Wife drove my Z in 1st gear on the highway
 

I took deliver of my new 370z LAST NIGHT, and she drove it to work this morning. She leaves. Ten minutes later calls me on my cell to say the car is loud and lurching, and to ask what rpm she was supposed to stay under during break-in. I say we should try to stay under 4k, and she says "but then I'd only be going 20". Doh! I tell her to put it in D.

She had the engine running at around 7k rpm for a couple miles, and ultimately confessed that she smelled something burning.

Bottom line, what should I look out for? Do I have to worry about long term damage to the drivetrain? I assume the burning was something organic such as plastic, rubber, or fluid. Any ideas?

I've since driven it all day without issue. No smell at all. You'd never know, but it's eating me up until I find out what "burned".

You need to look out for a new wife, thats what.

Ouch! Might want to take it in to the dealership and mention the smell, but omit the whole driving in 1st thing.

Thanks, very helpful and informational. :rolleyes:

That's why you get a manual, then the wife wont want to drive it. :)

Not sure what would be burning unless she managed to get the oil temp up to 280 that quickly, doesn't seem likely. Although the engine was revving high, it wasn't under load.

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

I know its probably not right for me to laugh at reading this...but I kinda did.

It was more of an OMG ARE YOU KIDDING ME kinda laugh though.

Then again, I could see my gf doing the same thing...which is why she can't take the car without adult supervision.

I don't think she caused too much damage (or any in this case). What she has done is same as taking your car to the track straight from the dealer and driving at 6-7K rpm for 15-20 mins. Many people track their car as early as 100-200 miles. Is it recommended? NO. Do they still do it? Yes. Does the car drives fine in the long run? usually. The plastic burning smell is normal. I still get that in my car and it's been 1150 miles already.

You are more than welcome to get the car checked at your dealer but if everything is running fine, I wouldn't bother. Seems like you wife did an "express break in" on your new Z...haha :icon17: Enjoy!

You're car is fine. Nissan's engines are bulletproof. I've had 2 G35's, a G37 and drove them like I stole them from day 1 to trade in. Nothing your wife could do would break it. I promise you. Forget about it, and enjoy your new Z...

My wife's a keeper. I'd lose the Z before I traded in my wife. Fortunately for her, knowing cars isn't a prereq. I can tell who the single or divorced guys are in here. :p

Thanks AK370Z and Musashi. That's exactly what I hoped to hear. I had a feeling that everything was fine, but there's this little guy on my shoulder telling me the engine or tranny will die at 61k. I've heard that these VQ's are tough, but I didn't expect it to expel a burning smell on day 2, either.

I have heard some folks say "to hell with break in, drive it like you stole it" and everything turned out fine for them. Looks like I've joined that party.

BTW, getting 35% pinnacle ceramic tint and clear bra tomorrow. First one in the Seattle area with a 370Z at Accutint. Maybe the first 370Z with tint and/or clear bra in the area. :koolaidwall:

Good luck mate, sure it's fine. Don't listen to these guys, cars are great, but sex with them is probably awful. :D

The wife or the car?
:icon17:

You know it's bad when the sponsors are piling on too.

these engines are made to run 200,000 miles and are routinely abused during media rides, test drives, dealer promos, etc... you're fine dude ! rest easy... i can personally assure you that any abuse of this engine will start a series of rev limiter decrements (aka limp mode) that will protect it from driver-induced destruction

the fact that the sponsors are pilling on - aside from being really amusing ! - only reinforces that you're AOK ! :)

drive on bro !

Interesting, I've heard of 335's limping, but I didn't know the Z limped too. Good to know. Thanks.

I have to admit.. the phrasing and delivery was immaculate..

This is the equivalent of 'The Office' and a "That's what she said.." comment..

You're on an automotive testosterone-driven forum.. of course you'd hear this..

That being said.. I think you will be fine.. I doubt the smell would have been any different if you were raging through gears for a good canyon run and jumped out with everything being as new (or old.. try it) as the car is..

Getting it up to temp and back down will emit smells and "tings" from things heating up and cooling down..

I'd say break-in period achieved. :)

Let's hope there's no damage, because if any dealers in the SEATTLE AREA read this forum (and why shouldn't they?), they'll sure as hell know who you are and how the damage occurred by now, as you have given them all the information they could possibly want.

Bye bye potential warranty claim?

People really should be very careful what they post in PUBLIC forums. :rolleyes:

How about editing your details or your story - maybe it was your 'friend's' wife's car?



Edit - Having said that, I have a very similar story. We bought a Peugeot for my wife (a very careful, slow driver) a few years ago. On her first journey she phoned me to say "This car's going back, I can't get it to go more than 50mph". Of course, she'd been looking at the rev counter, not the speedo. ...I worked out that to get it up to 5k revs in 4th or 5th gear along the twisty country lanes she was driving, she must have been going at PHENOMENAL speeds - heeehee. The thought still amuses me.

