Break in Y/N ?
 

Hey guys,
Going to be getting a FRS in a couple weeks and always was curious about the break in. Is it necessary? I've done some research and there is a lot of mixed things being said about it. Some say do it for the first 1k, some say 3k. Some say dont rev past 3k RPM and some say make sure u rev up to 6-7k RPM's here and there during break in. And some say that a break in is not even required because of the fact that all new cars have their engines broken in at the factory. Wanted to get some good feedback as i would like to take care of my car and make sure it's being treated right! thanks guys!

Break-in's are a controversial topic. Some say new vehicles come broken in but most user manuals will still encourage you to vary RPMs and keep under 4k.

But by no means baby the car or you may have ring seal problems later on.

I would probably drive normally but keeping it under 4k and not keep rpms constant for the first 1000Miles/1600Kms

yea, i heard a lot of mixed things as well.

I just assumed its safe to follow the people who made the car and wrote in the manual to follow the break in procedure.

in the factory they run the engines and make sure they are running well. they will drive it around in like a test run lane make sure everything is working fine..

when you have a new car freshly built the engine will need time to break in and let the seals set and the internals wear right due to the engine is now having to push more load internal tranny/rear diff/the load of the car due to day to day driving...plus they full tank your car. kind of wish they didnt do that to mine i wanted half tank to keep the load light as possible..

its like buying a new baseball gloves they work better once its been broken in..

a good break in will make a engine very happy and last a very long time..

my break in was 1500k then i flushed the oils to make sure i get all that break in gunk out.. then i was having fun :burnrubber: its better to be safe then sorry your engine is not running well.. dont go bananas when you get your car the first day.. i know its tempting but treat her right she will reward you with a good strong running engine.

its similar to a rc nitro car.. i use to race them.. didnt do my break in and the engine didnt last and blew up on me :(:bonk:

This was most likely what i was probably going to do, just wanted some more solid info on the subject from other FRS owners themselves. :D

what does the manual say, if you know?

yeah, i did the same with rc nitro car as well, just i wanted some feedback on an actual car and on my car that i want to care a lot about, how did u drive ur car exactly, if you dont mind me asking? :thanks:

i shift under 2/3.. also very easy on the clutch as that needs to break in also..when going into the freeway i get close to 4k rpm... also after i warm up the car i do a little puff puff and rev it to like 1/2/3k.. started to engine break around 800/1000k not all the time once in a while

I'll need to refer to the manual for the exact wording.
But it says to stay under 4k for the first 1000 miles.
and dont keep long constant RPMs for the first 1000 miles too

Manual says pretty much the same thing. Vary RPMs and keep it under 4K except for emergencies. I had a 'few' emergencies as I drove it more. Best to just vary types of driving and RPMs throughout the period. Include some highway travel and don't be afraid to wind it out a few times every now and then. 'Emergencies', you know?

I'm a big believer in doing a little bit of everything for break-in. Only makes sense because that's how you'll be driving in the future. I also don't change my oil too soon. Many dump theirs at 1K but with synthetics and modern oil filters I believe that's too soon. If a change was needed, it would state it in the owner's manual and it doesn't. I believe the initial-fill oil has different additives to help with break-in so you want to keep it in there to at least somewhere between the 'normal' and 'severe' intervals given in the manual. After that you can change it as often as you want, it's your money.

I know many will dispute that but some high-end manufacturers actually warn against changing the initial fill too early.

And the bottom line in my opinion is that no matter what you do, you will probably do no real damage. Despite what some think, modern automobile components are very robust today and can take a licking and keep on ticking. If they weren't, you'd see new cars broken down on the side of the road everywhere. I continue to drive the same as I have for the last 50+ years, have driven over a million miles in that time and have never had a problem aside from a manufacturer's own defects. And you can't help those, they happen occasionally. Not everything is always perfectly made. That's why you have a warranty.

Enjoy your car and don't be too neurotic about it. It's a LOT more fun that way!

Take it to redline as you pull out of the lot. My car seems to be working brilliantly so far.

I always figured that the people writing the owners manual knew more about the subject than I did so I followed their recommendations.

It's my understanding that it's not just for the engine, all the systems need to break in. I'm sticking to what the manual says, that's its job.

For the first 497 miles I drove it softly, but the last 150 miles or so I've been getting the rpm's up in the 4500-7000 range and really giving her some gas. I know I should've waited another 500 miles or so but I have plans to change the engines internals after this summer driving season, so I wasn't gonna p***y foot around town this whole time..

The car is just screaming to be drivin hard :-)

I hit the rev limiter on the test drive. 2000 miles now, trouble free.


