The Break-In Period No One Talks About (V6 Manual, Sports Suspension, Cup 2)

[sbproducer]

See that … break-in is not just about the engine.. it’s about the transmission, the tires, the suspension… things have to settle and become one.

 

[allenyao09]

Try the 1,2 R adjustment posted by KitKat. It helped my shift a touch in a good way.

I was planning to do that but still procrastinating... It felt like the transmission had worked itself out with more miles driven lol

 

[sixtyy]

I do think our American friends forget that Lotus has never been about straight line speed, nor 'canyon runs'. Tested and built for British B roads that have so many twists and blind corners that 0-60 mph and max bhp are not even a consideration, holding the road and direct steering are.

British B road sounds like canyons in Malibu mountains area.

 

[SimonT]

And how we see ourselves when doing over 40 mph

 

[Last ICE]

This feel like the same recommendation for speakers: give it some time for you to become familiar with it. This is why you hear people talk about speakers "opening up" after a few hundred hours of listening. A lot of times we equate difference with inferior, because some of the characteristics we've become familiar with have gone missing, and in their place are some new peculiarities that you find annoying initially. Eventually, you discover and become accustomed to the characteristics of this new car and find ways to work around the things you don't like.

I don't like to admit it, but for the first 500 miles of driving or so, there were times I was asking myself "what have you gotten us into?" I could have scratched the sports car itch in a variety of other ways. But all of that is way behind me now.

Well said. And having your first drive of the car home from the dealership being through a crowded expressway construction zone during rush hour with snaking orange barrels, choppy pavement, and narrow temporary lanes was absolutely the wrong intro to a car that 1,100 miles later proved to be everything I hoped it would.

 

[Thirdgen89gta]

I’m sure there is truth to breaking in the entire car. Tires alone do need some breaking to get rid of the mold release compounds and get heat cycles in. But that happens pretty quick. Heat cycling won’t unless it’s driven hard, regular street doesn’t create enough heat.

But I really think it’s more the driver getting used to the car’s balance. Most of us I’m sure came from front engine cars.

I held back so much when I first got the Emira. Completely opposite weight distribution. And I still sometimes fall back into front RWD habits and add throttle too early resulting in understeer when i intended oversteer.

I also could feel the rear load up and the suspension shift which in my Focus RS meant in was balanced on the knife’s edge and just meant I could go faster. In the Emira it made me very aware of the weight distribution so I held back fearing the rear would slip out from under me.

After 4000miles I now know that isn’t going to happen. And the same behaviors that caused me to hold back now let me know I should have come in faster and trail braked into the corner harder. I’m more confident in the handling balance and the way the car reacts.

So the Emira broke ME in before I could drive it fast.