Break-in suggestions
09-01-2009, 01:13 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: CA
Posts: 29
Break-in suggestions
Could anyone offer any break-in tips that may not be covered in the manual? Just bought my car on sunday and i'm anxious to open it up and see what it'll do, but i want to take good care of it as well. I plan to switch to a full synthetic at 1000 miles, then change at 2500, 5k, and every 5k from then on out unless anyone has other suggestions...
09-01-2009, 10:11 AM
#2
6th Gear Member
Just drive it and don't sweat opening it up now. These engines are built to be driven from the lot to the track. Just be sure the engine is warmed up but that's something I'm sure you already know.
Synthetic is good for at least 10,000 miles. Even with my 1-2 hour 90-110+ MPH runs frequently, I change my Amsoil oil and filter at 8,000 - 10,000 miles intervals. I'd go longer if I did oil analysis but if I'm getting underneath to pull a sample, I may as well change it and be done. I've had oil analysis training and I'm quite comfortable with that frequency plus the experience of my other 6 or more vehicles that had beyond 200,000 miles on them. But it has to be YOUR comfort level. Even synthetic blend (which comes in our S197's) is good to 7,000 miles.
Synthetic is good for at least 10,000 miles. Even with my 1-2 hour 90-110+ MPH runs frequently, I change my Amsoil oil and filter at 8,000 - 10,000 miles intervals. I'd go longer if I did oil analysis but if I'm getting underneath to pull a sample, I may as well change it and be done. I've had oil analysis training and I'm quite comfortable with that frequency plus the experience of my other 6 or more vehicles that had beyond 200,000 miles on them. But it has to be YOUR comfort level. Even synthetic blend (which comes in our S197's) is good to 7,000 miles.
09-01-2009, 12:42 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: CA
Posts: 29
Cool...good to know. I'll probably still drive it reasonably for the first 1k miles just out of my own sense of paranoia, but i haven't been overly babying it either, just driving it what i would consider normally. And i've heard of leaving synthetic in for a full 10k miles before and i know studies have been done and what not, but personally, i will still change at 5k. Its just cheap insurance for me.
09-01-2009, 04:07 PM
#4
6th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: state of confusion
Posts: 7,635
Read the manual and if anything, err on the side of caution. New engines are better than they used to be, but still generate more heat and unequal thermal expansion than they will once they're broken in a bit. BTW, fully warmed up means that the oil is fully warmed up, which might take a little longer than the coolant takes.
Rings in particular will take a beating (not that they'd be likely to fail completely, but their long-term oil and compression control may not be as good if you break them in too hard). You can get away with breaking in a race engine a little harder partly because you're not going to get 100,000 miles out of it anyway.
Do not drive at sustained highway speeds right off the bat, as this can lead to little local hot spots because the oil spraying around in the crankcase is not directed at everything down there at all speeds (rpms). Oil is what carries the heat out of bearings, off the rods, and partly off the pistons and the inside walls of the cylinders.
Norm
Rings in particular will take a beating (not that they'd be likely to fail completely, but their long-term oil and compression control may not be as good if you break them in too hard). You can get away with breaking in a race engine a little harder partly because you're not going to get 100,000 miles out of it anyway.
Do not drive at sustained highway speeds right off the bat, as this can lead to little local hot spots because the oil spraying around in the crankcase is not directed at everything down there at all speeds (rpms). Oil is what carries the heat out of bearings, off the rods, and partly off the pistons and the inside walls of the cylinders.
Norm
09-01-2009, 04:20 PM
#5
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location:
Posts: 3,319
I don't like oil additives, especially with the great synthetic oils of today. However, an "old school" practice I like is to change first time at 500 miles to get rid of initial break in garbage.
I like to put in 5 qts of good
"Dino Oil" such as Castrol GTX and 1 qt. of a product called Rislone. I change again at 3000 miles and go to a good synthetic. After that, I'd go 5K miles between changes with a good synthetic like Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum. Myself, I have changed to Amsoil and am planning to go 10K between changes. ALWAYS use a good filter such as Motorcraft. Just my $.02.
I like to put in 5 qts of good
"Dino Oil" such as Castrol GTX and 1 qt. of a product called Rislone. I change again at 3000 miles and go to a good synthetic. After that, I'd go 5K miles between changes with a good synthetic like Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum. Myself, I have changed to Amsoil and am planning to go 10K between changes. ALWAYS use a good filter such as Motorcraft. Just my $.02.
09-01-2009, 04:22 PM
#6
Gentleman's Relish
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: AZ
Posts: 13,090
Do not go full synthetic at 1K. Wait a couple of oil changes for everything to get full seated before you do that.
I generally do the first change at 500. then 3000 there after with Semisynthetic. If you plan on changing every 5K then fully sythetic is good, if you replace at 3K like I do, don't waste the money on full synth.
I generally do the first change at 500. then 3000 there after with Semisynthetic. If you plan on changing every 5K then fully sythetic is good, if you replace at 3K like I do, don't waste the money on full synth.
09-01-2009, 05:21 PM
#7
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Germany
Posts: 186
Just to stir the pot a bit. I happen to agree with thbe author...
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
Warning:
This is a very controversial topic !!
I wrote "Break-In Secrets" after successfully applying this method
to approximately 300 new engines, all without any problems whatsoever.
Links to this article now appear on hundreds of motorsports discussion forums from all over the world. The reason is that over time, large numbers of people have done a direct comparison between my method and the owner's manual method, and the news of their success is spreading rapidly.
The results are always the same... a dramatic increase in power at all RPMs. In addition, many professional mechanics have disassembled engines that have used this method, to find that the condition of the engine is much better than when the owner's manual break-in method has been used.
