hey wassup. i just got my max last friday and i'm loving it.

but since i had to go up to school right away, i put 250 miles on it in one night. so it's been 5 days i've had my car, and i already have 386 miles on it.

i know this can't be good. but is it ok?? i mean those 250 miles were all highway miles at aprox. 70 miles per hour.

well whats done is done, but i would like to know if what i did was good or bad, and what kind of effects it's had on my car.

also, if it's bad, can i reverse the effects?? haha...probably not, but advice on future care would be cool.

and another thing, when should i get my first oil change? and what kinda oil?? not the brand, but grade and viscosity.

i'm asking all these things b/c i might have to put another 500 miles on it next friday since i'm going home.


and i probably could do a search on this topic, but my internet is soooo slow that it took me forever just to log on to this site. so all of your inputs would be appreciated. thanks alot.

~eddie

 

First off, congrats on your new Maxima.

Secondly, all this stuff you're asking about is in the owner's manual. You know, that big book that comes with cars that nobody ever reads and is usually found in the glove compartment...

I highly recommend reading it

As for break-in, you should try to vary your driving speed and conditions as much as possible. Highway driving is okay, but just don't maintain a steady speed. Vary it between the upper and lower limits of whatever you can safely run on whatever road you're driving.

Most auto manufacturers will recommend that you avoid excessive speeds, avoid steady speeds, avoid full-throttle, vary driving conditions as much as possible, and go easy on the brakes for the first 1000 miles or so.

 

Getting the first oil and filter change done at somewhere between 500 and 800 miles is cheap insurance. Most of whatever crud left over from the manufacturing processes that didn't get flushed out shows up in the oil early. Throw it away instead of taking the risk of circulating it through the engine again. Oil filters have a bypass valve that can open and let this happen - under the logic that circulating dirty oil is better than not circulating any oil at all.

Use whatever oil is recommended in your manual. Your second oil & filter change should be at somewhere around 3000 miles.

Norm

 

Don't worry about the miles. When I first got my max I put over 1K on it the first week.. I had mines for 6months now and already have 19,560 miles

 

I dont know about others, but go strictly by the manual, see what it says. Dont worry about changing your oil after 500 mi, you can expect better from a 20K+ dollar car. Do not race it before you are over 1,000 miles.

 

thanks alot guys for all your input.

greatly appreciated.

 

So the real answer is.. NOBODY REALLY KNOWS!!!

I had about 12 miles on my 2K2 before my break-in period ended. After which, I NEVER let up on the gas. Some will argue to "read the owners manual"...but if we all obeyed the owners manual to the word, none of us would have mods. IMO, a new engine will handle everything you throw at it. It damn well better for what we pay for it..

Just my .02.

-Left

 

Drive it like you stole it.

 

dealer says not to do the first service until 3k miles. did everyone else wait that long?

 

ummm, the speed limit is to break in the wheel bearings and tranny. (and yeah, sometimes those fail before 100K). So no, its not a great idea to hammer it from day one.

Truthfully tho, sometimes it just wouldnt be safe on the interstate going less than 70.

I doubt you have or will hurt the engine. It sounds like youre being cautious enough... alot more than others, and even the people that don't worry at all dont have that many problems.. but then again, we dont have that many high mile 5th gens yet.. So play it safe.

I changed my first oil at 1500.. somewhere in the middle.

 

In all reality. The break in period is for cars before they were made by computirezed and machines that are so precise, they can sew together two pieces of hair. So basically, it doesn't matter ALL that much. HOWEVER. you should jsut vary ur speed for the first 2k.

I'd say drive it like you stole it but since you didn't... um... no

 

Ah, yes. The impatience of youth. Can't be made to wait for anything. Such haste might be OK where you only expect the engine to last a very short time (like top fuel, at one run per rebuild). Or if you really do consider a $25k car to be expendable.

Understand that anything that's produced in the quantities that the VQ engine family is made in is subject to tolerances. The machine tool bits wear a tiny amount with each use and no, the factory does not use each set of bits on juat one engine. That's why, should you look at the dimensional specs for any engine, that the critical ones are presented as ranges rather than a specific number.

When an engine is brand new, extra heat is generated as the microscopic remains of the tool mark ridges are worn off and wear patterns established. That makes things expand more and the expansions between parts is much more likely to be unequal. Should this unequal expansion make a ring gap become zero or the clearance in a bearing close up too much you're looking at major $. And BTW, just where do you suppose those little bits of metal that are worn off go to?

If you ever get the opportunity to assemble an engine, you'll better comprehend all of this. Until then, just take it on faith that easy break-in is still the way to go, and that an early oil change can only help in the long run.

Norm

 

Some engines are tighter than others.

Breakin a thing of the past? Honda yes... Toyota yes.. Nissan's VQ series NO. It's made to be a 200K+ engine and still benefits from a breakin. Treat it well and it will treat you well.

And seals and bearings arent "computerized", they still must seat.

I think its really a matter of liking your car or not. Go over to the 350z boards and tell them their VQ's dont need to be broken in.. You'll be torn apart. Also, same engine, but dealers are really really really stressing the break in on the 350Z.. odd huh? not really.

 

This is the best advice IMHO. I changed my oil @ 1000mi as well.