Need some new car engine advice

[miri]

I just bought a Scion TC a few weeks ago. It still has less than 200 miles. I remember reading somewhere to shift between 3000-4000. I was talking to some friends and they told me I should be shifting around 2500. I found this a little puzzling. Am I hurting my engine by shifting at 3500-4000 RPM during the break in period? Are only little engines like the Honda VTEC and Toyota XRS engines made to be revved high? The Scion TC has a 2.4L 160HP 163 torque engine with a 6200 redline. I tried shifting at 2500 but it is hard because the powerband rises so fast. So basically what I need to know is, should I start shifting at 2500 from now on or what? Did I hurt the engine by shifting around 3500 over the first 200 miles?

 

[chrisms]

Don't you have a manual that tells you this?

 

[miri]

The manual says do not race the engine. It mentions nothing of RPM.

 

[Ausm]

I doubt it....with today's close tolerance engines you would have to really beat it to mess up something.


Sysadmin

 

[raanemaan]

Originally posted by: chrisms
Don't you have a manual that tells you this?

 

[CRXican]

I still like to think that engine break in is a myth. Don't drive like a mad man but anything under 4500rpms should be more than safe. If the redline is 6200 then the engine can be reved to 6200 however I'd wait a while longer for that.

 

[notfred]

The car is fine. Maybe if you were shifting at 6000RPM I'd worry about it, but you're barely halfway to redline. It's fine.

 

[NutBucket]

I think you're just driving too fast. When I'm just tooling around town I shift at about 3k and my redline is 7800.

 

[Thegonagle]

RTFM!!!!! It's in there.

(It's not?)

OK, the real deal is that new engines like to have a little oil sucked past their piston rings from time to time, so avoid using the cruise control or cruising at a steady speed for a long time. (In other words, vary the throttle position frequently.)

 

[miri]

I think I am not used to the throttle on my new car. I used to drive a 127HP Vtec that had little power in comparison. With moderate acceleration on my new car, the RPM hits 3500 really fast. That is basically why I am shifting around that point. If I shift at 2500 I would be shifting like every second.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: miri
I think I am not used to the throttle on my new car. I used to drive a 127HP Vtec that had little power in comparison. With moderate acceleration on my new car, the RPM hits 3500 really fast. That is basically why I am shifting around that point. If I shift at 2500 I would be shifting like every second.

Just relax on it then Don't always need to be in a rush.

 

[toant103]

Originally posted by: miri
I think I am not used to the throttle on my new car. I used to drive a 127HP Vtec that had little power in comparison. With moderate acceleration on my new car, the RPM hits 3500 really fast. That is basically why I am shifting around that point. If I shift at 2500 I would be shifting like every second.

skip all the gears and go to fifth.

 

[miri]

Yeah it is hard, this is the first car that I actually have to lightly step on the gas because of the torque. Am used to small high revving engine cars.

 

[Scarpozzi]

They say the best thing to do when an engine is new is to lubricate the pistons. To do this properly you should put approximately 2 lbs of pure sugar in your gas mixture. This will help with the piston punctuality and inline girder valves.

 

[3chordcharlie]

you aren't doing any dmage, but it's best to keep the acceleration moderate until that first oil change (actually, it's best to keep it moderate all the time, but fun cars are supposed to be fun, right?).

The thing about not doing too much 'cruising' is in the manual for my new car too, so pay attention to that one.

I'd give it 5-10k miles before you start exploring that redline at all, but I'm pretty conservative about that sort of stuff.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
They say the best thing to do when an engine is new is to lubricate the pistons. To do this properly you should put approximately 2 lbs of pure sugar in your gas mixture. This will help with the piston punctuality and inline girder valves.

hahahahaha

post of the day.

 

[miri]

So what is moderate? 2500RPM? 3000RPM?

 

[isekii]

Keep it under 3500

 

[kaizersose]

your rpm's should only go as high as you need them to be.

gasoline engines tend to develop more power as the rpm's rise, so if you are accelerating fast or climbing a hill, extend the revs a bit before you shift. if you are driving around in your neihborhood and slowly accelerating, you can shift at 2000 rpm's if you want.

for normal driving, i try to keep at about 2700-3000. you get better fuel mileage and put less wear and tear on your engine. use your judgement. after you drive for a while you will be able to tell exactly when to shift by the sound from the engine and the pedal response.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: kaizersose
your rpm's should only go as high as you need them to be.

gasoline engines tend to develop more power as the rpm's rise, so if you are accelerating fast or climbing a hill, extend the revs a bit before you shift. if you are driving around in your neihborhood and slowly accelerating, you can shift at 2000 rpm's if you want.

for normal driving, i try to keep at about 2700-3000. you get better fuel mileage and put less wear and tear on your engine. use your judgement. after you drive for a while you will be able to tell exactly when to shift by the sound from the engine and the pedal response.

Sounds like good advice to me.

 

[LTC8K6]

With moderate acceleration on my new car, the RPM hits 3500 really fast.

Probably too much throttle "tip in". They do that to make you think the car is faster than it is. It's a pain in the snow.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

With moderate acceleration on my new car, the RPM hits 3500 really fast.

Probably too much throttle "tip in". They do that to make you think the car is faster than it is. It's a pain in the snow.

On ebay you can actually buy smaller throttle rotors. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

 

[Vic]

Read the owners manual.

During the 1k mile break-in period, do not rev the engine above 4k rpm. Except for an emergency situation, do not accelerate agressively, go wide-open throttle, or brake hard. Do not drive at the same speed or rpm range for an extended period of time. Check the oil at every fill-up, keep it topped off (if necessary), but do not change the oil before the manufacturer's recommendation of 3k miles as they use a specially-formulated "break-in" oil.
After the break-in period ends, work the car up gently. Take in up to 5.5k rpm at 75% throttle for a couple of gears a couple of times before going to redline at wide-open throttle. This should be done as soon as the car is past break-in.

Contrary to popular myth, bogging your engine can be just as harmful as revving it too high all the time. Detonation risk will be higher and more stress is exerted on the bottom end at an insufficient oil pressure. Your engine will want to work in a particular range and (if your owners manual is anything like other Toyota's owners manuals that I have seen) the manufacturer even tells you this, recommending a minimum rpm for acceleration (probably 2k) and optimum shift points.
The range your engine will want to be driven in varies for every model and engine, so read the owners manual and get a feel for your car and what it wants/likes. Just an example though, in general a car like yours is happiest and will run best and longest and with the best gas mileage crusing down the freeway in the 3k-4k rpm range.

 

[3chordcharlie]

yeah - by 'moderate' I also meant 'don't give it anything like full throttle'. Most of the advice here seems to be similar though, just keep the engine speed down until you have an oil change or two under your belt.