Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - The infamous "break-in" period.

BigD · 08-06-2009, 11:16 AM

Sorry guys but there is only one way to break-in your new car.
***Drive it from the beginning the way you intend to drive it later***
Meaning: If you want a quick car, wring its neck out (within reason) from day one.
Over the last 20 years, my brother-in-law and I have owned a total of 38 cars.
17 of those have been brand new and they include Mercs, Porsches, BMWs, Jags etc.
ALL of them had been broken-in the hard way and guess what?
NONE of them have developed any problems as a result of our breaking-in process.
The way we look at it is that if you break-in your car driving like an old woman, the car will drive later like an old woman and vice versa.
My new 370z has seen the redline every day it has been driven.
This includes a redline in the first 3 gears on the way out of the dealer's yard.
I have done 130mph and on the 29th Aug, I'm tracking it with our local Porsche Club.
Stop worrying and drive your cars the way they were intended to be driven. The "Z" was intended as a sports car, so drive it like a sports car.
I am not saying to put it in first gear and sit on a redline for 10 minutes. That would be a stupidity, but there is nothing wrong in putting your pedal to the metal and changing gears as the needle touches the redline.
If you still have doubts, read the car magazines, watch Top Gear and Fifth Gear etc etc.
Do you think the cars they test are fully broken-in in accordance with the user manual?
No chance.
They've been driven by the journos from day one and they've been hammered from day one!
Have you noticed that somehow the cars they test do better 0-60 and 1/4 mile then the times the owners get?
By now you should know the answer.

08-06-2009, 11:16 AM	#48 (permalink)
BigD Base Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 15 Drives: red 370z 7a Rep Power: 16	Sorry guys but there is only one way to break-in your new car. *Drive it from the beginning the way you intend to drive it later* Meaning: If you want a quick car, wring its neck out (within reason) from day one. Over the last 20 years, my brother-in-law and I have owned a total of 38 cars. 17 of those have been brand new and they include Mercs, Porsches, BMWs, Jags etc. ALL of them had been broken-in the hard way and guess what? NONE of them have developed any problems as a result of our breaking-in process. The way we look at it is that if you break-in your car driving like an old woman, the car will drive later like an old woman and vice versa. My new 370z has seen the redline every day it has been driven. This includes a redline in the first 3 gears on the way out of the dealer's yard. I have done 130mph and on the 29th Aug, I'm tracking it with our local Porsche Club. Stop worrying and drive your cars the way they were intended to be driven. The "Z" was intended as a sports car, so drive it like a sports car. I am not saying to put it in first gear and sit on a redline for 10 minutes. That would be a stupidity, but there is nothing wrong in putting your pedal to the metal and changing gears as the needle touches the redline. If you still have doubts, read the car magazines, watch Top Gear and Fifth Gear etc etc. Do you think the cars they test are fully broken-in in accordance with the user manual? No chance. They've been driven by the journos from day one and they've been hammered from day one! Have you noticed that somehow the cars they test do better 0-60 and 1/4 mile then the times the owners get? By now you should know the answer.