Klumzyee

iTrader: (4)

most manufactures run the engine to break it in for u but when you get it the rings should not be sealed completely plus u still have all this new metal parts that needs to be wear down. thats why u do NOT sure syn oil for the first few thousands.. (but once u use syn DO NOT i repeat do NOTTT go back to regular oil). when an engine is rebuilt or built the cylinder walls are cross honed.. think of a bunch of scratches on wood.. and ur piston ring is like sand paper.. you want to wear down the scratches so its a complete SEAL in your combustion chamber.. thats why u dont want to run it hard... BUT you do not need to drive like my 80 year old grandma for the first 2k miles.. just chill on the RPMs until 500 or so then do a oil change (DO NOT USE SYN YET) and drive like a NORMAL person.. u know hit 5k or even redline once or twice.. then at 1k do a engine oil change (NOT TO SYN) and do a tranny oil change (your tranny needs to break in too) because you are NOT doing a flush i recomend doing this at a dealer or figure out what they use.

then drive like the way u drive.. then at around 3k change your oil, you can choose to use syn at this time it doesnt really matter..

and there ARE small metal pieces inside your oil when u change at 500miles.. take a close look at it. Also all manufactures put in additives to help the engine break in..

some side notes:
once you start using syn, stick to one brand and do NOT go back to regular
only reason older engine need regular is cause regular oil is thicker. WHY? cause when an engine gets old the internals will wear down leaving bigger gaps between bearings causing a loss in oil pressure.. so they use regular (Thicker) oil to make up for it.
the W in 10w-30 stands for WINTER.. because you would want oil that has a low freezing poilt and a high boiling point they have two numbers.. go do a serach on engine oil if u wana read more..
eh always change your filter when u do ur oil changes..

arejohn

Freezes like a 10w and boils like a 30w. I get the idea. but if you want to know "the rest of the story" on oil go to http://bobtheoilguy.com/

spacemn_spiff

iTrader: (3)

If that is the case then Nissan engineers shouldnt have put in the manual. As an engineer when I recommend something, there is a reason for it, lot of analysis and testing goes in deciding what the proper operating procedure is. Thats they way it goes for anything you buy today. Most consumer goods comes with a manual and it has a manual means that mean people should follow it. I dont believe manual is ornamental.

About the transmission, just like any mechanical moving part, every surface adapts to the mating surface and you would want that adapting transition period as good a possible, without undue wear. So you would want the chamfers well rounded to mate on a dog clutch. If you know the manufacturing process its easy to predict what the break in period/wear pattern should be. Most mating parts other than bearing surfaces etc dont need very high surface finishes, clutches that mate in your transmission are an each gear are like that, so they will wear each other out until its a smoother transition.

Cylinders are honed (honing = high surface finish) and they still need some time to break in with the rings because you dont want to reproduce the wear pattern in a manufacturing process. If you do want to reproduce wear pattern in mfg, then the cost of manufacturing goes through the roof. The cylinder wall wears more on the two sides because of the way piston transmits the loads on the cylinder wall. And only a piston can wear it right.

Thanks for listening.

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

Look nissan recommends alot of things. Do you run your car stock? Do you run 10W-30 dino iol like nissan recommends or 5W-40 full synthetic like i recommend (or nismo). Nissan recommends those things for the most safe/reliable break in. The break in i described is for max power and sealing out of the engine. I run full synthetic now and have 0 oil reduction after 4k of driving per oil change. How many peeps have that in their Z? Most people on here have some sort of reduction when using full synthetic oil. Why is that? Bc properly heat cycling and reving (above 4k) seats your rings much better than driving like nissan recommends. Also most people understand that the break-in really happens in the first 50-500 miles. Once again 1200 is a very conservative estimate. Those things are there for nissan to claim deniability and keep people who act like idiots from doing so until atleast 1200 miles. Those of us who know what we are talking about can break in the engine however we feel.
The real reason nissan recommends dino oil is as previously stated it hides engine imperfections. Synthetic does not. Do you think nissan believes dino oil is better and thats why they recommend it? Nissan looks out of nissan and not you or the longevity of your engine after 60k.

zpak

Sound advice.

