Any truth to the break in rumor?

[WIPLASH]

On a lighter note, the gobs of people out there racing (literally) to track test and dyno the 6th gens with 10 miles on the odo might want to skip this thread.

[Iron Lung Jimmy]

Originally Posted by CamaroCracka

<snip>

Those really interested in doing anything besides the factory recommendation should do their homework. Camaro5 is a good place to start but there is a lot of information out there.

Actually... no, not really, lol.

[Moto-Mojo]

Originally Posted by Camaro Dude

Indeed.

Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools, because they have to say something.

Plato.

This Plato fella you speak of, engine rebuilder? Sounds real smart. I hope he says more. Was he any relation to Playdough?

Does seem to be two distinct camps on this thread...like many.

[Camaro Dude]

Ok, I guess I'll have to Lolll to roll wit it lolll.

[polizzio]

Originally Posted by Camaro Dude

Indeed.

Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools, because they have to say something.

Plato.

I like that

[polizzio]

Originally Posted by Camaro Dude

The dude you are arguing with may have a point though.

I've got 6 different owners manuals, by 6 different manufacturers, 6 entirely different types of automobiles, chronology from 1987-to present day, and yet, the break-in procedure in all 6 owners manuals seems to be just about the same procedure.

I guess those GM "engineers" you speak of, all graduated from the same school of thought as the rest of 'em eh? Lol

My point is, generally speaking, nothing special was written in regards to your high performance LS3 engine, compared to anything else out there.

There is more than one department involved in maintenance schedules, break-in procedures, and the "suits" and bean counters have a heavier hand than you think .

Old news really, but food for thought.

Your point is substantiation for my thesis here. Consistency is good and sound for "basic drivetrain break in tenets". The basic break in philosophy is the same across the industry and manufacturers. And that is not surprising to me whatsoever.
A hundred years of experience and research prevails.

But you make one assumption which is invalid. I currently own the LFX V6 engine, not an LS3. BTW, the LFX is more technologically advanced than the LS3. 4 overhead camshafts, NO pushrods - much lighter valvetrain, higher net HP per C.I. displacement than the LS3, makes power to 6900 RPM from the factory. And the LS is a brilliant "pushrod" engine, don't get me wrong. A ZL1 in my garage would make me quite happy.

At the end of the day, as others have posted. It's your car, you paid for it (or paying for it), do with it as you please.

[polizzio]

Speaking of engine break in, it brought to mind this video. It's an older video but the sound is pure music at the end. Don't watch it on ur phone, it won't do it justice.



And this one is a later Renault F1 engine at 18,000 RPM....LOL

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by MikosV6

GM wants to keep you out of the shop as long as possible? Well, until the powertrain warranty runs out, 5 years or 60K miles, whichever come first. I keep my vehicles for a lot longer than that and never had a problem.

I really doubt GM service centers sit around rubbing their hands and drooling, waiting for the next post-warranty vehicle to come in with a serious engine problem. I would think the reliability and customer satisfaction ratings are more important to GM than any repairs they may make a few bucks off of. They are in the business of selling cars year after year to satisfied customers.

Originally Posted by MikosV6

I never suggested driving it like you stole it. However, I can almost guarantee when you bring it in for those free two year oiI changes, the dealer is driving it like they stole it.

Maybe so - which is why I do my own oil/filter changes.

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by paul84043

1700 miles is pretty good.. Just don't go to synthetic, or a blend until 10,000 or so. You want your engine to wear, synthetic oil almost stops wear completely.

Again... the Owner's Manual says nothing about this. No offense to you, Paul, but I see your statement as "old school" thinking. These vehicles (especially the engines) are built with extremely close tolerances. The materials, machining, and assembly processes used are light-years beyond what they were a few decades ago.

OP: I would suggest deferring to the Manual and the recommendations of the GM engineers/technicians when breaking in and maintaining these new cars...

Use only engine oil licensed to the dexos1 specification, or equivalent, of the proper SAE viscosity grade. ACDelco dexos1 Synthetic Blend is

recommended.

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by CamaroCracka

Cylinders are honed with a cross hatch to wear the ring down so it mates to the cylinder wall (seats) as closely as possible. The logic behind a "hard" break-in is that higher cylinder pressures push the rings into the cylinder walls harder to improve the seating. Once the engine is fully broken in the cross-hatching should be gone, but some report after disassembly for whatever reason, some cylinders still having areas of cross-hatching after many thousand miles which would indicate those rings are not completely seated. My source is the internet so it must be true.

Even those that recommend "hard" break-ins, don't recommend a "drive it like you stole it approach." I just put forged pistons in and my machinist recommended something consistent with information found about "hard" break-ins, e.g. don't break in with synthetic oil, on the first few break in runs do some hard pulls in 2nd and 3rd but don't spin it over 5k, don't let it get hot, let it completely cool between runs, don't let it idle until you have a few runs in.

