Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - How strict did you adhere to the 1,200 mile break in period??

shabarivas · 01-29-2010, 07:28 PM

This is getting way the hell out of hand... there are a 1000 threads which say its ok to drive it like you want and another 1000 threads which say you have to follow it to the letter... and another 1000 that say you do a little of both. Well fact of the matter is- there are obviously enough people who do all variations of break ins and if their cars were breaking - we would know about it. Its safe to assume that these engines are run to get rid of the metal particles / seal the piston rings in the factory. Honestly - my cars drive just fine and I redlined it out of the dealer.

Here is what I did for my break in:

1. Got the car from dealer w/ 5-8 miles on it(dont remember which)
2. Did one redline right out the dealer lot (2nd gear pull to 60)
3. Drove it between 2k and 5k for the most part with the RPMs never sitting idle for more than a second - that means you are always gassing or engine braking
4. Never drove the car for more than 20 mins at a time... if i had to i pull over for 30 mins to let her cool off...
5. Took it to 6k two three times a drive (20 min session) and redlined it once...
6. Once I passed 300 miles - I stopped doing all this and drove it like i wanted to...

Also - whats almost more important when breaking in your car - is to be diligent about the oil changes... I changed my oil at the following intervals:

1. Came home from dealer had 40 miles on it - oil change # 1
2. hit 500 miles - done with my first set of oil - oil change # 2 (the oil here had soooo much metal crap in it - it was not even funny)
3. 2500 miles - change # 3 - almost no metal in oil - oil looked much blacker than when i added it lol
4. 5000 miles - change # 4 - oil looking a lot more normal
5. 7000 miles - change # 5 - normal
6. 9000 miles - change # 6 - normal
7. 10500 miles - about to do #7...

yes i use ester oil ... yes its expensive... yes i know i dont have to change my oil that often... but with that said- i flog my car almost always - its driven real hard all the time so i figure i can pay her back by making sure the oil in the engine is as good as it can be... new oil never hurt anything... its just the old oil that kills engines...

Please people - enjoy your cars... dont be spending so much time thinking about why nissan might have put that break in procedure in the manual lol..

01-29-2010, 07:28 PM	#54 (permalink)
shabarivas A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,188 Drives: 370z MB 6mt Rep Power: 914	This is getting way the hell out of hand... there are a 1000 threads which say its ok to drive it like you want and another 1000 threads which say you have to follow it to the letter... and another 1000 that say you do a little of both. Well fact of the matter is- there are obviously enough people who do all variations of break ins and if their cars were breaking - we would know about it. Its safe to assume that these engines are run to get rid of the metal particles / seal the piston rings in the factory. Honestly - my cars drive just fine and I redlined it out of the dealer. Here is what I did for my break in: 1. Got the car from dealer w/ 5-8 miles on it(dont remember which) 2. Did one redline right out the dealer lot (2nd gear pull to 60) 3. Drove it between 2k and 5k for the most part with the RPMs never sitting idle for more than a second - that means you are always gassing or engine braking 4. Never drove the car for more than 20 mins at a time... if i had to i pull over for 30 mins to let her cool off... 5. Took it to 6k two three times a drive (20 min session) and redlined it once... 6. Once I passed 300 miles - I stopped doing all this and drove it like i wanted to... Also - whats almost more important when breaking in your car - is to be diligent about the oil changes... I changed my oil at the following intervals: 1. Came home from dealer had 40 miles on it - oil change # 1 2. hit 500 miles - done with my first set of oil - oil change # 2 (the oil here had soooo much metal crap in it - it was not even funny) 3. 2500 miles - change # 3 - almost no metal in oil - oil looked much blacker than when i added it lol 4. 5000 miles - change # 4 - oil looking a lot more normal 5. 7000 miles - change # 5 - normal 6. 9000 miles - change # 6 - normal 7. 10500 miles - about to do #7... yes i use ester oil ... yes its expensive... yes i know i dont have to change my oil that often... but with that said- i flog my car almost always - its driven real hard all the time so i figure i can pay her back by making sure the oil in the engine is as good as it can be... new oil never hurt anything... its just the old oil that kills engines... Please people - enjoy your cars... dont be spending so much time thinking about why nissan might have put that break in procedure in the manual lol..