Official Way to Break in an Engine, if any?

[frank_ster]

thicker oil is not necessarily better, the main point of oil is to cool, thicker oils don't flow as fast through the system.

[DirtyDan]

how would of breaking it in prevent the valve from breaking ?

It might not have changed a thing, but it was the only motor I ever raced that I didn't break in. It broke more than just the valve, it destroyed the push rod and the roller rocker kind of exploded. We didn't know why anything broke. Jerked the 468 out and stuck my old 396 back in for the next week. Never sure if it was an oiling problem or not. The heads had been run before and freshen up, new push rods, rockers, oil pump.

[frank_ster]

any thing valve train up there is not affected to break in periods.

 

the only thing i see whith babying your car for a while after rebuild or new is to maybe be able to catch some thing coming loose before it goes realy bad.

 

other than that its worthless.

 

my engines break in at the track as the rings seat the car gets faster and faster

[jfg22557]

Over kill as in?? yes im going to stay stock.

Overkill as in theres absolutely no reason to change your oil every 2k if your planning to stay stock-ish (stg1, 2).

 

Diesel oil? How does that work on gas engines?I thought diesel oil was to thick for gas engines?

Aside from the copious amounts of good reviews throughout the community, heres some insight from Mobil on the topic of CJ-4 rated diesel oils used in gasoline ICE application, highlighting what we already know about high phosphorous/ZDDP content oils and their effects on cats:

http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww312/jfg22557/Screenshot2012-02-09at91344PM.png

 

 

I have about 4 jugs of Rotella T synthetic right now(T and T6); I just grab them whenever they're on sale at Advance or find them cheap. They're a favorite among sport bikes too. Though, I'm a little worried about using them in a car with a catalytic converter since the higher phosphorus content causes shorter catalytic converter life(we use them in my brother's Civic and my Civic; both are catless).

 

In general, yes, diesel oils are a little thicker than gasoline but IIRC they're graded on the same scale so you can compare the thickness to regular oil(ie: 40w vs. 30w). Some diesel oils are rated for cars too. You'd probably lose a little power but gain a little more protection. One alternative is to just use a ZDDP additive in the oil you currently use.

^ again +1 to the bold, catless here as well. But, I dont necessarily agree that there will be any power loss. I havnt experienced any through the butt dyno at least. maybe im wrong.

Have debated ZDDP additives myself, but honestly havnt had the time to do adequate research or justify the necessity, seeing as T6 has plenty of zinc/phos.

 

...and making sure she'll last another 100k

That, for the most part, will be determined by your driving habits.

[adreyna]

I used to run Shell Rotella 15-40 in the summer time in the 05. Ran fine.

 

What do you run in the winter time?

 

Just rebuilt my buddies geo metro and the way we broke it in: Drive it like we stole it. Pinned everywhere and still people driving normal were going faster than us lol.

 

haha love those cars! my cousin use to drive his dads lil work geo and he use beat the shit out of it! but yea again those are expandable cars. lol

 

the only thing i see whith babying your car for a while after rebuild or new is to maybe be able to catch some thing coming loose before it goes realy bad.

 

 

thats exactly what i dont want to happen. or maybe i might be over reacting on trying to protect her.

 

 

 

 

catless here as well.

 

 

That, for the most part, will be determined by your driving habits.

 

 

well im not catless and wont be for a long long time..... =(

[DirtyDan]

any thing valve train up there is not affected to break in periods.

 

the only thing i see whith babying your car for a while after rebuild or new is to maybe be able to catch some thing coming loose before it goes realy bad.

 

other than that its worthless.

 

my engines break in at the track as the rings seat the car gets faster and faster

 

Sorry to disagree. New, high performance valve springs are affected by break in heat cycling.

[rob-2]

Let me throw out one more thing about 9 sec race cars. I have some friends that work that work at Patterson Racing. (Google them, they build all types af race motors, NASCAR, Sprint car, drag, etc.) There is a huge difference between a engine built to race and one built for the street. The quality of the parts used and the tolerances are not the same. Those engines are built for a specific purpose and they know exactly they will be torn down. A street motor is not. It is true that new rings break in much faster than old cast iron ones.

