by the way, after the break in period, the geezer stomped on it one night for the first time and scared himself crapless. There is quite a bit of difference below 4000 and above!
Enjoy!

 

The recommended shift points in the manual aren't ridiculous, they're economical. That would be where you would shift to conserve fuel. The 5AT will often be in 2nd gear extremely briefly before moving on to third when under slow acceleration.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

All,

I work for Nissan in Detroit. I was told by one the many engineers that the break-in period is not required (I was like no way dude). He said the engine parts are coated with synthetic compounds that will ensure engine's life. Engine break-in is a good practice but unneccessary according to the engineers(???). Enjoy!!

 

That's an interesting statement coming from a Nissan employee. Actually I've heard this b4 from Nissan techs, and from others not associated with Nissan. It seems that the old school break in procedures aren't etched so deeply in stone these days, altho the O/M's aren't so lenient.
I'm from that 'old school' and will always break in as I always did, but it sounds like it's not nearly as important or necessary as it once was.
Any more info on where Nissan officially and unofficially stands on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the heads up and welcome to our site.[img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

<font color=green>GSM</font color=green>

 

hey, on that 400 mile trip for easter, make sure you vary the speed.... not a good idea to go on long freeway trips during the break in period...

 

I don't think it's a matter of friction wear so the coating isn't really the issue, but more a matter of letting all the individual piece sort of fit together... there might be air or space or gaps or things could fit a little bit more (granted we're talkign about microscopic levels here) if you let them sort of wear into place without putting them under high stress... but like some have said, breaking might merely mean the difference between a 100K car and 200K car... doesn't hurt to have a little discipline for the first 1200 miles.

 

I was pushing my car the day I got it. Dealers tell you to break-in softly so that you don't blow up the engine if there is a defect. Since that is the case that is exactly what I want to do. If there is a flaw in my engine I want to know as soon as possible so that they can fix it under warrenty. Also if you don't push the car the rings will never seat properly. With that you loose compression and your engine will never be as powerful as it should have been. Also when I discusses with my dealer he told me that the engine was already broken in and that I should drive it like I am going to so that the computer learn my driving habits fast. I have about 1100 miles on my 6MT after about 3 weeks and my engine is fine.

G35 Coupe 6spd w/ PP & Aero
DG w/ Graphite Leather
&lt;a href=http://www.meradin.net&gt;Mera'din.net&lt;/a&gt;

 

Meradin wrote:
"Also if you don't push the car the rings will never seat properly. With that you loose compression and your engine will never be as powerful as it should have been."

Sorry Meradin, but this is completely unsubstantiated bullhokey. You will NOT lose compression of you don't push the engine right out of the gate, and you WILL NOT affect the ring seating negatively if you're not redlining the engine as soon as you take delivery. That's totally false, and you're going to lead anyone who is stupid enough to believe you into significantly shortening the life of their engines.

The outright ignorance and stupidity of some people really amazes me. I saw an article on a webpage showing pictures of different pistons, and how you ought to be standing on the engine from day one to get the rings to seat properly and all that, and I think that guy should be shot. He doesn't have a freaking CLUE about engines, and those pictures are pure bull - the one piston is BRAND NEW and there's no way you're going to get me to believe that it's been in service at all, let alone for the time they're saying.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing - but complete ignorance is even worse.

2003 G35 Coupe 6MT Leather
Premium, Aero
"There is no spoon"

 

I'm at 900 mi. I'm following the user manual ( <=4K, varied speed).

I've been reading a lot of posts about break in methods (or lack of them) and eventually I've decided I'm with Fastblack - follow the manual. Second guessing seems like it could either be good advice, or very bad advice. It seems like the manual is going to pretty safe.

Since the manual says you can take it to 4K so I wouldn't sweat doing that (and I'm not).

-john

 

I have a Carribibean Blue 35 Coupe 6MT, with the aero package. I got my G35 on Jan 2nd and it took 5000 miles to break it in. It almost feels as if the car was a bit restricting before but, now there is a big difference.