Breaking IN engine: run it HARD?? find out

ilumo

Master of going off topic
Established Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
1,752
Location
CT
Since im getting a brand new engine fro mwarranty, I want to try to find out the correct way to BREAK it in. Now ive read from several sources about breaking the engine in the HARD way... aka, run the engine HAAARD. But that contradicts what the factory manual says... now can someone who knows about the terminator engine chime in and let us know a little bit about the internals(honed tolerances), and whether this method will work for it? Here is the site, and I will attach the clip of the article. Also, please no opiniated answers just pure facts, and technical discussions. thanks!!

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

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 !!
 

dougwg

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2002
Messages
10,846
Location
Taylor,MI
I posted that link well over a year ago...

but I'll forgive your repost cuz the search don't work so good :-D
 

NHRACobra

Cobra guy
Established Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2004
Messages
1,512
Location
USA
Broke mine in hard, just like "Break In Secrets".:D
 

ilumo

Master of going off topic
Established Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
1,752
Location
CT
yea.. I had this link well over a year ago too, but since the search function didnt work for me, I decided to bring it back fro mthe dead... since im getting my new engine in very soon...
 

ilumo

Master of going off topic
Established Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
1,752
Location
CT
anybody else have different opinions?
 

ITSTOCK

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2004
Messages
1,783
Location
wv
Breaking in engines HARD is pretty much the obvious way to go.
 

CobraBob

Authorized Vendor
Established Member
Premium Member
Single Barrel Sirs
Joined
Nov 17, 2002
Messages
105,565
Location
Cheshire, CT
With a car like the '03/'04 Cobra, is there any other way to break in the motor? And could anyone resist NOT running it hard from day one? LOL!
 

ilumo

Master of going off topic
Established Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
1,752
Location
CT
reason is... im geting the cobra back today... with the new engine... I dont know HOW many mile the engine has on it, or how long their testing drive was (to see if it works), but I want to try out this technique... but they say for it to work, the 1st hour of the engines life has to be driven hard. they said they put 30 miles on this car already. I wonder if its still worth doing.
 

bkoe

Member
Established Member
Joined
May 18, 2004
Messages
132
Location
Philly Suburbs
Originally posted by ilumo
...they said they put 30 miles on this car already....

30 miles you say?
don't worry... i'm sure they broke it in nice and good for you ;-)
 

ilumo

Master of going off topic
Established Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
1,752
Location
CT
Originally posted by JackBurton
30 miles you say?
don't worry... i'm sure they broke it in nice and good for you ;-)

And now it has 80 more miles:beer: 50 miles that I let people know what the terminator is all about. I feel a little more power now, but that could be from many factors, one its MUCH colder out now than 1 month ago... two, I've been driving a pontiac gram am with 175 hp for the last month, so anything will seem fast... but im glad the instant torque is back, and so is my baby. The bad thing now is, its pretty cold in the morning... and my work commute is only 3-4 miles away. That means If i dont let the car run for long, or dont drive it enough, it wont be fully warmed up by the time I get to work and shut it down again. Is that good for an engine? let alone a brand new one? Also, when should I flush the oil again. Im sure theres some debris and shavings in the pan from breaking it in.. i jsut dont want that debris to cause any premature engine death. thanks! :thumbsup:
 

dougwg

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2002
Messages
10,846
Location
Taylor,MI
you can't hurt anything if you change the oil at 300miles and again at 1500 (don't forget the filter)

after that I would go 3000 between changes

BTW: use regular oil for the first couple changes.... then go full syn!
 

Users who are viewing this thread



Top