Engine Break In

[hopVIP]

What's up everyone. Wanting to discuss new engine break in and get all the opinions and experiences. I stick with a very strict method and believe in it even if it may not necessarily be required these days. But I still wanted to create another thread so we can talk about it. Basically, in my opinion, new or rebuilt engine break in is all about seating the Piston rings so you get the best and most reliable seal from them. This will ensure long healthy engine life without it losing power and efficiency and requires heat cycling. That's what it's all about. Heat cycling the rings. You can do this many ways and most people choose an easy but long way to do it. But I do it all at once maybe over the first couple days I have my new vehicle/engine. Before I get into all my details I want to open this can of worms up and hear from all of you...so let's do this.

 

[User_3336]

Did you read your manual about the "break-in" period guidelines?

 

[VaderRebel]

I've always followed the manufacturer spec for break ins and always had long lasting results. Each to their own!

 

[hopVIP]

Yes and all those guidelines are heading the right direction but my method which professional racing engine builders also use is faster and better. I believe in heat cycling with a very specific method and doing this immediately. So by the time you reach 300 miles you can drain all that nasty factory oil and put in good stuff right away.

 

[duke2001]

Moving on, please share your method, may generate more comments?

 

[hopVIP]

I started a new thread about it regarding engine break in. But I'll discuss it here too. No problem. When I first buy a new vehicle or put a new/re built motor in one from those very first couple miles (or less hopefully) I begin my break in method. I do it in 3 phases over the first 300 miles maybe a little less. My last new truck I went 280 miles doing this in 2 days. And remember it's all about heat cycling the Piston rings. I split up the phases based on rpm so the first phase I drive with low to medium throttle around 1200 or 1300 for several minutes or as long as it takes to get some heat building up. If you have a good enough temp gauge you can see it rise. Then get off the gas and coast as the rpms slowly drop to idle and your just crawling. Always stay in low gears. Second or third depending on your transmission. I do this several several times for about 70 or 80 miles. Remember you want to do this in phases and different rpm ranges up to 300 miles. The coasting with no fuel burning will flush cool air through the cylinders rapidly cooling them down. The rings cool and you'll see your temp gauge drop. Remember to never go full throttle and never use too high a gear. Go nice and slow and take your time. I always do it on a back road away from traffic where I can go straight and long with nothing to stop me. It's not about the miles really or distance you go but how long you spend heating and cooling. But you do want to do it enough times during each phase to let the rings seat and seal up under those different driving conditions/rpm ranges. I can go into more details and talk about this with you all you like but this is the basics of what I do and I know engine builders who do that same.

 

[hopVIP]

Some manufacturers do this on a Dyno to break in performance engines before even finishing the build of a new car. They simulate these loads heat cycling to seat the rings then send the finished vehicle out to the world. But most don't so when I buy a new vehicle I do it myself the same way. Taking the time right away to drive the way I described in phases to seat the rings via this heat cycling method then changing the oil before I start driving normally.

 

[duke2001]

Some manufacturers do this on a Dyno to break in performance engines before even finishing the build of a new car. They simulate these loads heat cycling to seat the rings then send the finished vehicle out to the world. But most don't so when I buy a new vehicle I do it myself the same way. Taking the time right away to drive the way I described in phases to seat the rings via this heat cycling method then changing the oil before I start driving normally.

Thanks for sharing

 

[VaderRebel]

My Rebel is now ready for Talladega, thank you!

 

[hopVIP]

Actually Honda performs this same break in prior to selling the new NSX just so the first owner can take it straight to the track.

 

[GerryS]

I can understand that you want the best seal where the rings and cylinder meet. I would think that surface would be optimized in the first few minutes of running the engine. (How many feet do the rings travel in a few minutes)
What does heat cycling the rings do? Does it increase the ring pressure against the cylinder, or keep it from decreasing?

I have found that (here in Illinois) keeping up with oil and filter changes will keep your engine running strong well after your body has rusted away and you are shopping for a new vehicle.
On my 2004 GMC Sierra I had to replace a head that had cracked. When I removed the heads at 115,000 miles, the tops of the cylinders looked perfect. There was no ring ridge and the crosshatch on the cylinders looked like new. That was with a diet of Mobile One and AC oil and air filters. Oil and filters were changed when the truck said to do it. That was usually around 7,000 miles.
There was also absolutely no sign of blow by either.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[hopVIP]

The heating and cooling of the rings and cylinder over and over with such a quick method helps the rings expand quicker and prevents loss of pressure. As the metal expands with higher heat the cycle allows it to seal better ensuring no loss of pressure and allows the rings and cylinder to kind of form together more evenly. If that makes any sense. Compared to driving normal and with a break in method over a thousand miles or whatever your manual might say the method I use does it all faster and by doing it the first couple hundred miles you dont risk not having the best seal possible. If you do it slow the way manuals say you risk not achieving the best seal and possibly loosing that pressure and "even wear in". By the time you're convinced the break in period is over you might already have rings not performing as well as they could. A friend of mine and I had the same exact new trucks several years ago down to every option. Weird and not planned but that's how it ended up. Anyway I broke mine in this way and he just drove his normal and didn't care. My truck was more responsive than his, got better fuel economy, made more power and when we sent our oil samples in for testing mine was always cleaner and hadn't "broke down" as much as his. Everytime he drove my truck he commented on how much better driving it felt compared to his. To answer your question it does increase or at least hold the pressure making the rings seal up against the cylinder better. Heating up and cooling down metal surfaces rapidly always make them bond together tighter.

