PLEASE VOTE BEFORE YOU READ THE WHOLE THREAD.... reading this thread might change your mind.

As I purchased my car (IS350) I was talking to one of the guys at the dealership, he is supposed to know alot about these cars and he is an enthusiast. He has a corvette, and has had many sports cars.
So i asked him what is the break in period of my car and how should i drive it.
he said:
" this is a 300 hp car and it is made to be driven with some agressiveness. if you BABY the engine, it will get lazzy and slow on you. the gears will shift smoother (slower) and it will make your car slower. So drive it normal and dont worry about breaking it in..... BAbying it makes it Lazzy and slower. this ECU learns your style of driving, therefore it lears your throttle wants, and the how smooth your upshifts should be. It also manages throttle response."

what do you guys say, that have had the car for longer than me (i only have 700 miles on it).

in my opinion it is true, but WOT it wont make a difference, the ECU will give you the 306 hp you need whenever you want them no matter how you have been driving lately.
I used to have a 2004 3.5L pathfinder and one time my mother drove it for about a month.....so when i took it back from her, the car really felt kinda lazzy, WOT the car wouldnt downshift enough.
every car is different and a lexus' ECU is prally more complicated and smarter than a Nissan's

So, does BABYING the car or driving it like a granny make it slow and lazzy????

 

Yes. It also prevents it from ever making full power if you baby it from day one.

 

cant you reset the ecu?

 

buy the car, drive it like ss****ttt then get a new one.
cars are like toys, play with them, break them and get a new one.
i have literally rappeddd my bimmer, but it still stands still like a king.

 

reset the ecu and strech her legs. enjoy those 306 ponies.

 

how do u reset the ecu?

 

I just recently reset my ECU two days ago after I got my oil change.
The car runs much better, speed wise, but I'm getting it used to driving slow, gas is eating at my pocket! lol

Unplug the (-) Negative side of your battery for a little over 10 minutes.

 

You literally raped your BMW? Did you use protection?

 

Yes, but we're talking about mechanical break-in, not engine management break-in. More like, seating the rings properly. I'm guessing that Lexus does a decent job seating the rings before it leaves the factory but if the car is NEVER driven hard in the first few miles (taken to red-line and decelerated in gear) You probably won't get the full potential of the engine. The fastest 350's on these boards were hammered from day one.

 

Seems like this is missing a poll.
Yup, babying your car will make it respond like a baby. But it's ok 'cos after babying it for a while you can reset the ECU and get that "new-car-smell" back; it wont be like brand-spanking new, but you'll notice the difference.
In the mean time, the ECT switch should still give a feeling of fast when you push it.

Also To Reset ECU:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=275287

 

If you think that Lexus breaks in your engine before it leaves the factory, you have guessed wrong. But you are right in that if you want to maximise the performance potential of ANY car, you need to break it in fast and hard. That does not mean that you beat or abuse the car. BUT WOT from day #1 is OK.

 

I would seriously drive smart and conservative for the first 1000 miles IMO. I have owned many new vehicles and always found it best to behave in the early brake-in period. It will not make your car lazy or slow so do not listen to this person. Conversely, you can cause damage to critical wear parts by beating on a new vehicle.

 

what does WOT mean? and what is considered conservative? does it count by MPH or RPM? as in should I keep it under a certain RPM or MPH?

 

WOT=Wide Open Throttle (acronymic expression)

Should be avoided in vehicle break-in at all costs.

 

so it doesn't matter how fast I go during the break in period just don't gun it all the way?