How to: Break-In a New Engine

[galantebeige]

I believe that this is a very important step in the life of the engine, so what is the best thing to do?

thanks!

[extremsprt86]

first off, take it easy on it for the first 8-10k miles. other than that the only thing i heard is that the first oil change shouldnt happen untill about 7k miles, and then every 3k after is the normal interval for oil changes.

[TWISTED II]

um, not really! first 10,000 miles! dude, if the motor isn't broken in and right after the first 500-1000, something wrong..... take it easy for about the first 500 miles. just drive it normal. don't floor it, don't race, no engine breaking or anything. just drive it nice for 500 miles. then drive it like you wanna drive it for the rest of its life. first oil change at 300 miles. then 1000, then normal cycle.

[extremsprt86]

hmm. my bad, thats just what i had heard in the past. i guess things have changed.

[BlankMan]

I was going to say the same. If it were 10,000+ miles, people would have to drive a year before the engine was broke in... 500-1000 is the range.

J

[peanotation]

drive it really easy, really slow, really steady for 1000 miles. get your oil changed right at the 1000 miles, then do 3000 mile intervals after that. i've heard 2 thousand, and some retards have said as low as 50 miles was a good break in period. its 1000. you'll go through that in a month or less

[BlankMan]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(peanotation)</div><div class='quotemain'>...really steady for 1000 miles...</div>

Now I've been told for the break-in period you should never drive at a constant speed for an extended time - for instance, if you set the cruise control for a 200-300 mile road trip. Somthing about the engine wearing unevenly for the corresponding RPM range. A long, long time ago, I bought a 96 Z28 w/6 miles on the ODO and they told me if I had to do any long-distance drinving during the break-in to vary speed up and down every so often. But maybe things have changed in the last 8 years...

J

[TWISTED II]

yeah, thats true actually. i remember if i was driving on the main roads, where i would cruisin at 30 or 45 or something for a long time. i would sometimes down shift so my RPMs would fluctuate a lil, and i would slow and speed up. thats really for the first 500 miles though. if those gaskets and everything haven't seated right after 500 miles...they prolly won't.

[galantebeige]

That's great information, thanks a lot!

[sethmo]

There are very many "theories" on how to do this. But I am going to follow this guys when I break in my engine

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm ('http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm')

[galantebeige]

Run it hard??? :shock:

[Galant_01]

I just got my 2004 Vue last week and it gives specific instruction on how to break in the engine.

-Keep rpm's below 4000 until you get to 500 miles.
-Never fully open the throttle until after 500 miles.
-DO NOT drive long distances at one speed or rpm. Vary you speed and rpm's.
-Follow the maintence schedule. (Which says 1st oil change is at 3K)

I have also read that most of todays engine are tested extensively before they are installed into the car for durability. They partially break in the engine for you and that is why newer cars only need 500 miles of break in period. This reduces warranty claims for manufacturers and reduces cost to customers by taking the critical parts of breaking in the engine out of the customers hands. The break in period help seal the engine and loosens up the rocker/lifter springs.
But just my input...

[Galant_01]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sethmo)</div><div class='quotemain'>There are very many "theories" on how to do this. Â*But I am going to follow this guys when I break in my engine

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm</div> Why don't you try that and tell me how your engine is doing at 75K miles. Mine was shot! LOL

[galantebeige]

I am no mechanic, and what this guy talks in his site sounds very technical, and makes be believe he knows what he is talking about, but I would bet the manufacturers direccions are there for a reason https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

[TWISTED II]

anyone can sound smart by blabbing on with long words and engine parts. i dunno which way you prefer....i think i was somewhere in between easy and hard. but i've raced a few times this year, and had the car to about 115 mph and its holdin up like a dream. i say drive normal....don't leave the shop and not go past 20 mph....but don't leave the shop floored at WOT, spinnin tires off of every stoplight either, lol.

