[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

When I bought it two weeks ago I was mostly going 60, occasional 65. Starting this week I am doing about 70% of the time @ 70 mph, 30% of the time @ 65 mph. I used to borrow my dad's '15 Civic EX and @ 75 mph it's doing about 2150-ish rpm, but with FiST @ 75 mph I'm getting really close to 3,000 rpm (if not at). I don't think keeping the engine at high revs for prolong period of time is a good idea, although I do wanna drive faster. Dilemma

 

[Zormecteon]

If you bought it new, stop driving at a constant speed. Period. Speed up and slow down, shift gears and do it again... NO CRUISING, NO SPEED CONTROL for at least the first 1000 miles. Read your break in procedure. ....

That said.. We don't know the speed limit of the freeway in question. In Oregon for example the speed limit is 65 mph, but in Utah its 80 mph. .. Do you have a radar detector? ... .. In general, they won't ticket you unless you're going over 8 mph above the speed limit, so when I was cruising cross country and the speed limit was 80, I was doing 85 to 88, with bursts to near 100. Back home in Washington State, the speed limit near me is 70 as opposed to further north where the speed limit is only 60. .. around home I'm usually cruising at about 73 and taking it easy, but sometimes I like to Hoon and set the cruise to 78. I'm running a V-1 radar detector and have bursts again to about 100 when conditions warrant, but I don't cruise much above 80.

YMMV.

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

Well it's kinda hard to speed up and decelerate shifting down, then accelerate and shift up on the freeway with a bit of traffic when everyone is going 65-70 bumper to bumper and I cannot slow down because of an idiot sitting 2 inches away from me in the rear. I do however accelerate, slow down, shift down, shift, etc. during city driving thanks to lots of stop signs and traffic lights. And I'm close to 900 miles already so I guess it went alright :nailbiting:

Here in CA speed limit is 65 but even semis are going like 70. I myself never go above 70 because it's going past 3000 rpm which I don't feel like putting my motor at 3000 rpm for 25-30 mins straight

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

Also, how's your mpg? I'm getting right now around 28.7

 

[reddog99]

Your worries about the engine speed are unfounded. The Honda was designed to run at it's low speed, and the Fiesta engine is designed for higher engine speeds. Motorcycles commonly run at much higher engine cruising speeds, and they have no longevity problems.

If you're really paranoid, then when you change the oil, put in some full synthetic instead of the semi-synthetic. Heed Zormecteon's advice about constant speeds during break in. Take some drives out on some back roads where you can load/unload the engine. Don't worry about gas mileage during break in. Worry about correct break in procedures.

 

[Zormecteon]

If you never take your engine to redline during the break in period, it becomes more likely that it won't want to go AFTER the break in period. Make sure it's warmed up completely, and don't hold it there, but go ahead and let it rev,.. ......

The car will do near 80 in third. You can downshift from 6th, to 5th, to 4th on the freeway, and back all while going 62 to 80 on the freeway. Sure, you'll look like a complete jerk to everyone around you, most especially the idiot riding your bumper...
but It's your car, do what you want..... just trying to help. ...

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

redddog99, just to clarify I understood you correctly. I apologize for repeating of you you just said if I'm doing, not to look like an idiot, but just to clarify for myself because at this stage of my car I'd like to be a little paranoid about lots of things as I plan to keep this car for at least 10 years: it's ok if the engine is spinning at 3000 rpm or above for extended period of time. It was designed to handle such loads, and I should drive fast if I want to just fine.

Zormecteon, since I obviously did not follow the exact correct procedures of absolute strict guidelines of engine break-in, do you think from your personal and research experience as well as personal opinion I did some significant damage to the engine internal and its components? Also do you think changing oil at 1000 miles to a fully synthetic will help to a little bit "smooth out" my unforgivable mistakes? (I just hope my car will forgive me )

Thank you for replies, I appreciate them.