 

[hopVIP]

What other methods do you guys use?

 

[SD Rebel]

I followed the manual initially, which states to avoid hard acceleration with a load, so no stop light hard launches. However, it stated brief full throttle while cruising to help with break-in. So when cruising at about 35 mph or so, I would give a quick but smooth application of full throttle, then back off at about 65 mph. I did that a few times during the 300 mile recommended break-in as per the manual.

I made sure to set my gauges to show all the engine/transmission temp parameters. I avoided full throttle until the motor oil temp was at least 180F. I stll avoided full throttle launches until 1,000 miles or any towing. I plan on doing my first oil change at 1,500 miles, then full synthetic after that.

 

[hopVIP]

That's a good way to do it. Something I know is bad while breaking in is putting a load on the engine creating vacuum pressure. This usually happens by giving it too much throttle at lower speeds or in too high a gear. And my break in method never sees full throttle or high rpm. The most I'll go is about 75% throttle and 4500 rpm or less.

 

[R4M]

I'd imagine even with no engine break-in, a very large percentage of engines will outlast the life of the vehicle and/or several different owners. Most of us won't have these vehicles past 100k miles, some of us will make it to 200k, even fewer to beyond that. I'd imagine by 200k miles the vehicle won't be worth much, an engine swap wouldn't cost much, and the cost of a newer truck with newer technologies would be too enticing. Nothing against anyone who follows the break-in process, but how much are we actually going to benefit from it? Reminds me of when I use to spend a significant amount of money to wash my vehicle; did washing it once a week really retrain any value? Probably not, I just wasted a couple thousand dollars for a clean car.

 

[silver billet]

How many hemis don't we see in the wild with high mileage? My guess is any sort of elaborate break-in is just a waste of time, the vast majority of new owners don't even know that engine break in is a thing. I followed the manual. The two most important things are: 1) no hard launches from stop, 2) don't sit at one RPM for hours.

 

[Jako]

How many hemis don't we see in the wild with high mileage? My guess is any sort of elaborate break-in is just a waste of time, the vast majority of new owners don't even know that engine break in is a thing. I followed the manual. The two most important things are: 1) no hard launches from stop, 2) don't sit at one RPM for hours.

I can't blame new owners about the break in period.
I asked the salesman and he stated there was no break in period required. I talked to the sales manager at a later date and he doesn't buy into the break in period due to conversations with the mechanics. There is no "paper" that comes with the vehicle, e.g. a sticker or a pamphlet to inform you of the break in. The break in information is on page 293 of the 688 page manual that you can receive after purchasing the car and listed in the index under "Engine" as "Break-in recommendations".
HOWEVER - the information is on the ram's computer and can be brought up on the screen.
Since 1980 I have owned 3 new motorcycles and 5 new vehicles (2 sedans, 1 SUV, 2 trucks) and do my best to be informed. Being skeptical of the salesman's knowledge based on prior experience I scanned for information and it is there on the vehicle's computer.
Bottom line is Ram does a poor job of promoting the "Break-in period".

 

[User_3336]

1. What information?
2. Does any other manufacturer?
3. Why would you need a "break-in" brochure PRIOR to purchasing ANY vehicle?

I can't blame new owners about the break in period.
I asked the salesman and he stated there was no break in period required. I talked to the sales manager at a later date and he doesn't buy into the break in period due to conversations with the mechanics. There is no "paper" that comes with the vehicle, e.g. a sticker or a pamphlet to inform you of the break in. The break in information is on page 293 of the 688 page manual that you can receive after purchasing the car and listed in the index under "Engine" as "Break-in recommendations".
HOWEVER - the information is on the ram's computer and can be brought up on the screen.
Since 1980 I have owned 3 new motorcycles and 5 new vehicles (2 sedans, 1 SUV, 2 trucks) and do my best to be informed. Being skeptical of the salesman's knowledge based on prior experience I scanned for information and it is there on the vehicle's computer.
Bottom line is Ram does a poor job of promoting the "Break-in period".

 

[hopVIP]

I don't consider having a nice looking clean vehicle most of the time a waste of money. If you like sitting in filth and not caring about a new truck looking good maybe you shouldn't have bought it. Just my opinion but I do like having a clean good looking vehicle that's not all nasty looking. It's not a waste of money or time. You wash your clothes and body don't you? I hope. Back to breaking in an engine or not going through any break in, it may be personal preference and peace of mind but I have seen actual results from it that prove something good is happening and there are benefits. But as mentioned it won't necessarily make your engine last longer maybe just perform a little better in the mean time. That's what I've seen and I told that story earlier in this thread and another.