jdgamble Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 So I got the Legacy GT Limited on Saturday, and I've been conducting test drives with my peope, and then it occurs to me, there might be a break in period. Then I see in the manual that you should keep it under 4000 rpm for the first 1000 miles. Oops. I have been opening it up a bit (maybe 15 acceleration runs), and I'm wondering if this could have done some damage. Any opinions? I'm at 300 miles now, and I'm gonna cool it for a bit, but should I be worried? Thanks. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enlight Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Your gonna get opinions from both sides. What I'm gonna recommend is changing the oil early, synthetic or regular, it's up to you. Changing the oil early will flush some of the break in bits out of your system. I switched over to synthetic at 500 miles. muFreight.co A JDM Container Sharing Service from Japan to NYC Website | Instagram | Email Bessie II's Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moviemadness Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I switched over to synthetic the day I got the car. I had about 130 miles on it by then. When should I get a new oil change?? To synthetic again? and by the way, good luck getting answers on the break in issue. It'll never be answered correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWP-LegacyGT Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Honestly, it doesn't matter that much. I've been pounding on the car, redlining it every now and then and it's only got 800 miles on it thus far. Do what you want, some people say drive it slow and melow for the first 1,000 miles, my personal opinion, just drive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWDxBOOST Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 i drove my car like i normally drive during the break in period...ive had no problems. just change the oil regularly and your fine like someone said, you'll get both sides some people would burn me like a heretic for doing what i did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockyMtnGT Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I broke mine in pretty much according to the manual. A few times I gunned it up to 5000 rpm -mostly because the damn boost kicked in so hard I wasn't ready to shift that fast...lol. Anyway I'm at 7000 miles now and have had no loss of oil like some others have reported. Then again I took delivery of the car with like 30 miles on the odo, so it could have had it's ass beat before I even got the keys---who really knows for sure? I will most likely switch over to synthetic on my 3rd oil change (about 12000 miles)... BTW, Congrats on the new car and welcome! Let's see some pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drakuun Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I switched over to synthetic the day I got the car. I had about 130 miles on it by then. When should I get a new oil change?? To synthetic again? and by the way, good luck getting answers on the break in issue. It'll never be answered correctly. My dealer recommended not switching to Synth till after 1500 miles because it's too slick to allow for proper break in or can take much longer. I've also heard that going from Synth to standard oil can severly harm your motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgamble Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 I think I will go with synthetic too. So I haven't really beat the sh*t out of it, but I'm a little anal. What can I say? I'll get my profile updated with better info... haven't had time. But my goal is to make this thing dangerously fast. Take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moviemadness Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I'm at around 2300 miles. when should I get my oil change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deneb Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 My dealer recommended not switching to Synth till after 1500 miles because it's too slick to allow for proper break in or can take much longer. I've also heard that going from Synth to standard oil can severly harm your motor. So much conflicting info out there that it's virtually impossible to get the 'right' answer. IMO it probably doesn't matter a whole lot either way re: breakin. I'm not convinced it makes a whole lot of difference if you go to synth at 1k or 10k, there seems to be plenty of anecdotal evidence to support either approach. What I'd like to know is: how does going from synth to standard oil 'severely' harm your motor? What harm is done? How much? Sounds like an OMT (old mechanics tale) to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockyMtnGT Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I've heard that synth does make the break in period longer, and also that it may contribute to premature hardening of the gaskets and seals over time- which can cause leaks ...I am NOT an expert but if you need some expert advice go here... http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ Check out the forums and the info on additives...these guys are oil FREAKS, but it's great to have them around when you need them... Some good Subie oil threads are here: http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=012478 STI thread http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=011807 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWDxBOOST Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 i went to synthetic at 800 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fweasel Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I've also heard that going from Synth to standard oil can severly harm your motor. False. You can switch between the dino and the syn every other day with no ill effects, if you're so inclined. The problems come with older cars and older oil seals. If you switch over to synthetic, the seals can allow the smaller synthetic molecules to leak through. Often times, the synthetic oil will swell or condition the seals and the leaks will stop. This is talked about a lot on the Z car forums as the average 300ZX