Your car will be fine. Dont' bring it to the dealer. What will they do there? stare at it? the smell is normal for a brand new engine. Forget about everything and enjoy your z to it's limits.....I am

um yup, what he said... trust me, no pics with license plates, no real names etc

Well Mr. 2bits.. I'm sorry but we cannot honor your warranty because one of our techs believes he found proof of your wife hitting the rev limiter on several occasions during the break-in period of your new Z..

While I'm all for the tinfoil hat here and there, discussing issues that happen and looking for honest insight on problems should not invoke some secretive society to get a real answer.. or live in fear that your local dealer is dying to screw you out of a warranty claim by spending crazy amounts of time lurking in forums and documenting your alleged abuses..

We've all done some stupid things here and there with our cars, including pure enthusiastic abuse over others who baby theirs at all opportunity. This is most obviously an unintended 'overuse' of the cars abilities.. but I can assure you there are plenty others that will put the ropes to their new cars a 1,000 times more than this guy and his lead-footed wife.. :)

I'm not worried about the dealer finding out, and posting here wasn't a mistake. This wouldn't constitute abuse since it's operating within parameters, and they themselves have told me there's no break-in period due to "microfinishing of driveline components". I was worried about reduced lifespan after the warranty expires, hence my mention of 61k. The encouraging comments here speak highly of the Z, so I'm feeling better about this morning's episode. Time to move on.

I should add that a proper break-in is not a condition of the warranty.

good thing it wasnt a GTR... the black box would tell the tech not only how far she went at 7K but what she was listening to on the radio what road she was on what kinda drink was in the cup holder and what type of panties she had on

What he said... +1

Good news is that the GT-R cup holder is insulated.. we found that out after tearing ours apart for the rally car.. so that hefty starbucks is good to go..

36 hours.. a battery charger... hit the start button without the brake.. you're good to go.. that's all the data-logger can hold..

:)

Your all good. Bullet Proof Motors
 

Got 3000 miles on my 370Z here in Seattle, no problems. Like they said, drive it like you stole it. worked on my sport bikes (R1,R1, R6), seems to be working on the car. Got to love Japanese engineering. I've had 33% tint on my windows, and 3M clear bra on the front, and the Jim Wolf POP charger intakes on my car since February 17 (ordered car Jan. 11, Received Feb 2). Not disappointed with any one of my purchases.

Enjoy your car and maybe I'll see you around. I haven't seen any other 370Z's on the road here in Seattle, but my friends say they have, maybe they say yours. :tup:

Got you beat, I was the first in Seattle with tinted windows, and 3M clear bra on the front.:driving::icon17::yum:

I wouldnt worry about it. The "burning smell" is the new car smell on the outside.

oh i know. ;) (except VDC offs are permanent :mad: )

ok back on topic

your wife has to be amazingly hot. Thats the first thing that came to my mind hehe.

haha

Yeah forget the car, post a picture of your wife already! ;)

^^ What he said :)

Dealer told me the exact same thing. When I asked them about break in, they said not to even worry about it lol. I'm still taking it kinda easy though.

No idea if its been mentioned in the four pages as I haven't read through it all but the burning smell is quite normal with new cars as all the stickers on the exhaust and such burn off when the vehicle is really driven for the first time.

some would recommend a very aggressive break-in, in the name of engine longevity:

Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

who knows? maybe she did your engine a favor.

Rough crowd here...hope the car is fine, just enjoy a sooner break in period. ;)

I wouldn't worry about the burning smell. It is more than likely just the "new" burning off. My Z had a funny smell for a few weeks after I bought it and then it just finally stopped. If any thing your wife saved you a few weeks of smelling something funny.

This is where you tell the wife...

"Great! Good job honey! You just blew the motor on the car...Now I need to go buy a fully built motor that is designed to handle the STILLEN forced induction system as soon as it becomes available. Plus the STILLEN exhaust and headers...Geez babe..."

Ah damn, and you beat me by over a month too. If you see a black sport with tint driving around, it's probably me. :driving:

Check you fluid levels! Oil and trannie(is there a trannie dip stick?).
Ride with her, check out her driving knowledge, and how she handles the car! If she is doing something wrong- be patient and cool- nicely explain what she is doing wrong.



Also, in case you didn't know, check your tires.
http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...-pressure.html

and brush your teeth 2-3 times a day !

seriously, good to have a dad around ! :)

...then take her to a deserted car park and show her your doughnuts.




ps - to those of you who think I'm daft to say that dealers look at these forums - I know for a fact that the guys in the service dept in my local dealers do, because we've chatted about it twice - and they know who I am! So like I said before, be careful what you post.