[10/6Odyssey]

I just drove an hour and a half on the freway at 55-70 MPH and my new Ody was in D3!!

Did I do damage?

I thought the cruise control was acting a little funny...

------------------

 

[cobra9357]

Not really... You just gave little bit more RPM to engine. I don't think that would damage engine. That don't mean that you could do everytime. Even though you drove highway with D3, RPM should be around 3, right?


Jason
'01 TW LX (W/stuff) 8120 miles
'01 Be EX (W/stuff) 16000 miles

 

[nds]

If you had over 500 miles or so on the engine already you should not have any problem. It is best on most engines to keep the rpm low but variable (better around town) the first few hundred miles to seat the rings better. No problem after that.

 

[10/6Odyssey]

On the steepest hills of San Francisco, I mean. Maybe I was going a little faster than 60-65, on the freeway home... more like 65-70... so the RPM was a little higher.

It sure changes lanes quickly at that RPM!

 

[10/6Odyssey]

The mileage is abourt 2,300 and the rpm were about 32-3700.

I guess i was really tired. On the other hand, the D3 and D2 was superb on the hills!!! No slipping backward like my old Volvo.

I guess I must have been really tired. The cruise control gets really jerky in D 3 at high speeds. That should have been my clue.

Thanks for the confidence that it'll be ok.

 

[Jerry O1]

Usually, the reason the cruise feels funny in a lower gear is that the engine roughness is magnified by the torque multiplication. If the Odyssey cannot stand up to a cruise down the road at that rpm level, we had better park 'em. I drove my 3.0L DC van all the way across Kansas in third gear, at about 4K rpm, because it was not able to stay in overdrive against a hard headwind. If the ol' Mitsu motor can deal with that, our Odyssey motor sure as heck should. One interesting thing about that Mitsu motor and quite a few others is that when the timing belt breaks, the motor simply quits and you get a tow and a new belt installed. When the belt in the good ol' Honda motor breaks, the motor makes lotsa noise, it quits, and you get a tow and a NEW motor. The 105K mile change interval leaves me feeling a little stressed. If I were using mine in very hot country and doing a lot of high speed driving, I would go with the traditional 60K interval. Sorry to have gone off subject.........

Jerry O.

------------------
2001 Odyssey GG LX

 

[Intrepid175]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by 10/6Odyssey:
I just drove an hour and a half on the freway at 55-70 MPH and my new Ody was in D3!!

Did I do damage?

I thought the cruise control was acting a little funny...
</font>

You didn't do any damage to your engine or transmission by running it in 3rd gear at legal freeway speeds. Yes the engine rpm is higher than in the overdrive 4th or 5th gears but that in itself doesn't hurt a thing. If you're pulling a heavy load, it will actually be easier on the drive train than because the power is multiplied to a greater degree in the lower gear.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">originally posted by cobra9357:If you had over 500 miles or so on the engine already you should not have any problem. It is best on most engines to keep the rpm low but variable (better around town) the first few hundred miles to seat the rings better. No problem after that.
</font>

I agree with the variable rpm part but keeping the engine speeds purposely low isn't necessarily the best thing for the engine. The load being placed on the engine and drive train is more important. That means avoiding sustained high throttle operation. With an automatic transmission, this isn't usually a problem unless you're really flogging it around.

For the most part, just drive the van normally and don't worry about it. What you probably don't want to do is go on a long trip at sustained highway speed until that first 500 to 1000 miles is over.

FWIW

------------------
Drive Safe,
Steve R.
'01 SS LX
Cargo tray, leather steering wheel, mud guards, alarm, fog lights, transmission cooler, in-dash CD player, Kelton subwoofer, under seat storage tray.

[This message has been edited by Intrepid175 (edited 11-10-2001).]

 

[Razorback]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Intrepid175:
If you had over 500 miles or so on the engine already you should not have any problem. It is best on most engines to keep the rpm low but variable (better around town) the first few hundred miles to seat the rings better. No problem after that.
</font>

I know that modern automobile engines are quite a bit different, but when we break in new piston airplane engines, the rule is to run them at the highest RPM and manifold pressure possible for the first 25 hours, as it makes the gaskets seat better. The other rule is to change the RPM (prop pitch) for the same reasons we vary RPMs when breaking in a car.

I might go as far to say that driving in D3 the first 500 miles would be a *good* thing for breaking in an engine as long as you were conscious not to get in the redline territory.

Greg

 

[Intrepid175]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Razorback:
I know that modern automobile engines are quite a bit different, but when we break in new piston airplane engines, the rule is to run them at the highest RPM and manifold pressure possible for the first 25 hours, as it makes the gaskets seat better. The other rule is to change the RPM (prop pitch) for the same reasons we vary RPMs when breaking in a car.

I might go as far to say that driving in D3 the first 500 miles would be a *good* thing for breaking in an engine as long as you were conscious not to get in the redline territory.

Greg</font>

Hi Greg,

Intersting, I've heard that too but hadn't considered it with land based vehicles. Actually, I think it has more to do with the environment the engine is expected to operate in. Aircraft engines normally run at the upper end of their functional rpm range as a matter of course. It's normal for them so I don't have a problem with their break-in proceedures reflecting that.

One other aspect you mention is avoiding red line. Airplane engine red lines, from what I understand, are more a function of limits in the propellors aerodynamics than overstressing the engine itself. Most of them I've got experience with red line at 2700 rpm which is less than half the speed the Ody's engine red lines at.

FWIW,




------------------
Drive Safe,
Steve R.
'01 SS LX
Cargo tray, leather steering wheel, mud guards, alarm, fog lights, transmission cooler, in-dash CD player, Kelton subwoofer, under seat storage tray.

 

[Maugham]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Razorback:
I know that modern automobile engines are quite a bit different, but when we break in new piston airplane engines, the rule is to run them at the highest RPM and manifold pressure possible for the first 25 hours, as it makes the gaskets seat better. The other rule is to change the RPM (prop pitch) for the same reasons we vary RPMs when breaking in a car.

I might go as far to say that driving in D3 the first 500 miles would be a *good* thing for breaking in an engine as long as you were conscious not to get in the redline territory.

Greg</font>

A couple of weeks ago I read in one of the auto columns (maybe Car Talk??) about the idea of breaking in a vehicle at higher speed. Essentially the auto columnists ripped the idea to shreds.

A writer said that a relative of his had a saying, "break in slow, drive slow," meaning he throught a car should be broken in at higher rpms with the notion that this would increase its speed later on. The columnists did not agree with that perspective.

I wish I could find the column and I hope I'm not misrepresenting it.

Regards,

------------------
Maugham

"I plan to live forever. So far, so good"
'02 RP EXL
'85 Prelude
'01 Ninja folding aluminum scooter
'00 New Balance Model 658 Shoes w/ Green Grass stains and '01 White Laces w/ Frayed Tips

 

[adam1991]

No, you're not misrepresenting that column. That's exactly what they said.

 

[A. B. Hair]

This break in article was in my Sat. morning paper from "Click and Clack"

 

[Jerry O1]

The idea of a fast break-in/fast car later has been around for YEARS. What is comes down to is that in a fast break-in, at least in years past, you would actually cause the engine to become "looser" (re the bearing/piston clearances)and thereby have less internal friction. That, of course, would result in a slightly more responsive engine, for a while. Since you have, in escence partially worn the engine out by doing this, you often ended up driving an oil burning mess when the miles built up. This is another matter in which you pay your money and take your choice. I, personally, hope my Odyssey never wears to that point and, with a nice proper break-in and with Mobil-1, it could happen.

Jerry O.

------------------
2001 Odyssey GG LX