1000 miles = insanity. wtf?

[Ravirn]

Just a question I'd like to ask other SS owners. First, the lead in (queue dramatic music)...

I've had my SS for just over 2 weeks now. I was fortunate to be able to break in my engine on a couple closed highways at the foot of the Rocky Mountains (with RCMP permission, of course). RCMP = Canadian federal police, for non-Canadians. :flag2: I went with the hard break-in method and after 300 or so klicks (200 miles) noticed a loosening of the throttle, with corresponding boost to acceleration. Very nice! This corresponded perfectly with what Darin posted about hard break-ins. Well I just passed the 1600 km mark (1000 miles) and I've noticed another power band. My 2nd gear makes passengers' "eyeballs crush into their heads." A direct quote from a passenger. I took several friends out driving last night and two (out of four) looked white when they got out afterwards. To quote one... "You are NOT lacking in power! I think I saw Jesus for a moment there." A lady friend of mine was scrambling for something to hold on to when I punched into 2nd gear, and even into 3rd.

This is all well and good, but my question is... is this normal? ??? From my reading of the forums for the past four months I was expecting a slight increase around the 150-300 kilometer mark (100-200 miles), and another stronger kick in the 2500-3000 km range (1500-2000 miles). I saw the increase after the 200 mile mark, but...

Is my car peaking early or what?

I'm thoroughly loving my SS and driving it like I stole it. By that I mean using the engine to accelerate but never to decelerate. Taking him in for his first oil change on Wednesday, of course. I thought I would defer to the wisdom of those who've gone before me to find out what is to come. This last kick in torque has taken me completely by surprise since it occurred so early. Should I expect anything more in the miles to come, or is he done? To be honest, I really didn't expect this much of a response in the engine... so I'm spinning my wheels (so to speak) on what I should expect.

[Fuzion]

Link to method of breaking in you used!

[SSOOCH]

Sounds right. Mine did the same thing, but I didn't break mine in hard. The SS is just a monster!! I love giving people rides, when I punch it they sh** they're meal!!

[Ravirn]

Originally Posted by SSOOCH

Sounds right. Mine did the same thing, but I didn't break mine in hard. The SS is just a monster!! I love giving people rides, when I punch it they sh** they're meal!!

Thanks, SSOOCH! That's exactly what I wanted to hear from an experience 2010 SS driver. Whew!

[PQ]

I can't help you. Mine got broke in by ripping some fuses out. at 7000 miles.

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Originally Posted by SSOOCH

Sounds right. Mine did the same thing, but I didn't break mine in hard. The SS is just a monster!! I love giving people rides, when I punch it they sh** they're meal!!

Amen brother!!! When someone says show me what this puppy will do, I say ok, but you got to wear a diaper if you really want to see what she'll do. . I don't want that on my seats.

[SSOOCH]

My Wife always yells "G** D***it, tell me when you're going to do that so I can put my head back on the headrest"

She was talking about when I get on it..(the throttle...of the Camaro)! *sick puppies

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Originally Posted by SSOOCH

My Wife always yells "G** D***it, tell me when you're going to do that so I can put my head back on the headrest"

She was talking about when I get on it..(the throttle...of the Camaro)! *sick puppies

Oh! Sorry!

[ron10]

get in...sit back...shut up...and hold on !

[iluvmy67camaro]

I didn't do a nice and easy break in, I drove her like I stole her from the moment I left the dealership. 4,300 miles later she is possitively a Beast! So don't feel bad, my daughter swears almost every time she gets out that she will never get back in again because of the way I drive... Like I stole it. I had "Litte Red" revved up pretty good the other night, we were flying down the road and I swear we had a little bit of air time and her face turned positivly green. Poor kid, she's been riding in Camaro's with me since she was 9 years old, she ought to know what to expect by now! lol

[Chevy2tehBone]

Originally Posted by Fuzion

Link to method of breaking in you used!

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...t=engine+break

Here you go. Enjoy!

[Ravirn]

Originally Posted by Fuzion

Link to method of breaking in you used!

I followed Darin Morgan's break-in method religiously.

Link here.

Darin is careful to state at the beginning of the thread, DO NOT FOLLOW THIS ADVICE. The Camaro Owner's Manual has an excellent break-in method. I chose not to follow it and go with what I know. What do I know? I teach physics for a living... particularly the physics of motors and generators. I will repeat Darin's warning though... if you go with a hard break-in of your engine, you do so at your own risk. If in doubt, follow the owner's manual. You cannot go wrong with that method. However, keep in mind it wasn't the engineers that wrote it.

