Quote:
Originally Posted by SC2150
Correct. The oils of the past that came in engines from the factory were specifically formulated to aid ring seating. They had enough protection for the bearings and journals if run easy the first 500-1000 miles, but allowed sufficient friction for the rings to seat, or "wear in" to the cylinder walls (the cross hatch hone is for this purpose). But you could NOT run them hard or you risked damage, and the oil HAD to be changed by 500-1000 miles or trouble.
Today, the smae break in is advised, but they come prefilled with M1 syn and it is far to protective to allow the rings to seat if driven easy (todays buyers want to get the car, put gas in, and not service it for 10k miles is why.....the evolution to never opening your own hood is 2 generations in the making so dealer service center is a part of a car owners life).
You only have app 400-500 miles before the cylinder walls form a hard glaze (even if you can still see the cross hatch patteren, it is no longer able to seat rings) so if driven as per owners manual, odds are you will never have properly seated rings (some get lucky). So, best is to drain syn oil right away, fill with a good conventional as they have some zdp to protect from cuffing, etc. install a good functioning catchcan (only a few really catch most or all the oil...most are not worth buying no matter what the claims or the name brand on them), I prefer shell rottella 10-30 but any good conventional will protect and allow ring seat.
Then drive easy firt 50 or so miles to let rear gears heat cycle (a few cool downs so around town errands works well). Then, run it up at 3/4 plus throttle (safely!!! no reckless driving) to say 4500-5k RPM, then at 200 or so miles WOT to 5500 and allow some engine breaking (deceleration) but not excessive, and then at 400-500 full throttle to 6 k a few times. Drain at 500 miles (quite a bit of iron dust from the cylinders and some bebris from assembly is always present, so get it out) and fill with full syn (M1 is not near as good as it used to be....) and drive like you would normally and see how well your power, economy, and no or low oil consumption is.
On our race motors we break them in in a few passes, but tolerances are looser than these engines so these take a little more time. But also, do a google search to see what other well known engine builders do as well (most of us do this the same, or close to the same).
Over 38 years of doing theis with excellent results, and we tear down all types of motors and see the results of the owners manual method up close and personal (ask any GM/ford/mopar tech how often they put new rings/pistons in todays new motors due to excess oil consumption, or search here on how many have lost a motor by not checking oil regularly).
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Good stuff! If anything it's peace of mind. I'll be doing the ^^above^^ plus a little of this:
New Vehicle Break-In
Follow these recommended guidelines during the first
1,500 miles/2414 km of driving this vehicle. Parts have a
break-in period and performance will be better in the
long run.
For the first 200 miles/322 km:
• To break in new tires, drive at moderate speeds and
avoid hard cornering for the first 200 miles/322 km.
• New brake linings also need a break- in period. Avoid
making hard stops during the first 200 miles/322 km.
This is recommended every time brake linings are
replaced.
For the first 500 miles/805 km:
• Avoid full throttle starts and abrupt stops.
• Do not exceed 4,000 engine rpm.
• Avoid driving at any one constant speed, fast or
slow, including the use of cruise control.
• Avoid downshifting to brake or slow the vehicle
when the engine speed will exceed 4000 RPM.
• Do not let the engine labor. Never lug the engine
in high gear at low speeds. With a manual
transmission, shift to the next lower gear. This rule
applies at all times, not just during the break-in
period.
For the first 1,500 miles/2414 km:
• Do not participate in track events, sport driving
schools, or similar activities during the first
1,500 miles/2414 km.
• Check engine oil with every refueling and add if
necessary. Oil and fuel consumption may be higher
than normal during the first 1,500 miles/2414 km.
