Break In Period

[JBLU24]

ok it seems i may have gotten a bit ahead of myself and have forgotten to properly break in my new LGT.......who thinks propper break in is crucial and who thinks driving hard out the box makes for a stronger car ??

[elGT]

I don't think that driving hard right out of the box could make for a stronger car, that's for sure. But I am not sure about the need for a break in period either--mainly because I was so excited about my new LGT that I forgot to break it in until I was already at 1K miles.

[GTSpeed]

Either Motor Trend or Car and Driver had an Evo for a long term test recently. They said they were super anal with the break in because they had heard of many owners who weren't, and were burning a quart of oil every 2000 miles... I heard this and figured it would be better to be safe than sorry. Keep monitoring your performance and oil consumption and let us know if you encounter any problems... I have to admit, the break in damn near killed me, especially when I had 480 miles and got revved at by some stupid civic with a fart can... If you're reading this Mr. FartCan Civic, I've got 3500+ Miles now and am ready to play!

[rony]

Break in?

 

Lol, no seriously, I took it easy on my car for the first 1000 or so miles. Now, well, I have fun, but I still drive it hard when I want to..

[vodoo-chile]

Are a couple of short bursts here or there really going to hurt the motor? What about teh cars at the dealership when you test drove them? I know that I did a couple of quick steps to get "up to speed" when I test drove mine. Nothing major (no 1/4 runs or anything), but I did get it into boost until about 60 or so. Also, when I had about 500 miles or so I got on it pretty good. Is 1000 miles really any different? Just asking so I know if I should be looking. Thanks,

Kyle

[BadAndy]

Breakin is crucial for the first 20 minutes of run time after being assembled. Beyond that you don't want to beat it for the first 750-1000 miles so everything has a chance to settle. A few spirited bursts aren't going to hurt it but running through every gear up to redline with only a couple hundred miles on it might not be the best thing. Change the oil at 1000-1500 and that's it.

[KegTapper]

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

Information pertaining to the benefits of breaking an engine in hard.

 

Personally, I keep it calm and take it easy, but once the car is completely warmed up, I'll put it through it's paces every 50-100 miles or so...

 

Honestly, unless you're gunning it when it's cold, I don't think with modern technology that you can really screw up a motor too bad these days.

[dvdt]

So about changing the oil during the break in period, Ive heard recommendations at 100 miles, 500 miles, 1000 miles, 3000 miles and multiple combinations of mileage. Now am I supposed to use synthetic or not during the break in period? I've heard its better to switch to sythetic after the car is broken in. So does that mean the the car originally uses regular oil or synth?

[CDubbs]

Once at 1000-1500 and once again at 3k with dino oil should be sufficient. This is the general concensus. I did at 3k, 7.5k, then switched to full synthetic at 10k and will do the same in 5k intervals. I dont race but I drive hard enough to get to work on time when I really shouldnt.

[TSiWRX]

Truly and honestly, most modern automobiles, during their assembly, are already broken-in "at the plant."

 

You'll more find our enthusiast-culture blood-brothers and sisters in the "hot-rod" or "muscle-car" sector to worry more about street break-in of their newly assembled/rebuilt engines, as they are truly "fresh out" in an assembly sense. With these guys and gals, you'll find that most follow KegTapper's cited break-in procedures. But again, keep in mind how different these engines are from those in our "new cars," which are typically put through their paces at the plant of manufacture.

 

Aside from this, break-in procedure is a black-art for both enthusiasts as well as builders. Some swear by an easy break-in, others by a harsh one. Depending on who you talk to, you'll find that opinions will range from the extremes to anywhere in between, and Scooby enthusiasts are no different.

 

 

 

Either Motor Trend or Car and Driver had an Evo for a long term test recently. They said they were super anal with the break in because they had heard of many owners who weren't, and were burning a quart of oil every 2000 miles...

 

This was, unless I'm mistaken, in either the May or June issue of _C&D_ with their extended test of the Evo8.

 

I believe this to be totally car (more like engine)-specific, as it is both a dominant well-known, and well-documented trait of the turbocharged Mitsu 4G63 engine, which itself has been known to be more oil-hungry, even without any faults (should be easy to research on most DSM-enthusiast Forums/d-boards). Although my 1G non-turbo DSM is very conservative on oil consumption, my turbocharged 2G - which has great compression, a fine turbo, and barely, if at all, leaks; and it pulls like a damned freight-train with an EvoIII 16G) - goes through about a half-quart per 3K miles (within acceptable limits by most manufacturers, even of "stock" turbocharged engines), depending on how hard I've pushed her.

 

-A

[jim malach]

Drive it like you stole it for the break-in period;)

[JBLU24]

Drive it like you stole it for the break-in period;)

 

lol i chirped 2nd leaving the dealer when i picked it up- 32mi on the odo. now i just like to roll into the boost- no crazy stunts off the line or anything

[abakja1]

Once at 1000-1500 and once again at 3k with dino oil should be sufficient. This is the general concensus. I did at 3k, 7.5k, then switched to full synthetic at 10k and will do the same in 5k intervals. I dont race but I drive hard enough to get to work on time when I really shouldnt.

 

Yup,..would change at 500miles, 1k, 3k, and every 3k afterwards and synthetic at 10k,..

 

After 3k, you could do that ring seating deal of reving upt to redline when in 3rd gear after engine is warmed up already and let it coast back down,..but that is you own disgression,..

[melayout]

Yup,..would change at 500miles, 1k, 3k, and every 3k afterwards and synthetic at 10k,..

 

After 3k, you could do that ring seating deal of reving upt to redline when in 3rd gear after engine is warmed up already and let it coast back down,..but that is you own disgression,..

 

More like 2nd gear, which gets to 58mph. So you would stay in 2nd gear, accelerate to 55mph, foot off gas and let it coast to 45mph, accelerate back to 55mpg and repeat 3-4 times.

 

Mojo

[IwannaSportSedan]

Everything I have heard says "heat cycling" plays a role.

 

Gently but appropriately warm up the engine from cold.

 

Accelerate and coast often, to vary piston speeds.

 

When accelerating, do so with low-load conditions. Use lower gears, and don't "lug" the engine, if it can be helped. Downshift often, if needed.

 

Drive to cool the car before parking it, low load at moderate speed, and when parked, let the car cool completely before repeating.

 

The mechanic who relayed all this to me, who I implicitly trust, and who rebuilds engines by specialty, also said that set RPM levels aren't the most important things, that keeping excess heat in check, avoiding constant RPM running, and proper warming and cooling are more important than staying below a "magic number" on the tach.

 

He recommended gradually increasing the revs, in short durations, and under gradually increasing engine/gearing loads through the break in period.

 

Going to red line in first or second gear, without ram-rodding the car, isn't nearly as harmful as "lugging the engine by trying to accellerate on the highway from 2.5k RPMs in top gear." The short redline burst doesn't have the duration, nor does it generate as much heat as "lugging" it.

 

He had a sort of schedule of what gears to concentrate on, correlated to what RPM levels to approach, while increasing revs, and increasing gear ratios (increasing load) over a schedule of shorter mileage intervals through the total break-in interval.

 

I don't have that at my fingertips, but it is very interesting. It basically provided for an progressive heat and load cycling break in, to seat and "heat treat" the cylinder walls and piston rings, without mollycoddling them, which might leave them soft, and vulnerable to damage just after the break in process, nor to overheat and overharden them too quickly before they have properly bedded, and sealed to each other, and to avoid making the rings too brittle, and prone to cracking.

 

He seemed to think that the "Magic REV number" method that dealers and manufacturers put forth is basically a way to get non-caring drivers to not break in their engines too hard, but it actually causes a few to break them in too softly. But that a non-caring driver would not take the time or expend the energy to understand and follow a progressive schedule as he suggested.

Basically that his method was too complex for people who don't care enough to understand what goes on during engine break in, and just want to drive the car off the lot, and not worry about it.