Breakin Period

[wpm1123]

Are there any reccommend things to do with the car when its new? services? type of driving?

[twiggy144]

For breakin in today's new engines: drive it like you stole it.

[Grey]

FYOM - From your owner's manual

 

BREAKING-IN YOUR VEHICLE

Your vehicle does not need an extensive break-in. Try not to drive

continuously at the same speed for the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of

new vehicle operation. Vary your speed frequently in order to give the

moving parts a chance to break in.

Do not add friction modifier compounds or special break-in oils since

these additives may prevent piston ring seating.

 

 

BTW - there is a lot of info in there!

 

:shift:

[junehhan]

My belief is that there is nothing special that needs to be done anymore with most modern engines. I was always told to avoid babying the engine at all costs, and avoid abusing the engine during the first 700 miles or so. Of course this is in contrast to some more exotic engines like the one in a former 02 Honda S2000 that had some unique breakin needs as it came with an additive from the factory to get it to breakin(not in manual, but there was an internal Honda memo detailing this), and a warning in the manual not to VTEC the motor for the first 750 miles or so(go past 6500rpms which is the VTEC crossover).

[captspaulding]

I was always curious too about breaking in an engine. I have never had a new car before...ive always purchased a used vehicle. I did a quick google search on "how to break in a car" and guess what came up...LOL! :banghead: After modifying the search terms on google i got about 20 different suggestions relating to the "Breaking in" of a vehicle (beat the :censored: out of it, drive really fast and then really slow the next day, etc.) so i asked a buddy at work who was a mechanic. He told me basically not to drive at certain speeds for an extended period of time (what the book says).

 

Here is my problem: I am driving from Chicago to Detroit in January (with, i assume under the stated 1,000 miles on the odometer...unless i take meaningless trips to get over the 1,000 mile mark...i plan on getting the vehicle in early December) so is it in my best interest to drive...lets say...75 for a little bit, and then drop to 70 for a little bit and then up to 80 for a bit (the speed limit in michigan is 70...)? Or are those speeds too close together?

 

What have you guys been doing to break in your vehicle?

 

According to my calculations though, i should be able to drive from Chicago to Detroit (and back) on one tank of gas :happy feet: :shift:

[DaveM]

I was always curious too about breaking in an engine. I have never had a new car before...ive always purchased a used vehicle. I did a quick google search on "how to break in a car" and guess what came up...LOL! :banghead: After modifying the search terms on google i got about 20 different suggestions relating to the "Breaking in" of a vehicle (beat the :censored: out of it, drive really fast and then really slow the next day, etc.) so i asked a buddy at work who was a mechanic. He told me basically not to drive at certain speeds for an extended period of time (what the book says).

 

Here is my problem: I am driving from Chicago to Detroit in January (with, i assume under the stated 1,000 miles on the odometer...unless i take meaningless trips to get over the 1,000 mile mark...i plan on getting the vehicle in early December) so is it in my best interest to drive...lets say...75 for a little bit, and then drop to 70 for a little bit and then up to 80 for a bit (the speed limit in michigan is 70...)? Or are those speeds too close together?

 

What have you guys been doing to break in your vehicle?

 

According to my calculations though, i should be able to drive from Chicago to Detroit (and back) on one tank of gas :happy feet: :shift:

First I'd try to get as many miles on the car as possible before the trip but at least the first 200 I'd drive 55 to 60 and then after the 200 mile mark maybe 65 with a touch of 70 but I would keep it under 70 for at least the first 1K I feel more people abuse the brakes than the engine by hard stops etc. heating them up which warps the brakes and then you get the pulsating brakes and squeals. Mostly just common sense will do as I've had plenty of new cars without any problems that could have been caused by hot rodding a new engine which I don't do.

[akirby]

Speed doesn't matter - no need to ramp up the highway speeds. I'd vary the speed by 5 or 10 mph every 10 minutes or so and probably make a pit stop once every hour until you hit 1000 miles.

[bbf2530]

Hi captspaulding. :D My experience (and advice) pretty much mirror what akirby and DaveM stated. Conventional wisdom states that you should vary your speed by a minimum of 10 mph every ten minutes or so if driving for long periods on the highway.

 

And don't beat the car during the break-in period. You don't need to baby it either, just drive it with some common sense.

 

Other than that, as the Owners Manual states there is no specific break-in needed.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

[lolder]

On cruise control on interstates, the rpm varies considerably even on gentle hills. The average rpm at 70 mph is low anyway, about 1900 rpm. i wouldn't worry about it. Use cruise control. It varies the engine power a lot.

 

Lee

[Grey]

What you are trying to do during the break-in is establish a wide wear pattern on gears and mating surfaces. If you are going 1,000 miles when the vehicle is new, it would be best to very the loads as much as possible, ie. drive through cities where you will get some stop and go, drive the speed limit for 30 minutes and then take a county road at 40 for 10 miles, etc. Don't set the speed control for one speed for 3 hours at a time. Occasionally let the engine rpms drop from 2-3,000 RPM to idle (under load) as the backpressure will help seat the piston rings (2 or 3 times over the 1,000 miles). :headspin: