Recommendations on how the break-in a new engine

WICKED_GRIN · 02-19-2011, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyler20c

Drive it like you stole it. I left the dealership sideways. Enough said.

I bought a new 2009 370Z coupe and followed the “drive it like I stole it” philosophy and ended up burning a quart of oil every thousand miles! I traded my coupe for a new 2010 370ZR and followed the OM recommendations and now I burning a quart every 3 thousand miles……….just my .02!!

1Sweet Z · 02-20-2011, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WICKED_GRIN

I bought a new 2009 370Z coupe and followed the “drive it like I stole it” philosophy and ended up burning a quart of oil every thousand miles! I traded my coupe for a new 2010 370ZR and followed the OM recommendations and now I burning a quart every 3 thousand miles……….just my .02!!

The consumer guides or road n' track write-ups never mentioned the whole burning oil issue. I will follow the OEM recommendations and keep'r under 4K for the first 2000 kms
I'm already smelling the burning oil, I will watch the levels more closely.

RockStarKick · 02-21-2011, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Sweet Z

never mentioned the whole burning oil issue. I
I'm already smelling the burning oil, I will watch the levels more closely.

I also have a 2011 and am up to about 700 miles now, I did notice that smell
that you are talking about, it's not burning oil. The salesperson said that the
car will smell like that for about 500 miles and it's the undercoating and remnants of any factory cleaners or de-greasers. The smell has since gone and I am pretty sure yours will too..

The break in method I'm personally using is,

babied 400 miles not over 4K rpms
@ 500 miles take it to 5K
@ 600 miles take it to 6K
@ 700 miles drive it like you stole it..

I am also considering the power train break in, not just the motor. Just my

travnflorida · 05-02-2011, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyler20c

Drive it like you stole it. I left the dealership sideways. Enough said.

sheeps · 05-02-2011, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyler20c

Drive it like you stole it. I left the dealership sideways. Enough said.

Lmao

Sean · 02-18-2011, 10:55 PM

Drive it calmly for for the first 1000 miles but shortly after that get on it. It's all about the RPMs and not taking it for a long road trip at the same RPM.

If it's a lease....well try the drive it like you stole it approach.

mick · 02-19-2011, 12:58 AM

when i got my z, i drove it gently during the break in period.
later on, i got a (new) daily driver which had a much weaker engine and to keep up with the flow of traffic, i had to rev up the engine and change gear near the maximum rpm every time i drove it.
since doing this during the breaking in period didn't seem to hurt the dd at all, i don't think it would hurt the z either.

Nismoracer · 02-19-2011, 01:23 AM

Your owners manual says wait 30 secs after you start your vehicle to let the oil flow through the engine. You can hear it when it has. After that let the engine warm up to temp then drive it however you want. Had plenty of new engines whether it's in a car, motorcycle, or pwc. I don't follow the break in process. Don't believe it. When new toys are out for testing, when reviewers test them, do they break it in before they get on it.......No. You may or may not want to hold it at full rpms for a long period of time but how can you do that anyways. I've been told the engine is usually broken in at the factory already or that it happens in the first 20 secs or 20 minutes or 20 miles something like that. I think you're good to go. Google Motomans engine break in myths if you want some subjective info.

jazz · 02-19-2011, 11:36 AM

2011 wont be shipped until enf of april...im on the list and am told might even be mid may!

1Sweet Z · 02-20-2011, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz

2011 wont be shipped until enf of april...im on the list and am told might even be mid may!

Hey jazz,

I ordered my 11' on late October as soon as the pricing was available. I am to speculate that I have one the first 11's in Canada. It took 12 weeks to come from Japan.

what colour are you getting? I got Gun Metallic which I think is the Platinum Graphite in the US. First year it has been offered in Canada to replace the carbon silver.

It's worth the wait.

jazz · 05-02-2011, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Sweet Z

Hey jazz,

I ordered my 11' on late October as soon as the pricing was available. I am to speculate that I have one the first 11's in Canada. It took 12 weeks to come from Japan.

what colour are you getting? I got Gun Metallic which I think is the Platinum Graphite in the US. First year it has been offered in Canada to replace the carbon silver.

It's worth the wait.

i got GM. what about yourself?

1Sweet Z · 05-04-2011, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz

i got GM. what about yourself?

Gun Metallic.
Love it. Have you had your out much?

Bitolas · 05-04-2011, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz

2011 wont be shipped until enf of april...im on the list and am told might even be mid may!

when did you ordered your Z? i've ordered mine the 4th of February and i'm still waiting without any information of my dealer. but I'm in Europe, don't think the shipping is the same.

samb03 · 02-20-2011, 04:38 PM

new engines are dynoed and rings seated in the factory.then they chasis dyno every car to check the trans. It isn't like the old days. I can't say i would bounce it off the limiter and just hold high revs just for the sake of it.

