Yea, so I've been good the first 3 days of owning the car until about an hour ago. I hit 6000 rpms a couple times tonight, should I expect something bad to happen??

 

How many miles are on the car? You probably won't see any bad consequences, but it is good to perform the proper break-in.

 

From what I understand the break in period is to properly seat the piston rings. If they are not seated properly you will have a bit of oil consumption.

I've also heard that the factory breaks the engine in before it's put in the car. But why would the manual have the procedures for the break in period?

I recommend following what the manual says, play it safe it's only 1200 miles.

 

Great. I cetianly did not read the owners manual until I read this post. The manual says do not go over 4000 rpms for the 1st 1,200 miles. I screwed that up the first day. So am I screwed now.

 

You're screwed if you do it again, how's that?

 

Guys, there was a huge discussion on this when the Z first came out. Everyone has there own opinion.

I have been told by one Nissan dealer to drive it hard early so that everything sets-up the car for more power.

Others have stated the opposite.

I chose this:

1). Nothing over 4K rpm first 400mi
2). Nothing over 5k prm 400-800m
3). 5-6K rpm 800-1000m
4). Start redlining above 1Km

Now remember, this is what I did. I have no proof it works or is right.

But what I can tell you is that I have no oil consumption probs at 24Kmi. on my '03 Track, built 10/02.

 

Damn man...ur f*cked...

haha jk. i dont think itd be THAT bad.

 

Take it to redline once every one hundred miles till 1k...

This will help seat your rings, etc...

Not going over 4k rpm will allow those rings to set at THAT load, and THAT RPM... so once you start driving it hard PAST that set point you will start burning oil

 

I was a big part of that discussion. After a lot of research, I came down on the "drive it from the start the way you want to drive it forever" side. I picked up my 350Z almost exactly 2 years ago with 5 miles on it. I gradually increased the revs using bursts of power followed by cooldowns and had it to 6000 RPM by the time it hit 100 miles. After that, I made it a point to take it to 6000 RPM every time I drove it for at least a year. I take it to 5000 RPM all the time now and 6000 or higher regularly, as needed.

I use premium synthetic oil and have to add about 1/2 quart between every 7000 mile oil change. This has been consistent from the beginning and isn't increasing. If you drive a car hard, you should expect to burn some oil.

At 30,000 miles the car is in great shape, pulls hard, and revs easily to redline with no sign of straining. I have no regrets about the way I broke in my sports car.

FWIW

Brian

 

thats funny, thats exactly what I've been doing. I have 700 miles and haven't quite redlined it yet.

 

I ended up doing it like Nissan says to do it...

Why would they hide the best way to break in the car from us?

Maybe the manufacturer just doesn't know what its talking about.

 

7000 miles?! Isn't the oil change interval 3,750 miles?

 

5K miles for synthetic. Or, if you drive as few miles as some, 7k is ok.

 

I never did find where Nissan documents it. As a general rule, 3000-3500 for Dino oil, 7,000 is adequate for a good synthetic. I usually don't wait the full 7,000 but keep an eye on how clear the oil is on the dipstick and how hard I've been driving it.

 

You all may find this interesting reading, the original thread from August-September 2002. Take your time, digest the arguments, follow the links, make your own decision:

Break-In Period for 350Z Engine

 

I doubt if you hurt your engine. I have followed the manual but on 2 or 3 occassions did hit redline, or close, without any resultant damage.

 

i redlined the 350z that i test drove, but took the one from the showroom. . i assume a lot of people redlined it while test driving.

 

I drive like I stole it since day 1 and hit 6k once a day as suggested by some engine mechanics and no problem so far.