has far more miles than our Legacy's. I plan on waiting for a proper break-in period before I switch my Legacy's oil to full synthetic. ignore him, he'll go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slickvic Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 and by the way, good luck getting answers on the break in issue. It'll never be answered correctly. Yeah this is like asking "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardenWeasel Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Junk it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belfer999 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I have an '05 that I bought "new" with a few hundred miles on it from dealer test-drives. I'm babying it for the remainder of the 1k break in period. It couldn't hurt to take it easy for the first thousand miles? It's hard to be patient when it's FUN to put your right foot down in this car. ~S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skillz Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 I don't think it's possible to keep this car under 4000 rpm at any time (except in traffic). Once the turbo spools you don't want to do anything but push harder on the gas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nj2481 Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 so it's ok that I got to 90mph yesterday while @3K rpm? I was getting a little worried that I heard the guy wrong about the RPM being the only break in criteria. (I have heard that rpm and speed were an issue before, but the more I think of it, the dumber it sounds, bc we get peak torque and HP wayyyy before 4k, so speed shouldn't matter) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emorphien Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 The only thing I'd really not want to do on break in is run with the cruise control for any period of time. I'm still holding off on going synthetic though, and I'm at 4200 miles. I've had changes at 800, 2900 and 4200 (it was convenient to have it done while doing something else). That being said until 1000 miles I kept out of higher RPMs as much as I could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDW25gt Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm This has some real good stuff on break in procedures. I followed this as close as I could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardenWeasel Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm This has some real good stuff on break in procedures. I followed this as close as I could. Pfft! That link shows up everywhere despite the number of generaliztions about engines made by the author. I just followed the manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deneb Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 IIRC, that break in method applies more to rebuilt motorcycle engines as opposed to brand new fresh out of the factory engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochNY91TSI Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 For what it's worth, I own a 91 Eagle talon (also awd and turbo) which I just rebuilt. I researched proper break in procedures quite a bit before dumping 3K into the rebuild. What I found to be the consensus from most reputable placed I looked is to romp on the engine for a few highway runs to 70ish, then let it cool down between pulls by letting the car coast back down to 40 or 30. Drive normally for a few minutes and repeat. Once you've done this, take the car back home and drain / replace the oil. Then drain and replace the oil at 500ish miles. (replacing it allows for the metal shavings to be drained away) The purpose of beating on it is to break in the rings. This will allow for a better seal to keep oil out and reduce blowby (oil blowing past the rings). Letting the car decel will allow the rings and cylindar walls to cool off and pull oil past the rings lubricating them. Following this procedure, my talon has been running very well since (March). The only and main thing you don't want to do with a new car is take it on a long cruise; the engine needs to rev throughout it's rpm cycle to place enough load on the rings / walls throughout. I've also heard that avoiding synthetic for a few thousand is also a good idea as it tends to lubricate too well, you *want* some wear to break in the engine initially. Your results may vary, but this seems to work ok in my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RacingFish Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 never heard that one...but hey im at 1300 miles right now... my first oil change is going to be at 2k and im going to switch to mobil 1 at 6-7k. ive been running synthetic since the early 90's i think it was 91' thats when mobil 1 was like $1.75 / quart. synthetics dont break down like normal oils so it'll take you a little longer to really break in an engine if you go to synthetics too quickly. but hey its your car do what you want... engines come pretty much broken in from the factory nowdays. so i say 500 miles... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhBe1 Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm This has some real good stuff on break in procedures. I followed this as close as I could. That is what I did on my n/a Miata's new crate engine. It was reccommended by FlyinMiata, a respected turbo kit purveyor. Although I waited about 800 miles. IIRC, FM varies it a bit for turbo engines. Anyone ask Cobb? But that's for new engines. We're talking about a new engine & drivertrain. My plan ('06 LOB 2.5i) is to follow the manual's keep it under 4000 rpm (admittedly already violated a couple times), & avoid lengthy constant speed, for the first 1000 mi. Then do the above & change the oil by 1500. Then change at 3000 and every 3000 thereafter with dino juice. If I decide to change to synth, it'll probably be at 15000, and do 5000 intervals. Hey, it's a plan... 06LOB2.5i MT, JDMRSB, GYTTs, HPS, LGT Mufflers & Leather Wheel, SubiMomo Knob, Inalfa Moonroof, Clutch Switch Bypass, DeDRLd, DeChimed, & Straight Headrest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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