We're only five days away from the official US release, and I'm itching to get mine. I always seem to go through the same steps, whenever I get a new car.

The very first thing I do, is go by my parent's house to show them. I'm 38 years old, but still somehow feel the need to say "Look Mom!". Silly, but true. Mom always gets a ride, as well. My father usually just nods, grunts, then goes back into the house.

Anyway, once I get home (assuming it's not dark), I take the full set of "before" pictures, then go around the car, and carefully pull off all of the badges, stickers, dealer ads, etc that I can, that won't leave holes behind. That gets followed by dropping in all of the "quick add-ons" that I've pre-purchased for the car, a full coat of armorall on the interior, and another set of pictures.

Do any of y'all find yourself following the same steps each time you get a new car? What is it that you do?

 

For starters I stay away from Armorall-- only distilled water has touched the plastic of my 15 year-old Miata. My other quirk is car washing solution: bucket of tepid water with a tablespoon of Johnson's Baby Shampoo and a teaspoon of vegetable oil mixed in-- biodegradable, mild, leaves a sheen that water beads-up on, and quite inexpensive.

 

Okay, thats just wierd.

 

*Hang-up my furry dice
*Install the cell-phone holder
*Put in my all-season mats
*Organize the C.D. tray and download the freshest R&B/Hip-Hop tunes.
*Get out my wife beater whites, sagging jeans, 18 figaru, bling watch, cream coloured baseball cap, toothpick and addidas shell toes to go cruisin.
*After Dark I go get Coffee @ Tim Horton's Drive-thru ( a canadian past-time soon available in the U.S.) as the Civic Nation and domestic punk ricers hang-out)

"...ever since I wuz young I've been poppin' my collar, poppin' my collar."

 

Nah man! That's ultra hardcore and that's respect from da chemist.

 

I'm a little crazy too regarding break-in: even though the manual is most likely gonna say drive easy for the first 600 miles, I usually drive like a granny for the first 2000 miles. And as fas as the first oil change or service, I will wait a full 10,000 miles.

I guess I do such a long break in because my 1989 CRX Si with over 340,000 miles on the motor and tranny still runs like a champ. 37mpg, still runs a low 15 in the quarter mile (even after at least 800 runs down the strip). And she still doesn't even burn any oil between services!

 

Thanks for the response CarDemon-- even though I am a chemist, I actually got the washing receipe in 1990 from the now-defunct Miata Club of America.

 

I believe quite differently about breaking in an engine.

Modern engines are made to very close tolerances. This means that everything in the engine fits as it should and the only thing that really needs breaking in is the seal of the rings to the cylinder. The pressure of the gases being ignited presses the rings out toward the cylinder wall. The rings must wear a little to perfectly fit the individual cylinder and that is best done by running the engine hard for short periods with a good cool down period in between. The best time to get the rings to wear is during the first 100 miles (or so) of use because the cylinder has micro sized edges formed by honing that can help wear down the rings just enough for a perfect seal.

I intend to run the engine hard for short periods and to get the oil changed after the first 50 miles. If any metal particles wear or break away it will happen during the engines first bit of use. These particles will be in the oil and could cause damage. A quick oil change will flush them out of the engine so that the new oil will be as clean as possible. My second oil change will be around the 600 mile mark.

Do not use synthetic oil for the break-in period. It’s just too slick to allow the rings to seal properly. Switch to synthetic, if you want to, after the break in period.

It is my belief that the gentle break-in recommended by the manufacturer is not for the engine at all. It is to protect the company from bad publicity caused by new owners having accidents by driving too hard in a vehicle that they are unfamiliar with. By telling you to drive slowly at first, you have time to learn how to handle the car before you push it toward your driving limits.

When I was a kid, I toured a car manufacturing plant. Whenever a car was driven from one point in the line to another, we heard the tires squealing. I’ve read that every modern engine is redlined for a period of time both at final assembly of the engine and at final assembly of the vehicle.

For more info about this general idea, check out http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

ummmm Wierd!!!!!

 

I have heard that fairly hard acceleration followed by deceleration is good for a new engine. Remember that the engine has to be warmed up first, give it a fair amount of gas but don't floor it, and don't get near the readline.

