Any concerns driving brand new 86 400 freeway miles home?
 

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post. I'm about to buy an 86 MT from a dealer near San Diego and will have to drive it home to San Francisco. It will mainly be up I-5, but will be in constant speed most of the way up not being able to vary it very much on the freeway.

Am I going to ruin the car by not properly breaking it in? Or are they broken in from the factory and I can just drive it right from the dealership but gently for the first 600 miles even though mainly freeway?

Or should I just transport it home but with added cost which will negate the savings for the reason of buy it from San Diego?

I think you'll be fine, just try to not to keep it at the same RPM constantly, slowly accelerate and slow down. Change oil after 1-2k miles.

Just drive home. You will be fine.

Don't use cruise control during break-in so you can vary your speed/rpm, and try to keep it under 4000rpm for the first 1000 miles like the manual says. Always let your oil get to temp (10-15 mins of regular driving) before any spirited driving both during your break-in and after.

Oil-change after break-in is up to you. I did, but many don't because it isn't called out in the manual and it costs money.

I did a 900km highway trip during my break-in period, and now at 27000km no issues and basically no oil consumption.

Most important of all... ENJOY YOUR AWESOME NEW CAR!

CONGRATULATIONS, TooSlow, on your purchase and WELCOME to our forum …..:clap:

The car will be OK, like others have said, just vary the RPM's on your trip north.


I might suggest you jump over to the coast route for part of your trip …… the tourist traffic should cause you to vary your speed ….. ;)


humfrz

Put a piece of tape or something over the cruise control to remind yourself not to use it. The engine needs the RPM varied during break in. Street driving is best, but highway driving won't hurt it if you don't settle into a constant speed. Personally, I'd take the back roads if possible.

A couple of days after I took delivery of mine in New Orleans, I had to take it on a business trip. I was excited to drive it, so I threw my clothes in a bag, grabbed my laptop bag, jumped in the car and took the Louisiana back roads just to avoid the highway and the temptation to cruise.

About 2 PM I rolled into Natchitoches, checked into my hotel, reached into my laptop bag and suddenly realized that in my excitement to drive the car, I had left my laptop sitting on my desk back in my apartment in New Orleans. I couldn't work without my laptop, so I had to go back and get it. All totaled, I was on the road almost 13 hours that day.

Added to the couple of hundred miles I had already put on the car the day I got it, I passed the 1000 mile break-in limit a few days later on the way back home.

Take all the crossover off ramps along the way. Or at least a few of them.
Takes a little longer, but will exercise the rpm range without freaking other drivers on the main line.

Well, that's one way of getting more driving time in ….. :D


humfrz

The first thing I did with my car was go on a 2700 mile road trip. You'll be fine.

Hi Humfrz. I remember you from the Miata forum!! I sold my NC PRHT a few years ago and my wife didn't like how limited the passenger side room was in the ND (not to mention no glove box). At least she agreed to let me get an 86!

Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies! I feel better that I will be able to drive it back home instead of transporting it and not worry about hurting the car.

Yeah, just vary your speed from time to time. Don't go exactly 80mph for 15+ mins at a time.

What if I tell you I rev mine from the first few kms but with not much load?
I had to travel 600kms back to home thus it should be ready before my trip and decided to give it a smooth rev up to 6500-7000rpms repeatedly in three different sessions of 15-20 min in peripheral roads.
Unfortunately during my trip I used cruise control for small periods but I gave it again a heavy load in mountain roads until the oil reached 115-118C where I relaxed for cooling.
I changed the oil at 900kms with Redline 5W30 and since then I drive it normally, break in period finished at 100-150kms at least for me!

I do that in a year!!

It only took me three weeks!

Why does it matter?

I drove my brand new BRZ 1000 miles home in the first 24 hours.

Good move to the 86 …… :thumbsup:

I think your wife will find that the 86 gives her a bit more cabin room. It has a glovebox, a back seat to toss stuff, more shoulder/elbow room and NO transmission hump.

Another plus is that the seats will recline further back, for napping. The coupe style (quieter) makes conversation/ listening to music easier.

The trunk is a tad larger ……. and contains a spare tire (for her piece of mind).

As for you, after break-in, I think you will find that the 86 handles as good (some say better) than the miata.

I have found that it's just as dependable and economical as the miata (as long as you don't mess with the engine too much).

The downside: …….. the top won't go down ……. :cry:

PS - stay waaaaaay back from parking stops ….. :)


humfrz

Take Rt 1 (PCH) instead. It's a MUCH nicer ride and there's no way you'll be able to run a steady rpm for more than a few minutes at a time the whole way. It may be tough to make it in one day though.

This time of year I do that every 3 weeks or so.

So you are the humfrz from the Miata forums. Cool Beans.

I think I saw humfrz on the Gremlin forum back in 1972!!!!....sorry, that might have been Tcoat....

Yep, the same humfrz….. :D

I've got to move around from time to time …… so as they don't catch up with me …… :happyanim:


humfrz

Yep, that was @Tcoat …….. he was quite the show off back in his day …… :D


humfrz

Just make sure you have insurance before you leave the dealership.

#totalled



In all seriousness, you'll be fine. As has already been said, vary RPMs, stay under 4k (but don't panic if you do crest that momentarily by accident), and an early-ish oil change is cheap insurance. Enjoy the trip! When I bought mine, it was used w/ 23k on it and already "broke in," but I hopped in it and drove several hundred miles home. A thrilling trip.

That is almost exactly what I did. I found the one I wanted in LA, and asked my wife if she wanted to fly for the weekend and make a road trip back :) it’s been 5 years and I’ve had no problems. I just keeps the rpms low. One thing that freaked me out was the bumpy freeways that made the car vibrate. I didn’t know if it was the car or the road!

See...…. road trips with the wife are a good thing…… ;)


humfrz

Hey Mike good to see you around!

Yeah, I’m still here, just mostly lurking :) it would be fun to go on a drive again one of these days. :burnrubber: