The dealer told me there was no need to worry about a break-in period. I drove my 04 SE a little hard the first day or so. Have I done irreparable damage?

 

The 1000 to even sometimes 5000 mile break in's you hear about are out dated.

The first few minutes of the engines operation are the crutial ones now. The rings seat much quicker with the new metals.

Really now, the break in steps are more like. Pressurize the oil system, Start the engine, Rev to 2000-3000 RPM until operating temp is reached, let idle and adjust timing as needed. At that point everything should ok. Then the engine needs to be ran shortly with a load on it, and checked for leaks. At that point the oil should be changed... all this stuff, the factory where then engine is built, should do.

 

The 1000 to even sometimes 5000 mile break in's you hear about are out dated.

The first few minutes of the engines operation are the crutial ones now. The rings seat much quicker with the new metals.

Really now, the break in steps are more like. Pressurize the oil system, Start the engine, Rev to 2000-3000 RPM until operating temp is reached, let idle and adjust timing as needed. At that point everything should ok. Then the engine needs to be ran shortly with a load on it, and checked for leaks. At that point the oil should be changed... all this stuff, the factory where then engine is built, should do.

Think of it this way, do you really think that NASCAR, Top Fuel Dragsters, Formula 1 and all those guys put 1000 miles on their engines before they race between 50 and 500 miles?

 

Please see my other post referenced per 2004 owners manual "BREAK-IN SCHEDULE" 5-14:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....7&pagenumber=1

 

I took on a 2002 Cobra on the first night, tested my rev limiter... I've lowered my sights a little since then but at 3,500 miles everything seems OK.

Is it just me? When I had the 2k1 AE, I couldn't drive to the store for a news paper without somebody wanted to take it on. In the 2k4 almost no one wants to test it. To date I've had but four chances. So far I'm 3 and 1.

 

I've had no takers yet. A lot of rubberneckers but no takers. Rev limiter? Sorry but you're dealing with a novice here.

 

I have to agree, with the higher level of machining on the blocks, heads, pistons, rings, etc, there is less of a need for a break in period.

I still took it easy for the first 500-1000 miles, for the most part...

 

one thing that I chuckled at in the owners manaul was saying to wait 500 miles before towing something, yet 1000 miles to rev it above 4000 RPM... um okay IMO, towing is a lot worse then redlining.

 

I think you should wait until you buy a truck to tow something...

 

The manual that came with my 04 Max says the break-in period is 1200 miles..not over 4k RPM or sustained speed high or low for long periods of tiime......You guys better write the factory engineers and tell them this is outdated....cuz they obviously have not figured it out yet

 

Its NOT outdated for the VQ. Honda and Toyota do not need a breakin, Nissan does. Its common knowledge that the Vq makes the most HP at 5-10K miles. The upside is that you have a 200K engine. Break anything by not following the recommendations? No.. However, there are a few VQs consuming a qt of oil between changes. I doubt you want to be one of those.

Also, you are breaking in wheel bearings and the transmission. That is where the speed recommendation comes in. They can fail too..

But hey its your car and $30K, do whatever you want.

 

Oh and I'll just add, when I bought my G35C, they were VERY adamant about breakin.. As they are when you buy a 350Z. We share so many components (including the engine) its not even funny. Seriously, go over to my350z or freshalloy and tell them you arent doing a break in on a VQ and they will ride you like a rented mule. What's the difference? Nothing but uneducated salespeople on the Nissan lot...

 

My point exactly Tim.....was kinda tongue in cheek but .......Why pay that much for a car then assume they don;t know what they are talking about....I will follow the manual for my breakin period too

 

As for the 4K rpm, sometimes you cant help but hit it. Sometimes the only safe way to merge is to hit 5K. Just dont stay at 5K very long. You are trying to avoid heat build up in the rings and bearings. You shouldn't cause probs in that 2-3 seconds.

 

say what you will, break in periods were designed when engines where not machined with the precision that they are today. Todays engines are machined to such perfection that it really leaves the break in period as a thing of the past. Will it hurt, no...

BTW, to rely on what a sales person says as the bible is just plain silly.

 

say what I will? Ignoring your owners manual just because you cant wait 2-4 weeks to hammer on your car is weak.

You can microfinish engine all day, that doesnt mean you wont have hot spots with the rings and bearings. Those spots wont wear if they are allowed to break in.

And again, its NOT just the engine. Hell, were you aware that youre supposed to break in the tires??
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...l/break_in.htm

wanna talk rotors and pads?

Point being the owners manual says that for a reason. Assuming your car is the same as others is weak too. Forget that BMW uses a sump oil system, they can go 12K between oil changes! Lets do that too! Engines are all the same :/

 

Most defanitely, local mechanic (Nissan) told me of a story of a Maxima owner (01) who "didnt believe" either in proper breakin of a new engine.......and he ended up having major problems......he finally sold it and being aggravated to crap with it....and Nissan's lousy service. ( I know you naysayers will say he had a lemon anyway......but whatever, he didnt properly break in his VQ and he ended up paying the price.

 

So how is it that you properly brake in your rotors and pads? Only use them a little, no matter what the situation? Come on... All engines aren't the same, but they are all milled to about the same specs these days. Engines have come a long way from 30 or 40 years ago, when you would have to change the oil ever couple hundred miles during your first couple of months. Don't have to do that anymore do we?

 

I had a brand new 2000 Max and had never heard of a break in period. I ran that thing to the rev limiter every day from day 1 for three years and never had a single problem. I was *not* easy on that car, and I never had to do anything other than change the oil.

Now granted, I wouldn't do all out 1/4 miles 5 times a week in the first month, but driving like a granny that whole time? Seems unnecessary.

A friend of mine bought a 2000 Max the same time I did, and he was letting it idle for a couple minutes every morning to warm up, almost never went over 4000 RPMs, etc etc. Did it do him any good? Not as far as I could tell. Neither of our cars ever had a problem. My clutch had a little more travel on it after three years, but that might just be my clutching style.

*shrug*

Is there some hard evidence that a break period will make a statistically significant difference in the life of the engine? If there is, I would certainly like to hear it. I don't want to ruin my Maxima any more than anyone else does.

-Nate

 

I agree totally, what is a few weeks of agonny vs a few years of hell if you dont want to break it in properly. I have heard of several cases of this happening that is on reason why I wouldnt by a previous rental.

 

There is no comparison to a rental. Rentals are beaten bad, I drive my car fast but don't beat it. I don't tranny drop, I don't go up and down curbs, off roading, etc... which I know people do in rentals. I have a friend that has never not broken a rental.

Besides, all rental cars are certified off road vehicles

 

Yes it is a comparison if its not broken in "PROPERLY"(which could mean various things) its just not, rental or not referring to the engine. Yes they might as well be off road vehicles,lol!

 

It is just 1000 miles or so folks, what is the big deal? IMHO it is much better to be safe than sorry.......taking it easy for a 1000 miles is no big deal, and who knows maybe it will make your car last longer with more trouble-free miles.

 

hell, at that rate, why not do it for 10,000 miles, maybe it will last longer...

I don't advocate beating on your car the day you take it home, but driving it like a car isn't going to do any major damage to it either.

 

gmc74, if you want to beat your car, go ahead.. Youre simply not willing to listen. Whats affected? MPG, HP and oil consumption.. if those things are not important to you, than by all means tear a$$ off the lot and dont let up til it dies.

Countless cars get beat on by salespeople and test drives and they dont fail. Not breaking in your car doesnt mean anything... Its only an ounce of prevention.

Btw, ever been to a big maxima meet with a dyno? That modern marvel of a VQ can dyno -/+ 15hp... The same route can vary as much as 3-5mpg between cars. And again, some VQs dont use a drop of oil, others need a qt every 3000 miles (this is at 5000 miles). Having broken in a few Nissans that dont use oil, get good mpg and have made good power, I'm gonna stick with what I personally know about breakin.

Oh, I wasnt a freak about break in.. I enjoyed the car the day I got it off the lot.. I just stayed away from high revs and didnt drive 90mph.

The only difference between your maximas and the G35c/350Z in regards to religious breakin procedures is respect. Its like night and day between you guys.. thats bizarre.

