Motor break in questions

[sicksubie]

I would like to hear some opinions, suggestions, etc on what the correct way would be to break in a motor. Tom will be assembling my motor at some point this summer and I have bought Duckie's stage III s/c kit. I will be very tempted to assemble everything and just go s/c and all, but I want this to be done properly.

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by sicksubie

I would like to hear some opinions, suggestions, etc on what the correct way would be to break in a motor. Tom will be assembling my motor at some point this summer and I have bought Duckie's stage III s/c kit. I will be very tempted to assemble everything and just go s/c and all, but I want this to be done properly.

My first reaction is to suggest you take Toms advice.

However as a second opinion, I would suggest that you simply treat the engine kindly for the first few miles. (Was nearly going to correct with kms and it is nice to not have to jog old memories. )

The old idea was to not exceed a certain RPM, but the more sensible approach is to not put too heavy a load on the engine. With an automatic, all you have to do is keep the loud pedal away from the floor for a while.

[sicksubie]

Originally Posted by Trevor

My first reaction is to suggest you take Toms advice.

However as a second opinion, I would suggest that you simply treat the engine kindly for the first few miles. (Was nearly going to correct with kms and it is nice to not have to jog old memories. )

The old idea was to not exceed a certain RPM, but the more sensible approach is to not put too heavy a load on the engine. With an automatic, all you have to do is keep the loud pedal away from the floor for a while.

So do you think that putting the blower on immediately is a bad idea?

[Bobb]

Hi Sicksubie, We old guys remember the "Drive slowly for the first one thousand miles" NO high RPM's , no constant RPM's. this breaks down to commin sense. Allow the parts to become freinds with each other. Then change the oil, and your good to go. Take care, BOBB

P/S Liston to tom!

[TomsSVX]

Standard Break-in proceedure

-DON'T romp on it... keep load off the parts for the most part of 1k miles
-Don't findyourself cruising on the highway for extended periods of time without changing rpm(groove the cylinder walls)
-Use regular oil for the 1st 1k and then switch to synthetic afterwards
-Put the blower and everything on but remember to resist the heavy foot

That should be about it... Although engine break-ins are a urban legend by now, I still live and breath by them

Tom

[drivemusicnow]

I guess I'll be the one to disagree.

There is NO reason on a modern engine that was built to spec to "go easy" for a while.

EVERY motor built in a factory of any quality is flogged on a dyno, or in the car on a track before it is ever delivered. Why you ask?

Think of it this way. If something was done wrong (For example to tight of clearances, or too loose torque on bolts etc) it won't fix itself and will eventually fail, even if you spend the first 1000 miles driving like a blind grandmother.

My recomendation, and that of many other people who build numerous modern engines, is to:
Vary RPMs constantly
Do some "not quite full" throttle pulls, and then while holding it in that same gear, let the engine act as a brake

Change the oil after the initial break in. This includes letting the car idle until warm, lots of various RPM and loads, and less than 50 miles.

If something was done wrong, it will fail. If everything was built right, it'll have higher compression, and last longer than the same motor that was broken in "soft".

Many of the rules behind engine break in come from old engines with much looser machining tolerances than are available today.

Google the "mototune" break in method. The same idea is used by factories all over the world, as well as EVERY race engine builder in the world.

Some people will say, "oh well that's fine, but a race engine isn't trying to last 100k miles" which is true, but you have to think that they're also looking for every last hp, and an efficient motor (read high output) is a low wear engine, assuming that the motor in general was designed correctly.

Even so, most people are stuck on the "take it easy" break in method for the mere reason that they just spent a significant amount of money and in their minds they think being "nice" to it during break in will make it last longer.

[Tim]

Originally Posted by Trevor

My first reaction is to suggest you take Toms advice.

+1

I didn't listen to him in the beginning and thought I could save money not going with the Koni's instead of the new old stock struts, and here I am replacing them with Koni's when I should have done it in the first place.

[n00b on demand]

Step one: Drive it like you stole it

[Tim]

Step one... cut a hole in the box...

Oops... wrong topic...