Can a car be broken in?

[Makavelli]

When I bought my 86.5, I was kinda dissapointed in it's gitty-up. But after owning it for 2 weeks, I swear it gets up better and handles better than it did. It feels less restricted, looser somehow. This car had sat for a while and was only driven sparringly...is it possible I'm breakin it in, or am I just nuts???

 

[supradan22]

it is possible or maybe you just got the supra hook and wont be able too drive anything.

 

[CTsupra]

well, personally i think you're crazy ...j/k

its is possible you have cleared out some carbon build up depending on your style of driving.

 

[Supra Blues]

Maybe your foot just got heavier?

And it is probably more likely that you are used to driving the car now and are more familiar with pushing it to the limits. Where before, you weren't so you didn't know the ability of the Supra.

 

[Supramatt90]

Mine did the same thing but I think it was a combination of carbon build-up and dead gas. When I finally filled it with a new tank it felt much better. Then again I think that was two year old gas it had.

 

[lagged]

erm so to answer the question "Can a car be broken in"

NO

 

[GrimJack]

Actually... from what I understand, the ECU learns from how you drive. So, if you drive with your foot to the floor all the time, it's going to gradually become more powerful at the expense of economy. And if you always drive timid, it'll do the opposite.

So... if it was driven by a granny for a few years, then you started romping on it, you could very well see some changes from the ECU over a period of weeks.

 

[SupraMario]

Actually... from what I understand, the ECU learns from how you drive. So, if you drive with your foot to the floor all the time, it's going to gradually become more powerful at the expense of economy. And if you always drive timid, it'll do the opposite.

So... if it was driven by a granny for a few years, then you started romping on it, you could very well see some changes from the ECU over a period of weeks.

YES, our cars are smart, woot, eat that all u honda ECUs.:biglaugh:

 

[cwapface]

I went through this exact same thing, when I first got my car it was slllloooowwwww. And when I picked it up from the body shop after a week it was extremely slow again, it was because the gas pedal is so stiff and takes some getting used to. I was driving my 87 toyota pickup in the meantime and that thing will rev to 3k if you look at the gas pedal

 

[Makavelli]

Actually... from what I understand, the ECU learns from how you drive. So, if you drive with your foot to the floor all the time, it's going to gradually become more powerful at the expense of economy. And if you always drive timid, it'll do the opposite.

So... if it was driven by a granny for a few years, then you started romping on it, you could very well see some changes from the ECU over a period of weeks.

Well I'll be damned. That's 2 Cool.

 

[albertmdh]

that is bad-ass, so where does it start at if you reset the ECU? mine actually seemed faster when i test-drove it than anytime after, but i figure i just got used to it.

 

[lagged]

Actually... from what I understand, the ECU learns from how you drive. So, if you drive with your foot to the floor all the time, it's going to gradually become more powerful at the expense of economy. And if you always drive timid, it'll do the opposite.

So... if it was driven by a granny for a few years, then you started romping on it, you could very well see some changes from the ECU over a period of weeks.

hah come on grim, you cant compare that to a "break in" period.

example: freshly rebuilt motor should have the same amount of power it does before and after break in. (lets say you put 200 miles on it before you romped on it at all)

 

[1TuffSupra]

The ecu will only reset itself if the battery goes dead or something similar. Even if your car sits for a while (such as at the body shop) as long as the battery maintains power the settings the ecu holds will not change. Like it was mentioned before if whoever drove your car previously drove like an old lady then you start pushing it to its limits you will notice a performance increase simply because the ecu starts altering the a/f ratios and ignition maps to make the most out of the available power.

If you have been driving your car for a while and it has started to seem sluggish, more likely than not, it is simply because you have grown accustomed to the power. Either that or you have a problem with your motor. If it is a problem, other signs should start to pop up rather than simply a loss in power. It should only take about 2-3wks for you to get used to a power upgrade if driving the car everday. If you want to reset the ECU in the car then undo the neg battery cable for about 20-30 min and it will be done.

 

[GrimJack]

I think it starts pretty much in the middle. I've heard both ends - guys who reset their ECU at the track to get faster, and guys who refuse to do so because they get slower.

 

[1TuffSupra]

I think it starts pretty much in the middle. I've heard both ends - guys who reset their ECU at the track to get faster, and guys who refuse to do so because they get slower.

That makes sense, when I first got my eclipse (sorry for the lack of a better example, but its the last car I actually had a chance to do some tuning to and im new to the supra) I reset the ecu and it actually became faster, but once I started to modify the motor and the ecu had made adjustments to accommodate for those mods, resetting the ecu actually slowed the car. The difference was very minimal at best though and at the track an inconsistent driver wouldnt have been able to measure the difference. In the long run though, its best to leave the ECU alone and let it do its thing, it is already made allowances for the mods that you have done for the car to get the best it can produce out of the mods available. The ones that have modded the car and then reset the ECU and the car felt faster is probably because the ignition maps were reset to stock (advanced) and the car made more horsepower, but it was not as safe as when the ecu's programming was untouched

 

[americanjebus]

who else has that rock hard gas pedal thing going on, anyone who has driven my car agree's "wow, figh the gas pedal huh"

you may have just gotten used to the hard pedal or loosened the throttle cable to where its more responsive.

 

[ma71supraturbo]

Mand dead gas. When I finally filled it with a new tank it felt much better. Then again I think that was two year old gas it had.

Yup, my vote is for gummy gas that you've flushed out

 

[Makavelli]

That makes sense, when I first got my eclipse (sorry for the lack of a better example, but its the last car I actually had a chance to do some tuning to and im new to the supra) I reset the ecu and it actually became faster, but once I started to modify the motor and the ecu had made adjustments to accommodate for those mods, resetting the ecu actually slowed the car. The difference was very minimal at best though and at the track an inconsistent driver wouldnt have been able to measure the difference. In the long run though, its best to leave the ECU alone and let it do its thing, it is already made allowances for the mods that you have done for the car to get the best it can produce out of the mods available. The ones that have modded the car and then reset the ECU and the car felt faster is probably because the ignition maps were reset to stock (advanced) and the car made more horsepower, but it was not as safe as when the ecu's programming was untouched

Ahh..Nice call. Last week the battery cable went out, and I had to replace it. The car had no juice, and I had to reset everything...That's prolly it. Hey, you're really knowledgable, can you take a look at my post "Bubbling Noise" and gimme an idea?

Thanks!