Seth is right, the rest of you are wrong.
The break in period is essential. The entire point of the break-in period is to fit the piston rings to the cylinder walls. Remember how you have to hone your cylinders before installing new pistons/rings? That honing acts like a file to cut away at the piston rings. Now for the real reason. Piston rings are not sealed against the cylinder wall simply by spring pressure. That's maybe 12 lbs of pressure. BMEP of any motor will be many times more than that. The rings wouldn't seal the cylinder at all if that was the case. The way that rings seal is by allowing the combustion gases (and pressure) to actually get behind the ring and push it out against the cylinder wall. Now that is enough pressure to seal the chamber, and enough pressure to cause a filing effect on the rings. Now, as you all know, BMEP is variable, based on the "amount" of combustion in the chamber. More fuel/air = higher BMEP = more piston ring pressure. If you run the car soft, you end up filing off not nearly as much as you're supposed to. The rings don't seat properly. They never will. You basically have about 20 miles to begin effectively breaking in your motor. After 50 (yes, 50) miles, you change your oil. The break-in goes like this:

1. Hold the motor at 1500rpm for about 3 minutes. This gets oil in pretty much everywhere you need it to be, and dissolves the assembly lube. Now you're ready to go.
2. Take the car out and drive up to 3rd gear, get the car around 4500 or so rpm, then go 50% throttle till around 6500 rpm. Let the motor coast down on its own, in gear. Don't use the brakes. Put the car in fourth and fifth gear and drive around normally for a minute. Then go back to third gear. Do the same thing, but at 75% throttle. Then do it again at about 90% throttle, letting it cool off in between by driving around in a higher gear. Then go for a WOT run, and you're broken in. At 50 miles, change your oil. Synthetic vs. Conventional doesn't really matter.
That's how it works, hope you haven't started driving it soft yet.

[TWISTED II]

haha, where did you read that? Club Si? you should not take a brand new motor over 5000 RPM within the first 20 miles. you NEED to take it easy for the first 500 miles. vary RPMs, but don't start doin WOT runs in the first 20 miles! haha, thats rediculous. after 500 miles, drive it like you wanna drive it forever, but NOT before that.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TWISTED!)</div><div class='quotemain'>haha, where did you read that? Â*Club Si? Â*you should not take a brand new motor over 5000 RPM within the first 20 miles. Â*you NEED to take it easy for the first 500 miles. Â*vary RPMs, but don't start doin WOT runs in the first 20 miles! Â*haha, thats rediculous. Â*after 500 miles, drive it like you wanna drive it forever, but NOT before that.</div>
So how do you propose the rings wear down properly? How do you propose that the honing remains sharp enough for long enough to effectively file down the rings? Why take it easy? What benefit is there to taking it easy for thousands of miles? I broke my motor in this way, and yesterday, I pulled off my head and oil pan to check clearances and check the condition of some pieces. Perfect condition. Not a single thing was amiss. All the clearances checked out perfectly, too.
The "take-it-easy" method came about because of the rough hone that cars used to have. The method was very imprecise, but the hone stayed around longer. The file pattern was more than sturdy enough to cut down the rings effectively. However, if broken in improperly, the honing could actually take out chunks of your rings. (When I say chunks, you have to think of it from the view point of a piston ring...very, very small pieces.) Now, with the more precise hones, the file pattern is much softer and more vulnerable to wearing down. You need to get the seating done while you can. You have to raise your BMEP high enough to wear the rings are going to press out against the cylinder walls hard enough to file them down evenly. That's all there is to it. If the rings wear down unevenly, or not at all, you will not be able to seat the rings properly. The cause of unevenly filed or non-filed rings is a low BMEP when breaking the motor in. The solution for low BMEP? More pressure in your intake manifold, and more fuel in the cylinders (at a roughly 1.1 fuel ratio, of course. 1.24 might be a little better, but getting on the rich side). It's all about wearing down the rings, and driving it soft simply does not provide enough pressure to wear them down.
C'mon, twist...you know me better than that. What the hell is club Si? https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif

[screamoboy85]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scootinintegra)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TWISTED!)</div><div class='quotemain'>haha, where did you read that? Â*Club Si? Â*you should not take a brand new motor over 5000 RPM within the first 20 miles. Â*you NEED to take it easy for the first 500 miles. Â*vary RPMs, but don't start doin WOT runs in the first 20 miles! Â*haha, thats rediculous. Â*after 500 miles, drive it like you wanna drive it forever, but NOT before that.</div>
So how do you propose the rings wear down properly? How do you propose that the honing remains sharp enough for long enough to effectively file down the rings? Why take it easy? What benefit is there to taking it easy for thousands of miles? I broke my motor in this way, and yesterday, I pulled off my head and oil pan to check clearances and check the condition of some pieces. Perfect condition. Not a single thing was amiss. All the clearances checked out perfectly, too.
The "take-it-easy" method came about because of the rough hone that cars used to have. The method was very imprecise, but the hone stayed around longer. The file pattern was more than sturdy enough to cut down the rings effectively. However, if broken in improperly, the honing could actually take out chunks of your rings. (When I say chunks, you have to think of it from the view point of a piston ring...very, very small pieces.) Now, with the more precise hones, the file pattern is much softer and more vulnerable to wearing down. You need to get the seating done while you can. You have to raise your BMEP high enough to wear the rings are going to press out against the cylinder walls hard enough to file them down evenly. That's all there is to it. If the rings wear down unevenly, or not at all, you will not be able to seat the rings properly. The cause of unevenly filed or non-filed rings is a low BMEP when breaking the motor in. The solution for low BMEP? More pressure in your intake manifold, and more fuel in the cylinders (at a roughly 1.1 fuel ratio, of course. 1.24 might be a little better, but getting on the rich side). It's all about wearing down the rings, and driving it soft simply does not provide enough pressure to wear them down.
C'mon, twist...you know me better than that. What the hell is club Si? https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif</div>
Yea id take scootin's advice cause i helped him rebuild the motor and trust me he knows his shit.
And twisted you just got "PWNED".

