cdkruaya

I hated to turn in my 2003 for the new bodystyle but I did it. Now I am so happy that I almost cannot stand it. The main reason is because the Owner's manual siad that I cannot floor it until I have put 600 miles on the odometer.

what is this all about?

What will this do to the engine if I do floor it?

I have semi-got-on-it but not from a stand still. Will this hurt me in the long run???

GaleForce

I floored it before 600. Whoops.

leeherman

I've heard mixed messages about what's permissable during the break-in.

My dealer told me just to avoid hard braking for 200 miles and steady speeds for 600 miles. No speed or acceleration limits.

Common sense is that you should avoid full throttle acceleration early on. Personally, I stayed light on the throttle for around 400 miles and got more aggressive at that point, finally pushing hard after the 600 mile mark.

I didn't use the cruise control for the first 600 miles to avoid constant speeds nor did I use the sport-shift 'til the 600 miles passed to avoid the risk of over-revving.

Many of you are leasing so you aren't necessarily worried about the long term repercussions of "abuse", but I keep cars for the long haul (had my Camry for 11yrs/103K miles). As a result, I'm pretty conservative about the break-in process.

Enjoy your new car!

Road Rage

Engines need to bed-in the various engine parts - rings and cylinder walls primarily, but also bearing retainers, cam lobes, etc. Plus, the metals are dissimmilar and expand/contract at different rates. Driving moderately at varying speeds during the 600 mile period helps to let the parts "get friendly" so to speak. This is also true in the transmission, whether manual or automatic, and in the transaxle gears, which heat cycle and become stronger. Also, the various lubricants have components that can actually make the asperities, or peaks between metal, smooth rather than break. These are usually molybdenum or boron components, or both. Full throttle puts all these parts at stress before they become compatible - it is akin to marrying someone you just met, and wondering why things get rough later.

There are some who say that running an engine hard from day one produces more power - it may because it will loosen up those tight tolerances. But keep in mind that those tight tolerances are partly what you are paying for, and are what keep an engine from cinsuming oil later in life, and prematurely wearing from the situatiuon I described in the 1st paragraph. Remember, racers rebuild their engines each season - you wanna do that at 40k?

The engineers are not fools and the marketing guys would love to be able to rid the owner of any responsibility - but the 600 mile break-in period is still required by nearly every car mfr that I know of, including my S2000.

Control your foot and it will pay off in the long run - if longevity is not an issue, do what you like.

cdkruaya

Thanks alot man. I can't wait until 600 miles. Oh, If I take a long trip this weekend to speed up the process will this suffice???

leeherman

Yes, but avoid using cruise control and vary your speed as much as possible. Try to avoid sitting at one vehicle (and therefore engine) speed.

Enjoy!

SouthernBoy

Not sure how many of you know about this little tidbit, but here's a tip for those who find that their daily commute puts them on highways where it's difficult to vary you speed. I'm talking a manual transmission here, but you can do the same thing with an automatic.

When you're caught in driving situations which do not lend themselves to allowing you to vary your speed, do it with your transmission. Drive for several miles (say 5) in 6th gear, then shift to 5th for 4 or 5 miles. While not varying the wheel speed, this does vary engine speed and exercises the transmission gears to a degree. I've done this for many years because I find it almost impossible to depend upon road conditions which will enable me to do this through vehicle speed.

Try it.

NightRider

Any warrant to an internet article I read (no link ) that stated the engine should be pushed hard the first 20 miles or so to form correct seals of the rings around the (valves or pistons?)? It also stated this may lead to increased performance later on.

SouthernBoy

To NightRider;

I read a similar article several months ago posted on another site.. may have been the one you're talking about. There was a decent argument there, but I agree with Road Rage. A progressive break-in period I believe is better in the long run.

TL-Rocket

Ever wonder what happens in that first 2 miles that every TL comes with?

My guess is that they do an agressive break-in. I've read that most of the break-in process happens during the first 20 or so miles of operation.

