COJ_General

iTrader: (10)

Hey....just picked up the Z (finally!!!) and I've just been wondering how long people have waited before testing the full ability of the Z? As well, I've been told its a necessity, but what is the full purpose of this time period? Can it do damage to the car if you give it a little punch here and there???

ares

iTrader: (2)

the idea is to properly seat the piston rings. as well as possibly the valves and other parts.

some say this isnt needed with the accuracy of todays machining standards.

personally the owners manual says 1200 miles under 4000 RPM. I personally edged up to 5 and 6000 at 1000 and 1100

also sposed to do no full throttle at any RPM; and no long hauls at a single RPM.

oh and if you needed to know... no towing.

350zluvr

I waited till 2000 miles before I pushed it on purpose.

svienb

I took delivery last week of my roadster & I cant help but give it the odd twang, its impossible not to.
I spoke to the dealer & he said u dont need to run it in, its old skool thinking.
Anyone disagree

ares

iTrader: (2)

apparently the engineers of the car.

or so the car manual would say.

Z-Noob

picked mine up last week. opened it up a few times. I hope I'm not screwed down the road. like the previous person said. can't help it. good thing I got the 100k warranty

ares

iTrader: (2)

it wont cause it to break or anything.

it very well may not cause anything.

only possible damage is lost potential HP.

COJ_General

iTrader: (10)

Thanks for the feedback! I was getting worried that down the line I might get screwed...generally I've been keeping it under 4000 rpm, but as everyone said, you can't help but give it a little test once in a while!

samw1978

I waited till 2000km here
Then started raising the rev, 4000~5000~6000~redline progressively during the week

Sharp

Well . I am waiting the 2000km out. And, it is killing me! But I'll be strong...

Chris S27

It's definitely adviseable to wait the specified break-in period. They don't set these guidelines for nothing. And dealers say anything you want to hear....typically they don't know what's good for the car, from that respect.

Reggi914

iTrader: (3)

The break in period was very hard for me to do, i always wanted to redline it! But it did it and i am happy that i did.

WayneTN

......plus, if it breaks down earlier, it's just more business for them......

WayneTN

VQ35DES

Theres just so many opinions towards how to break in a car. Some say you should do full throttle runs and some say you shouldnt.

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

What I want to know is how the guys running high 13s did it..

RedShft

if you wanna get it broke in quick...take it on an interstate....put it in 4th gear....start at a low rpm (2-3K) then take it full throttle all the way up to redline. do this about 3 or 4 times with 10 minute cool down periods in between runs. its illegal as hell but it works. im not responsible for any speeding tickets or wrecks you may cause.

Setter32

This is deff an ongoing debate. But for what it's worth, many racers (motorcycles) have their bike broken in the hard way, on a dyno.

RedShft

when i worked at KT Engine Development....we always broke our new motors in on the dyno. warm up the motor, then take it up to about 3500 rpm or 4000 and let it sit there for about 10 mins w/ a load on it. then drop it back down to idle....take it up to 4000 slowly...let it sit there w/ a load on it for about 7 mins....drop it back down to idle. eventually we would slowly take it up to about redline and then drop it back down. within 30 mins our freshly built motors were broken in and making full throttle runs on the dyno. another shop i hang out at, Speed Innovations, take their new honda motors and break them in on the dyno....sometimes the street, right after they are built. all this waiting til 1000 miles is uneccessary.

topdown-z

Yea..........After spending 35,000 - 40,000 dollars on a Nissan Z and having everyone who looks at it loving it, I would redline it at every chance I had. I would burn out with it and run it in first gear as fast as it would go until it blew up.

OR.......................................

You could read the manual about the break-in period. But if you can't wait for 1,200 hundred miles, then blow the damn thing up and ask your parents to buy you something else....maybe a cardboard boxter??????????????

Jsn350Z

You guys think you have it or had it hard? I have to break in my second Z now! Arg!

ZXiMan

The manual is so vague about break-in. Even with todays more exacting build standards, a break-in period is needed. However, over the years and some 40+ new cars later, I can definately shed some light here. I guess it also helps that I build engines for a living and have a mechanical engineering degree :-P

In the beginning, I used to use the vague owners manual break-in. I'd baby the car and drive all different rpm, not exceeding 2500-3000 rpm for 1500 miles. I found over the long term, that ring life and the "power window" (the point where the car makes peak power) were severely limited. The average ring life on one of my cars was around 45,000 miles. I even put synthetic oil in at 3000 miles. That didn't help (probably actually hindered). Apon inspection, on every single car that was broken-in delicately, there were signs of bore glazing (uneven cross-hatch wear). The rings weren't seating well and there was more than usual amount of blow-by and lower than normal compression on several examples. This lead to dissapointing dyno numbers and the need for a re-ring at around 50,000 miles.