NOTE: It is important to not let your engine slow your car down. By that I mean when you achieve the speed you want... shift into neutral. (If you're driving an automatic, you can shift into 'N'... but you do so at your own risk. Be careful, make sure you only shift into 'N'). I use the manual transmission, and even when driving in the city I accelerate quickly then pop it into neutral and coast to the next light. USE THE BRAKES to slow your car down, that's what they're for.
For those, like myself, who chose to do what we think is best... allow me to summarize the "hard break-in" method.

1) You don't need to start from a stop, just a slow(er) speed. The idea is to have varying rpms on your engine, rather than a constant rpm.
2) Start slow, then hammer the accelerator. Yep, floor it. Shift when you get nervous, but do not redline it! Personally, I kept it at around 6000rpms, and usually shifted in the 5500-6000 rpm range.
3) When you top out in speed (Darin personally went for 80 mph, I went for something similar albeit a little faster ) shift your car into neutral. Then use the brakes to slow your car waaaay down... and do it all over again.

I take no credit whatsoever from this break-in method. Darin is the one who posted it, and he's the engineer... so takes ALL the credit. Rightfully so! I decided to follow his advice and couldn't be happier! There are people who followed the Owner's Manual and are extremely happy with what they've achieved. It's up to you to decide what is best, as it's YOUR car. I recommend people read Darin's thread, and decide for themselves.

Camaros ROCK!








la...la...la... nothing to read here...







Okay, if you're still reading... here's a benchmark. Here in Alberta, Canada the speed limit on highways in 110 kph (68.75 mph). When breaking the engine in I could get my Camaro up to just over 100 kph (63 mph) in 2nd gear (around 6000 rpms) before having to shift into 3rd. Neutral! I meant "shift into neutral". *cough*

[CWI]

Originally Posted by iluvmy67camaro

I didn't do a nice and easy break in, I drove her like I stole her from the moment I left the dealership. 4,300 miles later she is possitively a Beast! So don't feel bad, my daughter swears almost every time she gets out that she will never get back in again because of the way I drive... Like I stole it. I had "Litte Red" revved up pretty good the other night, we were flying down the road and I swear we had a little bit of air time and her face turned positivly green. Poor kid, she's been riding in Camaro's with me since she was 9 years old, she ought to know what to expect by now! lol

Careful what you say, someone could get you for reckless endangerment.

SSOOCH's car started performing only after he had sex with it. We saw the pics

[iluvmy67camaro]

Originally Posted by Ravirn

When breaking the engine in I could get my Camaro up to just over 100 kph (63 mph) in 2nd gear (around 6000 rpms) before having to shift into 3rd. Neutral! I meant "shift into neutral". *cough*

Ahh, the joys of driving a manual shift. Alas, my bad back (thus semi-numb left leg) does not allow me the pleasure anymore.

[iluvmy67camaro]

Originally Posted by CWIweldace

Careful what you say, someone could get you for reckless endangerment.

SSOOCH's car started performing only after he had sex with it. We saw the pics

Nah, she's almost 20 now and has driven the beast herself, once. I let her take it down the cul-de-sac and back, she was shaking when she got out.
muahahahahahaha

[Ravirn]

Originally Posted by CWIweldace

SSOOCH's car started performing only after he had sex with it. We saw the pics

Why did you go there? You just HAD to go there, didn't you? We're trying to forget that picture, but people just keep bringing it up!!!!

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Originally Posted by Ravirn

Why did you go there? You just HAD to go there, didn't you? We're trying to forget that picture, but people just keep bringing it up!!!!

Yeah, he's screwed if he tries to run for president. Although, I would still vote for him.

[CWI]

Originally Posted by Ravirn

Why did you go there? You just HAD to go there, didn't you? We're trying to forget that picture, but people just keep bringing it up!!!!

Sorry, I just have an evil side that comes out at times.

[Ravirn]

Originally Posted by SSOOCH

My Wife always yells "G** D***it, tell me when you're going to do that so I can put my head back on the headrest"

My third passenger of the night let out a curse when I popped it into 2nd. I saw, out of the corner of my right eye, her head slam into the headrest. Whoops!

"G** D***it!!! I'm getting WHIPLASH!" *mutter*

My fourth passenger gasped (loudly) when I did the 1-2 shift turning on to the highway. I actually let up on the gas and glanced over, "Hey, are you okay?" "Hmmm? Yeah", she purred, "I think I had an orgasm. Good thing you have leather seats!"



Seriously, she made me get on, then off, the Trans-Canada Highway repeatedly until I got a phone call from the "next" passenger saying "Where are you?"

