break In?
 

I started taking my rx8 to the red line after only about 800 miles. BC the manual said break in was 600 miles. I now have about 1700 miles should i back off, or did I alresdy F%*# it up
Thanks

Don't worry you haven't done anything wrong or damaged anything. Just drive and enjoy.

Simon.

WOW that made me feel alot better SF, Thanks !
P.S. NIce rides man!

Thanks - I sold the white one the other week.. so I should probably remove it.

Your break-in process sounds about the same as mine, although I probably started getting on it a bit sooner than you. I've had no issues so far, the car runs like a champ. I have 12k miles so far, so based on my experience I think you're all set to go.

Cheers,
Simon.

Do u have any upgrades yet? I ordered sr intake,high flow cat, under drive pullies. And looking hard at the cz stage 1.

How to break in your new RX-8
 

This is of no good to the older people here that already have their cars but should be helpful to the new ones. Follow this link to the Racing Beat website. They tell you how to properly break in your new rotary engine.

http://www.racingbeat.com/FRmazda4.htm

koolz

Yadda yadda yadda

I was autocrossing at 800 miles...full throttle, red line, etc. It's not a piece of art - it's a car. Use it.

Dude.... don't exceed 4k RPM for the first 1000 miles!!!! Is that even possible!

The only problem I have had with this car is knowing where to cruise at. Typically I have been cruising in 6th at about 4k (about 80mph). Since the limit out here is 70 and people often pass me like I am standing still this has not been an issue.

I have been shifiting at about 4k. Anything lower than that seems to be very sluggish. And I am not talking about blowing out of the gate every time the light turns green.

That just seems REALLY conservative. Guess it doesn't matter as I bought my car with 2k miles on it. :D

Thanks for the link though. Does everyone else agree with the 7500 miles oil change? That still worries me for some reason. I had planned on doing it more often but after reading both the manual and seeing other recomendations on longer times I am not so sure now. I would think that longer spans of time would be possible since you do add oil in that time. It would almost seem like the oil change is more for the benefit of changing the filter.

Just follow what it says in the handbook.

No racing, no extended high RPM runs, vary RPM - avoid full throttle.

Doesnt mean dont go over 4k or anything, the odd higher rpm blast will be ok.

I would change it more often. You would be surprised how dark it is after only 3,000 miles.

I broke my car in by driving my normally aggressive way. I would go up to about 7000 rpm and maybe hit 8000 rpm (sometimes 9000) a few times before the 600 mile point.

After 600 miles, I didn't even think anymore about hitting redline or not . . .

I always beleive in breaking a car with with your normal driving habits except I always make sure not to jam on the brakes for the first 300 miles unless I have no choice.

I never went over 7k during my first 700 miles. I actually tried to keep it under 6k, but one or twice I wasn't paying attention.

At 900 miles I finally got to listen to the redline buzzer, and do one peel out.

For the record, I tried to do the shift points at 2500 rpm, but uh... gets you into 6th at barely 50 miles per hour. It's very difficult because I tend to push 3k when shifting gears unless I'm being very careful and watching things closely.

So I gave up on that and went back to shifting around 5-6k

Naw man, don't get paranoid over it or anything, just don't floor the pedal or anything like that.

Just drive.

I think it's kind of ironic that you buy a new sports car and aren't supposed drive it hard for the first few hundred miles, which is when you really, really want to. That being said, I redlined mine a few times, maybe 3-4, before I hit 600 miles. Maybe that wasn't the best, but I couldn't help it. Also, don't salesmen encourage you to redline on test drives? Are they knowingly damaging the car? I think not, just don't make a habit of it until after break-in.

i would be really careful breaking in the car and ALWAYS make sure the car is warm before going beyond 4k rpms. Just like you in a piston car, you have to wear it down smoothly... you have 2 rotors that you gotta wear down smoothly. make sure the rotory spins perfectly and spins perfectly. but thats all my opinion.

Just drive it the way you feel and think is best

One more good reason to buy your 8 factory fresh.

There are many people that just buy their cars and race them straight off the showroom floor. Some drag race teams do this with new engines. The problem isn't that the car won't run good for you now. It is with ultimate longevity. If the seals didn't bed in properly and have abnormal wear patterns, this will show up as an exponential problem somewhere down the road. It may be at 100,000 or 150,000 miles but it will be somewhere. Many people won't have their cars that long but if you are serious about keeping it for a long time, break it in. Is the real issue with engine life how we maintain it while we have it or with how we treated it when we got it?