However, if it's your money and you want the motor to last, there is an old saying

" oil's cheap, iron is expensive" You beat on it and break it in a few hundred miles and you will be pissed. I had that experience about 15 years ago with a 468 that I built and put in my '68 Chevelle drag car. It still sits in my shop, I can't bring myself to junk it, I spent about $5000 building it and it broke after just 3 passes, I did just what some of you encourage, I didn't break it in and drove it like I stole it. It broke a valve and beat up 4 pistons and the head with the pieces. It was so stout it was still running on 7 cylinders and ran 9:16 at 129 mph, but had a tick in it. It never ran again.

Unless money is no object, break the motor in and protect your investment.

 

Great story. Sorry to hear of the motor. It appears there are differences of opinion to the break in.

 

The method linked to above is all about holding the motor under load to build heat up. Not taking it to red line out of the gate. The load drives heat, which drives a good 'set' and thus produces a break in method designed to ensure good power output through the life of the motor.

 

I would not suggest taking the motor to red line, drag racing it or driving it like you stole it.

[frank_ster]

Sorry to disagree. New, high performance valve springs are affected by break in heat cycling.

 

yea what ever .

[seabass07]

Rotella t6 doesn't have enough zddp to mess with the cats. It's about as high as amsoil. t6 is also certified for both gas and diesel engines. It is just marketed to diesels.

[seabass07]

IB4thisturnsintoanoilthread.

[BAC5.2]

yea what ever .

 

Agreed.

 

The only thing in the head that gets "broken in", are the valve seats. And they should already be ground when the engine is assembled.

[lieutenantcolumbo]

Yeah, I am going to spring for the fully tempered springs when I do my heads.

[ehsnils]

It's a good idea to start nice on the engine. That way any malfunctions can be less severe than if you just go full throttle and something isn't right.

 

Another issue is that the block and other parts has had very few heat cycles and it takes some time before tensions settles in blocks and heads. The engine blocks used during the turbo era in F1 were in some cases from used cars just to get blocks where the tensions had evened out over time.

 

In old times the break-in was more important since many surfaces in the engine were a lot rougher than the standard is today so it took some time before they were smooth and that was why new engines in old times had a tendency to consume oil when they were new while after the break-in they were good. But today a higher precision is important due to the emissions regulations.

 

Anyway a break-in time is not wrong.

 

As for oil during break-in, there's no need to go for dino oil initially and then change to synthetic.

[boxkita]

Started the breakin on my new engine.

 

Instructions from the builder (Outback Automotive):

Tuned to 4600rpm limit w/60% throttle limit. with 10/40 dino oil.

 

Drive first 500 miles like my grandmother is with me. Dont use cruise control. If going to be steady state for more than 10 minutes change gears to vary rpm & load. Avoid hard pulls in 4th & 5th (when passing on freeway, plan ahead) to limit boost. Check for leaks, loose parts, and oil level regularly.

 

Change oil to 10/40 dino oil. Retune to slightly higher rpm limit with more throttle.

 

Drive 500 miles under same conditions. Check for leaks, loose parts, and oil level regularly.

 

Change oil to synthetic. Full tune on dyno.

[adreyna]

Started the breakin on my new engine.

 

Instructions from the builder (Outback Automotive):

Tuned to 4600rpm limit w/60% throttle limit. with 10/40 dino oil.

 

Drive first 500 miles like my grandmother is with me. Dont use cruise control. If going to be steady state for more than 10 minutes change gears to vary rpm & load. Avoid hard pulls in 4th & 5th (when passing on freeway, plan ahead) to limit boost. Check for leaks, loose parts, and oil level regularly.

 

Change oil to 10/40 dino oil. Retune to slightly higher rpm limit with more throttle.

 

Drive 500 miles under same conditions. Check for leaks, loose parts, and oil level regularly.

 

Change oil to synthetic. Full tune on dyno.

 

R&H Told me a similar way except he didnt tune it. Just told me now to go over 4krpm and less than 1/2 throttle for the first 500 miles. So i just put it

D and drove off. I can already she's stronger than before just slightly stepping on the gas it jumps! lol

[boxkita]

R&H Told me a similar way except he didnt tune it. Just told me now to go over 4krpm and less than 1/2 throttle for the first 500 miles. So i just put it

D and drove off. I can already she's stronger than before just slightly stepping on the gas it jumps! lol

 

Given how the car runs and how I came to blow it up, I'm glad the car is neutered. Really. But I am racking the miles up as fast as I can to get the break in out of the way. Drive 100 miles at varying speeds and rpms. Park. Check for leaks and loose parts. Wait for it to cool. Repeat.