shawnypark

I got my 06 TSX a week ago. I'm trying to break in the engine.
I try not to go over 3k rpm until first 1000 miles. Is this enough or any other suggestions?
Thanks.

Tintin

i have never broken in an engine in my lifetime, for the simple fact that i have never owned a brand new car. but when you mean 3rpm, even if your car is MT trans, you still dont go over 3rpm?

Sorry if this question is 'stupid' but i never had the thrill of owning a new car

TSX.Fury

Do a search! There is TONS of different opinions/suggestions to this. You are gonna have to read for like 2 hours to make up your mind on how you want to do it Good luck!

desktop

According to the TSX user's guide, you need to drive non-aggressively for 600 miles. Right after I picked up my 06 TSX auto, I put about 100 miles and did not drive it at constant speed and not over 60 mph. Yesterday, I put 400 miles and did the same. I varied the speed and did not go over 3000-3500 rpm.

I got 32 mpg while I was break-in my new engine. One more 100 miles and I am all set.

Lastly, it was very difficult not to drive over 60 mph. Everyone was flying down the highway. And my dealer told me to wait for the engine oil quality to becomes 0% to 5% before getting my first oil change. My current engine oil quality indicates 90% after little over 500 miles.

Tintin

i once heared never to use cruise control when you want to break in the engine.

is that true?

BulldogHockey

Guess there's lots of ways to do it safely and still get a good result. So far I've got 150 miles on her and am using this technique for the most part:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1443

Does the vehicle's speed have anything to do with it? Or is it purely a function of engine RPM? I have gone over 60 on more than one occasion but have kept the RPM's pretty low.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Actually, I would just wait until the car suggests an oil change. That's what the maintenance minder system is for, after all.

TSX.Fury

I once heard doing a search would yield the answers to my questions.

is that true?























j/k

To be quick about it though, the only reason that would be bad is because you are keeping the car at a constant speed and RPM's which some people say is bad. There are lots of theorys though, on how to break in a car, so read up!

bbznyc

I am going to vary... Trying not go crazy... I have an A/T so I put it into S/S mode and have fun up to 3,500 rpms... Nothing crazy off the line... Just mild shifts to get all the components of the car to know each other

AS I will approach 600 miles mark, I will say hello to my little friend - VTEC

No cruise control...

I think my method is alright...

desktop

I really like that maintenance reminder system. I just hope that that system does not fail. That would be a big ouch if it does not work properly. But I have great confidence in Acura/Honda technology.

bbznyc

It's solid brother...

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Seems to work fine on my mom's RL...

helraiser

I've been combining what the manual says (basically not to drive aggressively for 1000kms) and the dealer's suggestion of varying the RPMs - 6MT.

I quite often take it up to the 3500 but no higher than 4k but try and get the lower rpms as well, 2-2500.

The one thing I could never understandn though is why you wouldn't take it to othe higher RPMs if the engine needs to get used to what it'll be operating at. I mean I know you don't want to stress the brand new engine too omuch yet and maybe it's because you won't always be at the higher RPMs but meh...

I know that I can't wait for the gas mileage to get better cuz right now it blows! Filled up the tank last week wed and i'm down to a quarter left and maybe about 300+km on there... crazy!

jlukja

Yeah, ClutchPerformers post is a good one. Its the one I used to break in my TSX. The speed of the vehicle is much less important than the RPMs. Just make sure you vary the RPMs to exercise the engine at various RPMs and slowly over its use raise the maximum RPM. And, as per that post, do a couple of WOT low RPM runs to seat in the rings.

jlukja

The reason you don't want to take it to higher than 4K initially is to avoid heat stressing the engine. When new it may develop hot spots if you run it at high RPMs. You want to progressively increase the RPMs of the engine doing it in a controlled manner.

silverboard

I have more-or-less followed the advice from the previous post about break in...

- Varying speeds (and gears) so that the RPMs don't stay in the same place for more than 5 minutes
- Occassionally using short hard-acceleration bursts (while in 5th gear to keep the rpms low)

Only thing I think I've done that I probably shouldn't have is take the RPMs to0 high a few times, close to around 5000. Hope I didn't do any damage! I'm at 300 miles on the car now.

mattlissy

Could not stand it any longer. Went to 7K rpm at 550 miles. '06 (vs 04/05) is much stronger when vtec is hit. Before this I keep engine speed below 5K and no long term constant speed.

jlukja

These are not hard and fast rules. Only a procedure with some theory behind it. I'm sure you didn't do any damage if you rev to 5K or even 7K. Some folks subscribe to the "drive it hard from the get go" theory and I haven't seen any posts about blowing engines.

shawnypark

Thanks for the replies guys,,,
I picked up my car from the dealer about 300miles away.
I tried to vary the speed and rpm on the way back. But I definitely went over 70mph almost 80. I don't know what's gonna be the best way for me. So, can I say 600miles will be the time that I can drive the car with a little more fun?

S power

half of the break-in was the first 20 min of idling from the 1st time the engine was started. I used to build honda and nissan motors for track and alot of mechanics I dealt with said high reving once a while during the 500 mile breakin is good. Giving the high combustion pressure will make the rings mate to the piston walls better.

I bought a bmw 330ci last year and the guy told me to drive it like a race car(well not to that extent) because bmw likes to be driven. No need to granny for the break-in process. 1st oil change was at 15k. The car today(25k) is super smooth and burns no oil . I guess each manufactor has each own.

tsxflexer

I think that the best break in is to just drive that car like you usually would on a day to day basis. Of course you don't want to abuse it. The main thing that you are breakin in is the seal of the piston rings. So if hold back on driving the car the seals wont get a chance wear into the piston wall thus not creating a nice seal.

majorbike

I've heard many schools of thought on how to break in an engine. One was drive it the way you will usually drive it. That's been voiced above.

One of the best pieces of advice I've heard of was on my first new car, a 71 VW wagon (yeah I'm older than dirt). at the time VW said to do an oil change at 1,000 miles and the dealer even made a point of telling me. They said it gets rid of any loose shavings that may still be in the engine and helps flush them out. Has anyone else heard of this?

jlukja

The TSX manual says not to change the oil prematurely before the first scheduled service because they claim that the TSX comes from the factory with special break-in oil. Whether its true or not has been debated on here already (a seach on break-in oil will get you there) and its up to you whether you choose to follow the manual or not.

S power

The best break-in oils are the 89cents oil. Those have less anti-wear agents and/or detergent to give it more metal to metal contacts.

Colin

There are lots of theories and "backyard" mechanic tales about proper break-in proceedures. However, unless you have more resources than Honda R&D, I see no reason NOT to follow their instructions. Really what could you hope to accomplish with a different schedule? IMO just follow the owners manual, its sure to be 100% safe, and is designed to insure maximum longevity.