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Hello to you! / car break in period?


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Hi all. Proud owner of an 05' regal blue pearl Legacy wagon. First Subaru, first new car, couldn't be happier. Glad I found this place and I hope to contribute.

 

My first question: The manual says that during the first 1k mile break in period, "Do not drive at one constant engine or vehicle speed for a long time, either fast or slow."

 

Exactly what is a "long time"? I am at 400 miles now. I am leaving on a road trip in 3 days that will be about 5 hours each direction. How often and by how much should I be varying my speed while on the freeway? Will normal traffic congestion be enough to varry my speed?

 

Thanks all!

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I'd stop every 1/2 hour for a few minutes to stretch my legs. We had the oil changed in our new subie at 1000 miles to get rid of any metal particles that weren't trapped in the oil filter, then I change oil every 3000 miles; I refuse to let oil go longer than that despite what any owner's manual states. My old toyota had 220,000 miles on it when I finally sold it to a guy for a work car!

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I'd stop every 1/2 hour for a few minutes to stretch my legs. We had the oil changed in our new subie at 1000 miles to get rid of any metal particles that weren't trapped in the oil filter, then I change oil every 3000 miles; I refuse to let oil go longer than that despite what any owner's manual states. My old toyota had 220,000 miles on it when I finally sold it to a guy for a work car!

 

Dang, that will really make a long trip longer. I guess I can make time to burn.

 

I'm not quite sure I understand exactly what the break in period is doing. I have been told the engine needs to settle in at all speeds, not just the one if you are cruising on the highway. With that in mind, I feel like I also need to vary my speed while on the road, stopping and resting doesn't seem like it would quite do it for me.

 

What a bummer... I want to simply get in my new subee and zoom on down to the river.

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Dang, that will really make a long trip longer. I guess I can make time to burn.

 

I'm not quite sure I understand exactly what the break in period is doing. I have been told the engine needs to settle in at all speeds, not just the one if you are cruising on the highway. With that in mind, I feel like I also need to vary my speed while on the road, stopping and resting doesn't seem like it would quite do it for me.

 

What a bummer... I want to simply get in my new subee and zoom on down to the river.

 

There are many opinions on this issue and I feel it probably is best to stick with the manufacturers recomendation.

You can vary the engine rpm by selecting different gears as you drive.

 

Carl

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Hi,

 

The purpose of a break-in period is to allow the piston rings to "bed". A new cylinder bore leaves the factory with a cross-hatch hone pattern on its walls. This process displaces metal ever so slightly, resulting in raised areas and slightly lowered areas. This allows oil to make its way up the walls to ensure proper ring lubrication.

 

Bedding in allows the rings to create their own specific path by moving the honed metal; all this happens at a microscopic level. If an engine is not allowed to do this, it results in poor oil ring sealing, causing excessive oil consumption for the life of the engine. There is also some impact to compression, perhaps small.

 

The proper driving technique is to not ony vary RPM, but also load. Remember that loading the engine causes piston thrust, making them move forward in the bore. Driving at constant load doesn't permit uniform seating. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations; drive at varying speeds but when cruising, for example, every now and then demand gentle acceleration while leaving it in top gear. Do that through your first 1k miles and you should be fine.

 

As has been suggested, change your oil after that 1k mile interval to remove any metal particles.

 

Regards,

Adnan

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Thanks everyone! Great advice, and I am also fortunate that I understand what this is all about now too.

 

On an even sadder note, I'm trying to learn the ins and outs of the sports shifter... poor shifting slammed my engine into 5.5k rpm... manual also says not to go above 4k unless emergencies. Now I'm bummed that happened.

 

Even worse thought to me is what could have happened to this car before I got ahold of it. The dealership this car comes from does this strange thing to help sell their Subees. They will get you on a gravel rode, tell you to floor it through pot holes and loose gravel, then once the speed hits 40 miles per, slam on the brakes and take your hands off of the wheel!!! Quite impressive indeed, however I don't believe that is really the proper thing to do to a $32k car with only 7.5 miles on it!!!!

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One such incident isn't anything to worry about.

