Well...i waited the 1200 miles and once i saw it turn...took a quick picture of it and...

W O T!!!



What a great feeling!!!

 

I'm at 2400+kms and still haven't nailed it. One day...

 

Up until 1700 km's I've been pretty diligent at keeping it under 4,000 rpm (although it revs so freely it's pretty easy to make the odd mistake and find yourself at 6500 - especially if you go manual mode downshift right after going from full-auto to DS mode and it has already downshifted...ooops.)

Anyway, as I've been creeping ever closer to 2,000 km's I've been gradually notching it up the band for brief spurts every few days, 4500, 5000, 5500 etc. (nothing crazy), just to stretch 'er out a bit.

No idea if it's the 'right' way (if there really is one), but it just feels like it's better to gradually work it up there as opposed to staying below 4,000 rpm for the whole time - then suddenly hammer it. Kind of like an athlete warming up, stretching out, etc. before going full bore. She certainly feels like an athlete ready to sprint...

 

9 days after I pick up my car, I will be driving 1500 miles (from NJ to Dallas, TX). The positive in this is that I won't have to worry about being under 1200 miles for very long . The bad is that from what I've read, keeping the car at a constant speed for a drive that long is far from ideal. Any suggestions? I guess I can change geers manually to get the revs varying, and I'm doing the drive over the course of two days, so I won't completely be overheating the enginge. Any tips?

 

Exactly what I've been doing on the highway drives...going from full auto, to DS (which kicks the revs up by a few hundred), then back to full auto, then to DS again, then to manual and a downshift - carefully checking that the speed you're running at won't pop the revs way over 4,000 if you downshift that extra gear. And of course just varying the speed changes the revs and the bands they go to when employing the above technique. Although it does drive the other folks crazy when you pass them at one speed, then later slow down and they pass you, then later you're back on their a** again. Makes for lots of left lane / right lane changes. Oh well...it'll keep you awake on your drive...

 

Just wondering, I live only 8 miles (15 minutes) away from my work. Should I extend the driving time?

I'm waiting on my vehicle to be delivered in May and it's good to read these postings before I get it.

 

Ya know, when I buy my daughter a new toy, it usually does a little something while checking it out in the store, and when you get it home and out of the packaging, there's a little plastic tab that you need to pull out, and then the toy has full capabilities.
For example, the toy may play one line of a song, but when the tab is pulled, the whole song plays.

I wish my G had this little plastic tab, which is not to be pulled out of it's little slot until proper 1200 mile break-in is complete.

Keeping it under 4K is tough!

 

While break in period is an important factor of proper engine maintenance, I think that going overboard with religious watching eye on the tachometer isn't necessary either. It's true, you probably shouldn't a$$ rape your engine until you have racked at least 1200 miles, but at the same token, you won't shorten the engine's life span if you were to go above 4000rpms a few times.

Have fun with it. Don't worry, be happy (and safe)

 

LOL

Pft... Good thing!

 

That's an interesting way to do it. So far I haven't gone that far, I just make sure I don't keep it at the same rev for the whole trip. I tried to vary it by shifting manually but every now and then I forget to shift early.

 

Ive heard this many of times about not keeping the engine at a constant rpm during break in. Why exactly is that?

 

That whole break-in period is BS. Drive it like you stole it from the begining.

 

You want to vary the heat range of the rings, cylinder walls and bearings. This reduces hot spots caused by uneven surfaces until everything is smooth and seated.
New engine manufacturing has much smoother surfaces and tighter tolerances.. but there are still rough spots that need to be smoothed out.

 

and this is based on what? Your vast experience in engine building..?
The break-in period is still very important in a new modern engine. I don't agree that it has to be for 1200 miles... but it can't hurt.
New engines are very tight and rough machine surfaces cause excessive heat on engine parts. Running the engine easy allows these areas to be smoothed out without uneven heat build-up. Rings need to seat properly so they won't scar the hatch pattern that keeps the oil from draining too fast off the cylinder walls.
A proper break-in will help ensure the engine will perform to spec years down the road...

 

So lets say quite few people do A$$ rape the car right out the door, and don't bother with any break in period.

Is something going to go wrong? I don't think so, and the reason is simple, the manufacturer and engineers that make the car know that statistically speaking, a certain percentage of people are not going to heed the "break in period" rules or even touch the user manual.

If there were to be issues with not following the break-in period suggested by the manufacturer, then a huge percentage of these cars would have these issues, most likely before the car is out of warrenty therefore costing the manufacturer money, because they have no proof to tell them how the car was "broken in".

I'm still curious what sort of issues one would suspect form a car that wasn't properly broken in.