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break it in how u will drive it, but i don't recomend redlining it all day during that time tho

I'm just driving it normally, like I'd drive my old beater corolla. Not handling it with kid gloves, and not being aggressive with it. The only real difference from my normal driving is varying my speed/rpm's.

I put the rev beep thing at 3900. Figured better safe than sorry, and better to have an outside source keep an eye on me.

I've heard that using engine braking a good deal during break-in is a good way to help the rings seat really well. Hopefully so, I went kinda easy on mine during break-in but did engine brake a lot.

I didn't drive mine as hard during break in as I do now, but I did break 4k just about every day driving it.

For maximum HP listen to Joe Blow on the internet and drive it like you stole it from the get go. Or do what the owners manual says and take it easy for the first 1,000 miles, but what do they know, they only made the car.

Here is what I did to break my car in:
1. Do not hold the engine at constant RPM's
2. Try to avoid WOT acceleration for the first few 100km's/miles
3. If it's a manual be easy on the clutch for the first few 100km's/miles
4. Take it gently up to 7000rpm or so then engine brake back down to around 4000rpm
5. After taking it above 4000rpm drive below 4000rpm for a while before reving it high again.
6. Avoid rush hour traffic if you can.

for the first 500 miles i didnt go past 4k. every 100 miles after that i went up 1k in rpm. As soon as i hit around 7-800 miles i started driving it like how it's meant to be driven. In 1 month i put about 2600 miles on it since i got it on june 7th.

The most interesting thing I read about break-in suggested that go full throttle on the engine for a few seconds before the first 50 miles, something about the throttle pressure helping to seat the valves..... but, you need to do this without getting the rev's over 4,000 rpm. The solution I came up with was to put the car in third gear at around 1,600 rpms and then go full throttle. Since the engine has almost no power at that RPM it will take a while before you hit 4,000.

Read the manual and follow what it says. They don't spend money to have someone write it and then print it for shits and giggles.

Just very the RPM's nothing constant for about 600 miles, then go crazy!!:happyanim:

HA! "Emergencies", i like it.:happy0180:

as much i would really love to do this, i dont want to take any chances. :D

Very true, i just wanted to see from actual experience from people with the same car how there car is doing.

It surely is!:happyanim:


yeah, i know im already gonna love this feature. :O


This makes perfect sense to me. :burnrubber:

thanks everyone for all the feedback! appreciate it all.

Nice username ;) hehe

Followed manual, 11k miles and 7 months later no problems, not even chirps.

If i remember right, the manual says break in period is the first 1,000 miles. Says do not keep the revs consistent but to keep them moving, so basically a lot of city driving. do not exceed 4K RPM until after the first 1,000 miles. I don't believe the manual says anything about an oil change at 1,000 miles, but i did one anyway.

This is exactly what i did for my car, I've had it for a year and 1 month today, with approx. 16,550 miles on it. I have had no issues other than condensation in the taillights, and the normal cricket noise every so often.

Hope this helps! :happy0180:

I am currently at 700ish miles on my FRS. So far I have followed the owners man keep shifts under 4k. I have jumped on it a few times "emergencies" :thumbup: no issues. And if you want to follow the owner man then you can set a shift light and beep to keep you under or at 4k for your shifts. Have fun :party0030:

Break-in procedures are pretty controversial topics so many people have there own ideas as to what is best for the engine. But the general consensus for the FRS/BRZ is what the manual says, don't go past 4000 RPM for the first 1000 miles but don't baby it through it either otherwise some things won't wear in. Also alot of people said to change the oil a bit early at the 1000 mile mark because there are metal shavings floating around in the oil pan after the break in which is normal, then proceed to normal maintenance schedules.

Don't have my car yet but I have a quick questiom; how often should I be varying the RPMs on a 75 mile highway trip?

And whats "too long" to stay at one speed on that same trip?

i had the same question when i bought my car, so i would just go between 65-80mph on and off again lol.

And you have to do that for the first 1000 miles? Thats gonna be a pain, by the time break in is over crusie control is going to be a luxury to me lol.

Trust your gut, either follow the cars manual or the person trying to discredit the manual by saying something amazing like "that manual was written by lawyers... Trust this guy on the web he has pictures of pistons...."

I personally went with the manual.

no only for 500 miles. For every 100 miles i passed, I would rev it up 1k more rpm. So by 7-850miles I was shifting around 7k rpm.

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

20k not one issue other then the ECU swap.. Countless trackdays and autoX.. Both my gixxers ran in the same way, 84k on my race bike with not a problem, stock other then exhaust and AF with a power commander, the 2011 gixxer 750 has 24k not a issue with either.. Also the 03 600 put 112 to the wheel after 54k so I didn't have a issue running three engines in with the motune method

Yep after about 1600km the suspension broke in and felt much better, just set the shift light to 3800rpm and have fun