flyz33

Alright I am getting my z car tommorrow(very very excited but not important) and I really, really need to know the best way to break the car in. I've searched and seen a great variance in opinons with no clear answer. Just BS!!! So not only for me, but for everyone; please experts what is the best way!? I've read you should go by the book (no hard driving until after 1,200); and others say redline after a few hundred miles to set piston rings or your car will be slow and weaker if you baby it. From dynos i've seen no clear answer. But other factors on the dyno can play in so its not an exact science. Also what about oil types and other recommendations.

-Thanks,

begginer sports car enthusiast


BTW- I've posted this in general because its very important and everyone needs to know this for sure!

Omega350Z

It IS all BS. Just follow the general recomendation for ALL vehicles.

Set 1200 as your "break the seal" point, but dont baby your car after about 400 miles.

Just remember not to break 4000 rpms before your engine is warmed up and only do it sparingly. (its winter here and mine gets warm just making it out of my subdivision...)

Hitting redline is never a good idea on a new engine but they would not build a car that could be damaged by driving it in such manner.

Making sure the seals seat properly is the main goal of break in driving. But how can you expect the seals to seat properly at high RPM if your not going to push your car to that place once in a while during your break in?

bhobson333

I have been actively involved in the breakin threads for almost 6 months and there is no absolute answer, just opinions. That said, Omega350Z's post above is an extremely clear, concise statement of what I have come to believe is the truth.

flyz33

omega- well said, that is a very good opinion or mabey fact

flyz33

I wish somebody could prove to me and everyone else using the dyno charts of two or more different cars

A to the Z

Hey Fly,
I am pickin up my 350Z tommorrow as well! What color are you gettin?

bhobson333

Well, that may happen in my case, but not by the time you get your car.

Flyingscot & I live in the same town. We both have Tracks. He pretty much followed the user's guide breakin procedure, I have deliberately followed the "drive it from day one the way you intend to drive it forever" method. At 1400 miles, I have never felt the rev limiter, and I have been careful about making sure it's warmed up & not shocking it, but I had it to 6000 RPM before it had 100 miles on it and I make sure I rev it up good every time I drive it.

Some time this spring we intend to dyno both cars at the same place on the same day. That should give us a good idea if there was any difference due to breakin procedure, but then again it may not. He may not do the same mods I do, and then there is the old truism about whether the car is a Wednesday car or a Friday car. There is also a reasonable possibility that any difference might not be obvious until we're approaching 100,000 miles.

So you see, it is unreasonable for you to expect to ever get the scientific proof that you want. The only way you could ever be sure is to take two cars off the assembly line together and treat them exactly the same except for breakin for their entire lives. That's why there is no "truth" and it all seems like BS. You just have to make your own choice and hope for the best.

bhobson333

But a lot of people will tell you that if you break a car in too gently, although you may improve longterm durability you will have a slower car.

flyz33

A to the Z- cool man my is a lemans sunset, saw it on saturday and the dealership is preping it for my purchase on monday, its quite a brillant color.

well I think i'm just gonna take it easy for the 500 miles then make sure to rev the engine at least few times, I sure it won't hurt anything.

anyways, what the hell is dino oil? I know what synthetic is, I thought from the factory it is synthetic.

bhobson333

Dino (as in dinosaur) is what a lot of people call normal refined-from-petroleum oil. It's also called "mineral" oil. I have never heard it said absolutely officially for sure, but since Nissan officially recommends mineral oil, I very seriously doubt they put in synth at the factory.

adamx

i've read the threads and studied the manual. It's obvious that 90 percent of what's been written on this site about break in is pure, unadulterated superstition.

The funniest stuff is the ridiculous belief that if you drive the car gently early on it will hurt performance later. Come on! That's an urban legend, plain and simple. How can taking it easy ever hurt performance later? How would that work, scientifically?

And the stuff about "shocking" the engine is equally comical. This isn't a living organism people, it's a machine.

And changing the oil at 500 miles? What's the benefit there? The manufacturer doesn't see any.

I plan to roughly follow the manual guidelines, but I'm not concerned if I happen to rev it a little. These modern engines are amazing machines. They're durable, powerful and efficient.

bhobson333

Have you read this thread?

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....&threadid=3120

flyz33

bhobson333- I myself have read that thread and that is what is confusing me so bad, but like I said i think I'm going with after 500 miles redline the dawg, what's the worst that can happen? I do have a warranty, so no worries!

ALSO! I'm getting the base model because It was so cheap and now I can mod the hell out of my car to my liking. I've read somewhere on this site that even though LSD are great they rob a about 10-15 hp to the rearwheels (it was on a dyno thread). Is this true or more BS? because I wan't to go aftermarket for a LSD because I'm sure they are important for traction

(I'm still young and learning the sport car world!)

flyz33

My grandfather used to say " grandson, in life believe none of what you hear and 1/2 of what you see" because of all the lies and ignorance in the world. Pretty wise if you ask me. anyways I got school tom. so I'm going to bed for tonight; but feel free to reply to this interesting thread.

bhobson333

I was still debating how I was going to break it in when I went to pick it up. I was back in the shop watching them do the PDI & was chatting with one of the mechanics about it. He told me they build the cars to take being driven hard from the beginning and he said "If it can't take it, it's got to go! ". Then he reminded me of my powertrain warranty.

Sorry, I can't answer your question about the LSD, I don't know.

Wicked4u2c

iTrader: (6)

OH LORD!! I wasn't going to post because I hate arguing this subject from the 1000 views of different people instead of common sense. But after reading this post I decided to back it up 100% Finally some intelligence involved great POST!! ::THUMBS UP::

The motor is mechanically, the minute it is fired up for the first time the pistons/rings and all components seat. I have worked with engine builders for years, and we all believe in the same thing. A motor isn't any different from 10 miles -10,000 miles. The process (mechanically) is still the same. The pistons rings at start (first time) will fill with oil and continue this process for its rest of the engine life. Do race cars "break in" the motors?? NO!!! In fact, Race engines isn't any different than a production motor (mechanically wise). A Race car is abused the minute it starts. The only thing you have to do is warm the car up before driving it hard.. This is so the oil gets thick enough to protect the pistons due to cold (thinner oil). I think this is what he meant about shocking... It wouldn't hurt to do an oil change at 500miles as you will see you will have debri (metal). So that's not an issue. But I have more stories about break in motors... Every car is different, no car is the same. You can conduct test etc.. the outcome is all the same. I don't drive my car like an idiot, but I did drive the car in its early stages like I would any day... enough said...

Old Skooler

Think you got it backwards there, chief.

jooklum99

I have about 4300 miles on my Z now. I followed the break-in almost religiously. (I could not resist the temptation to go to about 5000 one or twice.) No ill effects and no dyno yet. (Don't really care about the results as the car is plenty fast enough for me.) Basically, for the first 1200 miles the car was babied.

Did any of you who did the same notice what I did? After about 3000 miles the car just SEEMED to get faster. What I mean is that I noticed better acceleration after about 3000 miles. I assume it was the ECU learning the way that I would really drive the car.

I have noticed that the car has driven differently at 4 different points. First was the 300 mile point (the dealer put 87 octane in the first tank). Second was the 500 mile point, better accel. and smoother shifts. Then was 1200 miles, the end of the break-in and then another change at 3000 miles. The gas has always been Chevron 93 octane.

Tying this in to some semblance of a "point", the break-in may have as much to do with the intelligent ECU as the engine's internal parts.