Check out http://mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm for more info on this controversial subject.

TL-Rocket

GTFISH

Floor it occasionally but keep the revs below 5000rpm or so. This will help set the rings and lead to an engine that uses less oil. Do it early in the life of the engine for best results.

leeherman

Excellent point!

JetJock

I don't believe that "flooring it" per say is going to hurt the engine. It's "abuse" like constantly revving the engine to the limit, or just plain being hard on the engine...a short full throttle burst is not hard on the engine..just don't go crazy and abuse the engine....actually....occasional short full throttle runs....at medium RPM's are good for the engine...just don't push it to the red line

Brokedoc

About the other aspect of breaking in, manufacturers tell you not to brake hard for the first 200 mi but then you see posts about "bedding" the brakes to reduce warping and pad material transfer to the rotors.

Which one is it?

chipplaysdrums

Yikes! I pulled out of the dealership with about 9 miles on it, and then floored it down the highway to my friend's house to show it off. I hope I didn't screw it up for the long run. The other night me and the TL had a "moment". I was coming out of downtown Columbia on to the interstate and nailed it, checked for cops along the way and eventually hit 120mph. There were no other cars around....so freakin awesome! I've only got about 7500 miles so I guess it was okay to do this?

riceburner503

With 7500 miles you should be perfectly fine

Road Rage

I read that article- It was for motorcycyles, and the guy did not back it up with one iota of engineering proof or supporting data - are you gonna believe some Internet guru or the engineers who designed the car? I think the former is a fool's game, and recommend that the protocols of the mfr and the others to vary speeds and drive moderately be followed.

Road Rage

Uh Chip - put down the doobie, put down the drumsticks, and chill - we want you to stay around for a while!

7500 baby, you can do anything your little heart and the local constabulatory allow.

hwchien

chippy!!
used to live in Columbia. The police are much nicer than NY polices,...
anyways good luck with the TL

by the way who was ur salesman...
and what color is ur TL

P.S. always feel comfortable when i see ppl from Columbia, SC

Nickerz

Good thread! I've been wondering about the break-in period too and always seem to read conflicting opinions.

RoadRage...you're the man! I was believing that stuff found on the internet and now you pointed out it was discussing a motorcycle!!! Whew, good catch!

lakeman

I have one tip a forum member told me for interstate driving during break-in. Not only vary your speed, and or change gears, plan to get off an exit and then right back on several times an hour. This not only varies engine speed, it uses your brakes, all the gears and gives some idle time.

wstevens

RoadRage is correct in his remarks. Actually, years ago, the break-in period for cars was longer (2000 miles or so). This is because the precision of machining was not what it is today. Today, many parts in cars are machine to 3-decimal point accuracy, with variances between parts on the manufacturing chain approaching, if not meeting, 6-sigma specifications. This means that there is high precision and not much variation between parts. This significantly reduces the "play" between parts in the engine, almost eliminating the need to break the parts in from a tolerance perspective.

There is another aspect to this: most of the machined (or molded) parts in a car contain residual stresses that are part of the machining (or molding) process. These stresses will be "worked" out of the parts by a combination of relatively light loading (i.e. normal driving) and the high temperatures in the engine. This is why there is still a small break-in period for the car. When you drive normally, these residual stresses will be worked out. If you drive hard before these residual stresses are worked out, you are putting a compound effect on your engine (normal high stresses from hard driving, plus residual stresses). This can lead to localized yielding spots in the engine parts, which may result in lower fatigue tolerance and/or micro crack initiation - which of course will reduce the life of the engine.