 

if you never drive above 65 you will probably have a better running engine too.

I am not advocating beating on your car, I guess saying it once isn't enough. I just think what I am saying is lost on you. You say that I am not willing to listen, yet you are in the same boat.

 

What am I missing? why not do it for 10K? Because 1200 miles is enough.

Again, there are potential hot spots in the rings and bearings. *potential* Your car may not have them. You have a very high likelihood of not needing to worry about this at all. Once those areas have had time to work in (thats engine, tranny, wheel bearings), then you'll be fine. But if you have a hot spot and then rev high or drive at high speeds before it has time to work out, you'll build excess heat and have wear. After that short breakin period, driving faster than 65 wont cause premature wear.

You can't drive safely in most metro areas *within* the breakin recommendations. Sometimes you have to pace traffic at 70 or merge at 5K rpm. Just understand why they are recommended. If you want to minimize the *chance* of issues later, *try* to adhere.

 

I understand what you are saying, I just don't agree with it. We will have to agree to disagree.

 

who said anything about 10,000 miles? geez man this is a played out song with you. I cant believe you are argueing about somthing as simple as proper breakin of a new car. Guess I shouldnt be surprised after what we have read on here before.

 

Get real GMC....You are justing argumenative for no reason..Noone said anything about 10K miles.....To me the people that build the cars write the manuals...These people are engineers....I would bet they know more about the cars than you do....Like the man said ,,beating a dead horse here.....

 

Uhhh right... just add a zero and it's the same. If people aren't full-grown adults til age 18, "at that rate" we might as well be children til 180 right? With that brilliant reasoning, we might as well feed babies alcohol, right?

Okay, that was a bit facetious. But seriously, unless you've personally designed an engine that's been ranked tops for nearly 10 years, you might do well to keep unsubstantiated claims out of earshot of people whose cars might be damaged by it. The key word is "might." I'll be damned if I'll ignore the makers of my engine and instead listen to arbitrarily concocted theories.

 

haha, yeah those examples are about the same...

My point, which was obviously lost on most of you, is simple. If driving slow for the first 1000 miles, or 1500 miles will help, why not extend that out to 3000 or 5000 or 10000? An ounce of prevention...

So is it reasonable to assume that all of you do everything that is stated in the owners manual, come on...

 

forget it guys, it is useless with him.

 

Right you are Jake!!!!....Like discussing outerspace with my 3 year old nephew....

 

exactly........

 

is it above your head?


I get it, if someone disagrees with you then they are wrong, or thick headed? Maybe you need to realize that you aren't going to change others opinions by just telling them that "the book says it so I do it".

 

All I want to add is the Law of Diminsihing Returns applies after the normal break in period is over. And, yes, break in does provide "returns." Maybe you won't notice it right away, if at all, but someone down the car's useful life will...

 

You just proved our point GMC....Thick headed,,, you said it not us.....You don;t do it because the book says so......You do it because the book is based on facts known by people who build the cars...Why is that so hard for you to understand....???...What do you base your breakin period on.??? Nothing.....enough said ,,Case closed,.,,,

 

I understand the premise or theory behind a break in period, to make sure the rings seat properly and that there is a good seal so you don't burn oil down the road. I just disagree with the amount of time it takes for this to occur. In some cars, it says 600 miles (Honda), others are over 1000, some are none. Since there is such a higher build quality, and the parts fit better at the factory than they did in the past, this has all but renderred the "break in" period as we have known it, non-existant.

 

Umm understanding the theory behind their suggestion doesn't really entitle you to second-guess them. I think it's safe to assume they understand the theory better than you, and therefore can produce better estimates than you. My post above was intended to point out that, as CCS says, there are diminishing returns.

To answer your question as to why not keep it up for 10,000 miles, it's the same as asking why you don't postpone the smoking age to 180... by 18, most people are fully grown. I suppose you could reply with "I understand the premise behind Nature making us mature, I just disagree when this happens." If the Nissan engineers who MADE the engine decide on a number, how can your information empower you to make a "better one?" They clearly have all the information you do, and much, much more.

Intelligence is no substitute for knowledge in this arena... listen to them until you know more about their own engine than they do.