lan_evo_mr9

iTrader: (10)

For those of you that have built engines, what guide lines, if any, did you follow for your break-in of your engine?

Did you do the idle warm-up and then baby it around for 1,000 miles or did you do the warm-up and then do some pulls?

I'm looking for specifics of what people did....warm-up periods, oil changes, types of oils, mileage between oil changes, how hard it was driven etc. I'm also interested in the different theories behind each individuals process of why they did it the way they did.

I'm about to fire up my new engine pretty soon and was curious to see how most people went about their break-in and the results that followed, ie compression and leak down testing.

Matthew

apagan01

iTrader: (299)

Mathew

The best thing is to follow the manufacturer reccomendations, also AMSPERFORMANCE has some guidelines for their built engines you can follow those also.

For my GSR IX i kinda babied it for 1200 miles changed the oil 3 times, 400, 800 and 1200 miles, did not do fast accels or desels, not go over 7000 rpm's

Teal2nnr

iTrader: (7)

http://www.amsperformance.com//instr...structions.pdf

There ya go (i just posted this in another thread lol)

As far as what other people do, that’s a crap shoot. Some say warm it up, change the oil and beat on it. Others say wait the recommended time that AMS states, varying your driving conditions to seat the rings....etc.

CurseDSM

iTrader: (3)

Good break in oil is a must. Prad Penn 5w or 10w 30 break in is what I would start with. I normally go 500 miles change oil, 1500 miles change oil, 3000 miles change oil then go to whatever oil you plan on running.

-Jarred-

iTrader: (1)

I used a Monograde oil, and started to get load on the engine ASAP. One of the worst things you can do is let a freshly built engine idle from first startup.

With the car still on stands from first start I took engine revs up to 2k for about 20 secs then shut the engine down. Inspected the engine bay for any oil or coolant leaks and once I was happy dropped the car on it's wheels and took it for a drive. Started with a few part throttle pulls while watching the wideband to make sure the tune was ok then went on to putting a bit of boost into it. Not WOT, but part throttle pulls to get the wastegate open at 1bar. For the next few days I'd take it for some backroad driving just to continue getting some load on the engine.

After about 500km (300mi) I dumped the running in oil, filled up with the good stuff and booked a tune.

lan_evo_mr9

iTrader: (10)

I've got the Brad Penn break in oil in the engine ready to go. I've heard of certain reputable shops running the engine pretty aggressive to break it in.

I'm curious to know why some builders say run it hard and others say to 'baby it', and which is better and why....

2slow4now

iTrader: (5)

There are all different ways that work. You have everything from baby it around to drive it like you stole it. I tend to baby it until I know its good.
One thing I will say is there is a guy local to me that has built and raced engines for a long time. His name is Sam Jones of Jones engineering. Check him out. http://jonesenginc.com/index.htm He told me to always use lucas Break in oil additive in any newly built engine. He told me to assemble it with it and then dump the rest of the bottle in when I fill it with oil. If you read up on him how could you argue?

xRoguex

iTrader: (15)

20+ personal built and broken in dsm motors --- everyone -- driven like i stole it after warm up.

check afr, knock and boost. beat the ***** off it.

what does babying it for 500 or 1000 miles really do? id like for someone who "says" to take it easy to explain that simple question.

Do your tqs change? Oil clearances? ring gaps?


....didnt think so.

kanyonkid

iTrader: (33)

this is how i broke in my motor.

cheap non detergent 30w oil 50 miles. various cold to operation temps, take a short 5-10 mile trip. light driving.

cheap non detergent 30w 200 miles. stay under 4k rpm. Semi agressive accel(1-5 psi of boost) and decel(ingear pull vacum). short 15 min trips..

amsoil 15-50 and rip on it.

2slow4now

iTrader: (5)

"what does babying it for 500 or 1000 miles really do? id like for someone who "says" to take it easy to explain that simple question."

Maybe so everything can heat cycle a few times. Or if something is not exactly right it may "warn" you before it takes your whole motor out. Gives time for items to establish a wear pattern. Personal preference.
When I worked in a boat shop alot of the parts we got recommended a 10 hr breakin on the boat. No constant cruising, intermittent throttle, no wide open throttle for the first 5 hrs. HHMM how many boat owners do you think got their boat fixed for the weekend and putted around all weekend? LMFAO They all would pound on that stuff! That boat was out draggin tubers around the first time it hit the water. Is it the right thing to do? I just don't want something to come apart at 8k rpm. So I think baby it till your confident its good.

psphinx81

iTrader: (38)

let it warm up, check for leaks, beat the **** out of it.

2slow4now

iTrader: (5)

Another thing that might be considered is how the clearances were set. If it was set to the tight side of the spec a break in period might be more important. It would allow time and use to wear in. Most "race" or "high performance" engines are set somewhat loose to cut down on wear in time so a break in isn't as important. Just think about a top fuel dragster. They build the engine and start the engine and pound on it right away.

An example from a ring chart I have.
application top ring gap bore x spec
High perf street strip .0045
street turbo nitrous .0050
circle drag .0050
nitrous full race .0070
blown full race .0060

dastallion951

well with mine according to my tuner, oil was installed, engine was started up ran sitting at idle for about 15-20 mins, they changed the oil again, inspected for leaks was all good, they told me to drive it easy they even put into my ecu i couldnt go over 10 psi during break in periods ( ****ty going up big hills haha), dont stay at the same rpms very long, try not to lugg the engine around at same speed, let rpms slow you down before you start braking, drove it till 500 miles, then went back they changed the oil again, all conventional 10w30 castrol during this time, then at 1k miles went to 10w30 synthetic have changed a few oil manufacturers in this time, but since its hot and humid in southern cali where i live 30k on the engine and im running now a Valvoline Vr1 20w50 oil due to fps recommendation for the red. so listen to the guy to the t that built your engine and you shouldnt really have any issues, just remember during break in vary the rpms dont keep it at the same rpms all the time, shift gears if you have to but let the engine coast down in rpms during slowing down before you need to start braking, the first 500-1000 miles is key to seating the rings, either make or break how your engine responds. good luck and enjoy the new build.

xRoguex

iTrader: (15)

The taking it easy gets you past the warranty point -- thats about it.

Mark S

I have dont from 40 miles to 1000miles running in and everything in between and its made no diff to how the engine performs,
I now tend to favour 50miles building revs and boost and then on to full power and revs when mapping.

Mark