One other thing: If you gently load and unload a new metal part in your engine (which will happen during NORMAL driving), you will "work harden" your the part. Yes, you can actually make your new engine parts more damage resistant ("stronger" if you will) by putting gentle load cycles on them. And this will happen during the break-in period. If you drive your new car hard in the beginning, it has the opposite effect called "work fatiguing". If you want an example of "work fatiguing", take a paperclip and bend it hard back and forth a few times. See what happens?

wstevens

By the way, the "work-hardening" will only occur if the loading on the engine parts is cyclic. This is why you may hear that driving at one RPM leveld uring break-in is not useful. Cycling the engine is the only way to work-harden the parts.

Ron A

Thank you, wstevens. Now I know. I have added a shortcut to this thread in my list of threads that I might need to use someday to explain this to someone else, or refresh my memory on the subject.

chipplaysdrums

I love Columbia man, and the Columbia po po are much nicer than up north, although I really don't want to find out.. I believe my salesperson was Jennifer, can't remember her last name...but she was hot! The first time I test drove the TL she got in with me and her titties almost fell out of her shirt. Not a bad way to sell a car, huh? I got the Nighthawk Black/Parchment/No navi. I love my car.

Road Rage

The actual reason is from the outgassing of "green" pads - early on, they let out a lot of resinous sealant type material used to preserve the shelf life - if you get on the brakes too hard too soon, the green pads outgas and can coat the rotors, requiring either a re-hone, but usually a replacement of pads and rotors. There is a bit of thermal cytcling of the rotor, to be sure, but it is much less significant than the outgassing solution.

Of course, if I eat a big burrito.......but I can leave the window open, and only the seat cushion is endangered.

pettydw

I pushed a new '87 CRX Si with hard autocross moves near the redline with only a couple hundred miles on the clock. It had an obvoious (but light) rod bearing knock after that. I kept it for almost 100k miles without any issues, other than the engine was always louder than other CRX's.

UGA1998

I have been considering buying a TL in Dallas for around $1,000 less than my only local dealer will provide. Doing this would require a 400 mile drive back to Memphis with a brand new car. I'm very interested in following the break-in rules, since I plan on driving the car for 6 - 8 years. After reading this thread, I'm definitely concerned about putting hard highway miles on the car straight off the lot.

What would your advice be for me? Pay the extra $1,000 and give the car a proper break-in around town for the first 600 miles. Or, pay less and vary my speed as much as possible on the return trip to Memphis? Exiting the interstate a few times an hour, taking it as easy as possible on the brakes, and using the auto-shifter to work both 4th and 5th gears during the drive?

mickey3c

Or... buy it and ship it and see what that cost to flat bed the car the distance.

yet they could scrape under the front bumper flat bedding it.

I would just drive it.. As long as you are not racing it etc... Hell start out with cruise control on at 60 -65 for 30 minutes and then change it to 75. Change back and forth. If you were that worried about it. I would not... my break in was 60 miles at 75 and 2 miles at 35 for two work weeks. My G35 said that they wanted to wait till 1200 miles to bring the car about 4000 RPMs..

You will not notice it in the life of the car either way you do it...

Spiritman

OK, so now when is the engin broke in enough for the change to 100% synth oil? I am not to far from the 6,500 mark. I thought that would be "broke in" enough.
What do you think??????

SSM06TLwTreo650

Besides whether an new engine should be broken in easy vs. hard, is there a "top speed" that you should not exceed when your new TL is under 20 miles or 600 miles?

I tend to drive fast and this was not mentioned whether you break in the engine easy or not.

sweetride01

Well obviously you don't want to do constant high rpm's on a new engine, hence no high speed driving.

I have just had the engine on my '90 325iS completely rebuilt. The rocker arm broke on the original after 140K miles, during some heavy acceleration. It bent 2 valves, so the head was COMPLETELY cleaned and rebuilt. I also got it properly port/polished and got a Schrick 284/272 cam with valve springs put in. The rod bearings (lower end) also got replaced, so I am effectively having to break in a new engine. I am VERY gentle for about the first 10 minutes of driving everytime I'm coming from a cold engine. I want all the parts to be properly lubricated and heated up before I'm hard on the gas. I have about 350 miles on the engine right now, and the valves will be ready for adjustment soon, as the older engine design seems to require it - I guess the adjustment changes quite a lot during the first 1000 miles.
I have probably not been as nice on the engine as I should be, as I have got to 6000rpm many times, and got to 6500 rpm about 5 times. 7000rpm is the limit. Providing that there is no damage to the rod bearings, which were apparently very tight, the engine seems to be breaking in very nicely. It makes a nice gurgle from the cam now, and already feels quite loosened up.