So after all those years and another 30+ cars that I've broken-in, I've found a system that works for me. I can't really go into great dept *WHY* this works as I could probably write a book about it, but as a case study my break-in has always provided a. 4-5 times greater mileage before a top end re-build is needed, b. more power on the dyno, and c. less mechanical problems over the life of the car. It doesn't matter what the make and model is (I've tried this on six 5.0L Fords, 1 300ZX-TT, 3 MR2 Turbos, 2 3000GT VR4s, 2 gen-3 RX-7s, 2 C5 Corvettes, LS1 WS6 Firebird, 2 Dodge Dakota R/Ts, 1 Subie WRX, 2 Dodge Ram 1500s, 1 Mercedes E500, 1 G35 Coupe 6MT and now a 350Z and many many others.

Here's a short version of my break-in technique....

1. Start engine, wait approximately 10-12 seconds before driving away. If it is less than 50 degrees air temp, wait 30 seconds.

2. Drive away slowly, shifting at or under 2500 rpm. Shift slowly and methodically. Be very easy with the throttle while the engine is warming up. use no more than 25-30% throttle. This is very important as this is where 95% of ENGINE wear occurs (at cold engine start up).

3. Once the engine is completely warm, you still need to be aware that other mechanical parts still haven't reached full warm up (transmission, rear end etc). I normally do not start my break-in routine until I've at least driven for 5-6 miles. It's best to use these procedures on the highway and best to do it late at night where there is little or no traffic. Vary your rpm range between 1800 and 2500 rpm in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th gear. Get up to speed and hold 1800 rpm for 30-45 seconds, then graduate up to 2000 rpm. Hold for 30-45 seconds, then increase to 2200 rpm for 30-45 seconds, then 2400 rpm etc etc. When you get to 2500 rpm, back down to 1900 rpm...hold for 30-45 seconds, 2100 rpm for 30-45 seconds, 2300 rpm etc etc etc. Do this for around 10-12 minutes.

4. After your 12 minutes of varying rpm, slow down to around 40 mph (be careful no one is behind you). put the transmission in 4th gear and hold rpm for roughly 5-6 seconds. SLOWLY depress throttle to the floor (abrupt flooring of the throttle is not good for your drivetrain). Hold full throttle all the way to 6000 rpm, then hold for 3-4 seconds and then SLOWLY ease off the throttle and allow the motor to decelerate back down to 40 mph. Repeat process 2-3 times. This procedure does two things. 1. Increases cylinder pressure and aids in ring seating and 2. increases oil pressure and aids in lubricating top cylinder areas that normally don't get much oil during normal driving.

5. Repeat varying of throttle technique for another 10-12 minutes and repeat #4.

6. Find a LONG stretch of road that you can use slower speeds and lower gears. Put car in 1st gear and vary throttle for 6-7 minutes as described above. NEVER use full throttle in 1st gear. However, once you move up to 2nd gear you will again vary the throttle. After doing this for 6-7 minutes in 2nd gear, ease down to around 2000 rpm and hold for 2-3 seconds. SLOWLY depress the throttle to the floor and hold to 6000 rpm. DO NOT hold rpm at 6000 rpm. Slowly let off the throttle and allow the motor to decelerate back down to the 1800-2000 rpm range. Repeat process 2-3 times. Do this in 2nd and 3rd gears respectively.

6. Get back on the highway. Repeat steps 3 & 4.



Some other important points to note:

1. Never floor the car from a dead stop

2. Never rev the engine with no load (especially when cold)

3. Never lug the engine (this is too much load and not enough rpm)

4. Never shift hard between gears

5. Always use a tender foot when getting and off the throttle

6. Don't use the air conditioner for the first 800 miles. You can use heat, just wait until the engine is warm. If you turn it on when the engine is really cold, it will take twice as long to warm the motor.


Once you've logged about 200 miles on the odometer, it is time to change the oil. Change the filter every time you change the oil with a good quality oil filter.

You will want to change your oil at 200 miles, 800 miles, 1500 miles and then again at 3000 miles. Change oil every 3000 miles after that (regardless of what the owners manual says). DO NOT use synthetic oil until you have logged 9000 miles (your 6th oil change). This allows even wear on all internal surfaces.

Change your transmission fluid at 3000 miles. Change your differential fluid at 6000 miles.

Important tips:

1. Try to avoid excessively hot or cold days for break-in. Both are hard on your new engine and drivetrain as far as wear is concerned.

2. Don't let your engine idle as much as possible. If you get caught at a train crossing, turn the engine off.

3. Avoid (like the plague) stop and go traffic. I'm lucky that I have other cars to drive during peak traffic times. I do all of my break-in late at night or on the weekends.

4. Avoid short trips (such as a grocery getting or errands). Break-in is the best time to take medium to long road trips. Keep in mind it will take more time getting where you need to go but the extra effort will pay off over the long haul (no pun intended!).


This is just a very short summerized version of how I break-in my cars. There are many more techniques that have proven to work over the years. Most of my cars have shown better than average dyno numbers and some are still running strong with over 150,000 miles on them, with not a single mechanical failure to date. If you follow this break-in procedure you will begin to notice a surge in power at around 1000 miles and again at 3000 miles.

If anyone has any specific questions, please feel free to PM me, drop me an e-mail or respond to this thread. Thanks

James
'04 Super Black Base 350Z