 

[reddog99]

Running at 3000 rpm for extended periods will not harm the engine. That's only about 75 mph in 6th. The engine will continue "breaking in" for many more thousands of miles. In all likelihood, you have not harmed the engine by driving at steady speeds. The main parts affected during the break in are the piston rings, and the loading and unloading of the engine helps the rings better match the cylinder. If the rings do not wear in properly, you could expect higher oil consumption. As a point of reference, my car has over 46,000 miles and uses maybe 1/4 qt. per 10,000 in my commuter type driving. Of course, more aggressive driving will tend to consume more oil.

It's not too late to engage in break-in activity. As I said, it will continue for a while, so it would be better for you to delay the use of full synthetic oil.

 

[Ca5p3r]

During the first 1000 miles, i changed the oil about 2 ot 3 times. After about 500-600 miles I started to drive the car to how I would later on (i.e. Going to red line. WOT, etc.) but still following the "not constant engine speed." During the 1000-3000 miles i did 3 or 4 oil changes. And I've been doing 3000 mile oil changes since then. It is probably more of a waste of money on my part, but whatever. I am still surprised that Ford says 10,000 mile oil changes for the FiST.
I guess I should mention that I am at 32700 miles or so. I dont think i have needed to top off the oil... Well... 3000 miles wouldnt be enough time for oil consumption.

Get use to the car. Play with her. She'll play back and will love it. The FiST will take a lot of punishment.

 

[Zormecteon]

It's really hard to "damage" it through not following procedures, but as reddogg99 states you may have slightly higher oil consumption over the life of the car, and then again you may not. Modern metallurgy is darn good. You may not be able to rev the engine as high or as fast as someone who HAS followed procedure, but then they may not be able to rev as high as those who don't follow procedure but belong to the "drove it like they stole it" school of break in procedure. Of course those guys don't plan to keep their cars as long as you (and I) do, so may not be as concerned about longevity as ultimate performance. The general rule is to drive it during break in the way you plan to drive it during your ownership, but ... don't drive at a steady engine rpm. .. go ahead.. start now... there's still time to seat everything.

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

Thanks for replies!

Yeah I've been driving lately with changing speed frequently. On the freeway I try to stay at the same speed no more then 3-4 mins, sometimes I shift down to 5th and go through rpms like 2250 for 4 mins, 2500 for 4 mins, 2750 for 4 mins, etc. Then shift up to 6th and repeat. Rarely I shift down to 4th, but it happens at least 1-2 times during my 35-40 min drive. I do same thing in the city. Probably gonna continue doing all of that till maybe 1700-ish miles, I'm at exactly 1000 miles mark as of this morning.

 

[Zormecteon]

Don't forget to take it up to 6k rpm a couple of times per "run".. but only after the car is thuroughly warmed up... even if its only after you get off the freeway, and on the surface streets, in first or second gear.. .. if your car is warmed up (15 minutes?) before you get on the freeway,.. get up to speed in 3rd. It WILL go 80 in 3rd!

 

[Smokin]

Thanks for replies!

Yeah I've been driving lately with changing speed frequently. On the freeway I try to stay at the same speed no more then 3-4 mins, sometimes I shift down to 5th and go through rpms like 2250 for 4 mins, 2500 for 4 mins, 2750 for 4 mins, etc. Then shift up to 6th and repeat. Rarely I shift down to 4th, but it happens at least 1-2 times during my 35-40 min drive. I do same thing in the city. Probably gonna continue doing all of that till maybe 1700-ish miles, I'm at exactly 1000 miles mark as of this morning.

My god, quit worrying about your car!!!!! It's stronger than you are!

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

Yeah I took it to 5500-ish in 2nd yesterday, took it to about 5500 in 3rd while going to work this morning and took it to 6400 in 1st while getting off the freeway. Was fund but a bit scary, and even a bit disappointing: after about 4500 rpm I could feel that power is diminishing quite noticeably, and the engine is rather making more noise than pushing the car forward.

 

[FiST_To_The_Clutch]

I'm not really worrying haha, I did not do any break-in whatsoever until like 800 miles lol, so right now just doing some basic stuff to qualify at least "well I did some break-in"