2012 370Z Oil Temp

ImportConvert

I am still following Nissan's 1200 mile <4,000rpm schedule. However, I have made observations.

The coolant light bar is always lit just 1 dot shy of having the middle dot illuminated.

The oil temp has reached a maximum temperature of 210*F in traffic (15 minutes in stop to 45mph traffic, after being heat-soaked and parked for 5 minutes prior to joining traffic).

After reaching temperature on the freeway in 60-65*F weather, the oil temperature will remain at 195-205*F. This includes sustained driving at 80-85 in 6th, easy roll-ons in 5th from 60-80 and then coasting back down again, as well as similar behavior when traffic was not present in lower gears. (I do this while breaking a car in to hit both faces of the gear teeth in the transmission and differential, as well as provide vacuum that will pull the rings against the cylinder walls in the engine.)

In the 400 miles I have had my 370Z, I have noted a marked reduction in drive-line noise using this break-in technique. Most of what you are doing is bedding brakes and polishing gear-faces, not "breaking the engine in". It's just easier to tell people not to get over "X rpm" and "don't take off hard or stop hard" than it is to explain the nuances of properly mating precision parts with designed tolerances at the 8th grade level that product manuals must be written at.

BigT

Break it in easy if you plan on driving it easy all the time. Break it in rough if you want to drive it rough.

ImportConvert

...and what do you base that on?

Please explain why you think this makes any sense.

When you get dozens (hundreds?) of moving parts that mesh together (modern car's drive-line), they have high and low spots on them. When you gently polish those parts down, the contact area increases greatly. They can then withstand greater shock, etc. because the contact patches are larger and the forces are transmitted more proportionately across the entire contact patch.

"Breaking it in rough" only means that you beat the **** out of it and those high/low spots may impact/mesh harder causing more deformity and material loss than is necessary, leading to a louder driveline, and other things that one doesn't necessarily find optimal.

Blogs written by some idiot a few years back have led to people doing this, but I owned a car that had a crate motor broken in by some old-school mechanic that thought like that. It used 1 quart of oil every 1200 miles (15-40, at that!).

Instead of this, why not look at how high-end cars are broken in at the factory, and how expensive engines for large machines are broken in. There is a definite "method" used, and it's not "be rough with it". Nissan included this break-in proceedure for a reason, and it's not to gain 1200 miles of "easy" driving so as to cut down on part replacement costs. It's so that they get less complaints about NVH, oil consumption, etc. during the next 2.9/34.8.

Gauge

I"m at 540 miles and I am just giving up this under 4k thing. If the car needs some work later on because of it, so be it. I like to go fast too much to keep it under 4 :/

I will say I have no clue what that other poster is saying lol. Maybe he just means "if you wanna play rough just do it"

ImportConvert

Just don't launch the car, shift excessively hard, and you should be okay. After 2-300 miles, the driveline is the main component still breaking in. I am not sure about these VQ engine's valve-trains, though.

I think starting at 800 miles, increase your "redline" from 4 to 7.5K progressively as you get to 1200. 4k to 7.5k in 1 mile's difference makes no sense and is likely harder on things than a gradual ramp up.

Rods stretch ever so slightly, so lets stretch them a bit at a time, for the sake of the rings/cylinders/rest of the system involved. Same with the shafts in the transmission.

UNKNOWN_370

For the ambient temps outside... you seem to be running like a non-oil cooler Z. Let's see what happens when it gets to over 85 degrees.

ImportConvert

Those temps are dead-on what my Z06 ran in identical circumstances, with similar oem liquid cool setup.

Aftermarket z06's ran 150-160*F in similar ambient with plate coolers.

Jordo!

I mistakenly assumed that the procedure created a heat cycling effect, but others (probably you being one ) pointed out that it is more about creating vacuum to improve ring sealing. Do you also allow for coast down?

I've followed this procedure (i.e., what is described by Nissan, other car manufacturers, and two engine builders whom I trust very much) for two different engines, and notwithstanding my flawed reasoning regarding the specific effects, it absolutely resulted in smooth running, non-oil burning, high power making motors.

Thanks for posting the detailed explanation of why the procedure works and glad to hear she is breaking in nicely

I suspect the oil burning and the unusually high temps some folks see in normal driving are the result of poor break in.

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Pelican170

over 85 degrees and driving it over 4000 rpm's...

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BigT

Oh, I don't disagree with you. But, it makes you wonder what exactly is the "proper" break-in procedure. I'm pretty sure the manual states not to cruise at a single RPM point for long periods of time during break-in, but why or why not? If you're supposed to take it easy.... That tells me, that city driving will break in better then cruising on the highway. But, why, again? I'd rather break something in over its entire operating range and not just a single window of range. Why break a motor in by limiting revs to 4k rpm when its actual redline is 7.5k? I can understand not launching the car or going WOT to 7.5k, or shifting hard, etc., but what I don't understand are these makeshift break-in limiters.

mhcoss

Those sound like pretty good oil temps. After your break in and when summer hits i'm curious to see what temps you get with spirited driving

ImportConvert

It may, or may not be a result of poor break-in proceedure. Breaking a car in properly just helps.

Yes, heat-cycling is a good thing. Don't just go on one 1200 mile trip.

However--this said--the Corvette Museum has people fly in from all over the US to DRIVE their cars home. They just recommend that they vary the rpms, take some back roads, row through the gears, and stop a bit to have lunch and then stop to see the sights, maybe. It is an exact science, but manufacturers know that most people are not exact scientist, and they planned for it as best as possible.

Regardless, that is how I break my cars in. My Z06 burned 1/2 quart in the first 500 miles, and not a drop afterward.

As to "allow for coast-down", I'm not following?

ImportConvert

Because everything stretches in an engine. If you cruise at ONE rpm, you will wear the cylinder walls to ONE depth only on the piston stroke, etc.

City driving is best, you are MAINLY breaking in the driveline, and rowing through the gears placing torque on the gear-faces (and backs of them, as you coast to a stop using the engine), lapping them in.

The reason you don't want to break the engine in at 7K rpm is because you are ALSO breaking in the bearings, and load-bearing surfaces of the engine. Not just rings/pistons. Nissan knows WAY more about their VQ than I do. However, engine harmonics caused by high rpm, extra stress on the crank, etc. could adversely affect the bearings and perhaps the unique VQ valvetrain in a negative way. If it were just cylinders and rings, then maybe your way would be the best way.

THE BEST way to break in a car is running the engine on a dyno under load.
Then you put it in the car and proceed to break in the transmission, rear-end, and brakes.

Unfortunately, this is only done on certain high-end cars. SO we are stuck breaking in the engine and driveline at the same time, both of which prefer slightly different behavior, and the brakes, which to bed, require entirely DIFFERENT behavior.

GM's manual on the ceramic brakes is especially confusing.

They state that rpm should be kept under 3K for 500 miles and no faster than 55mph (this is from memory when I owned my Z06, but yet that the brakes should be broken in soon and that you should do this by accelerating as fast as possible to 60, braking hard to impending lock-up, and wash-rinse repeat.

Not exactly an under 3K and "no hard shifting" and keep it at 55 or less proposition.

Alas, we are stuck with a system, and each owner works out in their own mind what they think is the best compromise.


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ImportConvert

Same here.

mhcoss

Yep. Nissan engineers that designed the break in recommendations know far more about their engine's inner workings than we do. That said they are far more qualified to make break in recommendations and I trust their recommendations more than any theory crafting.

I'm getting a 'brand new z' with 100 miles on it. I'm kinda worried about what kind of abuse it received in that first 100 miles though