Break in

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Andy@AMSOIL

i want my piston rings to seat and seal properlly and that takes time and taking it easy.

?!?!? It takes time and east driving to get piston rings to seat correctly? That is the exact opposite of everything I've ever been taught about motors. If that really is the case, are you saying that the link posted a few threads back is completely wrong?

[Uneducated Guess]

sooo...what I'm taking from all of this is, if you want the power run it hard and if you want the longevity take it easy?

[Russell James]

Originally Posted by Uneducated Guess

sooo...what I'm taking from all of this is, if you want the power run it hard and if you want the longevity take it easy?

It doesn't have to be balls out or granny shifting. It is possible to drive normal with some moderate throttle.... kind of a middle ground. Or one could even read the owner's manual which will in a lot of words basically say - don't beat the hell out of it when new. It doesn't say you have to drive it easy, and it doesn't say you can't lay into the throttle. But it does give specifics like - no full throttle starts, no long idling. Sounds reasonable to me, basically avoid the extremes when new.

More than just the engine going through a break in period.

Anyone ever heard of rear diff ring and pinion gears that recommend a wide open full load break in. I haven't.

[2010 SSRS]

Originally Posted by Uneducated Guess

Who's going to take it easy and break the car in properly and who's going to say screw it and open it up as soon as they pull off the lot?

to the floor out of the dealership lot

[Russell James]

Originally Posted by Uneducated Guess

I'd like to know what they did with the one that posted the 7:41 at nurburgring.

Combination of .... handling, brakes, power, tires, aero, driving skill.... I'd wager the break in had .00000001 to do with it.

[steveo9043]

ok instead of starting a new thread I got a few questions about the break in procedure.

1) Say your new car has 60 miles of test drives on it from other people. Should you worry?

2) The motor should be warmed up before doing this type of driving. Yet it says idling too long is bad.

[The Stig]

Yes idling too long can be bad for the engine. You want to take it easy until the trans has fully warmed up.


I also want to point out: this is why in the 2nd post I said you open a can of worms. There is so much information out there that you can really come to any conclusion that you want. That being said, I feel that most people stand behind an easy break in simply because that's what dealerships have told them. Think about it: you don't trust the dealer to do any kind of work on your car, but somehow he is all knowing when it comes to break ins?

[steveo9043]

Yeah it does bring up a lot of questions. I'm hopefully buying my first new car next weekend. 45th anniversary 2ss. Never had to worry about the break in procedure before.

[IcePick06]

This always comes up on car and bike forums...Just my $.02 since I've owned a few brand new bikes and cars and I always break them in the same way: "Don't baby it, just drive it like normal". If it's a sportsbike or sports car ride it/drive it as such, (i.e. Go through the gears and the RPM's, modulating engine speed, and engine load).

By doing this, I've personally never had a problem with engines in the past or rings not seating, etc. In fact, on my last two bikes (2007 Ducati 1098 & 2005 Kawasaki ZX-10R) I broke them both in on the DYNO (before leaving the dealership) and got the oil changed immediately afterwards. I then rode them both "normally" (aggressive canyon riding) and even did some trackdays on them over a 3 month period. Later, I had them both DYNO'd again and they both made more HORSEPOWER than the original DYNO showed! So I guess those piston rings seated just fine!

[10forty2]

Originally Posted by Andy@AMSOIL

i want my piston rings to seat and seal properlly and that takes time and taking it easy.

In order for rings to seat properly, you have to build enough pressure inside the cylinder to get the rings to expand properly and "seat" against the cylinder wall.

So what does "SEAT" mean?? Ever seen the inside of a new cylinder? It has an abrasive crosshatch grind to ensure that the rings are custom fit to the cylinder wall as they rub up and down against it. Years ago, synthetic oil was not recommended until after the break-in period because it lubricated TOO well to get the rings to grind down properly. The rings have to expand and stay expanded long enough to get that custom grind and hence the proper "SEAT."

But the secret is to not get the cylinder/rings too hot while they are custom fitting themselves. Driving slow/easy over a long period of time ain't the way to break in a new engine. Driving hard for a long period of time ain't the way to do it either. Ideally, there should be periods of hard accelerations followed by adequate cool-down time. Again, in years gone by, it was recommended to NOT hold a steady speed during break-in either. Up and down, and abbreviated bursts under hard accelerations to build enough pressure to expand the rings so they can seat against the cylinder walls.

Now, with all that said, new car engines are tested and run before they ever get in the car, so a lot of the break-in has already been done. If you build a new engine from scratch, you DEFINITELY need to observe a dedicated break-in period. Otherwise, buy the car, and drive it like you stole it!

[KLR ZL1]

If I remember correctly there was something in the brochure that was posted on here about breakin to be something like for the first 500 miles not to exceed 80 mph. I am trying to find that now and I will post it.

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by CamaroMiami

The "Darin" procedure should be what all ZL1 owners need to do.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...ighlight=darin

I broke-in my SS this way and I'm pleased I did.

Originally Posted by 10forty2

In order for rings to seat properly, you have to build enough pressure inside the cylinder to get the rings to expand properly and "seat" against the cylinder wall.

So what does "SEAT" mean?? Ever seen the inside of a new cylinder? It has an abrasive crosshatch grind to ensure that the rings are custom fit to the cylinder wall as they rub up and down against it. Years ago, synthetic oil was not recommended until after the break-in period because it lubricated TOO well to get the rings to grind down properly. The rings have to expand and stay expanded long enough to get that custom grind and hence the proper "SEAT."

But the secret is to not get the cylinder/rings too hot while they are custom fitting themselves. Driving slow/easy over a long period of time ain't the way to break in a new engine. Driving hard for a long period of time ain't the way to do it either. Ideally, there should be periods of hard accelerations followed by adequate cool-down time. Again, in years gone by, it was recommended to NOT hold a steady speed during break-in either. Up and down, and abbreviated bursts under hard accelerations to build enough pressure to expand the rings so they can seat against the cylinder walls.

Now, with all that said, new car engines are tested and run before they ever get in the car, so a lot of the break-in has already been done. If you build a new engine from scratch, you DEFINITELY need to observe a dedicated break-in period. Otherwise, buy the car, and drive it like you stole it!

Thank you for explaining the mechanics behind the Darin break in procedure.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Uneducated Guess

Who's going to take it easy and break the car in properly and who's going to say screw it and open it up as soon as they pull off the lot?

I'll be careful breaking it in...that meaning I'll try to adhere to the manual's stated 80mph limit until I hit 1500 miles.

But how to get to that 80 mph? That's a different story altogether!!

But seriously....fluid-changes real early, and some acceleration runs for the first 100 miles or so, then a light foot to 1500 is my plan.

[Johng57]

Originally Posted by PsychoKinetic

Wouldn't an RPM limit make more sense than a MPH limit?


Keeping the speed under 80 is one thing, doing 75 in first gear is entirely different.

I was told by the dealer - keep rpm under 4G ad MPH under 80.