New member here, and question!

[ONRAILS]

Hey everyone, just wanted to introduce myself! Bought my Silver MSP last Friday with 122miles on it. So far... I love the car! Was driving a 96 Chevy Lumina for 5 years (152K miles on it) and pretty much needed a new one.

So far, the board has been very informational to say the least! One question I had was about the "Break in" period? Is there one? I asked the service department, and they told me that there isn't one... just not to go full fledge racing until the first oil change. I haven't really been driving it hard, but I just wanted to be sure.

Aside from that, is it really necessary to get a turbo timer? Oh, I have already experienced the "hesitation" (thought it was my clutch work, rusty here) so I called and made an appointment for the ECU Flash.

I did have that dreaded "clatter" coming from the rear. I originally thought it was the spoiler or something, but it ended up being the rear deck lid where the speakers, amp and woofer are. The service guy just inserted a sponge like thing.

Alright... kinda long winded, but hi!

Dave

[Himoura]

I kept mine under 4G's for the 1st 900 miles. I redlined it once at about 400 mile intervals, make sure everything sets in, and don't keep it at the same speed for a long period of time. make sure you let it cool down for 30 sec after running it

[pdhaudio83]

:) welcome. did you read the FAQ yet? (serious question)

[ONRAILS]

Thanks! Yep, just read the faq's. I need to get my vin # to get the production number.

[TigrMsP]

Welcome. I've been driving mine pretty moderately. It's right past 1,000 miles and I haven't gone all the way up to redline yet.

Like mentioned earlier, I let it idle after driving, even if it's not really far... better safe than sorry in my opinion.

[Zray]

I'm still in my break-in period as well - a question I have is exactly what don't you want to do with the car during break-in? Common sense seems to be not to gun it, or floor it... I've had the speedometer up to 6k but not over, and only a couple times in the 400 miles I've had it so far; I tend to keep it below 5k. I accelerate fairly midly, (although it's kinda hard to keep the car from just taking off on its own) and I don't do any hard braking. I keep the speed down in turns, and I go slow over bumpy roads. I let the car warm up and cool down before and after driving, and I can't think of much else then that. That's the way I've driven her for the last 400 miles, with the unavoidable occasional burst of speed every 40-50 miles or so :D

Is there anything I'm missing?

[ONRAILS]

Well crap... I "floored" it a few times (showing off to my son), but not like I drive like that all the time. I think I've made it up to 6k a couple of times in 1st. Now that I'm seeing these replies, I'm gonna start "babying" it.

Why would the mechanics tell me that "new" engines nowdays do not need a "break-in" period?

I would have to say the most important thing is to let the car warmup, and cool down properly.

[pdhaudio83]

having a turbo its a good idea to break the car in for maybe 1500 miles. make sure to let the car cool after extended use or high rev use (or get a turbo timer)

[servoeyes]

D_stickney....how old are you. I went to High School with a Dave Stickney. Course...that was up here, but it'd be funny to know two Dave Stickneys from different parts of the states in one short lifetime...heh.

As for your question...screw break-in. :D
That's not true...but I was given the same advice...basically drive it like you stole it. I learned how to drive stick on my MSP, pretty much and it's still alive almost 15k miles later. I also only did break-in until about 600 miles and tried to redline twice in that period. Then I changed the oil and have driven it normally since.

- EDIT -

And oh yeah...turbo timers can be fun and useful...especially the ones with a boost guage!

[ONRAILS]

servoeyes... I am 33, but I doubt I am the same Stick. I went to highschool in Spain until middle of senior year, then moved to MD.

[servoeyes]

Wow...that's really weird, and cool. Spain, eh...Hola! That's about about as far as my knowledge goes!

Welcome aboard, bud...enjoy the car...it freakin' rules! :)

Oh...and whatever you do, don't try to get out in the snow with the Bridgestones on there. :D

[GotBoost]

welcome to the board. as far as break in. I kept it under 3K for the first 500 miles...oil change...under 4500 for the next 500 miles...oil change. drive hard until 3000 miles (oil change to synthetic this weekend) 2849 miles on it right now. as far as spanish goes... I can say 2 things (pardon the spelling)

1) Mas Cerveza!!

2) Donde estas el bano?

3) oh and I know Mas Tequilas!!!

again welcome to the board

[BlkZoomZoom]

"welcome to the board. as far as break in. I kept it under 3K for the first 500 miles...oil change...under 4500 for the next 500 miles...oil change. drive hard until 3000 miles (oil change to synthetic this weekend) 2849 miles on it right now"

-Sounds like a waste of natural resources to me.

-How many people actually think the mechanics test driving the cars after the pdis and alignments take it easy on the cars?? Every car I pdi I beat so it will break for me and not the person buying it.

-In my opinion no/very little break in period is needed (brought mine to the track with 132miles on it).

[505zoom]

Originally posted by BlkZoomZoom

-Sounds like a waste of natural resources to me.

-How many people actually think the mechanics test driving the cars after the pdis and alignments take it easy on the cars?? Every car I pdi I beat so it will break for me and not the person buying it.

-In my opinion no/very little break in period is needed (brought mine to the track with 132miles on it).

(werd)
Nearly all modern motors are broken in prior to being put in the car. Don't drive at a constant rate of speed/rpm for a real long time for the first 500 miles and you'll be fine. I have heard from several people who build motors that it's actually even better to run them harder than normal at first.

[AutoBox]

/\/\/\/\/\/\ i heard this as well i know for sure all modern engines are broken in before being put in the car....but the drivng hard when u first get it is a toss up, i babied my car just to make sure the tranny and clutch and all its messing together good for the first 500 miles, then i slowly progress my shift points until i get to 1k miles then im gonna redline it a few times....right now im at 790 and i shift at 5000rpm.....also massive oil changes is pointless, swap the oil out at 1k just to get what ever may have been left in the engine and go to full synthetic at 3k....

[shaolin]

The first oil change should be performed at about 3500 miles. The oil that comes with your car has a significant number of additives, chemicals, and other materials to help your engine establish normal wear patterns. If you changed your oil sooner, you should be fine, but generally it is recommended that you leave the oil that came in the motor for as long as possible.

Personally, I asked my service manager about break in, and he said just don't drive it too hard, but don't baby it too much because you'll glaze the cyllinder walls. So basically just drive it normally, with varied speeds and RPM's, just don't beat the hell out of it either. When I go in for my first oil change I'm definitely going to be putting synthetic, mainly because turbo charged motors typically break down engine oil faster, and synthetic oil is a bit more resistant to break down.