How to break in a new motor????

[Sil240]

I've heard so many theories of breaking in a new motor.What method has everyone here used on a brand new motor??

I've heard the be easy on it and don't boost for 500 miles, then change oil and go another 500 miles and after that 1000 mile mark, you can start getting on it.In 3rd gear your supposed to accelerate from 30 to 55/65 then back down a number of times. Never go full throttle till after 100 miles.

I've also heard (very skeptical ) about this theory below:http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

On the Street: Warm the engine up completely:Because of the wind resistance, you don't need to use higher gears like you would on a dyno machine. The main thing is to load the engine by opening the throttle hard in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear.

Realistically, you won't be able to do full throttle runs even in 2nd gear on most bikes without exceeding 65 mph / 104 kph. The best method is to alternate between short bursts of hard acceleration and deceleration. You don't have to go over 65 mph / 104 kph to properly load the rings. Also, make sure that you're not being followed by another bike or car when you decelerate, most drivers won't expect that you'll suddenly slow down, and we don't want anyone to get hit from behind !!

The biggest problem with breaking your engine in on the street (besides police) is if you ride the bike on the freeway (too little throttle = not enough pressure on the rings) or if you get stuck in slow city traffic. For the first 200 miles or so, get out into the country where you can vary the speed more and run it through the gears !

http://www.flyinmiata.com/tech/breakin.php

http://www.stealth316.com/2-breakin.htm

I'm more inclined to follow Cobb tunings procedure.

http://www.cobbtuning.com/info/?ID=3475

0-100 miles, run engine very lightly, no more that 1-2 psi boost, no more than 28% TPS and 3500 RPM, change engine oil and filter. Do your best to vary the engine RPM and decelerate the engine under vacuum as frequently as you accelerate the engine, you want your engine to break-in evenly.

100-500 miles, run engine very lightly, no more that 3-5 psi boost, no more than 40% TPS and 4500 RPM Change engine oil and filter. Look for more glittery material in oil. Do your best to vary the engine RPM and decelerate the engine under vacuum as frequently as you accelerate the engine; down shift the vehicle to come to a stop rather than using just the brakes.

500-1000 miles, run engine more aggressively, no more that 6-8 psi boost, no more than 50% TPS and 5000 RPM Change engine oil and filter. Look for less glittery material in oil. Datalog the engine, look for knock events, etc.

Slowly raise the rev limit throughout break-in all the way to redline just after 1000 miles. Please be sure to vary the RPM range throughout engine break-in…you want to do what you can to promote even break-in of the engine hardware. Ideally, the engine will optimally perform throughout the RPM range. Engine ring sealing can be tested throughout the engine break-in process with a compression gauge and cylinder leak-down test kit (CLT); you can test at TDC and BDC. Be sure to perform these tests on a warm motor with the throttle blade fully open. You would want your measured compression to be within 20psi of each other on all cylinders and the CLT to 7% or less across all cylinders. We hope this helps.

[s13point5]

here is how break in my motors after i build them. use conventional oil and take it easy for the first 300 miles. change oil (again conventional and not synthetic) and drive her easy till 1000 miles. change oil to synthetic. and drive her like you stole her. of course everytime i i hit that 1000 miles mark, i still gradually work up to opening her up fully. shep from shepard racing has always told me to "break it in on the dyno". im to scared to do that tho. some say to just break her in the way you are gonna drive her.

my way that i have always done it has never failed me fore numerous (4 motors total. i didnt blow them. i just got bored. i have a sickness i know) honda builds. 1 SR build. and i just started my RB last week. waiting for a driveshaft and ill break her in the same way i did all my other motors.

[Coolwhip]

I break em' in like I'll be driving them. Full boost. Not ragging on the motor but giving it a good time.

And if Shep said that was ok, I'm pretty happy

[PorkChopExpress]

gotta put pressure on those rings. my break in procedure. start up and wait for oil to warm up. set to low boost and beat the hell out of it. bring it back and change the oil.

should have nothing to worry about if you did your job blueprinting.