 

Pushing your car to its limits in general is just like alcohol: it's fine in moderation :)

 

As long as you don't run it to redline every time you shift for the next 1000 miles, or worse yet, take that highway trip absolutely nonstop before you hit 1000 miles, you'll be fine.

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Ask any pro driver and they will assure you that the proper way to break in an engine is not to break it in. Turn the car on, put it into first, or D, then step on the gas right away. Under no conditions should you let the oil get up to normal pressure levels or tempurature. Shift at no less than 4500 RPM and brake at the last minute so that your front wheels turn a nice dull-red color from brake dust. *The following was the exact opposite of what you should actually do, unfortunately, most people don't know or care.

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Thanks everyone! Great advice, and I am also fortunate that I understand what this is all about now too.

 

On an even sadder note, I'm trying to learn the ins and outs of the sports shifter... poor shifting slammed my engine into 5.5k rpm... manual also says not to go above 4k unless emergencies. Now I'm bummed that happened. QUOTE]

 

Sport shift thing happened to me as well. It's too bad the indicator lights on cluster don't tell you which gear you are in when you drop it into Sport mode. I have taken to simply dropping into Sport mode and immediately shifting up to illuminate the gear indicator in the cluster. You can really wind it up if you drop to Sport and shift down not knowing which gear you are in.

 

However, I have found that simply shifting to Sport mode allows me great performance without any manual shifting. It grabs gears longer and shifts down sooner. I missed that the first time I read the manual. Makes driving much more enjoyable.

 

Juan

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Thanks again all! I'm really glad I found this site! You all have been very helpful.

 

 

 

Sport shift thing happened to me as well. It's too bad the indicator lights on cluster don't tell you which gear you are in when you drop it into Sport mode.

 

Yeah, no doubt! I sat there with a moment's hesitation the first time I threw it into sport... just a blank indicator. In my brief second of confusion, both the car and myself were trying to figure out what I was doing, and before I knew it we were in second while on the interstate! DOH!

 

About the road trip: I rented a mini van. I needed just a bit more space than the wagon has, and I want to drive the length of the trip without worrying about the break in period. Bummer too, the entire reason we bought this car is just for trips like this... this one being an overnight canoe trip! Oh well, I have plenty of more adventures in store for me and the sube.

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I didn't know the Legacy SportShift doesn't have a gear indicator on the dash? That's weak :confused:. I've only driven 5MT versions of the new Legacy; I could never have a turbo Subaru automatic :-\

 

It has a nice readout and it is in the right place. However it doesn't actually indicate which gear you are in when shifting from D to SS. The indicator will begin "indicating" only after you shift into SS and you manually change gear. Unfortunately at this point the red line indicator will also let you know what gear it is in.

 

Maybe a software upgrade in the future?

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About the road trip: I rented a mini van. I needed just a bit more space than the wagon has, and I want to drive the length of the trip without worrying about the break in period. Bummer too, the entire reason we bought this car is just for trips like this... this one being an overnight canoe trip! Oh well, I have plenty of more adventures in store for me and the sube.

 

Take the trip. Just don't use the cruise control and stay out of the hammer/fast lane. Driving to the right without using the cruise will force you to vary your engine speed. But, beware that you don't get in fierce stop and go traffic. That would be hard on the brakes.

 

Oh, and be ready to use that back window wiper. The rear window is a rain/dust magnate.

 

Juan

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Hi all. Proud owner of an 05' regal blue pearl Legacy wagon. First Subaru, first new car, couldn't be happier. Glad I found this place and I hope to contribute.

 

My first question: The manual says that during the first 1k mile break in period, "Do not drive at one constant engine or vehicle speed for a long time, either fast or slow."

 

Exactly what is a "long time"? I am at 400 miles now. I am leaving on a road trip in 3 days that will be about 5 hours each direction. How often and by how much should I be varying my speed while on the freeway? Will normal traffic congestion be enough to varry my speed?

 

Thanks all!

 

 

I used the suggestions in this http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

when I broke in the new EJ25 I put in.

So far so good! I currently have 10k mile on the motor.

 

Mike

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