Hey guys,

As many of you probably know I just recently joined the ranks of the Mazda 3s about 2 weeks ago with my Mazda 3 i

well I have been taking some advice given to me for breaking in my car by a couple members...no squalling starts under 3500 rpms no faster than 65 mph and etc. till about 1k

I have been doing good except for getting use to this new clutch...my last car was an AWD Legacy so no burnout ability or chirp ability lol

there have been about two times on a gravel hill that I have spun gravel and then tonight when "trying to impress a girl" unfortunately I didn't watch my rpms I guess and I chirpped 2nd gear....god it was such a good feeling to know that this car DID have something hiding in it that I hadn't tried yet lol

I'm just trying to get your guys advice of wether or not I may have injured something in the break in process or if this will ahve a negative effect on my new car...

would hate it if I threw everything down the drain over just one stupid move ya know lol. thanks for any advice you give

Also if you don't mind...I would LOVE some car cleaning tips and advice for interior and exterior!

 

Hmmmm. "Chirrpped second gear" - not sure what that means. Hopefully, whatever you did was brief, and the engine was warmed up already. What's done is done, I don't know that I was absolutely perfect during my groove in period.

Cleaning tips

Exterior:I just go to the wand wash, and clean normally. I never use the brush at the place, have always worried it could have scratch causing crap in it from the previous user. I dry with an old towel of mine afterward. I bring a sponge with me, so in the event the water pressure alone can't get the dirt off, I can apply a little sponge action (never use a sponge that has a scrub pad on it). Aquality coat of wax is of course a good thing to do. On a day to day basis, I use a wet paper towel to spot clean bird chit, tree sap, etc.

Interior: I've vacuumed a few times, and paper toweled up the occasional crumbs and drink drips. I bought some special auto glass cleaner to do the glass periodically. Removing the floor mats and shaking them is effective - if your fussy, you can use a hair brush on your floor mats.

General: NEVER use windex or similar on anything on your car, itis totally caustictowardanything plastic (like headlights, tailights, anything on your interior dashboard).

 

Learn something new every day. I'd been using it for my interior windows, it's probably dripped on my trim.

 

Welcome aboard, Joe and congratulations on the new ride!

Oh, the agonizing new car break in period! A true test of discipline among true driving enthusiasts, which many of us have probably crumbled under. I'm not sure either what you mean by "chirp"... is it redlining the engine, the brief tire shriek from a "peel out" (yet another slang - LOL), or neither?

As a result of many years of collective engineering knowledge, we benefit from having shorter break in periods for newer vehicles. Modern engines are now able to endure more wear (abuse?) brought on by spirited driving. Nonetheless, everything an engine is repeatedly subjected to, inevitably results in a compounded negative effect. With that said, anything you do with/to your car that causes you to worry is probably not a good thing to repeat during the break in period. I'm no expert, but whatever you meant by "chirp," is probably a relatively minor thing and you should breathe easy. Still, don't take any chances and try really hard to drive conservatively until you've reached the recommended break in mileage, as specified in your owner manual. Plenty of time to really enjoy your car afterwards.

Here are a few things I observe to clean and help maintain the cleanliness of my cars:
Interior:
- NO cleaning products or fragrances/air fresheners whatsoever. Glass cleaner, being the rare and only exception, is something I spray on the interior glass carefully (the previous posts are correct about the corrosive effects of glass cleaner chemicals on most non-glass surfaces).
- I vacuum the interior thoroughly at least once a month and dust the surfaces with a mini Swiffer wand.
- For areas that require a little more cleaning than just dusting, I use a microfiber cloth dampened with warm water.
- Get a good sunshade and use it everytime your car is parked uncovered from the sun. UV rays can dry out and cause fading on your dashboard surface. And who likes getting into a stifling hot car?
- Invest in high quality all-weather mats. The kind with deeper ridges are the best, as they trap the most dirt/debris and channel liquids without spilling onto the car's base carpet. Soak up the water with a rag later on before lifting the mat to avoid spillage. I think the mats offered on www.weathertech.com (although on the pricey side) are among the best.
- I keep a car blanket in the trunk, which I unfold underneath large cargo items to help prevent any scratches, tears or marks on the interior surfaces.
Exterior:
- Whenever I have the time, I prefer to wash the car myself, but realistically and more often than not, I take it to a car wash that meets my personal standards. I'm lucky enough to have found a car wash place that I trust (I observed how the other customers' vehicles were cleaned before the first time I sent my car in).
- Limit car wax application to once a year and never during the first year of ownership. Applying car wax strips your car's clear coat to some degree, regardless of how gentle a product is claimed to be.
- Avoid parking underneath trees or wherever else birds might be perched on, as bird droppings are very bad for your paint, as are dead bugs. Wipe these off immediately at your earliest opportunity (I keep a mini spray bottle filled with water in the car, along with a paper towel roll).

Check out my other car ('99 Eclipse GS-T) on this website: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2629906 The car is about 8 yrs. old in those photos, and you can see that it still looks new, as a result of observing the general cleaning/maintenance tips I shared above.

Good luck and enjoy the new car!

 

WOW!! Very nice post, SILVERSP33D! A lot of good info and advice in there.

Also Joe, modern paint (especially on our cars) is not all that strong. Consider spending a few hundred on a clear bra paint protection system. I wish I had. (Stone chips, stone chips, stone chips!!!! DAMN Stone Chips!!!!)

And about waxing: I have found here in the summer Texas heat, that waxing during the summer months can be really hard on the clearcoat. Wax seems to concentrate the suns energy and burns the crap out of the delicate clearcoat paints.Two cars I have done this to (a Saturn and a Mitsubishi) had clearcoat issues within a year. Wait till the cooler fall weather to do it.

Just my .02.

 

OK, I am going to be a stick in the Mud here about the Waxing.
I brought the car home and the first weekend it was here I clay barred it and waxed the car. And during the summer months I normally wax it at least every other, if not every month.
OK, Reasons you want to wax your new vehicle when you get it,
1) The paint is not going to get any harder by waiting.
2) Wax protects your investment from the Elements (road grim, Dirt, Bird Crap ECT ECT ECT..)
3) A Shiny vehicle looks better than a dull vehicle, the Elements start to oxide your paint while setting in the sun, UV Rays play hell on a paint job.
On the interior,a damp clothis you friend on the dirty stuff that will not come off with a dry cloth, but for a cleaner I don't use anything.

As for the Chirping of the tires, don't worry about it and also you want to drive it the way you plan on driving it for the life of the car after the first 500 miles.

 

Richard: Great advice there too about applying wax when the temperature is low (after the car's engine and surfaces have cooled down, cooler ambient temperature, parking the car in a shaded area before waxing, etc.), as this allows the wax to set properly. I think that over time, poor wax application can also result in noticeable spotting in the the car's paint, as it ages and begins to fade unevenly.

***[sm=hiya.gif] Attention Webmaster: why do apostrophes double after messages are posted? (makes it look like we're all improperly using quotation marks)[sm=smiley13.gif] ***

 

Please if possible give a link that substantiates the above

1) No wax during first year of ownership?

2) Limit waxing to once a year?


Never heard any of the above. By the time any of us buy a new car, it is months removed from being painted, don't understand why refraining from waxing is good advice. Have NEVER heard that.

And, why would you wax only once a year? It's wax on top of a cured polymer ... what harm could it do to have 2 or more coats on? Sure, I wouldn't advocate waxing 10 times a year, but 3-4 (spaced out) applications a year would seem to me to be okay.

If its your personal opinion, that's cool, but I would sure be interested to read some expert substantiation if its around.

 

"... Running dino pennzoil 5w30"

I don't understand why you would run 5w30 instead of the 5w20 that the motor calls for...? Engineers determine the viscosity necessary for a motor based on clearances for bearings, valves, etc. Smaller clearances require a thinner oil. Just the same, if you put 5w20 in an older Mazda designed to take 10w30, you'll get a loud tick in your valve train because the motor has bigger clearances designed for a thicker oil. What motivated your choice for 30 weight?

 

My take -

Theprimary reason Mazda recommends 5w20 in the USAis CAFE (federal government fleet fuel efficiency rules). Thinner 5w20 will, whenin a car driven by a pro well trained in doing exactly what is needed to get max MPG, yieldsliver better MPG versus 5w30.The CAFE rulesrequire that whatever weight of oil the manufacturer uses in thevehicle when the EPA MPG numbers are determined must be the "recommended" oil weight. If you look at page 8-18 of the manual,you'll see5w30 is mentioned as a perfectly acceptable choice.

5w30will under stress provide better protection versus 5w20. The engine clearances are not so small that 5w30 does not lubricate well (if this was not the case, Mazda would be very adamant in the manual about 5w20, and certainly not list 5w30).

You mention 5w20 versus 10w30 ... those two oil weights are VERY far apart. 5w20 and 5w30 are much closer together.

This is an interesting read (when reading the article, remember Mazda is part of Ford): http://www.machinerylubrication.com/...?articleid=518