A question on the break-in procedure
 

OK, thrash me if you must, but I DID use the terms "break in" and "engine" in the search and although dozens of threads came up, I could not find one that defintitely talked about the recommended rpm maximum for the first 1,000 miles.

In the manual it says there is no exact break in procedure, but I KNOW I read a thread on here some months back that dealt with this issue.

I got my car Saturday and have been careful to run the rpms up no higher than 5 to 6 thousand. But again, what is the recommended max and isn't it for the first 1,000 miles?

I think for the first 1000 miles you shouldn't take it above 4krpms...

Change the oil at 1000 miles and then again at 2000. Keep it under 4k rpm for the first 500 and then go up 1k rpm for each additional 500 miles. Thats the way I have heard it to be. At about 2500 miles you should be good to redline it once or twice to break up any engine and oil deposits.

i think after you hit 1000 and give it an oil change, you can redline it. Just make sure to change oil again at 2000 like police said. have fun

Thanks everyone,

I appreciate the help.

P.S. It's really HARD to keep it under 4k!!!! :mad:

Well, I think redline after 600 mi. is fine, if you take the mazda guidelines at face value. i.e. warm it up properly first, don't stay at redline for more than a second, and don't hit it every time you accelerate. I can't see the harm in redlining periodically between 3rd and 4th gear on the interstate, once fully warmed up, with 700 mi. on the clock.

Below 600 mi., yes it is a pain.

It is odd that given modern ECU technology, they haven't figured out a way to automatically rev limit new cars anyway? It would seem like a pretty simple thing to program.

i kept it under 4k for the first 1000 and under 6k for the first 2000. just gave me a reason to have more fun after.

I say warm the car up properly and then take car to different parts of the rpm range, avoid staying on particular speed or rpm for an extended amount of time. By 500 miles the engine has already pretty much seated everything I would imagine, as long as you change the oil shortly after, then just give it hell.

I drove it under 4000 rpms until 1500 rpms then I went to about 5000 max. At 1800 I changed the oil and it was FILTHY, redlined it a few times yesterday at 19XX miles.

OK, I'm confused about something.

Neither the owner's manual or the guy at the service department who kindly assisted in showing me the strange spot the dipstick is placed, mentioned anything about a first oil change at 1,000 miles.

I was planning on just bringing it in at 3,000.

Why would I need to change it after the first 1,000 miles? And what is there to worry about if I don't?

More metal particles and junk you need to clean out of your engine right after break in. I changed mine at 1800 and it was really sick looking, i'm glad i did the change. Plus it was 8 bucks for the mobil 1 filter and 8 bucks for 4 quarts of oil, why not just do it to be safe?

Keeping it under 4000 is practically impossible, especially for 1000 miles. My advice is to keep under 6k or so. Monitor your oil usage carefully and change it at half what the book says. If it starts to get really dirty, change it sooner.

You know I've been hanging around auto forums for a while now and the break in question just keeps coming up and there's a bunch of theories out there, but no hard data. Don't worry about it too much.

^^^^ What cosmos said. I saw metal flakes after the first few oil changes. It would imagine its best to get those out of there asap.

What Brice said. 'Seems the most important thing is to vary the RPM. And, the early oil change -- I did my first one at 750 miles.

where did the unwritten "keep it under 4K" rule come from?

Well.... If you had to change the oil at 1k, the manual would say so.... :rock:

Yes, to be safe you should change the oil every 1000 miles for the first 10,000. Keep the rpms under 1500 too. Matter o fact don't even drive it - put it under a glass case somewhere safe.

Manual never said anything about not redlining, it only says not to stay at high rpm for EXTENDED PERIOD.

God

Thanks for starting this thread. I read most of the early posts this morning and I am following the break in period suggested by the manual and heeding the advice of members here.

Since I just reached 1000 miles, I took the 8 in for an oil change as others have suggested and I too was shocked to see how dirty the oil was. I watched the technician work from behind the safety chain and was satisfied with the care involved. I did notice that the oil filter sits on top of the engine block and is designed to sit in the upright position. My only concern about this design was that there was a tiny bit of oil that had dribbled out of the filter and settled in the corner next to the filter housing. Watch for this because the oil can accumilate over future oil changes and you won't be able to tell if the oil filter seal is seeping.

sir, while i do not agree with what you say, i will die, fighting to the death, defending your right to say it

I kept the revs under 5k for the first 1000kms (about 600 miles), had the oil changed and then started bringing the revs up and even hit redline from time to time. Beeps are great!

i just took my 8 on a long drive this weekend, just hit 1200 miles im waiting to do a oil change at 1500 miles, and i took my 8 to redline a couple of times already.my cousin works at mazda and is a master tech there (14yrs), he said the 8's that come in for a new engines are the customers that baby there car.

That is why everytime I get an oil change (usually just let the dealer do it since I have a dealer I actually trust) I take the car home and spray degreaser in that area and underneath where the drain plug is and then rinse it with the waterhose and all is well. I might go a little overboard sometimes but I believe the engine should be almost as clean as the rest of the car, that way you know when something is actually leaking that shouldn't be.