Running in a new car (1 Viewer)

[Drifting95]

Managed to talk off 5k from RRP. Had to drive all over Sydney to put the four dealers all up against each other.

RRP is 7K more than the actual cost price (saw what the real cost price was on the computer, nowhere near what the dealers claim is cost price of course).

Wasn't able to give it a whizz for a 0-100 time because it was a test drive (imagine doing a 0-100 with the dealer sitting in the car haha!) so I'm keen to give it a good flooring to see how well she runs. 2.5L aspirated is pretty decent, punching out about 140kw. Power to weight ratio is a little over 100. Veloster was a little over 110 and the commodore was a little over 120.

Managed to talk in some darkest legal tint and rear sensors and mat too!

I wouldn't be doing this too soon if the car is new, get a few km's on it first.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Re: Getting new car

I wouldn't be doing this too soon if the car is new, get a few km's on it first.

Forgot about that.

But yeah, avoid going over 4000 rpm for the first 50000 kms.

 

[cub3root]

Re: Getting new car

I wouldn't be doing this too soon if the car is new, get a few km's on it first.

Forgot about that.

But yeah, avoid going over 4000 rpm for the first 50000 kms.

why? [move explanation to the derail thread please; although I can't actually comment on the Non School Forum]

 

[anomalousdecay]

Re: Getting new car

why? [move explanation to the derail thread please; although I can't actually comment on the Non School Forum]

I'll post here because Carrot should read this.

Read the manual lol. It tells you to do this.

Imo, its a matter of letting things in the engine settle down properly and there are a few parts which undergo expansion, sealing, and relaxing.

It takes a while for an engine to get to that stage where everything is settled.

Generally, it will avoid you having problems with the engine before you hit 100k km. Afterwards, you'll have set up the engine for a long life with minimal problems with proper care (past 500k if its a decent engine).

So, the manufacturer's actually recommend taking it no more than 4000 rpm in the first 50k kms.

I think also, they have some kind of mechanism on the rev limiter, so that if you redline heaps, they may be able to say they are not responsible for engine damage.

But yeah this is why before you buy a used car from private sales, you may need a mechanic to tell you if the car is out of shape or not.

That's why I'd rather go government auctions for used.

On a side note:

Especially for any rotary engine (any RX? cars), do make sure its travelled less than 200k km before buying under that engine, or else its at the equivalent stage of another mazda 6 straight engine going 400k km in terms of damage.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Re: Getting new car

I just realised, it will depend on the engine to the extent to which you can't rev it.

Its not necessarily 50000 km for every car. Some have "don't go over 4000 rpm under 5000 km, don't redline in first 50000 km".

Consult the manual Carrot.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Re: Getting new car

Agreed with above- the manual gives you some guidance on how to run in a car. The first 1000km are very important and you should be gradually going through the rev range but not excessive sudden start/stops. Also be gentle on the brakes.

Imo, you should never, ever put yourself in a position to be hard on the brakes. Don't know how many times I told this to someone I know, who ended up rear ending a car, after I told them to slow down about 10 seconds before the crash (no-one was hurt).

Also, the "set up and squeeze" braking style, should not be taken for granted in critical moments (our brakes locked up hence the crash, so it would have been better to jolt it with a double or triple slam instead).

Nevertheless, not a good idea to be reliant on brakes to do a lot of work. If you are, then you have a really poor driving style in terms of safety.

 

[seremify007]

Re: Getting new car

True- if you need to be hard on brakes a lot it means you were driving too close or not preempting the situation very well.

Also for those who consider themselves to be keen drivers, it's worth attending driver training and learning how to control ABS and knowing the point at which ABS engages. Obviously ABS still stops better than a human in pretty much every situation other than when the driver is entirely focused on optimal braking points, it's still better to avoid having to rely on it.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Re: Getting new car

True- if you need to be hard on brakes a lot it means you were driving too close or not preempting the situation very well.

Also for those who consider themselves to be keen drivers, it's worth attending driver training and learning how to control ABS and knowing the point at which ABS engages. Obviously ABS still stops better than a human in pretty much every situation other than when the driver is entirely focused on optimal braking points, it's still better to avoid having to rely on it.

I think we need a new thread for these topics (is it ok if we make a new one and move them?)

Yeah true. I probably have to read up on this a bit more and find out how I can get into it, but currently I've come to the point where I barely even rely on brakes anymore as I let the car roll through as soon as I see a red light (also avoids fuel consumption). I've started "clutch coasting" now before lights, as its quite easy to put my auto into neutral, though not really sure whether its a good idea or not.

Also, I barely rely on the brakes in my car, because they aren't very strong either. Had a certified mechanic check them, and they are fine. Got new pads and discs, nothing.

I'm thinking its possible there is a problem with some excess air being in with the brake fluid, though mechanic said it would be best not to touch it as its difficult to fix it if there is a little bit of air (as he said he doubts there is even any) in there. Could be brake pedal's positioning either. But any way I found that the best way to avoid it is to indeed not be too reliant on brakes in the first place.

I find it rather worrying to have a 3-4 second gap on the motorway with the car in front of me, whereas in the adjacent lanes, some of the cars have a one second gap and are squeezed in a compact manner. Its just asking for a crash to happen.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Thanks for the shift


(pun intended)

 

[seremify007]

I guess the key thing is to avoid the temptation to go all out on a new car. You want to go through the rev range but not suddenly and not too early on. Braking too hard/suddenly can also warp/damage the brakes longer term.

 

[Drifting95]

mindfuck, i was so confused when i saw that i started this thread. It took me a min to realised a mod moved the posts...

 

[Havox]

Braking too hard/suddenly can also warp/damage the brakes longer term.

Just learned this one the hard way...