Hi all,
I have noticed a few people on the board talking about how they want to carefully control the first xxxx miles put on the Z. I was wondering if someone or multiple someone could offer their advice on the best way to "break in" our Zs and reasoning behind the recommendations?

Thanks,
MBEGuy

 

I am a firm believer in doing what it says to do in the manual. The manufacturer should have access to the correct information and they have no reason to mislead you. This is not true of any other source, which may be misguided, not applicable to your exact vehicle, or just plain wrong.

The only problem with this seemingly sound advice is that owners manuals often have vague guidelines such as "avoid full-throttle starts" and "keep below xxx miles per hour" (what does road speed have to do with anything? RPM is more relevant.) But that, coupled with common sense, and other advice that can't hurt (e.g. avoid keeping the engine at a constant RPM for long periods of time) is a good guideline.

 

The altima manual states you should give the engine 1000 miles of no redline driving. no quick shots off the line. no hard driving. no constant driving at one particular speed. slow driving.

 

Advice like "slow driving" is exactly what I mean by vague guidelines. How slow? Talk about a subjective term; trust me, what I call "slow driving" and what others call slow driving are two very different things.

So we have the dilemna: Follow the manual, but the manual doesn't really tell you specific information other than "take it easy for the first 1,000 miles". Oh well, we'll have to let common sense be our guide (which means some cars will be broken very differently from others). The good news is, it probably doesn't matter very much.

 

So.. basically for 1000 miles... drive like your grandma...

 

From the 2002 Nissan Altima Manual

During the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km), follow these recommendations for the future reliability and economy of your new vehicle.

* Avoid driving for long periods at constant speed, either fast or slow.

* Do not accerlerate at full throttle in any gear.

* Avoid quick starts

* Avoid hard braking as much as possible.

* Do not tow a trailer for the first 500 miles (800 km).


So to summarize... don't do the things that you are really gonna wanna do during the first 1000 miles!! lol.

 

It seems to me that the following would be sufficiant:

For the 1st 1000 miles keep the car under 70 MPH, and the engine speed (RPM's) below 4000, don't slam on the brakes, and varry your speed as much as possible. Don't accelerate to hard, and avoid WOT. This seems safe to me, it seems like a good way to break in the engine, clutch/tranny, and the brakes.... Man, it will be a tough 1000 miles.

 

I'm going to do 550 of it just to get my car back home. I'm driving from Baltimore, MD to Greenville, SC. I'm gonna try to vary speed and of course no WOT. That get's half of the break-in.

ZISME.....can you tell us what the manual says exactly for breakin.

 

On that 1000 mile marker hits, I'm going to stop my car, wait for traffic to clear, yeah, you get the idea.

 

i am going to follow the manual to an extent, i will vary rpm's, but i would floor it for at least 800 miles, a good friend of mine is a nissan machanic i'll have to see what he says.

 

VQRacer-

Damn that Fogo de Chao is good, huh? That sounds like a good break-in to me. Since I'm already in Dallas, I'm planning on driving to Ft. Worth for dinner everynight, which is about 25-30 miles away. Should be broken in in about a week. Maybe I'll drive up to OK on the weekend

 

Get real folks. How in the world are you going to , After waiting for so long, reading about performance, dreaming about the things this sports car can do, HOw in the world are you going to restrain yourself?????/

I want my car to last and am planning on following the manual's suggestions to the tee, but this maybe a case of another organ not listening to my brain?

 

Damn I am not looking forward to this... That's like 3 fill ups right? hmmm....

 

It will just make mile # 1,001 that much sweeter

 

I have never had a car longer than 3 years anyway so I'll be having fun after about 250miles.

 

I would love to make the round trip to Philly and while I'm there make sure I indulge in some of that fine Philly cuisine....Brad knows what I'm talking about..........

 

Here is someone who has a slightly different view on breaking in an engine. The article is about motorcycle engines. I certainly wouldn't do it my self, but maybe one of you guys who can't hold back for 1000+ miles should try it out, and let us know how it all works out for you.

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

 

He bases his theory on this assumption:

"The rough crosshatch pattern in the cylinder bore acts like a file to allow the rings to wear. The rings quickly "use up" the roughness, regardless of how hard the engine is run.
There's a very small window of opportunity to get the rings to seal really well ... only about 20 miles !!"

He claims this applies to cars and cycles alike. Just about every other break-in schedule is the opposite of his recommendation.
Is his assumption correct? I've never heard of this before. Could it be true?

 

Yes, from my father.


Enforcer