[raremotive]

ironically motortune does it my way too. Lube up with real oil. Good warm up. Then run through the rpms... accerating and engine braking. After 20-30 miles change oil again real oil. Then after 200 miles put in synthetic oil. If you are so worried about breaking it.. its bound to happen.. regardless if you ran easy or hard.

[Cjmartz2k]

x2

I'm not saying bing it off the rev limiter, but you want to have higher cylinder pressures to seat the rings properly. That is the most vital part of break in IMHO. If you are going to break something by getting on it after the initial cam break in, it was going to break anyways.

[240sxvaj]

i need this info.

thanks!

[ItzGenX]

All the motors I've built, I have put brand name conventional oil in. Start it up and run around checking for leaks as it warms up fully. If the car is equipped with a standalone, I usually set up a base map as well while it warms. After about 15-20 minutes of idling and no leaks etc, I pull out of the drive and go balls to the walls. Usually I start off with 1st and 2nd gear at half throttle as I begin to drive off. Then as I decel in second gear with clutch still engaged, I listen for anything off sounding. If none detected before the RPM decel to idle speed, I gun it to redline all the way through 4th gear, then let the engine do my braking all the way down to idle. I do about 4-5 1000rpm to redline pulls in 4th (usually over 100mph for most cars) before bringing the car back for it's first oil change. I always use a magnetic drain plug along with a large 4x4x1 inch magnet I have stuck to the bottom of the oil pan during this break-in procedure. For aluminum pans, I usually use a few bungee straps to keep the large magnet under the pan. This helps keep all the microscopic metalic flakes scrubbed off from the cylinder walls, piston rings, and cams to sink in the sump and stay there, where it can be collected by the oil drain plug. If the pan is a steel oil pan, the whole oil pan bonuses as a magnet too. When draining the oil for it's first oil change, I will notice very very very fine metal particles in a decent amount (indication of cylinder and ring break-in). The key here is to make sure I find no large particles (bearing flakes in particular). Running this stuff between your fingers should feel silky smooth. If it feels grainy, then there's something wrong with the build. If I drop my big magnet into the oil and harvest all the micro metal particles, I would end up with about half of a US dime's worth. The second step after changing the oil (once again to conventional oil) is to do a compression test. So far, out of all the dozen I've done, all came out damn near exact from each other 1-2psi gradient. Now, drive on this new oil for another 1000 miles and change the oil. If you see a reduced amount of micro particles left on your magnetic drain plug (big magnet not used), then it is ready for synthetic. Usually the amount of micro metal pulled from the second oil change has barely enough metalic in it to smeer across my thumb print. Anymore then that, I would continue to run conventional oil for another 1000 miles. Like always, drive it how you want after that first oil change, hard soft sideways upsidedown whatever floats your boat, 90% of the break-in was from the hard pulls in step 1.

[Shocker]

My Engine builder told me use Rotella T diesle oil for break in, added Zinc helps the process better.

Step 1. First start, let engine idle 15-20 min or so check for leaks and what not. -Change the oil.

Step 2. New oil, take her out and give her hell. After a couple hundred miles - change the oil.

Step 3. New oil, drive however you want till around 1500 miles with the Rotella, after that switch to w/e oil floats your boat.

[l0nestar]

Seems like there are about as many techniques for break-in, as there are a.) recipes for lasagna b.) shades of paint, and c.) steering wheels.

It all comes down to personal preference, or intended use.

I would at least check with your ring MFG to see what THEIR bedding procedure is.

[getsideways14]

Good info... since we have plenty of info on that now, what types of oil do you guys use? Do you feel that one is better over another for the RB? Experiences?

[Coolwhip]

Since many of you guys are in the process of building your motors its good to keep much of the good information central. Some times its gets lost in individual build threads...::cough shoker::

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