Owner's manual slight confusion about engine break in period...
 

hey guys, not sure if i should have started a new thread, but just wanted to see what us Aussies/NZ'ers have to say about breaking in the engine.

So what I have gathered so far from this forum and manual is

• Do not rev pass 4k RPMs
• Do not floor the car from idle (example - at traffic lights)
• vary the RPM and Speed (not staying on constant rpm/speed for long time)
• Do not use cruise control

Then some say go through all the range of gears and speeds, then there are some that say "DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!".

anyways...

So if i were to go through all the gears, does that mean i just keep it within the 4k RPM and at the same time gradually speed up, which will also leave me with less room to keep the needle under 4k.

Lastly, when slowing down, they say try not to use the brakes too much, instead try engine braking (slow down without using the brakes). Also some also say rev it pass 4k once in a while is good for the engine.



Now I'm all messed up on how to do this properly....

i'm noob on this. i try to follow the manual but man, it's not easy and barely making any sense to me. to me it sounds like "don't go hard out all the time, but going hard out is OK everyone once in a while" ?:iono::mad0259:

There are A LOT of opinions on break in. As far as your manual is concerned...

Basically they don't want you to beat on the car. Nothing terrible will happen if you take it over 4k, but they are suggesting you avoid it.

They also suggest avoiding anything drastic, hard acceleration, hard braking, ect. Also by varying your RPM's they are basically saying avoid really long highway stints with little in the way of gear changes and acceleration/deceleration. If someone bought the car brand new and took it on the highway, stuck it in 6th gear, and drove 1000 miles while rarely deviating from 65mph, that would certainly be sub optimal as you are spending a long time within a small rpm range.

Now, if you want to deviate from the manual, that's all on you. There are a thousand different opinions on how to break an engine in and many of them conflict with each other.

simple, just drive like your mum and you're good to go for the next 1600km lol

(also there is no restriction on throttle position i.e. 'you cant floor it' - as long as you keep engine speed under 4k ur golden)

I was also told by my sales guy that also bought an 86 that you should let the car warm up for 5 mins in idle before every drive. Seems a little extreme to me but he said some mumbo jumbo about spark plugs. Anyone heard anything similar, or is that in the manual?

I went on to ask him if thats just for the break in period and he said no, they recommend it for ever... :iono:

at cold start up, i always like the car idle drops back to the usual <1000rpm before driving off. the car would idle high for a while then blip the throttle itself and drops back to normal rpm.

:offtopic:

Hammy Sammy

Love your sign-off

"Secretly wants to kill you when you needlessly include the pictures when you quote"

Brilliant!

Having owned a number of new car previously, I always say that don't thrash the car, just drive it like you normally do and you should be fine.

Once in a while it's good to let loose on the engine. I've got the 370Z and it was real slow going until I hit nearly 3000k's on the clock - where things started loosening up a bit.

The car was ex sales manager and had about 1500k's on it when I took delivery so fingers crossed it wasn't thrashed.

Yep, I do the same. Natural warm up period. I also try to keep it <2.5k until it has reached full temperature on the oiltemp gauge

"simple, just drive like your mum and you're good to go for the next 1600km lol"
:lol:

:w00t:

i try to keep it under 3000rpm until oil is warm. 2500 is a little low and i need to press more throttle to get it going.

i'd know when the oil is warm when the gear shift becomes smooth. ;)

Some car really needs to be "heated up" before heading off, hence Nardi330's suggestion is particularly relevant.

My previous Accord Euro 2009 would be sluggish for ages until I really got going around a few block and even then the performance would still be up and down.

The 370Z however, the more you got going the better it is and it seems to break in a little better than the Accord.

So don't drive like a maniac, but don't drive like a granny either - and just enjoy the experience of your new 86!

I'd like to think the break in period is where you can push the car a bit and if there were any problems you'd best sort them out now rather than later.

Great tips guys! keep em' coming. Learn something new everyday. :D

Im at 550km on mine, engine break in is pretty much an over thought practice. Did you guys know our engines and oil are run for over 300km in the factory? Most engine builders will say that the piston rings are bedded in after about 20km of driving so we have surely missed that window.

IMHO the guide is more concerned with safety until the clutch and brakes are properly bedded and not so much the motor.

We have been warned by Toyota not to over rev the car at idle as it can foul the spark plugs and they're apparently a mongrel to change.