[lazerasa]

I'll be getting my 3s this weekend and I wanted to find out what to do to take care of my car. I've heard talk of break-in periods and such, but I don't really have any knowlege on that stuff, so fill me in.
Thanks.

 

[raitchison]

I'm guessing this is going to get moved, though I'm not sure it's in the wrong place.

In any case, your manual has some guidelines for drving during the period they don't call the break in period anymore. Generally involving not racing the engine, not driving at a constant speed for a long time & the like.

There are two schools of thought:

One says: Drive your car easy for the first ~1000 - 3000 miles to give everything the chance to settle in nice and easy.

The other says: Drive your new car like your going to drive it. So if your a lead foot be a lead foot and don't worry about it.

I'm picking the second option for the 3 (first time) and was autocrossing it at ~500 miles.

 

[AK/47]

a good coat of quality wax is never a bad idea!

 

[SBTanMan]

The manual says for the first 600 miles, drive it at varying speeds, so I did so, but remember to let it warm up before you run to high RPMs, otherwise your metal parts may experience shorter life due to temperature stresses. Remember, glass cracks when it goes from cold to hot too quickly, so just take it easy on the revs for the first few minutes would be my major advice. Other than that, enjoy your car and pay attention to anything that will require dealer servicing--the sooner it gets brought to the dealer's attention, the less likely it can be blamed on your driving, at least as far as the brakes are concerned. And wash and wax your car often. If nothing else, your car will appreciate it (not to mention other people). My car has at least two coats of wax put on it by myself, and I can say, without question, it looks better for it, especially after the recent rain--water beads right off of it and it looks so deep and clean.

 

[turtle]

speaking of waxing.....should i wax the car right away after purchasing?

i've had the car for about a month and i have yet to wax it......will it help in the long run to wax as soon as possible?

and how often do u wax? i learned that waxing is every 6 months but at the 6th month.....waxing is done like weekly for 1 month.....is this how to do it?

the sun's actually out right now so i could wax it if needed.....i did get the dealership to put a layer of clearcoat.....dunno if that affects anything...

 

[cowtown]

I seem to remember hearing that you do not want to wax the car for the first few months as quite often the new paint is still "setting up". Depends on how you feel but I'll wax it this summer, likely about 6 months after having it, i'll clay bar the car using the Mothers kit at the same time to get rid of the grit.

As far as new car driving, I'm in the drive it carefully but like you normally would, I don't agree with the whole keep it under 4000RPMs for the first 1000 miles/kms club, seems silly to me.

 

[neoriffic]

The manual says for the first 600 miles, drive it at varying speeds, so I did so, but remember to let it warm up before you run to high RPMs, otherwise your metal parts may experience shorter life due to temperature stresses.

IMHO you should never run high RPMs before the car warms up regardless of the mileage. It takes a while for the oil to fully work its way through the engine.

 

[SBTanMan]

I don't know about the paint setting in, but I figure the trip over from Japan was long enough for the paint to sit. As for waxing frequency, I jump on that often, after all, more is better. Even those people who use Zaino put on multiple coats, one guy even did 50 coats. That is a little much for me, but waxing every few times you wash (and if you really love your car, you wash every week or so) is a good way to keep the paint protected and looking beautiful.

 

[Absinthe]

Moved to Maintenance and Care section...