[TWISTED II]

stfu n00b. i'm sure each tuner has his own way of doing things. you obviously don't know who your talking to. i had my 6G72 torn down as basic as possible. down to a bare block....and i rebuilt that motor from the ground up, bolt by bolt. i'd spend 10-12 hours a day in a shop building my motor. i built my motor, i installed my motor, and guess what son...my motor is stong and runs great. so YOU need to step off. neither way has ever been proven to be better, so its all preaching opinion. as long as you are 100% confident that motor is perfect, it doesn't matter.

[galantebeige]

It's amazing to see to way different approaches to the same problem, and both being from people who know what are talking about....
And still, both work fine! aparently. :shock:

Like in all fields, there are proponents and oponents, for any given theory at the same time. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif

So, any other ideas? Maybe just flip a coin, huh... just kidding. :wink:

[sethmo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TWISTED!)</div><div class='quotemain'>stfu n00b. Â*i'm sure each tuner has his own way of doing things. Â*you obviously don't know who your talking to. Â*i had my 6G72 torn down as basic as possible. Â*down to a bare block....and i rebuilt that motor from the ground up, bolt by bolt. Â*i'd spend 10-12 hours a day in a shop building my motor. Â*i built my motor, i installed my motor, and guess what son...my motor is stong and runs great. Â*so YOU need to step off. Â*neither way has ever been proven to be better, so its all preaching opinion. Â*as long as you are 100% confident that motor is perfect, it doesn't matter.</div>

Do you have any logical reasoning in your theory? Sure you say you know your stuff, you rebuilt your engine which is running fine, but why take it easy? Like scootin said, the break-in takes place within the first 50miles...

[Auto-9]

I break in my motor the manufacturer recommended way. If they say run the hell out of it, I'll do just that. If they say don't go above 2k RPM and stay below 20 mph then I do so. If they say I have to do the hokey-pokey and run naked through a police station...I'd reconsider. But I'll tell you how not to break in an engine though...my friend bought a new supercharged Cobra and basically redlined it the entire time. I think he said something about his rings not sealing and voiding his factory warranty, so he has to pay for repairs out of pocket.

[screamoboy85]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TWISTED!)</div><div class='quotemain'>stfu n00b. Â*i'm sure each tuner has his own way of doing things. Â*you obviously don't know who your talking to. Â*i had my 6G72 torn down as basic as possible. Â*down to a bare block....and i rebuilt that motor from the ground up, bolt by bolt. Â*i'd spend 10-12 hours a day in a shop building my motor. Â*i built my motor, i installed my motor, and guess what son...my motor is stong and runs great. Â*so YOU need to step off. Â*neither way has ever been proven to be better, so its all preaching opinion. Â*as long as you are 100% confident that motor is perfect, it doesn't matter.</div>
1st of all i was playing around, jackass, 2. you need to not be so dramatic. and 3. Drew does know what he is talking about, im sure you know what your talking about and i wasnt saying you didnt, so BACK OFF!!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Auto-9)</div><div class='quotemain'>I break in my motor the manufacturer recommended way. If they say run the hell out of it, I'll do just that. If they say don't go above 2k RPM and stay below 20 mph then I do so. If they say I have to do the hokey-pokey and run naked through a police station...I'd reconsider. But I'll tell you how not to break in an engine though...my friend bought a new supercharged Cobra and basically redlined it the entire time. I think he said something about his rings not sealing and voiding his factory warranty, so he has to pay for repairs out of pocket.</div>
A manufacturer would find it pretty difficult to tell their buyers to run the piss out of the car, because god knows what kind of lawsuits that could result in. Sure, the old way works, the new way just works better. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TWISTED!)</div><div class='quotemain'>stfu n00b. Â*i'm sure each tuner has his own way of doing things. Â*you obviously don't know who your talking to. Â*i had my 6G72 torn down as basic as possible. Â*down to a bare block....and i rebuilt that motor from the ground up, bolt by bolt. Â*i'd spend 10-12 hours a day in a shop building my motor. Â*i built my motor, i installed my motor, and guess what son...my motor is stong and runs great. Â*</div>
As did I. Minus the whole 6g72, plus a B18b1...My block was bare. Completely. Every oil passage was open and cleaned, every bearing removed and checked...and my motor runs strong and great, too https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

