Breakign in new accord I4

hi, I got my new accord I4 last week and I was wondering the best way to
break it in (looking for opinions becuase from what I've seen it varies from
person to person) the book mearly suggests that you take it easy for the
first 500 miles (which I'm fast approaching). I've been doing smooth slow
accelerations and when I'm on the highway I'm not staying at one speed too
long. now that I'm almost past teh 500 mile mark what else should I be doing
(I've head some people say now is the point you should be pushing the engine
harder to break it in) I'm shifting about 3,000-3500 on the tach (manual
trans.) should I be shifting slightly higher now? should I bring it closer
to redline for a bit? just looking for some opinions. thanks!

-nick

 

3K is a good shift point - why whirl it any faster-that I4 has plenty
of power. Most people make the mistake of lugging an engine - busted
valves doing just that on a VW. If you never ever get it over 4500 -
would not hurt anythign. Pay particular attention to what the owners
manual says about oil change. Pick a good oil and filter - not fram -
and change it yourself. Avoid the franchise oil change places - those
min wage clowns can do you real damage - crossed threads, wrong filter
- not tightened etc.

Another thing - some people with manual trannies like to down shift a
lot - use the tranny for braking - silly cause brake pads are a lot
cheaper than clutches. Of course there are exceptions - way long hills
like north of SLC. You should be able to get 250K out of your car with
little more than brake pads - maybe shoes - my I4 accord has 190K on
the rear shoes and looks like they are good for at least 100k more and
an exhaust system. Buy your replacement exhaust from honda - has a
lifetime warranty.

Drive it sensibly and you can keep that vehicle for a very long time
and spend your money on fun things other than transportation.

 

I'm shifting about 3,000-3500 on the tach (manual

Just curious about something. My car ain't new but I developped this habit
to shift early (2000-2500 or so) and try to run at low RPM in the city, and
accelerate slowly. I figured out it would save me some gas, is that bad?

 

depends. the owners manual for my 98 civic has really low shift points.
says i should be in 5th by 50mph. to me, thats lugging it.

back in the early 80s, some cars had an "upshift light" to tell you when
to shift. it always recommended early upshifts.

 

Forged cranks are a lot more stiff than cast (and I don't know what
Civic's have), but bad lugging can cause the crank to bend for an
instant, which damages the crank bearings.

 

I'm not 100% sure it would save gas. on mine with the nav system it has a
trip computer that shows realtime MPG, and actually, if I shift really low
(at 2-2.5k) I get worse gas mileage than if I shifted around 3k. I think of
it like a 10 speed bike, if ya remember back in the day, if you shift to the
next gear too early it's a lot harder to pedal, think of your legs as the
engine, your actually spending more energy until you get to the speed you
should be at.