Hi HT,

My name is Nick and I am a former Q45 owner and I'm an administrator for NICO. Recently I had to sell my Q because I needed something with better gas mileage and a warranty. So I just put a deposit down on a 2006 Accord Sedan EX-L. It the 4cyl/auto model and it's Nighthawk Black Pearl w/ Ivory Leather interior. It's supposed to arrive at O'Neill Honda by Friday and I'm very excited about my new purchase.

I have a couple of questions about the car. 1) What should I do for my break-in method? I've heard 100 differnt ways to do this, but nothing definitive. This is my first "new" car. 2) What kind of oil should I use? When should I switch to synthetic? I'm partial to MOBIL1 but am willing to try something else.

Again thanks in advance and I'm looking forward to spending some time on here.

Nick

 

Break in - drive her easy for the first 3000 miles. (Some say 500 but I prefer it until the first oil change.) Don't accelerate too hard, stay easy on the brakes, etc.

Oil - whatever you prefer, I use Halvoline on my 94. My brother prefers Mobil1 on his 99, he used Mobil1 on his 93.

I am not certain about when you do the switch.

Congrats on becoming an Accord owner, they are great daily drivers. I would restrain from modifying it unless you have no qualms about losing warranty.

 

Welcome to the boards.... I hope you find the advice you recieve helpful and friendly. I think you have made a nice choice for a new car. You will be rather happy i think with the improved fuel economy vs the Q. As for break in there aren't any real strict rules to follow. Just use common sense. Don't go full throttle from every stop or see how fast it will go in the 1/4 mile, but if you have to accelerate quickly to merge with traffic, thats ok. Basically, drive it like you would to get the best fuel economy, and it will be fine. The "break in" period is usually the first 1000 miles or so. The first oil change should be done at, NOT before 3750 miles. There is a reason, there are additives in the factory oil that enhance break in, and need time to work. When you do change your oil, use whatever you want. Oil is really oil... synthetic's like Mobil1 do what they claim, they do work better, reduce friction, etc. This is not to say that regular oil doesn't do a great job of this... synthetics just do it a little better. The choice is yours. I have a 2002 EX V6, and I just use the bulk oil we have at the shop. The choice is yours, just make sure it's 5w20. Other than that, follow your maintenence schedule and enjoy the car.

 

id defently change the 1st oil before 3000 miles, just cause its new probley like 1500, just cause theres probley little medal parts, if u know what i mean(spelling im tired)

 

The are as many theorys about "break-in" as there are car manufacturers, and the people who drive them. Most all of them were valid for the day they were suggested, and few problems have occured because of improper break-in.

What you have to understand about the 'break-in period" is that it is a continuation of the manufacturing process. What you're looking to do is establish wear patterns condusive to good sealing (piston rings) etc.

Singular problems do arise from improper break-in such as not driving the car hard enough. There have been isolated cases where piston rings didn't seat.

The best recommendations are buried in a previous post. During the first 3000 miles vary the speed and break it in as you would drive it.

P

 

The hardest part for me was to remember to vary the speeds If you have to travel a long highway. I just went a little over the limit for a while, then went a little under the limit for a while.

 

The whole first oil thing may be the most important. For the first oil change please do not change the oil until indicated to do so by Honda. The oil is a special type of oil made to help the engine break in over the period of time that they state. Do the oil changes when indicated by the manufacturer. They know more about this than anyone on this board.

If the dealership were running some sort of scam don't you think they would recommend more oil changes, not less? Go with the indicated changes for your vehicle from Honda.

 

Good point, wait at least 3000 miles before you change it the first time. I use castrol gtx.

 

you may have been an administrator for NICO but here your just a noob! only joshing, Good pick accords never die, my 99 is in the body shop but damn it runs like its brand new v6 I get 20 city. Good luck on your new ride

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I will do the Honda-recommended break in and will switch to MOBIL1 5w20 at 3750 miles. As for mods, I probably won't be doing much. I'll definitely tint the windows as it's a black car and it gets hot here in the summer. Is this a car that can be heavily modified? I'm not very familiar with the Accords, but I'm learning. I've started reading some previous posts. NICO uses zeroforum too so I can actually figure out the search function. You guys have a lot of good info on this board.

Nick

 

I guess synthetic oil would be worth the price, if you could go longer between changes. That stuff is expensive if you still change it every 3000 miles. My 03EX sedan is black too. Very hard to keep clean, and you can see every little imperfection on it. I got a bra to protect the front end because the chips from rocks are white and look bad.

 

Well, the K series engine is a good engine to modify but you have an auto transmission which will be your limiting factor. And just to let you know the 4 cyl of this current generation all had throttle cables until 2006. You have drive by wire. Not sure if that will be good or bad for modding, but it is something to keep in my mind. good luck.