The change in pressure from acceleration to deceleration wears the rings evenly.

 

other than engine break-in, and a little interior detailing ... does any one suggest or do a complete exterior detailing like clay bar etc.

 

gpmo, interesting theory and good link. I think I'm sold on this paradigm shift. Mostly I'll do this, because it's a Honda. I wonder how much longevity some dumbmestics could get?

 

that is pretty interesting gpmo cause i planned to not grandma the car anyway...i feel like the car should be driven a little hard but not hardcore...BTW the metal in the oil that you talk about are you suggesting that after the first 50 miles change the oil??? I am not a mechanic but i have sense with the sound of the engine that it is not running right...i have had used cars all my life until now this is my first brand new car...i remember when my friend got his brand new TYPE-R integra i drove it plenty of times and when i hit the gas hard he would tell me to be careful cause its a new motor, but its the TYPE-R i told him beat that s**t up man!!! i drove it harder than he did...anymore info will help

 

The break-in theory comes from motorcycle racing and applies to all new engines. Check out the link for more info. If you sign up to the newsletter, you get access to 20+ articles and several follow-ups to the break-in story.

 

very interesing and useful info i think.

point is to warm up the engine first(important), do a hard accelation(up to 5k rpm i guess) and engine braking, and quick oil change after aggressive break in(very important).

ps. i guess this is why getting a demo car is not a samrt thing to do.

 

My thoughts...

Break-in on modern cars is overrated but I do it anyways but not as what the manufacturer recommends.

The key to the break-in is running the car through its rev band (up to the break-in limit) at various speeds aggressively, not just driving the car on the highway at a constant revolution at a constant speed to burn off the miles. City driving is best for this.

At 100 to 200 miles before the manufacturer recommended break-in is over, rev it through to redline.

Motor oil from the factory contains special additives to help the engine seals. Changing the oil before the first recommended oil change is not something I would do.

The ECU of most modern cars learns from you the driver/owner. To get the most performance out of your car, drive it aggressively and the ECU will be more aggressive. Of course this doesn't really apply to the Fit, since its not a performance car.

People have various ways to break-in their car. Besides driving it like a gradma, there is no wrong way to break in. Do what you think is right.

 

interesting, can anyone confirm this? my thought was if brand new engine gets a aggressive break in procedure, metal particle in engine oil is inevitable. keeping that oil for long time will slowly damage the engine i think. That metal particle in the engine oil will scratch cylinder wall, rings etc..

I could be wrong though,but i never heard about special addictive from factory engine oil. I heard some highend sports car like AMG is filled up with Moblie 1 syn oil from factory.

 

I would not even remotely consider following the "MotoMan" plan. You're talking about someone that rebuilds their engine several times a season. I'm not sure why he thinks that is acceptable practice for consumers.

Here's a monumentally more intelligent article on the subject, also from motorcycle types (and if you know what an RC51 is, you'll know that these guys like performance too) -
http://www.rc51.org/breakin.htm

Perhaps the single most telling sign is that "MotoMan" thinks you've got at most 20 miles for break-in. If this was really the best course of action, why wouldn't manufacturers do it for you? It would cost very little gas and time, and be a boon to their reputation, because all of their engines would be wonderful (at least according to this article).

Next, consider the rest of the car. The manual says to run the car easy for a period of time, not just the engine. This allows for transmission gears, brake parts, and the suspension arms to adjust to their exact positions and surroundings. Light to medium loads on brand new transmission gears couldn't possibly be a bad thing.

Also, throw out anything related to the ECU. It is not going to "remember" that you drive slow and tune the car accordingly for a long period of time. Besides, if worried about this effect, just reset the ECU after breaking the car in. It's a trivial operation in all modern cars.

 

Throw some loose change into the car........For GOOD LUCK!!

 

Here's a monumentally more intelligent article on the subject, also from motorcycle types (and if you know what an RC51 is, you'll know that these guys like performance too) -
http://www.rc51.org/breakin.htm

I tried the website and it wasn't available (tried "refresh" a couple of times, but that didn't bring it up). I'm going to check with my mechanic. I already gave him the engine specs. He's a certified Honda mechanic who has been good to us over the years and I trust his advice.