I just got a new S from the dealer a few days ago (sweeet car - definately the coolest & most fun car I've ever owned - a close second being a 1st gen MR2). To get to the point though, I was driving on the highway & doing the recommended break in thing by varying the revs & speed (within reasonable limits so I wouldn't get a ticket or get run over or run someone else over ). Unfortunately, I'm still trying to get used to the 6-speed & I managed to shift from what I thought was going to be 5 - 6 turned out to be 5 - 4 . Of course the revs shot up to ~ 6k & I really quickly jumped on the clutch & got it back into 6th. A little while later (~50 miles or so) I noticed a very slight subtle change in the exhaust note (just a little tiny bit more aggressive sounding than before - but no signs of missfiring or anything amiss). I currently have about 240 miles on the car (I know, still a baby) but is it possible I damaged the motor by revving it past 4,500 rpms during break in or does the exhaust note slowly change during the break in? It seems to be running perfectly fine otherwise.

 

I don't think you hurt anything. I over reved mine a few times during breakin. I have 35k on mine now and the motor is fine. The exhaust will get a little louder as everything gets blown out.

 

I don't think you damaged anything! The "break-in" notion is highly controversial anyway. Dosn't hurt to follow the recommended guidelines though, if you can!

I noticed on my '06 MCSc that the exhaust sound is a little louder and lower than when new. Also, when I run it harder, it gets "throatier".

I recommend relaxing and enjoy the new MIni.

 

Expect to see some hair like deposits in the exhaust next 5k miles or so, mine went from a nice warm burble to more of a pinging pop. And going over the 4500 isn't good and its unlikely you damaged anything, but may make the differance between 275k or 300k miles on engine reliability (probably even more than that these days, more of an example as I don't think anyone has broken the 200k mile mark yet.

 

Your fine. A quick jump over 4500 rpm will not hurt anything. Just don't make it a habit until your out of break-in.

A 1st gen mr2, huh? My best friend drives one and it is definitely one amazing car. That engine will rev to 7k and then back down to idle in the time the MCS' engine will rev to redline. Unfortunately, someone rear ended him (pushing him into another car) about a month ago. It'll most likely be totaled by insurance.

 

Thanks for the great info. I thought I had read somewhere about the exhaust note changing. I feel pretty confident that I didn't hurt anything, but I'm still in that 'paranoid' stage with a new car (parking way out in the sticks at the mall, buffing out every little tiny micro-smudge in the paint, etc.). And if it did cause the bottom end to maybe give up the ghost at 275K instead of 300K I'm OK with that. I will be more careful with that slightly tricky 5-6 shift though (it seems like you have to push it over a little bit).

 

But, if you had the supercharged MR2, It would be #1 as that car rocked. (I know ... sacrilege but there is no substitute in handling for a mid-engined car)

 

kapps,
Yeah, I will be careful about the 4.5K redline during break in just to be sure.
Sorry to hear about your friends MR2. It did rev pretty quickly from what I remember. It is the one other car I've had along with the MINI where I feel like a little high strung cheetah moving around a bunch of pondering elephants (my wife said the other cars seem like bumps on logs).

 

I never drove a supercharged MR2 but I had heard they rocked. The handling was really different for sure (you pivoted around turns & could really use the throttle & brakes (very small brake inputs though - too much & the back end wanted to pass the front REAL BAD) to point the front end exactly where you wanted it to go). We also have a 2000 Mazda Protege ES, which actually is a pretty good handling car, but the S does seem to hold a pretty good edge in handling and for sure in acceleration.

 

The reason I said that was because although the MCS, stock, is "slightly" faster, the MR2 SC was much more fun to drive ... even you haven't driven both, you just cant compare or know. And its gearbox was the best I've ever driven ... period.

As to a bit of oversteer ... thats how you learn to reall drive ... FWD just aint the same thing.

Too bad Toyota never got it act together to duplicate it.

 

MR2 definitely had the tightest shift pattern I've ever experienced. Too bad it was at a car show instead of a track. :-P

 

I did the same thing! Well, kinda. I have a MINI Cooper S Auto. I floored it (I really wanted to make the light) and it kicked down. I later noticed that it sounded like "yeah! That is what I was waiting for!" So I dont think that you hurt anything, and its just letting you know that it ready for anything! lol