My dealer gave me the usual...don't use cruise control and don't drive it too hard for the first 600 miles. sounds kinda vague to me...heard something about alternating odd and even gears....for all you owners, how did you break in your TLS?

 

well my sales guy told me 1000 miles...which wont take me long, but all im doing is trying to stay under 60mph and stay under 3500 rpms....

 

1. Vary the revs and load.
2. Don't lug it (hard to do with an auto).
3. No jack-rabbit starts.

If you want to, when it is out of the "official" break in period, keep upping the revs and load.


After break in:

Once you start, drive slowly until the coolant temp is up. Then give it another 10-15 minutes before mashing the pedal. Our engine doesn't have a "oil temp" indicator which would be a better indicator of when the engine was "up to temp." (You don't have to do this, but the engine has different composition metals in it, and they warm up at different rates...)


I'm sure you will also hear from the "break it in hard" and it will run hard...

The one thing that I have always done is vary the revs and load during break-in and I've always had very fast and long running engines.


BTW -- If you have Charles Manson chasing you, do whatever you need to do...


(just an opinion...)

 

Keep in mind that Honda engines are not "fully" broken in till about 3000-10000 miles depending on how hard you drive the car - therefore, don't use synthetic till then. Try to keep factory oil in the engine for at least 5000-7000 miles if you can (unless you drive under extreme conditions). The factory oil is thinner with friction modifying additives to help the engine break in better.

The 600-1000 mile recommendation on taking it easy and varying revs is important for both the engine AND brakes (for at least 300-600 miles, no hard braking).

 

I 110% agree with all the break it in slow and easy recommendations posted here - but that factory oil MUST be changed at around 1,000-1,500 miles or you're asking for trouble.

Keeping it in there until 5,000-7,500 is not a good thing at all since the engine won't be broken it with the oil its designed to run on, and the first 1,000 miles throw more residue into the oil than the next 50,000 will.

 

That's what I used to think, but the manual says otherwise. Also, the head mechanic at my dealership confirmed this, as well as "no synthetic until the second oil change."


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'01 White Diamond Pearl 3.2TL
-Wing, tint, wood and Whistler

 

I have posted on this subject before and this will be the last time.. It is perfectly fine to redline a brand new motor...AGAIN IT IS PEFECTLY FINE TO REDLINE A BRAND NEW MOTOR.. When we put new motors on a dyno they have been run for no more tan 2-3 minutes and we immediately lean on it to above 7000rpm.. However it is best to vary rpm's, so putting your cars cruise control on at 140mph is not recommended until broke in.. The best thing for a new motor is for it to be redlined...If anyone decides to say different, Please include your reasoning because I know better!! I have an engine that cost $14000 to build and it will be redlined on the dyno as soon as it is started...

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RHINO928

 

Go ahead and redline and destroy.

Again everyone I know who has had an engine that has lasted 150K+ miles has broken it in slowly and properly, and changed the oil like clockwork.

Beat on a new engine out of the gate, and don't complain when you have seal problems and leaks at 50K.

This is simple common sense.

 

Gomez> Sounds good to me, whatever a head mechanic says is the best advice, and far better than what any dealer can tell you :-)

 

Head Mechanic..could you please define that for me? That is a crock of crap to not redline a new car or "engine" I have two other cars with over 120000 miles and they will be going way past that with NO problem.. The most important thing is the oil change interval and the type of oil used.. People think heat is what destroys oil when actually it has more to do with the fuel.. A Top Fuel Dragster ruins the oil in one pass but when you drain it it is not black.. it is ruined because of what the alchohol fuel does to the oil.. breaking a new engine in with occasional redlines is actually better than not..

 

I heard the best way to break the engine is to rev it up to 6000 rpm in Neutral and then shift to D5 while the rpm is still high!!

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June 10, N. Cali Meet - Click Here
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/phanthavong/mytl.html" TARGET=_blank>
</A>2001 SSM. 02 tails, 02 vent trim, burlwood knob.
I can't afford mods, I'm getting married!!
Vin says 2001, but it's really a 2000 with an upgraded cupholder!!

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by Edub-TL on May 14, 2001 @ ]</font>

 

Common sense?? It has nothing to do with common sense.. this is mechanical engineering, tell me why redlining a New engine for a short time would have anything to do with it's condition at 50,000 miles... Again I build and dyno engines on a regular basis, I have an engine that I am currently builging that costs $14,000 it will have been redlined before ever being in the car.. In Winston Cup Racing engines are new and are redlined to the XTREME from jump street... Go ahead and *****foot your car through all of break in and I will gladly race you at that 50 or 150 thousand miles!!!

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RHINO928

 

I have never seen an owner's manual that suggested redlining the engine at startup.

I tend to let the engine warm up (and break in) slowly, and here is why.

Modern engines are made of all sorts of metals - each has a slightly different expansion factor as temperature increases. The homeostatic design parameters which produce the best power, lowest friction, etc. take a while to achieve, and until that happens, I have to believe that increased ring tension, lower thermal efficiency (and consequent incomplete combustion), etc. of a cold-started engine are not in the best interest of longevity and ring-sealing.

Race engines are routinely rebuilt after races, so "opening them up" via immediate redlining may make more power, which makes sense for racers, but not for us mere mortals shuttling off to soccer practice or a Redskins game.

I also have this theory that your car has a soul, and it will get even if you abuse it - such as on a cold, wintry night when that stress weakened connecting rod decides to create a new path through the block.

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Rage On!
2002 TL-S w. Comptech header/exhaust
SSR Integral A2's
17x7 45mm offset
Pirelli P7000 (Summer) 215-50/17

 

I totally agree w/ you RoadRage.

You abuse it now, you pay for it later!