I just got my 350Z and I only have about 60 miles on it. Ive been pretty good with the break-in period so far and haven't driven it too harshly and kept it under 3,000 rpm. However, Im still somewhat of a newbie manual driver and I...

1) Stalled at least 10 times

2) Grinded the gears once.....I dont know what i did...but it didnt sound tooo bad...

3) Ride the clutch alot in 1st and when reversing

I really dont stall much anymore, but I'm afraid that those first few days driving my car may have screwed sumthing up. Did I negate the whole point of the break-in period?

 

If that is all you did you should be fine. All that sounds very minor or nothing at all to me. Gears and clutches can take a lot of wear and tear. Stalling an engine is also OK. Don’t worry.

 

Well, except that your gear box is about to fall out, no problem!!



Just "funnin" ya! I don't think you did any damage. My son learned on my Zzzz and did much of what you mentioned and I have seen no sign of an issue.

 

What about red-lining? I got kinda squirly in my Z and red-lined it. It felt like it jerked/stalled or something. It still runs normal...I think.

 

This is my opinion but I think that a few redlines in the first 1400 mi will not damage the engine. You just don’t want to dog the engine in the first few 1000 miles. Let the engine break in. After redline the engine has a fuel cutoff and your engine is going to stall. This is a safety feature on the Z as well as most new cars.

 

you may wear out the clutch a bit, in reverse the idle reverse speed is faster than I would ever want to go... meaning I more or less never have the reverse gear fully engaged. I typicly get it going and then let it coast out to where I want to be.

 

Great idea I will post a general thread with that great idea.

 

That "jerk/stall" is the rev-limiter cutting in. It's normal. You shouldn't do it on a regular basis, but it does that on purpose.

As far as the break-in period, from what I understand it is to accomplish one thing: to seat the cylinder seals properly with the cylinders. None of the things you did should affect that, so you should be fine.

 

hmmm...and also, during your break-in period, what rpm do you guys usually stay under? My friend told me 3,000 and I've been pretty good at keeping that...just went to 3.5 once but can i go higher? Thanks for the helpful comments.

 

Read the manual.

 

(HINT: The manual says to stay below 4K)

Some of us couldn't resist a little excursion to higher RPM ranges, though.

-D'oh!

 

Fortunately, my dealer was competent enough to specifically tell me what RPMs to stay under, and for how long, so I wouldn't be able to miss it. But yes it is also in the manual.

 

you'll be fine dude, just remember to turn off VDC when racing (if you have it)
Also, be prepared to buy a new clutch in 2 years ($600).
I have a G35 and I was told that the clutch has a 12month/12,000 mile warranty