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Sedans Honda Civic Honda Civic Break In Questions
25 messages, Last post on Sep 08, 2008 at 6:42 PM
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If a car (I'll be getting Civic EX MT) has been driven hard in a couple of test drives, doesn't that make it so it's ruined for someone who buys it and wants to break it in by the book? Secondly, I'll have to make a 800+ mile round trip in this new car on roads where the speed limit is 70 -- isn't the break in speed 55? Should I take a slower route even though it will take me a month;-) to travel 400 miles just so I can break the car in properly? Any ideas/advice would be helpful.
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Replying to: gabbadabba (Jul 27, 2007 8:11 pm) Regarding hard test-driving, that's been going on for decades and yet we virtually never hear about properly maintained cars that have engines that failed before 200,000 miles (at the very least). If hard test drives were really so bad for an engine, I would think that we would be hearing about LOTS of early engine failures. In our case, of the last seven cars that my wife and I have bought new, two went from the showroom to our home, got packed and headed out for a long road trip, and a third was picked up in Germany and promptly driven at speeds just south of the century mark to Paris and back. So far every one of those cars has managed to hit 100,000 miles without a single engine problem. Best Regards, Shipo
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Replying to: shipo (Jul 27, 2007 8:37 pm) Doesn't the break in period also affect the gas mileage one gets? |
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Replying to: gabbadabba (Jul 27, 2007 8:11 pm) Since I have broken in a Civic, my reading of the owner's manual and shop technical data would lead me to be more aggressive with the engine break in and do NOT travel long distances and times at a constant speed (this translates to rpms) Vary the RPMS (I would do a max of 75% of red line). Yes it does affect the mpg but the emphasis during the first couple of tank fulls is for proper break in. Other than that have a good trip and drive safely! |
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Replying to: ruking1 (Jul 27, 2007 9:22 pm) So sorry, but what does 75% of red line mean? Do you mean I should take it up 3/4 of the way into the red on the tachometer? |
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Replying to: gabbadabba (Jul 27, 2007 9:48 pm)
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Replying to: blufz1 (Jul 27, 2007 10:51 pm) The way I understand it, 5th gear is for when you're staying at a steady speed on the freeway. If the most stress is in the 5th gear, should I avoid using it altogether on the first long trip and only use the first 4 or would that be a mistake? Thank you all for your feedback -- Driving 101. |
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Replying to: gabbadabba (Jul 27, 2007 9:48 pm) Pay more attention to RPM than which gear you are in. With a MT: Vary the rpm as often as you can. No more than 1/2 throttle, and keep the RPM between say 2500 and 4500 after the 1st 100 miles. Maybe 2500 to 3500 the first 100. With an AT just watch the upper rpm, the tranny will deal with the lower rpm. Kip
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Replying to: gabbadabba (Jul 27, 2007 9:48 pm) So sorry, but what does 75% of red line mean? Do you mean I should take it up 3/4 of the way into the red on the tachometer" Since the goal is proper break in, (now) with out being jerky, you can vary the rpms more and keep the speed more constant (you can do this with an automatic also, but you mentioned you had a 5 speed manual). You can always of course vary both the rpms AND speeds, but it depends on the folks on the trip tolerance.  You got the concept down, but personally I would take the same route and STILL vary the rpms, but in MINUTES not an hour. Since you have a stick, you can also upshift and down shift, in addition to just pressing the accelerator to vary the rpms. I would also agree, you do not want to lug the engine in the execution of proper break in. So to use an example, you pull say 2200 rpms in 5th gear and go 70 mph. If you press the accelerator to go 3200 rpms you will be going faster than you want to. So just down shift. Your rpms will go up (vary) and you will be going closer to 70 mpg. I hope I am not being vague. An example of 75% of redline. Since you have a tach you can graphically see this (my Civic does NOT have a tach). Say redline is 6,000 rpm. 75% of redline would be 4,500 rpm.
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