How to break in a new car (Mazda3)?

[NutBucket]

Which is irrelevant as it's impossible to prove the issue was caused by "improper" break in.....

 

[pauldun170]

Uhh, good for you?

The ONLY reason to recommend caution with new brakes is for bedding them. And even then...

Look, a car is manufactured to be safe off the lot. That means it must be able to make hard stops. Period. We live in a world driven by liability, not logic. So it behooves the manufacturer to put stupid stuff like this in the manual. Because then when the car burns oil or something, they can say "well, you must not have correctly treated the car for the first 5,000 miles!"

Ah...
I get it. Now I feel bad.
I didn't realize you didn't know what "unnecessary" means.

Here are a couple of resources for you
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/unnecessary
http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/unnecessary

 

[Nessism]

Okay, so lets recap a little here...

My recommendation (as presented earlier in this thread), which was attacked by Mr. JulesMaximus as "horrible advice"
-drive car around the city with liberal use of throttle, but nothing crazy. This is to provide some load to the rings to help them seat.

From the Mazda owners manual for the Mazda 3:

- NO special break in is necessary, but a few precautions for the first 600 miles
- don't race the engine
- vary speed
- don't drive at constant full-throttle for extended periods of time
-avoid unnecessary hard stops
-avoid full-throttle starts
-don't tow a trailer


Honda automobile break-in process is thus:
-Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid acceleration. (NO limit on engine speed)

Nissan break-in process is thus:
-Avoid driving for long periods at constant speed, either fast or slow, and keep rpm's down to 4000 or lower (2/3's of redline).
-Do not accelerate at full throttle
-Avoid quick starts and hard breaking
-Don't tow a trailer

Ford recommends:
-Your vehicle does not need extensive break-in.
-Vary driving speed frequently (NO limit on engine speed)

Anyone notice a trend here? Basically, just don't thrash the stupid engine and don't drive at constant speed.

In addition to my recommendation, which in NO way violates what Mazda (or any of these other manufacturers) suggests, I commented that vehicle manufacturers that suggest an easy break in (motorcycles mostly) are influenced by the manufactures encouraging the user to become familiar with the vehicle before using too much power. This part is somewhat my opinion, but it's a well considered one. I'm a mechanical engineer that worked for a automotive OEM for 21 years and I've personally rebuilt at least 20 engines with my own hands over the years. I have good friends that work inside OEM engine assembly plants and we talk about this stuff. Oh, and I've been riding motorcycles since 1979 and have just completed a top to bottom restoration on an older Kawasaki 750.

It's dumbfounding that anyone with any mechanical savvy would argue against what I've said but hey, this is the internet so there you have it.

 

[pauldun170]

Okay, so lets recap a little here...

My recommendation (as presented earlier in this thread), which was attacked by Mr. JulesMaximus as "horrible advice"
-drive car around the city with liberal use of throttle, but nothing crazy. This is to provide some load to the rings to help them seat.

From the Mazda owners manual for the Mazda 3:

- NO special break in is necessary, but a few precautions for the first 600 miles
- don't race the engine
- vary speed
- don't drive at constant full-throttle for extended periods of time
-avoid unnecessary hard stops
-avoid full-throttle starts
-don't tow a trailer


Honda automobile break-in process is thus:
-Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid acceleration. (NO limit on engine speed)

Nissan break-in process is thus:
-Avoid driving for long periods at constant speed, either fast or slow, and keep rpm's down to 4000 or lower (2/3's of redline).
-Do not accelerate at full throttle
-Avoid quick starts and hard breaking
-Don't tow a trailer

Ford recommends:
-Your vehicle does not need extensive break-in.
-Vary driving speed frequently (NO limit on engine speed)

Anyone notice a trend here? Basically, just don't thrash the stupid engine and don't drive at constant speed.

I think the 2 of you should settle this with a proper thumb wrestle. Just get all that aggression out, hold hands and let the thumbs fight it out.

In addition to my recommendation, which in NO way violates what Mazda (or any of these other manufacturers) suggests, I commented that vehicle manufacturers that suggest an easy break in (motorcycles mostly) are influenced by the manufactures encouraging the user to become familiar with the vehicle before using too much power. This part is somewhat my opinion

An old mechanical engineer with an opinion? Watch out.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I think the 2 of you should settle this with a proper thumb wrestle. Just get all that aggression out, hold hands and let the thumbs fight it out.



An old mechanical engineer with an opinion? Watch out.

I already conceded 10 posts ago.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

this thread delivers!

Pretty sure that most manufacturers do the hard 'break in' of the engine at the factory. Thats where they throttle it on a dyno and seat the rings. By the time it gets into the hands of a buyer that hard break-in is done. The manual will say vary the revs, which would really only apply to highway driving as this is an automatic. If all you are doing is city driving then you have nothing to worry about as far as "breaking it in" as the auto transmission will vary those revs for you. Go drive and enjoy the car without a worry.