Hit me up on AIM, mang https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[TWISTED II]

my theory behind my way isn't 100% for making a good seal. it has partially to do with how the motor was built. if you forget something, or something just isn't right with the motor, and you leave and start flyin around, the damage is gonna be a lot worse than takin it easy. i think this thread should be limited to people, giving information from personal experience and personal knowledge. not people going to google.com and typing "how to break in a motor" then pasting it here thinking they know their shit. i've been around many many cars with full rebuilds that took it easy for a lil while and are running at 500+ hp right now. like i said, its all personal preference, neither way has ever been proved "right or wrong." i just don't see any benefit to beating the piss out of a brand new motor, over driving it normal. my way worked great, and i'm stickin to it. obviously other peoples ways worked too, and they are sticking to them. i personally don't care how ya break in your motor, just giving my opinion on how i would do it.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TWISTED!)</div><div class='quotemain'>my theory behind my way isn't 100% for making a good seal. Â*it has partially to do with how the motor was built. Â*if you forget something, or something just isn't right with the motor, and you leave and start flyin around, the damage is gonna be a lot worse than takin it easy.</div> Well I guess I brought my idea to the table assuming that there was an understanding that you put the motor together properly. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif Either way, if you're at 2k rpms or 7k rpms, and you throw a rod or a rod bolt, you're still going to put it straight through your block or oil pan. Just put everything together right, and this own't be an issue! https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>i think this thread should be limited to people, giving information from personal experience and personal knowledge. Â*not people going to google.com and typing "how to break in a motor" Â*then pasting it here thinking they know their shit. Â*</div>
Best Idea yet.

EDIT: sticky?

[Auto-9]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scootinintegra)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>i think this thread should be limited to people, giving information from personal experience and personal knowledge. Â*not people going to google.com and typing "how to break in a motor" Â*then pasting it here thinking they know their shit. Â*</div>
Best Idea yet.</div>

Whoa Whoa...for your information, I went to Yahoo!

[galantebeige]

I agree, that is what this site should be about, people like me (beginners :roll: ) asking questions and people like you guys (experts 8) ), generously providing information from your personal knowledge/experience. :wink:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galantebeige)</div><div class='quotemain'>I agree, that is what this site should be about, people like me (beginners Â*:roll: ) asking questions and people like you guys (experts Â*8) ), generously providing information from your personal knowledge/experience. :wink:</div>
suck up https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

jk, lol

And I've never owned a galant...ever...

[galantebeige]

Okay then scootin,
you tell me why was TGC created for.....I'm listening https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galantebeige)</div><div class='quotemain'>Okay then scootin,
you tell me why was TGC created for.....I'm listening Â*:D</div>
i'm just messin with you man https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif you got my PM, right?

[galantebeige]

It's all cool, scootin.... 8) . I bet there is stuff you know nothing about too... https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif
I made this thread "sticky", and I added a poll, it will be interesting to see the results (hopefully with enough respondents)

[Galant_01]

Someone needs to distinguish if we are talking about breaking in a brand new car or a rebuild engine because they are 2 different methods.

And by the way I did not pull it off Google, I got it off my owners manual!

[rainfever]

There are very many "theories" on how to do this. But I am going to follow this guys when I break in my engine

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

I remember someone bringing this site up over at www.rs25.com, i just remember them saying the dude was breaking in Bullet bikes (street bikes) and that is a totally different ball game.

I would never follow that advice, but hell, its your car, do what you want with it. However i would like you to keep us posted, if it destroys your motor, dont be shy about it, tell us...

[TWISTED II]

5,000 miles on my motor now, still runs great. not my car anymore, but thats what they tell me, lol.

[sethmo]

I found that site on DSMTUners.com where they were discussing how to break in freshly rebuilt motors. A lot of members there follow that "theory" and their motors still run strong.