Another break-in Q, drive it like I stole it?

[stockrex]

Greeting from warm sunny west michigan,
I just bought a 2010 honda fit (base with auto). it has 2.5 miles on the odo.
all my new vehicles till now I broke them in driving conservatively.

So how should I break this in?
I am tempted to break it by driving like usually do ;-)

anyone care to share their experience on break in process and any adverse effects like oil usuage, compression loss etc.

TIA

 

[Quest]

2.5miles?! Gosh! you must have bought it straight from the factory assembly line!

I broke in mine just by driving like I normally should in the city and hiway. I started my hiway trip when mine was around 260kms and all the way until 2300kms (all hiway, between 100~120kms/hr) and the rest until my first oil change (5000kms, with mortarmeister 5W20 full syn).

There's no requirement for special break-in procedures for all engines are now "broken in" already. Just drive normally.

Q.

Note: there shall not be any obvious oil usage or compression loss (where on-earth did you hear about that?!!?) until your engine dies of old age, or suffered from jammed oil control rings due to maintenance negligence.

 

[Pablo]

I wouldn't drive it like a maniac, but on the other hand, baby bogging it is probably the worst thing you could do to it.

 

[SLCraig]

Always break in my vehicles how I'll be driving them.. Some of the break in techniques or whatever that dealers will tell you, to me, are laughable.. I've never had any issues taking a car and just driving it how I wanted to.

Besides, your car is a Honda, its not going to go down easy

 

[David S.]

If the owner's manual has suggestions on how to drive (and maybe how to break and how to shift the gears) when the vehicle is new then I'd suggest following their advice.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

Break in procedures are more for axle gears than they are for engines. THe engine really needs no special treatment.
From Randy's Ring and Pinion
What is the break-in proceedure for a new set of gears?

All new gear sets require a break-in period to prevent damage from overheating. After driving the first 15 or 20 miles it is best to let the differential cool before proceeding. I recommend at least 500 miles before towing. I also recommend towing for very short distances (less than 15 miles) and letting the differential cool before continuing during the first 45 towing miles. This may seem unnecessary but I have seen many differentials damaged from being loaded before the gear set was broken in.
I also recommend changing the gear oil after the first 500 miles. This will remove any metal particles or phosphorus coating that has come from the new gear set.

 

[daves87rs]

Just have some fun, I guess. Not too much though...

 

[robbobster]

There's so mch info/dis-info out there regarding breaking-in an engine, I think the best thing to do is crack open the owner's manual.

The one thing that I think is somewhat universal is to vary your rpm during the break-in (don't run at one rpm for extneded periods of time)...that's about the only common thing, methinks.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Grats on the new vehicle! If it were mine, I would just drive it like I normally do (variating speeds between city/highway/rural highway) then change out the oil between 3,000-5,000 miles. If you don't mind me asking, what dealership did you buy it from and how was your experience?

 

[stockrex]

ThirdeYe thanks,
bought it from foxhonda, I know one sales person there, I don't give my hard earned mula to any "rude" sales people or stealerships.
swing by if ya wanna peek at it, covered with snow ;-)
I found this today
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

heck, I will take out this weekend and drive it like my wife.

 

[ls1mike]

I hammer the [censored] out of mine. My 01 Z28 was on the Dyno at 151 miles with paper tags. It made 300 RWHP. I hammered that car until it got totalled. It had 132,000 miles on it. Never burned a drop of oil and alway ran perfect.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
ThirdeYe thanks,
bought it from foxhonda, I know one sales person there, I don't give my hard earned mula to any "rude" sales people or stealerships.
swing by if ya wanna peek at it, covered with snow ;-)
I found this today
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

heck, I will take out this weekend and drive it like my wife.


I haven't personally dealt with Fox Honda but I did order a part for my car from Fox Acura which had the part delivered from Fox Honda (just down the road) within 20 minutes or so because the main relay from other Hondas is compatible with my Integra and the Acura one was out of stock. I usually deal with Rivertown Honda because it's a little closer to me. Their service department was kind of rude with us, but their parts department is good enough and that's all I go there for anyways. Maybe if I'm out that way I'll take a peek at it.

 

[stockrex]

well, I warmed the car up, while I put on the new lic plate.
then nearly froze my fingers (20F wind 35 mph wind) waiting till I "felt" some warm air coming out of the vents, gently drove it a mile to the beltline (55 mph speed limit with a bunch of traffic lights)
and then I let is loooooooooooose, varied speed between 35 to 60 and drove 18 miles. washed it at sams club and drove it on I-96 back home, now I have 38 miles on it.
I will be interesting to see how this one fares, this is the first new car I broke in using the "drive it like ya stole it" philosophy.
on my 2nd oil, I will do an analysis.

 

[stockrex]

sorry to hear about your experience at rivertown, I am quite shocked by the attitudes of these "lil town businesses", I would complain to big honda, there is no excuse for rudeness.

had similar experience with the sales people at the chevy stealership I bought my dmax from, but service dept guys are extremely nice.

 

[steve20]

prediction:
A new thread in 1 year, titled "Why does my car consume oil, when my friend has the same car, and doesn't use a drop?"

 

[Lorenzo]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
I found this today
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

heck, I will take out this weekend and drive it like my wife.
First, I don't see anything on that site that leads me to believe he has any qualifications whatsoever. His site is loaded with ads and uses the tags "Motorcycle Performance Roadracing Superbikes & Wild Girls" so it looks like he earns his money driving traffic to his site and getting click-through revenue.

Second, let's just say he does know the best way to break in a "Motorcycle Performance Roadracing Superbike." I would not assume that a process to get maximum power, possibly at the expense of longevity and reliability, is what I would want for a daily driver.

 

[PT1]

Please do the motoman break in....I want to see how far a Honda engine will go after it is beat on.

 

[rshunter]

Originally Posted By: PT1
Please do the motoman break in....I want to see how far a Honda engine will go after it is beat on.

I'd say there is a plethora of "tuner boyz" who've already done this experiment...

 

[SteveSRT8]

Haha. This site is so filled with old school thinking.

Motoman is just one of many recommending a 'drive it like you stole it' break-in.

Read the owners manual. It'll tell you. Mine says: full throttle is beneficial to break in. The only caveat is the gears in the rear end, and that mighty Honda motor isn't going to twist anything up!

FWIW, most any new Gen Hemi owner will tell you that oil usage is common. Mine, broken in gently for about 15 miles, then driven HARD, doesn't use a drop and is faster than the norm.

Any of you guys build motors? Many motor places break the engine in first on a dyno, because clients are TOO GENTLE and don't seat the rings well, etc.

But you get to do whatever you want to your own cars!

 

[rshunter]

Most here would have a coronary if they saw how modern cars and motorcycles are treated in final inspection at the assembly plant. Shiny new Camaros on a chassis dyno being hammered on, Suzuki GSX-R 1000s screaming away at their redline...