A&Q about 350Z
Q:
i wanna bring the rpm's up so bad. but i think im gonna be patient until i get 1200 miles
A:
why 1200? 500 is usually enough.
A:
1200 as per the manual, but im sure you wont f anything up if you dont wait quite that long.
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03 CS Touring
VIN #189
A:
i have 600 miles now.
A:
I broke 1200 already in 2 weeks. Ive not broken 3,400 rpm. is that okay in your guys opinion? I have hit 97, but it was a gradual build to that speed on the freeway, never breaking 3,400 rpm.
its hard to vary speed on socal freeways....
'06 Silverstone 6 speed touring. WOW. Just WOW!
A:
All the break in periods are theorhetical and mostly to ensure someone doesn't abuse the car heavily early on which would cost Nissan $$$ in warranty costs.
I promise you that racing teams don't break in engines, nor do most engine builders who build engines for themselves. If they do, it's a few hundred miles.
19[TT]91
My TT beauty is gone.
2[00]2 Honda 954RR
Suzuki 1200 S; sportscar eater
19[I4]94 Integra GSR Sedan
Long live the Z...
aka SAHTT
A:
Break in? My break in procedure is as follows.
Start the car the first time with no coolant in it at all let it warm up to operating temp. At which point your compression ring has expanded as is seated. Turn off the car add coolant change the oil and go break in the clutch. Change the oil again for safe measures and drive it like ya stole it.
Currently parting out 1990 300zx TT.
A:
i have a feeling that using no coolant might be kinda hard on the water pump. . .
My guardian angel has twin turbos. . .
1995 Cobalt Green NA
1988 Maroon 300ZX NA (sold)
A:
For maybe 10 or 15 minutes? You arent going to hurt anything in that short ammount of time. Ive done a little research into this lately talked to a guy I trust very much today he builds motors for a living and thats the way he breaks them in and has been for years. I trust his word on it.
Currently parting out 1990 300zx TT.
A:
I am right on board with you cville300zx and zlover57. And some more besides. You guys in the break in period. They did not tell you this when you bought the car, but if you don't rev the engine to redline through the first 5 gears at least once a day after the break in period, you will turn green and your penis will fall off! They did not mention THAT little dity in the fine print of the contract to you did they!?! Not only no, but hell no! The only cure for this is to drive the car sideways around corners and install twin turbos at 5000 miles. I'm sorry it had to be me that told you...but there it is...(he he).
Post Edited (Jan 16, 7:36pm)
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to very exacting tolerances. An inappropriate comparison.
A:
By the way the motor is broken in within 20 miles no matter what when the cross hatch pattern on the cylinder walls is gone you use that during break in to polish the top ring and seat it properly.
Currently parting out 1990 300zx TT.
A:
woot woot time to bring it up than
A:
i was gonna take it easy tomorrow, but i don't want my penis falling off.
A:
ehh, Well I have taken Z's out with no miles on them at all off the lot and burnt some serious rubber playing around. I did a 4,500 RPM burn out on an AE 350Z with a total of 12 miles on it when I got in, and then sold the car to somebody the next day.
Break in period is basically to set the piston rings, and you can do that quite easily by getting the car good and hot, and driving it for a few miles. Just get it up to 60MPH or so, put it into third gear so the RPMs are good and high, and just let it decelerate while in gear until, and repeat a few times. After that process, you can do whatever you want to the car.
I used to think breaking in was important, but I too have recently learned from mechanics that 500-1200 miles of break in period are bogus. Someone even told me that its just simply a psychological gimmick, they figure if you baby the car for a certain period of time you won't be likely to radically change your driving habits at 1200 miles and start tearing up the road. Notice that an Altima manual never tells you to keep the RPMs below 3000 for 1200 miles.
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1985 300ZX n/a
A:
phxZ31 exactly. There are a few methods of doing it but the third gear pulls is another very good method.
Currently parting out 1990 300zx TT.
A:
"ehh, Well I have taken Z's out with no miles on them at all off the lot and burnt some serious rubber playing around. I did a 4,500 RPM burn out on an AE 350Z with a total of 12 miles on it when I got in, and then sold the car to somebody the next day."
wonderful, im sure you told the guy you sold it to you did that. Just goes to show the jerkoffs that work at dealerships
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03 CS Touring
VIN #189
A:
Umm when buying a sports car unless you watch them take it off the truck its a known fact its done at least one burnout.
Currently parting out 1990 300zx TT.
A:
umm when spending north of 30k on a car thats supposedly new im pretty sure you wouldn't like it if you found that out...then again i guess thats why alot of guys that ordered cars made the dealership notify them when the car was being taken off the truck. So i guess it's just a better known fact that alot of people working at dealerships are jerkoffs.
