nbdyfcnsqnc

I'm wondering if this 1200 mile break in period is mostly bogus, and I think it is. I've never had to break in a car before, although I'm sure people here have. My mechanical engineering brother said something dumb and derogatory about it, like Nissan must know they have some kind of problem if their engines aren't ready to drive off the line.

But here's what I was thinking: What if Nissan is just training drivers to stay under 4000 RPM by rote. Then we get used to it, and shift sooner. That means there's a lot less engine wear in the car's lifetime, even after the next N-thousand miles we drive it, and less problems are ever going to show up for them to have to repair.

Call me a "conspiracy theorist," but I'm not, and this wouldn't be a conspiracy. It would be a clever ploy at best.

Bobby C 01TA

ya 1200 is a bit excessive.. its all marketing hoopla or something..I think a motor is good to rag on after 700-800 miles

nbdyfcnsqnc

Well the point of break-in is to ensure less problems down the road, so if they do that, it's better for Nissan and us too. I just think the car should be able to hold out if it's built right, and I think this amounts to Nissan saying it's not. But I don't have the knowledge and experience to back this up. I just have a sense that something strange is afoot.

ZON

iTrader: (2)

LOL

redz32/bluez33

Yes, 1200 miles is excessive, but break-in is necessary. Look at all the people saying how their 350 shifts smoother, etc. All those metal components and lubricants need to get to know each other. They need to create surfactants and wear off the rough edges. And your brakes-Look at the friction going on there. If you don't bed in your pads and smoothly begin rotor wear, you're gonna be doing your brakes in half the time as someone who carefully modulated his braking during break-in, and didn't glaze his rotors. And that kind of care just protects your investment-It's no reflection upon any sort of incompetency by the engineers of the car. They don't create physical laws-They create vehicles that try to be harmonius with physical laws. It's just common sense-Something which has become an oxymoron these days....

ares

iTrader: (2)

I babied mine for 400 miles, and in the last 200 it has seen 6000RPMs a few times, not redline(well I ****ed up bad and pegged the rev limiter in 1st.) but other than that. its been kept docile, Im pushing it harder now, giving it full acceleration in 2nd and 3rd, taking 2nd to 6000, and 3rd as well, running it at high speeds.

I feel it cant hurt. as for your reletive calling bad on nissan, ALL cars reccomend a break in, unless they are pre broken in at a factory. or something of that sort.

nbdyfcnsqnc

Well that's good to know. The suspense is killing me though.

rouxeny

My thoughts on breaking in....if there was truly a real benefit, somebody would have studied it and found the absolute best way. Then, that would be the way to break in a car. The fact that there are so many theories means to me that nobody knows exactly if their theory is right. So, I don't think breaking in is anything scientific.

ares

iTrader: (2)

naw it isnt, but can we seriously not handle driving under 4000RPMs for a few hundred miles? its better that way, if I had a buck for every "I crashed my brand new car" story Ive read online... Id have another Z. in those first 1000miles more than the car is getting broken in, you can learn how the car responds, what it feels like, how it will be if it looses traction... blah blah blah.

^Tyr

ares is right... nissan is not recommending we break in teh car, thier recommending the car break us in

redz32/bluez33

If you had bothered to read your manual, it tells you exactly how to break in the car, and this goes for ANY new car that has not had factory pre-sale break-in. Section 5-17. Here is why it is scientific-Varying the speeds prevents any metal parts from "setting" into specific patterns of wear. Simple metallurgy. That's scientific. Revving over 4,000 RPM will put undue stress upon valves and valve seats that need time to settle. Also scientific. Remember, all valvetrain components are machined or finished by humans-There are variations, however infintesimal, that need to "learn" their relationships to each other, and also to build protective surfactants for long-term lubrication. You are talking about metal contacting metal at very high speeds, and to push those speeds up above that at an early stage can create heats that those metals cannot tolerate well until they have the ability to absorb AND dissipate those heats. I'm no machinist, but I know a little about heat-treating, carburizing, and other techniques of metals processing that are critical in the making of these components.
Also, when you consider the torque that this engine creates, you have to consider how that twist is transferred to the driveline. There are rubber pieces, springs, hundreds of pieces that "learn" their relationships to the forces that govern them. And if they aren't "taught" correctly, then you are setting them up for failure. An analogy that goes for children equally as well as for new vehicles. A gentle foot and hand go a lot further until things become inured to a little more forcefulness.
Lastly, brakes-If you are running hard enough to pass the limits they suggest, then you are going to be putting the brakes to work a lot harder to bring you back down sooner than they are ready to. Glazed or warped rotors create vibration that will eventually damage linkages, stress springs and shocks, wear tires incorrectly, and on and on.
Like I said, the child analogy is so relevant. Does it do any good to beat a child that is too young to understand the reasons why? Isn't that just going to make the child more difficult in the long run? Beat the bastard after his skin has thickened up and his backside has become a little more accustomed to the feel of your belt, and he'll thank you for it later. Just like your car.

Phatmitzu

iTrader: (34)

I will still break in my new car..better be safe than sorry

^Tyr

heh i never siad that i wasnt going to break it in. i was just sayin that hes right about the drivers needing to learn the car and vis versa

scientifically what merit do you see in runing the motor a bit harder towards end of break in to promote a faster motor what i mean is a few pulls to near redline with near full throttle during course of break in
?

6kLaunch

Very GOOD post and BEAT THAT LITTLE BASTARD after his skin has thickened up and his backside has become a little more accustomed to the feel of your belt!!!

Very good words to live by!!!

Brad4rdHay

Just do this....don't hound the car for the first miles of its life, its still new and needs to be brought up to operation condition like an old man slowly easing into a hot bath...or stretching before you exercise.

I stayed pretty much under 4000 for the first 750 miles. Also, I just hit 1500 and the car runs MUCH smoother now. The engine revs better, the idle is smoother, and the shifter especially is much less nothcy.

Elistan

You can follow the manual, which simply says take it easy on the brakes. No full-effort stops, that sort of thing. The pads need time to conform to the rotor surface so you don't get any hot spots, plus undue heat in a new pad can cause the compound to break down.

On the other hand, if you were to purchase high-performance track-oriented pads for you car from Carbotech, Porterfield, etc., they suggest a different sort of break in. (I suspect some of what's going on is that race pads don't get used for several hundred miles before hitting a track, so a quick break in period is required.) They basically say do several moderate to hard stops to get the pads hot (but not on fire) then let them cool down overnight. You can read Carbotech's instructions here: http://www.carbotecheng.com/faq-pad-q3.htm Porterfield has a little thing about their break-in here: http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/performancefaq.htm

nbdyfcnsqnc

I'm still following the procedure. I'm just questioning it. Don't we learn by asking?

steve c

For years I have used a similar method to what they are describing here and have always been near or at the top of the dyno plots of similar engines.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm



Both came out of race bikes, and their owners used the same type of fuel and oil. The only difference was the break in method they used...

The one on the right was broken in as per MotoMan's instructions.

The one on the left was broken in exactly according to the owner's manual. The resulting leaky rings have allowed pressure to "blow by" down into the crankcase on acceleration, and oil to "suck-up" into the combustion chamber on deceleration. Needless to say, this bike was slow !!