Short of sticking it in neutral when cruising at an acceptable/safe speed on the freeway, it's hard to get the rpm's below 2200-2500 (even in 6th gear), unless I really DO try to drive like my grandmother. So local roads probably will be the only realistic option.

I'm noticing that even at 3800-4000 rpm's in 6th gear, the speedo's reading 90mph (and I don't keep it there). That's still at or below the recommended rev limit, but I'm just amazed at how much more room the engine has to move.

Can't wait to find out. Only about...800 more miles to go.

spacemn_spiff

iTrader: (3)

Yes

Are you claiming that you get more power because of the way you broke the engine in? About the sealing part, I would like to see something technical that backs up your claim.

Operating engine near or at redline will burn oil regardless of the oil you use or when you start using it.

I would like to see some kind of reference to your claim.

You are trying to correlate two different things that are not related. If Nissan is claiming deniability for the first 1200 miles, then why limit it to 1200 miles, you can destroy your engine after 1200 miles too.
I dont know what you mean by engine imperfections. And for some reason I get the feeling that you know more than whats stated in the manual, I would like to know your source of information.
If you are doing what you are doing makes you feel good, then I dont have a problem. If you do it because there is a technical reason, I would really like to know.

hypeiv

iTrader: (2)

I bought my car used so I have no idea how the previous owner treated the car the first 1200 miles, but based on the "rice" stuff I had to pull of it I doubt it was treated that well. I personally dn't really care since it has the extended warranty and there is no way I am going to keep the car past 75k miles.

I don't know if I believe in the break in period that much; If I ever by a brand new car I may change my mind... but if I buy a car that has been test driven a few times I am sure its already been beat up a little.

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

I could show you tons of interent sources about individuals who break in engines and what they persoanly recommend. Its more common in the motorcycle world. My opinions are based off of that and also real world experience breaking in race motorcycle engines and my own. But you could easily say "well all this is just opinion i want to see a nissan rep say it" well no one is going ot say that.

To answer you q about nissan and 1200 miles. If there are large imperfections in your engine they will be most fragile in that first 1200 miles when they are rubbing on eachother. If you treat the engine nicely (only under 4k) odd are they will wear eachother down and the engine will be ok with problems farther down the road. If you drive it hard it gives the engine an increased change of developing defects right away hence costing nissan money and saving you from having a trash engine at 70-80k maybe sooner.

As far as oil reduction and your claim everyone has it. I redline my car atleast 15 times a week while driving (not to the revlimiter i think you know what i mean when i say redline). I take my car out for very spirited driving twice a week as well as its my daily driver and my oil hasnt reduced at all. Not one bit. Your claim about oil reduction is completely wrong. While im sure there is a minute amount of oil that is being consumed oil consumption in an engine is a sign of something wrong ALWAYS.

You get more power from having complete/best amount of compression out of your engine. How do you do this? By having the best possible seat of your rings. How do you know you have this? By having no oil consumption or you can go get a compression test at a good mech shop. While power output does vary from engine to engine the breakin also yeilds much different power outputs as well. I would say it has a possible swing of 10rwhp from engine to engine but you maximize your chances of more power by breaking it in my way imo. Ofcourse i cant give you undeniable proof, no one can bc of variances/cost/time. Otherwise you and i wouldnt be discussing this


Also im doing this bc it helps other people and if im wrong someone will come up and own me. Ive been breaking in engines this way for 8 years. Ive maintained contact with 2 of the cars and 1 bike. My 1997 integra has 130k with no engine problems ever. 01 SVT cobra has 70k no ongine problems despite the rest of the car falling apart. 2 2002 R1's one with 30k one with 60k no problems on each. But ofcourse this is just interent talk to take it with a grain of salt. If you lived in austin id show you lol.

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

true true. I hate getting a car with 200 miles from the dealer. All that cold start up ripping of the engine ugh

vegaspimp

This subject is tired as hell!!

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

lol its one of the most important subjects you could ever talk about relating to your car. It is tired but very important.