My childhood friend's father was a shade tree mechanic and a good one. When he built a motor he would break in the cam per the manufacture instructions. drain the water and run it for a couple minutes to get the block hot and seat the rings. Let the engine cool down add coolant (the block could crack if you cool it down fast). then "test drive" it. burn outs, 10 mile high speed run, doughnuts, basicly burn 5 gallons of gas as fast as possible. His motors last for a very long time. the 454 had 300K on it when his wife took it in the divorce. I feel sorry for whoever bought cause he poured 3 pounds of sugar in the oil

I think the real secret is frequent oil changes in the beginning. On motors from scratch I break in the cam, change oil, 100-500 miles, change oil, 1000-1500, change oil,3000 mi change oil, then every 3K after than. On a new on def change around 1500. then 3000 after that.

1Sweet Z · 02-20-2011, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samb03

new engines are dynoed and rings seated in the factory.then they chasis dyno every car to check the trans. It isn't like the old days. I can't say i would bounce it off the limiter and just hold high revs just for the sake of it.

My childhood friend's father was a shade tree mechanic and a good one. When he built a motor he would break in the cam per the manufacture instructions. drain the water and run it for a couple minutes to get the block hot and seat the rings. Let the engine cool down add coolant (the block could crack if you cool it down fast). then "test drive" it. burn outs, 10 mile high speed run, doughnuts, basicly burn 5 gallons of gas as fast as possible. His motors last for a very long time. the 454 had 300K on it when his wife took it in the divorce. I feel sorry for whoever bought cause he poured 3 pounds of sugar in the oil

I think the real secret is frequent oil changes in the beginning. On motors from scratch I break in the cam, change oil, 100-500 miles, change oil, 1000-1500, change oil,3000 mi change oil, then every 3K after than. On a new on def change around 1500. then 3000 after that.

What's your thoughts on an oil cooler. I'll be doing mostly DD with a few spirited drives. I might not get the oil temp that high?
It seems to be a very common topic, but alot of guys have stilled them.

02-19-2011, 12:58 AM	#7 (permalink)
mick Track Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: California Posts: 903 Drives: Used to drive a 370z Rep Power: 17	when i got my z, i drove it gently during the break in period. later on, i got a (new) daily driver which had a much weaker engine and to keep up with the flow of traffic, i had to rev up the engine and change gear near the maximum rpm every time i drove it. since doing this during the breaking in period didn't seem to hurt the dd at all, i don't think it would hurt the z either. Last edited by mick; 02-19-2011 at 01:29 AM.

02-19-2011, 11:36 AM	#9 (permalink)
jazz Track Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: barrie ON Posts: 910 Drives: 11Zcab/12venzaV6awd Rep Power: 16	2011 wont be shipped until enf of april...im on the list and am told might even be mid may! __________________ One part rubber, three parts Krazy Glue.

02-20-2011, 04:38 PM	#14 (permalink)
samb03 Base Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: western Oklahoma Posts: 164 Drives: Black Cherry Sport Rep Power: 15	new engines are dynoed and rings seated in the factory.then they chasis dyno every car to check the trans. It isn't like the old days. I can't say i would bounce it off the limiter and just hold high revs just for the sake of it. My childhood friend's father was a shade tree mechanic and a good one. When he built a motor he would break in the cam per the manufacture instructions. drain the water and run it for a couple minutes to get the block hot and seat the rings. Let the engine cool down add coolant (the block could crack if you cool it down fast). then "test drive" it. burn outs, 10 mile high speed run, doughnuts, basicly burn 5 gallons of gas as fast as possible. His motors last for a very long time. the 454 had 300K on it when his wife took it in the divorce. I feel sorry for whoever bought cause he poured 3 pounds of sugar in the oil I think the real secret is frequent oil changes in the beginning. On motors from scratch I break in the cam, change oil, 100-500 miles, change oil, 1000-1500, change oil,3000 mi change oil, then every 3K after than. On a new on def change around 1500. then 3000 after that. Last edited by samb03; 02-20-2011 at 04:42 PM.

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02-18-2011, 10:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
Sean Base Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: SoCal Posts: 41 Drives: Honda Rep Power: 16	Drive it calmly for for the first 1000 miles but shortly after that get on it. It's all about the RPMs and not taking it for a long road trip at the same RPM. If it's a lease....well try the drive it like you stole it approach.

02-19-2011, 01:23 AM	#8 (permalink)
Nismoracer Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Earth Posts: 420 Drives: 10 Nismo Rep Power: 15	Your owners manual says wait 30 secs after you start your vehicle to let the oil flow through the engine. You can hear it when it has. After that let the engine warm up to temp then drive it however you want. Had plenty of new engines whether it's in a car, motorcycle, or pwc. I don't follow the break in process. Don't believe it. When new toys are out for testing, when reviewers test them, do they break it in before they get on it.......No. You may or may not want to hold it at full rpms for a long period of time but how can you do that anyways. I've been told the engine is usually broken in at the factory already or that it happens in the first 20 secs or 20 minutes or 20 miles something like that. I think you're good to go. Google Motomans engine break in myths if you want some subjective info.