Sounds pretty weird...maybe some sort of OCD/mental issue...but just curious on how you guys can help me with this, and possibly answer a ton of questions I have in general. If you can please read long tangent...

So I have a G37 09, and drive it like a 02' Kia. I drive extremely slow/soft at all times, and barely ever shift over 2500-3K RPM.

My old car had a tranny go bad, so ever since that happened, i've always drived as gently as possible...

Whenever I drive I always see cars behind me getting very upset, riding right on my butt, and sometimes even honking. It's almost like I'm scared to drive the car hard. It sounds ridiculous, but it's literally the case.

Will accelerating hard all the time, cause any damage to the engine/transmission? Whenever I drive i always seem to have it shift around 2500-3000 rpm (it's automatic) until I reach the speed limit, so I usually take off from lights very slow. I want to start driving more normal/agressive, but I'm always worried about causing long term damage to the car, or wearing the car faster then I would if I didn't accelerate hard.

Also, when is the car READY to be pushed? I'm always EXTREMELY **** when I first start the car. I let it sit for 5 minutes to "warm up" then I drive it extremely gently for the first minutes. When can I drive it hard? I know the transmission is suppose to warm up as well.

By driving the car extremely slow/soft, am I doing it any good? Or is it all a waste of time? Sometimes when I turn out of my neighborhood in the morning, since I don't feel the car is ready to be pushed I drive it very softly, and sometimes it just gets stuck at like 2000-2500 rpm, almost like its waiting to shift for like 5 seconds, until i give it more gas. A few times I turned out of my neighborhood and hit it hard because I had cars behind me, but I felt like I was hurting the car. Is there a specific time that its ok to get on the car? 1 minute? 5 minutes? Or as long as the engine temp is at the right mark, just floor it? I always feel like I have to let the car warm up for a long time, before I can get it any sort of power. Although I'll see my friends hop in the car, and just blast it.

Is it ok to push the car all day on a regular basis? Every light just hit it hard? I want to totally change my driving style, but I just need to learn how it will effect the car. When I get onto the highway I always accelerate so slow, but I want to just floor it, but then again if I do I feel like I took so much life off the car.

Everytime I drive I also always stare at the rpm's, and make sure I keep it under 3k at every shift. I have no idea why I do this. Does it matter where the heck it shifts at? I would love to just drive and drive hard without thinking about it so much.

A few other things I constantly worry about..

1. Using the HIDs too much (driving for a long trip at night/going out at night alot)
2. Making alot of trips at night (turning HIDs on and off alot)
3. Starting the car too many times a day (I try to limit it to 4 times MAX, but when I have to do errands I get really upset)
4. Going on the highway right after I start my car (I live close to I-95)

P.S. The car is a 36 month LEASE...

Thanks guys! Sorry if I jumped around too much in the post...

 

are you planning to keep the car after your lease is up?

 

your fine.. stop worrying! drive that thing!

 

Nope.

 

RPM's don't hurt transmissions, and neither does full throttle if they're designed to handle it, the thing that wears them out the most is the act of shifting, and the wear which happens is on the clutch and the syncros. So, redline that thing if you want, but make nice, rev-matched, smooth shifts, and you'll be treating your transmission right. Don't worry so much The break in period is for your engine, not your transmission.

 

I have 6k miles, not in the break-in period any more.

 

Grow a pair and drive that car likes its meant to be driven. Whats the point of having a 300+ hp luxury coupe if you dont use the gas pedal?

As long as youre not bouncing the tach off the redline your not gonna damage the car, just lower your mpg.

Dont hammer on it right after you get in the car, waiting a few minutes til the temp gauge gets up there is fine, then smash it and pitch it sideways

 

I'm going to start driving the car like it was meant to be driven. I just hope I don't feel guilty like usual...I always feel like I'm hurting it.

Also "Dont hammer on it right after you get in the car, waiting a few minutes til the temp gauge gets up there is fine, then smash it and pitch it sideways"

When is an ok time? How do you know when it's READY? Also when you say don't hammer how do I need to drive it before its ready to be hammered? Because only brining it up to 2500-3000 doesnt work too good when you have oncoming traffic, I live on a busy road.

 

I totally see where you are coming from and I felt the same with my 04 when I got it.

You dont have to drive the car like crap all the time. I wait till my car is at least warmed up till I even speed in it (by warmed up i mean temp gauge reads in between hot and cold)

The cars engine and trans are built really well and are made to take some abuse. The manufacturer knows people will slam on the gas and brake, and the car was made for that purpose also.

I have 65k on my 04 now and have hit the rev limiter a few times and it hurt me inside when it happned, but no damage was done.

Just do your maintenance and enjoy the car

 

Youre giving this way too much thought. Just drive, you have an automatic, you dont even have to worry about shifting. I have a maunal, I shift anywhere from 3k to 7k, obviously Im not winding it up to redline all the time but I can tell when a manual needs to be shifted just by the sound of the engine. Youre not even entered the powerband driving like you do. These cars pull hard around 4k and up

I let my gf drive my G and she says she hates driving 6 speed cuz "shifting takes too much thinking", I dont think Ive ever thought about shifting or how hard i was driving my car since I started driving at 16.

People shouldnt be riding your *** and blowin horns, go the speed limit or 5 or 10 over, more commonly known as the flow of traffic.

After about 5-10 mins your car is warmed up(depending on whether you live where it gets cold out), and no it doesnt have to sit and idle for that amount of time, get in and drive, oil circulates within seconds of startup. Obviously dont start the car and do a burnout, but wait a few minutes til the temp gauge is normal before you wind the tach up.

I drive way faster than most people, accelerate like a bat out of hell merging onto the freeway, from time to time ill turn thru an intersection and whip the *** end of the car out and drift(if thats what you wanna call it) thru the intersection. As long as Im not missing gears or revving to redline its all good.

Everytime I get in my car its a blast to drive, you should try it

 

Don't hammer it until the engine is at its steady operating temperature (This takes ~2 miles in my experience). The car is designed to handle all of the power that it has, and you are most definitely not hurting it. The way to be gentle to a car is with smooth inputs, don't stab the gas, don't kick the brake, etc. When driving on the track, people tell you to imagine you have an egg between your foot and the pedals and drive like you don't want to break it. Apply throttle smoothly, but quickly, same for the brake. Smoothness is good for the car, and it lets you drive faster since sudden inputs can upset the chassis.

I've been driving this car hard and enjoying it ever since the day I bought it in 2003. To give you an idea; my tires last less than 10k miles and my brakes last maybe 15k miles due to the way I drive. A few months ago, I used up half of my brake pads in a single track day. Despite being driven this way, my engine and transmission run like new. Seriously, you're not going to hurt the car unless you do something dumb and power oversteer into a tree or something. If you've never driven a powerful car before, be careful not to drive it outside your comfort zone, since panic can make people do dumb things.

 

This is funny! Stop being scared man wtf! It's not even yours it's a lease!!!!

 

this thread is classic

if it makes u feel better i jackrabbit light to light and my cars still alive

 

So I can floor it all day, and cause no problems? Like when getting on the highway, can I just FLOOR it to the ground? This causes no damage?

 

^wtf?

Are you being serious?

How old are you?

Stop dicking around and drive the car normally instead of being a dumb a$$ and causing traffic everywhere.