[superdave99]

Originally Posted by ron10

get in...sit back...shut up...and hold on !

That's hilarious, I think I just found my new signature.

[HondaPowered]

Originally Posted by Ravirn

My third passenger of the night let out a curse when I popped it into 2nd. I saw, out of the corner of my right eye, her head slam into the headrest. Whoops!

"G** D***it!!! I'm getting WHIPLASH!" *mutter*

My fourth passenger gasped (loudly) when I did the 1-2 shift turning on to the highway. I actually let up on the gas and glanced over, "Hey, are you okay?" "Hmmm? Yeah", she purred, "I think I had an orgasm. Good thing you have leather seats!"



Seriously, she made me get on, then off, the Trans-Canada Highway repeatedly until I got a phone call from the "next" passenger saying "Where are you?"

......................................... .................................................. ........

[FANTA-Z]

It does have good power. I guess the hardest thing for me is coming from a 4th gen with a stroker motor and some happy go go juice So needless to say its not as torqy but it still feels great

[zerox]

Rav

I see you commented in my similar thread, quick question for ya

How many times in a day did you hard drive it? Or did you just drive it hard non stop

My car is on it's way shortly, damn thing is still sitting at the plant

I was thinking of doing this for mine

Before I attempt ANY hard driving I will want to put at least 15-20 miles on her then start the hard break in process

Basically I will drive the car normally with the occasional hard drive. When Im ready to put the car away for the day, I will head out on the highway and do a couple of Darin's hard break in methods. Now how many times would be best for it? Im not sure if Darin means drive it like that for 500 miles. I was thinking maybe do 15 hard drives on the highway and then head home and park it for the night. Repeat daily until I reach 500 miles and then just drive it normally.

[JohnInSoCal]

mine seemed to wake up some at 500 miles, but it wasn't anything super dramatic or shocking, like it was a totally different car or anything like that. At 800 miles I put a supercharger and headers on and it really woke up. Passengers that are use to normal cars are in for a shock because it's so different than say driving around in a honda/toyota. I feel really strange now driving our minivan which has 235HP and used to feel quite peppy but now seems very weak, so it's all relative to what you are used to driving.

[Ravirn]

Originally Posted by zerox

I was thinking maybe do 15 hard drives on the highway and then head home and park it for the night. Repeat daily until I reach 500 miles and then just drive it normally.

This sounds good! I strongly recommend you do what you typed. From what I personally experienced, and from what Darin posted, the first 200 miles are very important. I went out on two separate occasions to "break in" my engine. The day I drove it home I immediately did around 10 hard "break-ins" on the highway. It added up to around 40 miles. Had there been no traffic on the highway, I would have done a LOT more. The second day I went nuts and did repeated hard "break-ins" for approx. 150 miles. Thank God I didn't have a passenger, 'cause they probably would have puked from all the accelerating and braking. I should note that I headed out at 1am and did this. No traffic in front or behind, so I turned the high beams on and went at it. You'll be VERY surprise how quickly 100 miles goes by even with all the braking! If you've got some remote highways, like I have, you can do this during the day without any problems.

If you follow the hard break-in method... don't be delicate. Don't redline it, but if you hit 6500 rpm the limiter will kick in anyway. Trust me, you'll freak when you hit above 5000 rpm but grin and bear it! It will become second nature to you before you know it. Even driving through city traffic you'll use the gears to get up to speed, then pop it into neutral and coast to the next stop sign or stoplight.

And, as always, if in doubt... follow the Owner's manual. The engineers didn't write it, but you can't go wrong by it. However, if you wish to try the "hard break-in" method, I wish you good fortune! I think you'll like the results! For me, I followed Darin's method and after around 200 miles I noticed the car "rumbled" more and the torque was stronger. My wife laughs, now, and says my Camaro reflects my personality. Attitude!

I've decided to follow this "style" of break-in until 2000 miles are up. From what Darin posted, the majority of break-in is already done... but I just want to make sure. At least, that's MY excuse!

Summary: Get used to the feel of your Camaro, then open her up. Day 1: as many "hard drives" as you can handle after you get used to her. No more than 50-75 miles at most, I'd say. Day 2: Repeat. but go for another 100 miles. Day 3 and onward: You can relax from all the repetitive "hard drives"... but follow that style. Accelerate, then coast... brake to stop. Take friends for a ride, show them the hard break-in method! All of that goes towards helping your engine break in "under load'. I'm at 1000 miles and I'm much more relaxed in my driving style now. My Camaro's a beast!