Those really interested in doing anything besides the factory recommendation should do their homework. Camaro5 is a good place to start but there is a lot of information out there. When I read recommendations from others, I put more credence in those that can explain why they recommend it (assuming the why makes sense), rather than saying my uncle's cousin had a car that he beat on from jump and it was faster than a space ship.

There are lots of differing opinions here, for sure. That's what makes this forum so interesting.

I know you and others here have lots of experience with engines that have been "built" to various performance levels that exceed that of stock engines, and I certainly respect your opinions on such things. But OP is talking about breaking in a stock, from the factory, engine with stock/factory parts. I don't understand why all of the advice to disregard GM's recommendations on how to breaking in, service, and maintain their product.

[paul84043]

Let's just settle it. Let the OP beat his brand new car like a red headed stepchild and we'll just track how it does as it ages..

Should be interesting, and at least it's not my car.

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by MikosV6

I spoke of rev limiters because the notion of "hurting" these engines by somehow over reving them does not exist with the stock programming. Now, if you got a programmer on it and tinkered with the stock settings, then all bets are off. How can you hurt an engine that can rev to 7K rpms by getting up there a few times? Or, in the case of the LFX (looked down upon by many V8 owners on here) nearly 8K rpm?

What makes you think that "over-revving" is tied only to fixed limitations (such as valve springs/float) and guidelines developed through experience (mean piston speed) and nothing else?

Yes, I can understand it and love discussing things on that level. In fact, I wish there was more of that on here. However, that's an apples to oranges comparision though. You're comparing a freshly built engine that has a specific procedure at first start up to one that has been run, probably to max rpm a few times . . .

Are you trying to say that somebody else beating on your engine/car a couple of times (that you couldn't prevent) makes it OK for you to keep beating on it like it doesn't matter any more? Or that my freshly built SBC needed a far more careful break-in than it got as some other car's optional performance engine from the factory?

probably to max rpm a few times, at the factory, outside the transit yard, and at the dealer lot.

Unless you're including the occasional customer test drive in that (where said customer doesn't care overly much about something that isn't his), you're just guessing. But FWIW, that's one of the reasons that all of the cars I've bought that had more than average performance for their time were built to order and delivery taken at arrival.

It'll never happen because taking it up to redline a few times during break-in will not hurt these modern engines. Instead, GM gives us a nice rev limiter that will protect the engine unless you mechanically over rev it like on a 4 to 1 mis-shift or something. A few LS1 M6 owners had that problem back in the day and bent there pushrods.

Never say never.

Just off the top of my head this morning . . . if it ever turns out that there is an adverse connection between long-term emissions levels and hard driving during break in you'd better plan on it or something like it happening. Isn't there some global climate conference going on as I type this? I'm not guaranteeing that this will ever be the case, but a head-in-the-sand attitude would be the wrong way to go.

If it actually turns out to be beneficial for break in to be a little harder than people at the very gentle end give their cars, it would be just as easy to raise shift points (most cars being AT) for a few hundred miles. Hell, both tweaks might show up.


Norm

[oldfriend]

You nailed it



On a new car, things like bearings and gears also need to have their microscopic-level wearing-in completed. And "breaking in" all of these components generates heat. Think local hot spots here if your break-in regimen isn't allowing sufficient cooling. For new axle gears after the first easy 40 - 50 mile break-in drive, you won't jump out of the driver's seat and hold your bare hand on the diff cover for as long as it took you to read this, guaranteed. Think about that for a moment . . .

Norm

And it should also apply the all the components inside that metal box that we regularly call transmission , and to all the others moving parts that makes the car move

[MikosV6]

Originally Posted by two_wheel_mayhem

Another disrespectful swipe at V6 owners for not being grown ups while the arrogant attitude and mindset of some LS3 owners argue how babying their high rpm/high performance engines will make them run better and last longer like an old Toyota.

You guys really crack me up.lol

However, you may have a point in babying your engines due to the stock oil pumps failing on many LS3's. So, in reconsideration of what I previously stated in this thread, I'll make an exception to only LS3 owners in that you need to always make sure you baby your engines and never run close to redline.

For me, I'll take my sophisticated high tech exotic sounding LFX over any low tech pushrod LS3 any day. Now, I'm not saying the non arrogant LS3 owners have a low tech POS for an engine. Absolutely not. However, the LS3 can now can join the ranks of notable past GM engines that performed well for their time and are now superceded by significantly more advanced and more powerful engines like the new LT1.

Except for the start/stop capability and active fuel management which anyone who cares about performance will probably tune out anyway, the new LGX is basically just like the LFX. The old LS3 and LT1 comparisions are just too numerous to list to make that same general statement.

I can't wait until we get some stage 3 LTG owners on here spanking stock LS3's. It'll be fun watching that drama unfold on these forums.