Hi, I was wondering what were the things you had to do to break in the car. The period and miles. Is it ok if you go fast during that period, because I went a little too fast and my wheels went screeeeccchh...am I ok? I'm a little paranoid because I was careless today. Thanks

-briancl

 

600 miles, try to keep under 3000 rpm, no WOT driving... and basically treat it as if it was your own baby

 

whats WOT? heh I'm a newbie.

 

haha it has nothing to do with being a newbie... but since you don't know... it means "wide open throttle"

 

IMO -- you can take it above 3000 and try to vary the revs. Do stay off the WOT and check the manual.


BTW -- the brakes need some time/mileage to "bed" as well...

 

I beat on my car since the second I pulled out of the dealer's lot. Isn't that what warrenties are for?

 

You are a perfect example of why (as a rule) I won't buy used cars...

 

Most of the problems come past warranty, when the car starts to burn huge quantities of oil :o

 

I'm sorry, but I've been told that you should drive the car the way you intend to drive it from the day you get it. this way the car gets adjusted to your style of driving. Isn't that what breaking in is, Its not "gently adjusting in". My granpa handed me down a dodge he had been driving for 60k miles and when it was subject to my driving(imagine my driving to my granpas) It fell to pieces because it wasn't used to my style. many mechanics told me the same thing. each car has a fingerprint and character due to its wear. so if your going to push your car, just do it, and if your going to baby it, buy a friggin luxury car.

 

Well, the manual says to keep off the WOT at the start, but what does Acura know

The "fingerprint" story sounds a bit suspect. I have a friend who has gone through three Mazda RX-7 Turbo engines, and he likes to run 12-13 second quarter miles (can you say, "turn up the boost"). He drives the car like a mad man, but when he goes looking for a "donor" car (it is the engine he wants), he always looks for an engine that has been driven sedately. (He worked for Nissan and Electromotive in their racing programs...)

I don't know that anything is written in stone, but high engine revs decrease the life of an engine. Think about it, more total strokes per second, with a given amount of wear (small or large) per stroke, and with more strokes, comes more wear. The other issue comes from the items like the rings and bearings. Increased load from WOT operation, increases the wear on these components as well. (I like a good high rev session too, but...)

If you want to try an experiment, just drive the car like an Indy 500 every day (for a few years) and see how the wear is at the end of the warranty period.

The expression "Burn bright, burn short" (from me) is becoming a cliché...

However, it is your car and you should enjoy it to the max...

(IMO -- There is sometimes a trade-off between “loose” with flaky compression and “tight” with higher frictional losses. Also, just driving a car during break-in at steady low rpms is not always the best either. Finally, there is the older "grandpa" driven cars (carbureted) that got lugged around town, driven short distances, and never got blown out -- can you say carbon death?)

 

i agree with you, but I want to know why and when does the "break in period" have to be initiated. I don't redline the engine at every greenlight, but I like to get going. I drove out of the lot the same way. I doubt the first 600 miles are any more crucial that the last. consistency is my method

 

If you "mix it up", you will probably be fine. A lot has changed with engines over the last 20 years, so I don't know if anyone has the one and only correct answer (about break-in).

IMO -- I do think there is a difference between the first 600 and last 600 miles in terms of driving. Example (slightly out of date): I had one BMW engine with 13:1 compression that was bored-out and was so tight -- when I first dropped it in -- that it felt strained getting it over 3500 RPM. I could actually feel the engine loosen up by slowly waking the rpms up over time. In this particular instance, that engine during the first 600 miles was quite different than the engine during the last 600 miles. The Acura engine is another issue, but if the gas mileage (for most people) is improving with mileage and time (first 3000 miles), I would think it is loosening up *and* the rings are getting seated in their bores (among other things).

BTW – This is another area where there are a lot of opinions. I just have one more…

 

Thats why I don't keep my cars long

 

I would say between 700 to 1000 miles before doing any off the line drag or abusive driving. IMHO

 

I don't think you have to hold back at all. My uncle has an autoshop and he said it really doesnt matter. every car I had, I beat it right off the lot. I picked up my cl last tuesday and floored it right till i hit 80. When I bought the 325i back in 98, i flew to germany to pick up the car just cause they have a racing course there. BMW actually takes off $1500 if you go to germany to sign the papers. Then in germany u can take the car to the course to break it in, or just sign the papers and have them ship the car back to US for free. So I took the bmw to 125 with only like 12 miles on the car. And the car still lasted me 4 yrs with no problem. I floor the gas every chance I get also.

 

Hmmm... That Vehix.com commercial comes to mind

 

My (very rough) understanding of the whole breakin period is to get your car's engine fully lubricated and what not. This involves things like getting the rings/bearings seated. So that is why you are supposed to be varying your rpms and speed, in order to primer the transmission and etc.

There are some cars which will start smoking oil if you don't break them in correctly, although I don't think the CL is one of them.

Time to stick this in the FAQ......