The thing that makes this page so controversial is that there have been many other break-in articles
written in the past which will contradict what has been written here.
Several factors make the older information on break-in obsolete.
The biggest factor is that engine manufacturers now use a much finer honing pattern in the cylinders than they once did. This in turn changes the break-in requirements, because as you're about to learn, the window of opportunity for achieving an exceptional ring seal is much smaller with
newer engines than it was with the older "rough honed" engines.
In addition, there is a lot less heat build up in the cylinders from ring friction
due to the finer honing pattern used in modern engines.
The other factors that have changed are the vastly improved metal casting and machining
technologies which are now used. This means that the "wearing in" of the new parts
involves significantly less friction and actual wear than it did in the distant past.
With that in mind ...
Welcome to one of the most controversial motorsports pages on the internet !!
How To Break In Your Engine For
More Power & Less Wear !
One of the most critical parts of the engine building process is the break in !!
No matter how well an engine is assembled, it's final power output is all up to you !!
Although the examples shown here are motorcycle engines,
these principles apply to all 4 stroke engines:
Street or Race Motorcycles, Cars, Snowmobiles, Airplanes & yes ...
even Lawn Mowers !!
( regardless of brand, cooling type, or number of cylinders. )
These same break in techniques apply to both steel cylinders and Nikasil, as well as the ceramic
composite cylinders that Yamaha uses in it's motorcycles and snowmobiles.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Fortunately, most new sportbike owners can't resist the urge to "open it up" once or twice,
which is why more engines don't have this problem !!
An additional factor that you may not have realized, is that the person at the dealership who set up your bike probably blasted your brand new bike pretty hard on the "test run". So, without realizing it, that adrenaline crazed set - up mechanic actually did you a huge favor !!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
Warning:
This is a very controversial topic !!
I wrote "Break-In Secrets" after successfully applying this method
to approximately 300 new engines, all without any problems whatsoever.
Links to this article now appear on hundreds of motorsports discussion forums from all over the world. The reason is that over time, large numbers of people have done a direct comparison between my method and the owner's manual method, and the news of their success is spreading rapidly.
The results are always the same... a dramatic increase in power at all RPMs. In addition, many professional mechanics have disassembled engines that have used this method, to find that the condition of the engine is much better than when the owner's manual break-in method has been used.
The thing that makes this page so controversial is that there have been many other break-in articles
written in the past which will contradict what has been written here.
Several factors make the older information on break-in obsolete.
The biggest factor is that engine manufacturers now use a much finer honing pattern in the cylinders than they once did. This in turn changes the break-in requirements, because as you're about to learn, the window of opportunity for achieving an exceptional ring seal is much smaller with
newer engines than it was with the older "rough honed" engines.
In addition, there is a lot less heat build up in the cylinders from ring friction
due to the finer honing pattern used in modern engines.
The other factors that have changed are the vastly improved metal casting and machining
technologies which are now used. This means that the "wearing in" of the new parts
involves significantly less friction and actual wear than it did in the distant past.
With that in mind ...
Welcome to one of the most controversial motorsports pages on the internet !!
How To Break In Your Engine For
More Power & Less Wear !
One of the most critical parts of the engine building process is the break in !!
No matter how well an engine is assembled, it's final power output is all up to you !!
Although the examples shown here are motorcycle engines,
these principles apply to all 4 stroke engines:
Street or Race Motorcycles, Cars, Snowmobiles, Airplanes & yes ...
even Lawn Mowers !!
( regardless of brand, cooling type, or number of cylinders. )
These same break in techniques apply to both steel cylinders and Nikasil, as well as the ceramic
composite cylinders that Yamaha uses in it's motorcycles and snowmobiles.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Fortunately, most new sportbike owners can't resist the urge to "open it up" once or twice,
which is why more engines don't have this problem !!
An additional factor that you may not have realized, is that the person at the dealership who set up your bike probably blasted your brand new bike pretty hard on the "test run". So, without realizing it, that adrenaline crazed set - up mechanic actually did you a huge favor !!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09-01-2009, 06:15 PM
#8
Former Sponsor
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Grand Canyon State
Posts: 73
Just use common sense, like others have said vary your RPM's and try not sustain a certain RPM for a long distance. Try not to redline and burn rubber, you're breaking in the tranny as well.
I don't agree at all with people who say, "I drove it like I stole it" during the break-in period.
I don't agree at all with people who say, "I drove it like I stole it" during the break-in period.
09-01-2009, 06:15 PM
#9
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 420
Do not go full synthetic at 1K. Wait a couple of oil changes for everything to get full seated before you do that.
I generally do the first change at 500. then 3000 there after with Semisynthetic. If you plan on changing every 5K then fully sythetic is good, if you replace at 3K like I do, don't waste the money on full synth.
I generally do the first change at 500. then 3000 there after with Semisynthetic. If you plan on changing every 5K then fully sythetic is good, if you replace at 3K like I do, don't waste the money on full synth.
TBH rather have extra safety blanket and go full synth
Don't add any addtives fyi they fail.
you can change at 3k marker or 5k i prefer 3k since im ocd about how clean and how well the oil is running in the motor >.<
Oh god an oil topic this is ganna explode soon xD
Yea break her in for a bit then after breakin drive it like you stole it >=p
Last edited by Solitear; 09-01-2009 at 06:21 PM.
09-01-2009, 10:47 PM
#10
6th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 11,302
No break in. Just drive it. I drove the hell out of mine straight off the lot with 80 miles on it. I always have and nothing bad has happened. If you feel better breaking it in, there's nothing wrong with that either man. I would stick with the synthetic blend, but thats just my preference. It really doesn't make a difference either way, other than the cost of course. My advice is to do whatever makes you sleep better.