I'm picking up my new RX (high power) next month from a dealer 250 miles away from where I live. For the journey back I have two choices: a straight motorway (highway) drive at a near constant 70 mph, or to use a road that goes through several city and town centres with a deal of stop/start driving. The motorway route gets me home much more quickly, but I'm wondering what would be best for the engine in this crucial early period.

I've looked at the various threads on running-in and I'm minded to go for the slow(er) route, but I'm a bit put off by the impact of stop/start driving on the new engine. Has anyone done a a study on the impact of running-in on the RX8's later life performance and reliability? I'm keen to get it right, so views are welcome. Thanks.

 

70 in 6th is about 3700 rpm, So I don't think you need to go the slower way, Just take it easy and enjoy.

 

My advice is free, so take it for what it's worth. I don't think it will make a whole lot of difference to future performance of the longevity of the car/engine no matter which route you take.

Personally, I would take the highway and vary your speed periodically. In other words, don't put it on cruise control (CC) at 70MPH and drive 250 miles. (But I guess you don't have cruise control anyway. ) I did a 150 mile round trip (300 miles total) during the break-in period and traveled on an Interstate highway with CC on, but shutting it (CC) off and varying the speed at irregular intervals. The car runs fine now, oil consumption is normal (~1 qt/3,000 miles) and my average fuel mileage for the first 5,400 miles is 20.16 mpg, mostly highway travel.

 

My advice is free, so take it for what it's worth. I don't think it will make a whole lot of difference to future performance of the longevity of the car/engine no matter which route you take.

Personally, I would take the highway and vary your speed periodically. In other words, don't put it on cruise control (CC) at 70MPH and drive 250 miles. (But I guess you don't have cruise control anyway. ) I did a 150 mile round trip (300 miles total) during the break-in period and traveled on an Interstate highway with CC on, but shutting it (CC) off and varying the speed at irregular intervals. The car runs fine now, oil consumption is normal (~1 qt/3,000 miles) and my average fuel mileage for the first 5,400 miles is 20.16 mpg, mostly highway travel.