Nothing like breaking in a 17 year old car.

1995hoo

I drove up to Philadelphia shortly after I got mine in 2004; I had about 500 miles on the car at the time. I made a special effort to shift between 5th and 6th every few miles until I hit 600. I would have taken US-40 instead of I-95 in Maryland, but that takes forever due to all the traffic lights. I've never had any sort of problem in terms of whether I broke it in correctly. My father broke in a car once by taking the parallel US routes instead of the Interstate and the car lasted forever—best car he ever bought. But that was in 1982 and the traffic wasn't as bad as it is now. So anyway, I think the idea of shifting periodically is fine AS LONG AS you don't let the revs go too high in the lower gear. I've read that it's preferable to keep the revs below 4,000 during the break-in period.

The real question in my mind in terms of your point about going to Dallas (I assume that means the city in Texas) is whether the time involved, and the expense of getting to and from Dallas, is worth it to save only $1000.

When you think about it, a 600-mile break-in period isn't really all that far.

Finally, going back to the original discussion, when people talk about whether to floor it during the break-in period, I figure that (a) as a general rule, you should not floor it, but (b) if an emergency arises and you have to floor it (say, an out-of-control lunatic coming up behind you), then floor it and risk the engine damage because it's better than a wrecked car or a trip to the hospital.

1995hoo

After making my post a few minutes ago I remembered where I saw the point about not exceeding 4,000 rpm in the first 600 miles. It was in the latest issue of Road & Track in an intro to a long-term test of the new Civic Si. For me it was somewhat validating in that this was the rule I had followed anyway. So I guess from that point of view there is no "top speed" per se except insofar as a particular speed in a particular gear would push you over 4,000 rpm. Given that the idea is to keep the engine from revving hard, this makes sense.

Darknesss_TL

All my dealer really told me was to not use the cruise control until AFTER the first oil change......oh well...i jsut had my second so oh well

Acuraboy7

Whats the Deal with flooring it anyway, this car has enough balls that you don't need to floor it to take off fast, theses cars are blue printed at the factory they really don't need a break in but, using the cruise is bad cuz the metals haven't had a chance to work in yet, in other words if they are rubbing in the same Motion for a long period of time, other parts won't ware in the same fourm of flow, and flooring it while new might not be a good idea due to the fact they haven't had a chance to work in yet. tho some cars have a VVT-I system that learns your driving habbits, meaning if your a fast driver the computer system will remember that and adjust fuel and power the best way it can, to give you the power you want and use the least amount of fuel and, if your a slow driver the same thing goes. Even cars with VVT-I will need a break in period as well when new, Acura does not use a VVT-I system but the car will most likely adapt to how you drive anyway...its not going to take forever to put a 1000k on, so the good news is you'll all make it

chfields

I beg to differ, but these cars are NOT blueprinted, you only see that on top of the line performance engines, due to being extremely costly and time consuming. While break in is important, it's not like it was 20-30 years ago. I think the Honda/Acura engines are pretty bulletproof unless you really abuse them.

Acuraboy7

the egn is blue printed at the factory

chfields

They do not blueprint each engine, they blueprint the original and blueprint when there are changes. That is done with all the parts. A blueprinted engine is when a specific high performance engine is built to specs specific to the engines intended use (usually racing), it is not used on production cars.

Nello1

Hope you bought with zero miles, I know someone on a test drive or taking it out for gas and a wash had their way with her.