first couple thousand

[Ant]

Though some people reccomend thrashing it a bit too, when running it in.... something to do with bedding the pistons in or something.

I never did that though, I drove like a granny for the first 650 miles, before going wild!

Don't know much about the two cars, but out of the two, I like the looks of the astra, the civic just seems a bit bland in my opinion

[Flibb]

My wife drives quiet gently so should be ok, will be interesting to see how the drop from a 1.8 mondeo (10 year old) to a 1.6 goes. Do like the astra's, that little bit extra room is very well used in them.

[Russ]

Though some people reccomend thrashing it a bit too, when running it in.... something to do with bedding the pistons in or something.

I never did that though, I drove like a granny for the first 650 miles, before going wild!

Don't know much about the two cars, but out of the two, I like the looks of the astra, the civic just seems a bit bland in my opinion

i lost a few mm coming of forecourt

[TomWilko]

New Astra gets the thumbs up from me Vauxhall are onto a winner there...

[Richie]

My wife drives quiet gently so should be ok, will be interesting to see how the drop from a 1.8 mondeo (10 year old) to a 1.6 goes.

I think you'll find it more of an upwards move than anything else.....

[Zak33]

Astra for rear leg/headroom....Honda for the ultra light steering and feel.....it feels like a feather. Doesnt suit most blokes tho....more ladies car.

Russ is right...they are both fine fine cars.

Running in....500 miles of not straining the engine...that means dont go up the gears too soon.....gentle throttle of up to 75 % maximum and if the engine is labouring drop a gear and let her rev a little higher but with less throttle....

we want max 4500 revs.....you can do way over 80 mph on that...

just DONT LET HER DRIVE AT 30 mph in 5th thinking its helping...it isnt

The issue with new engines is the piston rings....they are not fully sealed to the piston bores...there are minute gaps...as you drive the first few hundred miles, oil squishes up the piston bores and burns to the piston rings.....it leaves a micro thing layer of deposit on them and allows them to fit more....exactly....as time goes by the oil iut burns lessens and the power and torque improve...

the pistons have many tighyl fitting rings around them, and the oil gets up past most of them in the first few hundred miles and burns...eventually the pistons are coated ..

JUST LIKE A GOOD FRYING PAN all black and shiny

....they are both better fitting and smoother...AND that allows a higher compression and then oil useage goes to nothing.

SO DIP STICK IT in the first few thousand miles and dont be shocked if it uses a litre or two....

and FEEL it get faster...

After 500 miles you should take it to the red line once ever 100 miles....and from 1000 miles onward....whatever ya fancy.

[Russ]

i was in 4th at 30 for the first 500 on, but done over 1k now, so its all mine to enjoy