I know what the manual recommends, but I was told at the dealership that many people drive the car no different during the first 1200 miles than what they will do after (and that is OK according to them).

Aside from varying the mph, what has everyone been doing? I guess one of the computers in the car will collect telemetry data on your driving habits. What does the car do with this information? I want to spin the tires a little, see what it will do and have some fun but I have only 200 miles on the car...

I didn't bash the car but I wasn't easy on it either. I have read many websites on the subject and have talked to a few motor builders. There two factions that will profess loudly that their way to break in the engine is best. Some say run the $hit out of it and other say take it easy. so really the choice is yours

I've done both methods, the engine feels much more powerful if you drive it harder during break in. I don't mean redline the crap out of it, just don't baby it either, give it some juice. Good luck.

break in whaaa?

I'm at 28K miles now. Is it too late for a do-over?

ROFLMAO!

I followed the manual but broke 4000RPMs maybe 4 times in the first 1200 - I was learning to second-guess my manu-matic and 'dint do so well..' hehe..

Also - even though I stayed below 4000 except for the aforementioned, I ran up to that mark a little more aggressively as the miles began to add. I started out driving like a wuss, then slowly began to be a little more aggressive on the gas once I got her rolling. No hard launches, no hard braking, no WOT, just firm acceleration.

Don't know if this is the best way, only know it's the way recommended (mostly) by the MFR. I followed the rules as written, with a few DOHs!.

I have 600 miles on my 05 and just tipped over 4K RPMs for the first time about a week ago. I pushed the gas and hit the "lets roll" part of the engine. It was up and moving quicker than a girls dress on prom night. Other than that instance, it's been smooth power up to 4k...can't wait til when I hit the 1200K mark.

Do you not give Infiniti any credit for being a "motor (sic) builder?"

What motive would Infiniti have for not giving out guidance about engine break-in that was based on sound engineering?

1st day i had it did 135 in the rain. now i have 15000 miles on the car. 0 problems.

At 1000 miles now and still following the rules, but I may start to hit 4500 a few times just in case it helps the car as I figure there is not that much difference between 1000 and 1200. At 200 miles I would not think of hitting 4500 rpms. I will not go beyond 4500 until I hit 1200 miles.

I drove hard from day one ... really really hard ... as i took the drive it hard approach.
Car seems fast as hell and no problems. at 6000 miles now.

I'm w/ Corgidog, 1200 miles isn't that long of a time, why take chances w/ something I'm going to potentially own for a long time and that cost a lot of money?...

Ran mine hard at times right from the start. Tried to stay under 5500 most of the time but redlined it probably 10 times in the first 1200.

Infiniti's motive is money. Every new motor has been tested at the factory. 85% of the wear on a new motor is done in the first 10 minutes of running. Infiniti's reasoning is simple, If something is going to come undone, it's going to be less catastrophic if the motor is kept under 4K than it is if the motor is revved above that. Bottom line, less damage, less warranty cost to repair it.

I kept it under 4K as the book suggests, until about 930 miles, when a kid in a Tbird....uh....motivated me...to break the 4K limit. I also learned to turn off VDC when being so "motivated". Although probably no longer important, I still kept it under 4K after that until 1200 miles.

The first couple hundred miles I babied it. I went over 4000 RPM one time - the first time I tried manumatic and ended up downshifting instead of upshifting and hit about 5000-5500. After that first few hundred miles I went over 4000 RPM pretty regularly, but only up to about 4500. Several times around 600-800 miles I ran it up to about 6000. I think that whole 40000RPM limit in the manual has something to do with how much horsepower is generated above that range. I don't know about anyone else, but for me, when I hit the gas from a dead stop, it almost seems like a turbo charger kicks in once you hit 4000 RPM up to redline.