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Thread: New engine break-in, what is the go?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
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    Brisbane Southside
    Posts
    527

    Lightbulb New engine break-in, what is the go?

    So seeing as I am approaching my engine build I was wondering if there are any "new" revelations in the field of breaking in an engine?

    I have found a very interesting and thought provoking article about this very topic with tons of useful information, have a read. The article can be found here Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

    But here is a short extract from it just to get you thinking.......


    What's The Best Way To Break-In A New Engine ??
    The Short Answer:
    Run it Hard !
    Why ??
    Nowadays, the piston ring seal is really what the break in process is all about. Contrary to popular belief, piston rings don't seal the combustion pressure by spring tension. Ring tension is necessary only to "scrape" the oil to prevent it from entering the combustion chamber.

    If you think about it, the ring exerts maybe 5-10 lbs of spring tension against the cylinder wall ...
    How can such a small amount of spring tension seal against thousands of
    PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch) of combustion pressure ??
    Of course it can't.

    How Do Rings Seal Against Tremendous Combustion Pressure ??
    From the actual gas pressure itself !! It passes over the top of the ring, and gets behind it to force it outward against the cylinder wall. The problem is that new rings are far from perfect and they must be worn in quite a bit in order to completely seal all the way around the bore. If the gas pressure is strong enough during the engine's first miles of operation (open that throttle !!!), then the entire ring will wear into
    the cylinder surface, to seal the combustion pressure as well as possible.



    The Problem With "Easy Break In" ...
    The honed crosshatch pattern in the cylinder bore acts like a file to allow the rings to wear. The rings quickly wear down the "peaks" of this roughness, regardless of how hard the engine is run.

    There's a very small window of opportunity to get the rings to seal really well ... the first 20 miles !!
    If the rings aren't forced against the walls soon enough, they'll use up the roughness before they fully seat. Once that happens there is no solution but to re hone the cylinders, install new rings and start over again.



    Now to me the logic is there, what do you think?
    Cheers

    Grumpy

    Tuned with
    By Alex...........

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    9,459

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    I've heard go semi easy first 500 miles (ie no full on race car, but WOT every now and then is fine) it's more about getting the oil changed often enough

  3. #3

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    Ease the throttle on to avoid boost to around 5000 rpm (similar to doing a maf cal) use engine braking and avoid constant freeway driving at first..i did that with mine when car was brand new (and a few other engines in other cars) started getting into it with WOT after 1000kays and still after 70,000kms with 24psi other than ****ed OEM injector seals there is no trace of oil in the charge pipes etc and thats with stock PCV set up.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Wollongong
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    846

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    This is what I did.

    Idle to check for leaks, let it warm up a little then take it for a easy drive to get the car up to temperature. Change Oil

    Then Engine load Engine load Engine load. Don't use high rpm but use lots of engine breaking and medium to high load increasing the amount as you do more kms.

    I changed the oil again at 100km, 250km, 500km, 1000km then changed to synthetic at 1500km. Probably a bit extreme but I felt better about it.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by ledfootrob View Post
    This is what I did.

    Idle to check for leaks, let it warm up a little then take it for a easy drive to get the car up to temperature. Change Oil

    Then Engine load Engine load Engine load. Don't use high rpm but use lots of engine breaking and medium to high load increasing the amount as you do more kms.

    I changed the oil again at 100km, 250km, 500km, 1000km then changed to synthetic at 1500km. Probably a bit extreme but I felt better about it.
    You just love laying on your back pretending doing oil changes :P
    MPS Gen 2 2012 - i think i have Ebola

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Brisbane Southside
    Posts
    527

    Default

    And what do you think of the article?

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Grumpy View Post
    And what do you think of the article?
    Articles are full of theories and opinion..Reality of what has worked is what i follow,sure it sounds arrogant but i go with the practical stuff that has been proven
    MPS Gen 2 2012 - i think i have Ebola

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    2,600

    Default

    I changed the oil after about 1500km and will do it again soon as i've since been to a track day. Definitely not as keen on the oil changes as rob haha.

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