What is the rule of thumb concerning this? I always thought it was to watch the speed (do not go over 55 mph for first 1000 miles), but a friend recently told me it's the rpms (don't go over 4000) not the speed. Which is it?

How would you experienced drivers go about breaking in your RX-8? The first driving on mine (other than bringing it home from dealer) will be a 220 mile/3.5 hour drive on the highway. How would you advise I drive it so as to break it in the right way...what are some things i need to be mindful of?

Thanks.

 

There is a small paragraph in the owners manual pertaining to breakin. Read it while your waiting on the reams of paperwork to be completed. I think it says no fast starts and stops, vary the RPM, no long durations at one RPM. Try and not exceed 7000 RPM for the first 600 miles. Not a whole lot of rules. You should have fun on such a long trip home. I have a thousand miles on mine and no trip has been over 50 miles. Enjoy.

 

Let me tell you,

if your first drive in the car is a long straight highway drive, then keep it under 4000 rpm the whole way, NO Cruise Control, check the engine oil before driving, use 6th gear for most of the trip, 5th to pass cars. The most important thing is to vary the speeds 45, 50, 55, 70, back to 45, 55, 65, etc. I would worry less about speed and more about RPM -- but keep it mostly at 50-60 and touch 70 now and again

 

Your friend is correct - it's the tach you need to watch, not the speedo.

Personally, I made a point of using light throttle and nothing over 4000rpm, with occasional bursts to 5000, for the first couple of hundred miles. After 200, I allowed myself an extra 1000 rpm (5000 max with occasional spurts to 6000 for the next couple of hundred miles. I'm currently approaching 400, at which point I'll allow myself 6000 until 500 miles, and then 7000 until 600.

Sure, it's a little more onerous than Mazda's stated "7000 rpm for the first 600 miles", but I'm prepared to tread a little more lightly for the first few weeks to help ensure many more miles of fun and reliability. The engine is already starting to free up noticeably. It spins to 5000 faster now than it used to reach 4000, and the same small throttle inputs result in stronger acceleration in higher gears.

 

Besides my above comments, I spoke to my mechanic (a rotary crazed) man.

He suggested:
MILES
0-600 Follow the Manual, but keep it under 4000
600-800 Open it up a bit, vary accelerations and speed
RPM < 5000
800-1000 Drive the car, enjoy it but still keep RPM's < 6000
1000-1250 Drive it as it's powercurve intended it to be
RPM's < 7000
1250-1500 Test the car frequently from RPM's 6000-9000 in
every gear
> 1500 Drive it anyway you want, U DA MAN NOW!!!!!!

 

Great info RotoRooter. Thanks for the info.

I've also heard it's very important to be gentle on the brakes. No hard braking if you can avoid it. Unfortunately I don't have a timeframe, but would assume the same 500-600 miles.