I have just bought a brand new 2009 Civic Si Sedan. If this has already been posted I am sorry ahead of time for the duplicate.

My question is how do I drive the new car? Obviously I am not going to be smashing around but is there a specific way I should be driving it? Most people say wait till 1K miles before smashing. Some say wait until 500 miles before smashing. Is there anything specific I need to know especially if I want to have higher performance later. Any help would be appreciated.

 

It might say it in the manaul? I know it says it in my 98 Civic Manual haha.

 

Come on man I know what it says in the manual, I am looking for special tips something that it doesn't say. Anything outside of the norm....

 

Do not apply 100% throttle for the first 600 miles, never hold the same speed for too long (i.e. no cruise control), don't change your oil until you hit 15% oil life.

This is what most other people are going to tell you and guess what, it's in the manual. Others will tell you drive it like you rented it. There will be some very dichotomous opinions stated on here. It's up to you on what to listen to.

 

The Si engines are broken in from the factory, right out of the dealer's mouth. 18k miles on mine and so far so good. Only squeak is from the aftermarket sway bar that needs some greasing.

 

salesmen tend to say a lot of stupid ****, i wouldn't take their word for anything.

 

I'm well aware. I've broken in all 4 of the new cars I've purchased by driving them the way I would normally drive. Hasn't failed me yet, so I have no reason to go telling people "omg you can't shift higher than 3000 rpm it's new!". In fact all the cars I broke in pretty roughly ran very well and put down great #'s on the dyno. (152whp out of a bone stock tC that's rated 161hp to the crank isn't bad, I would think)

 

i personally don't think it makes a big difference myself. if i was to buy a brand new car, i'd take it easy for the first 500 miles just in case. however, whether you should or not will be debated till the end of time. my point was, just because the salesman told you that doesn't mean anything at all. as for the hp on the tc, the type of dyno used makes a huge difference; i've seen stock si's dyno anywhere from ~165 to ~195 whp depending on the type of dyno used.

 

I'm also well aware of the different dynos available. Standard old dynojet that none of my previous cars got any spectacular #'s on until the tC.

 

everybody has different opinions on breakin in a car. i drove normal and havent had any problems and im at 16k miles in less than a yr

 

I have been saying to follow the directions in this link since 1998

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Also, unless you took delivery of your car factory fresh from the assembly line in Canada someone somewhere along it's destination has pegged the engine to redline and ragged on-on more than one occasion, especially at PDI at your dealer and on test drives.

Well then, next time use the search. Or did you not search because you were new or thought you were special?

 

Heh.... I got my Si with 1 mile on the odometer. I doubt they had time in 1 mile to abuse it all that much

 

That's 4 quarter miles buddy and I use to deliver cars from the rail yard to dealerships PDI. Your jaw would drop if you saw the way people who actually drive the cars on and off the rail cars and how some drivers who deliver these vehicles to dealership PDI's.

 

i got my 09 two months ago and i heard from my friend (evo owner) to break it in at 2.5K to 3K. i have about that now, (yah i drive alot) and it sounds and feels great!

 

My car had 21 miles on it... so shiiiit.

 

The search for this site has been change significantly since I last posted when I owned a EG years ago. I didn't feel going through the 68 pages of threads listed. Show me a post with this same question. If anything you should have linked it instead of making useless comments.

 

So you just wanted to be spoon fed then? How about you just read your manual instead of creating useless threads?

 

haha i bought myne with 271 mi on it...