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03 CS Touring
VIN #189
Post Edited (Jan 16, 10:26pm)
A:
rock on cville300zx...thats hows it done.......... 05 350z with 18000 k and only one issue ..(grease streak) car runs like a dream. .anyone ever notice how EVERYONE on the road with any kind of car, just wants to prove how fast they are..... Jed in the big deisel truck to larry in the slammed honda or acura.. It amazes me that they even try. Most of these people are what i call rush hour racers. or clowns for short. Then you wait for them on the open road and bang ya close the door....... It is just a whole lot of fun driving this car... Never mind the ...oh i have 50 miles on mine and it is a 2002 or mine never sees the rain and i polish the inside fenders as well as the outside fenders..lol.. It is not a full size model , it was built to drive and that my friends is exactly what you should be doing....Mind you i live in the pacific Northwest so if you have snow in your neck of the woods I would put it to sleep as well. The "Z" heritage is alive folks ENJOY the ride and keep it alive.............
drzee
A:
my car had 103 miles on it when i bought it. i know it went through a few test drives. i got over it.
A:
cmcniel you bring up a good point. Oil temp gauge works wonders.
Currently parting out 1990 300zx TT.
A:
you install an oil temp gauge to break in an engine??
My guardian angel has twin turbos. . .
1995 Cobalt Green NA
1988 Maroon 300ZX NA (sold)
A:
Well, yeah. I knew me bringing that method up would result in me taking some crap for it but it works.
Currently parting out 1990 300zx TT.
A:
You and every other boy racer salesman was out there "seeing what the car was capable of."
How noble of you, discovering the car's performance so you could better advise a prospective buyer. Gosh, thanks ever so much, phx.
A:
When I test drove my Z it had 23 miles on it.
The salesman rode with me and watched me like a hawk to keep the RPMs low.
The test drive was enough to know that I had to have the car.
-Zanioed '03 Le Mans Sunset Touring Coupe w/ Nav.
A:
"Guys, I really don't understand what this break in means?? What will happen, change in performance? Gas milege? What? I have 9234 miles so far. Please inform, J."
When the car comes right off the factory line, there are a number of things that can go wrong if you aren't careful.
First of all, before the engine is initially fired up, all of the moving parts inside will be making unlubricated metal-to-metal contact. So the first time you fire it up it will start pumping oil through the block and getting all of the moving parts properly lubricated. This literally only takes a few minutes, but if your car came right off the truck and it doesn't even have a few miles on it yet, you definitely want to let it sit and idle for a few minutes before taking your first drive.
Now "breaking in" the engine is to set the piston rings properly. Piston rings fill the very thin gap between the piston and the walls of the cylinder bores. Their job is to keep the wall of the cylinder lubricated with oil to minimize friction and heat, but also to keep the oil below the combustion surface of the piston and form a high pressure seal between the piston and the cylinder walls. When the rings are installed as the engine is built, they are essentially "loose" in order to make installation easier. They are designed to expand once the engine is in use and set themselves properly in the gooves of the piston and ensure proper seal.
The piston rings will set themselves under normal driving situations when given the proper amount of time. I'd say it probably would take only 50 miles of driving or so, based on what I've been told. Or, you can help them set faster by letting the cylinders get hotter than normal, as already mentioned above. A safer way of setting the rings without running the risk of over heating your car, is to use the deceleration method (works best with manual transmission). Basically, get your car to 50 or 60 mph, put it in 3rd gear to force the RPMs to get high, and let the car decelerate in gear, with the throttle closed. Then accelerate back up and repeat the same thing maybe 15 or 20 times, and do this after the engine has idled until its reached operational temperatures. What this does is cause a large vacuum pressure to build up inside the cylinders because the throttle is closed so there is actually less air in the cylinder than there should be, thus causing a vacuum. If you have ever put your finger over the open end of a syringe and pulled back on the plunger, you know what I mean. This pressure will force the rings to set much quicker.
Now, I used to be under the impression that the engine must be babied during the break in period also... but recently I've learned from many good mechanics that this just isn't true. In fact, I've even heard that you should break in the car by driving in the manner in which you intend to drive on a habitual basis. For example, if you are a rev happy driver and you drive your car hard, you should drive hard from the get go (after you've set the rings). This is simply because as the moving parts move, they do actually expand, and bend to fit each other better. If you baby the car and it sets up that way, and then you hit 1200 miles and start flooring it all the time, you're going to be putting different stresses on parts and this can lead to shortend life of bearings, broken seals, etc.
Obviously you shouldn't take the engine to redline before the piston rings have set because you can damage them, possibly leading to oil consumption or burning oil, or low compression. But once they have set, drive however you intend to drive the vehicle on a regular basis.
Hope that clears up the "break in" period, and the purpose of it.
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1985 300ZX n/a
Post Edited (Jan 19, 12:08am)
A:
All this concern, except when it's a car on a dealer's lot waiting to be sold to the next sap that hits the showroom.
"The boss told me to."
A:
phxZ31 exactly. Only other thing that needs to be broken in an a manual transmission is the clutch. Also it wouldnt suprise me if the motor in the Z33 like many other cars comes broken in from the factory.
Currently parting out 1990 300zx TT.
A:
We used to break them in at the dealership and then change the oil before it was ever driven by anybody. Well I didn't but the lot boys or jr mechanics would.
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1985 300ZX n/a
Post Edited (Jan 20, 8:00pm)