I've read a number of things on the forums, some saying that there really isn't a break-in period and others saying that there is. If I buy a G37, is there any problem taking a 100 to 150-mile trip (200 to 300-miles round trip) within the first few days of owning the car? This is my first Nissan/Infiniti, and I don't want the CPU to get the wrong impression of my driving habits or anything else that would cause the car not to perfom optimally. Any suggestions?

 

No problem. As one who does believe in following Nissan's directions for break in, there isn't a restriction in trip distance, only speed and RPM. You are also directed to avoid driving at a constant speed for long distances so don't use the cruise control. I got all of my break in mileage in the first 3 or 4 days on a business trip.

 

What does Nissan say about this? Where is it addressed in the manual?

 

Don't drive it until it's broken in.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. When the odometer hits 1,200, I'll begin driving. You must be a Nissan rep.

 

Some people follow it, others don't. I personally drove "normal' until I reached either 1k or 1200 I forget. By normal I mean didn't floor it and just babied it. Except once or twice

 

Driving a dumpy SUV, I never had to think about "babying" a car. I have this feeling that it's going to be harder than I think to keep the pedal off the floor for the first month or so.

 

coming from an RSX, it took alot of patience to not get on it everytime I fired it up haha. 1k comes quick though because you'll find yourself looking for excuses to drive the car

 

Right now I'm just pulling my hair out waiting for the car to get here.

 

No - just amused by the info floating around the web.

All manufacturers "recommend" a break-in period. Infiniti's is 1200 miles as per the owner's manual - they urge you to keep the RPM below 4K, not keep the RPM at a constant level, and avoid hard starts and stops to reduce the risk of shortening the engine life and affecting performance. There's no such warning about the length of trips you can take that I've ever heard of - just don't get on the highway and put it in cruise control which would keep the RPM pegged at one spot.

Some here will say it's just BS to follow a break-in schedule - personally I prefer to take it easy at first and within a month or so you'll be past the interval. It won't explode if you go over 4K RPM, but why not wait.

 

Oh, I was just joking. You know, on the cruise control thing, what is the reasoning for that? I'm not a huge "car guy," so although I know a fun car when I drive it, I don't necessarily understand all of the ins and outs. So, what is the real risk of putting it in cruise? How can that damage the engine during the break-in period?

 

Really? I heard the ECU will explode your engine if you don't follow the break-in rules.


LOLz

 

You don't want to keep your RPMs at one constant spot for very long, and cruise will do just that. The rationale is that by varying the RPM during break-in you're wear pattern is more uniform.

 

I guess my curiosity is that the vehicle is supposed to have 60,000 miles under warranty and in theory should have much much more than that out of warranty. If that is the case, how significant is the 1,200 miles at the beginning? Presumably the factory put the engine through some sort of testing and break-in before it was even installed in the car, right? I'll probably follow the 1,200 mile guidance the best I can, but it seems like it's a pretty insubstantial amount of mileage to have any kind of real impact. Maybe I'm naive.

 

Chrysler used to have a four or five shift pattern break in. Took a few minutes and a few miles. However, I'd baby your G as Infiniti sayz it's a good idea. :-)
Do be careful when you do put the peddel in the carpet. It can be addictive. ;-)