Break-in Period - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

bfarnin · 12-12-2009, 11:19 AM

So we pick up our 2ss/rs rjt today at 3 pm from the dealership, woohoo! the salesman told me that i can't "get on it" for the first 1500 miles because there is a break-in period for the engine. can someone please explain the technical side to this for me? i have to wait 1500 miles to open it up? what happens if it is "gotten on" before the 1500 mile plateau? does this cause long term damage? any insight would be appreciated, thanks!

BOOTZILLA · 12-12-2009, 11:22 AM

Read the owner's manual if you want to know exactly what your dealer is talking about.

- Keep it under 100mph
- Keep it under 4k rpm

fixxxer525 · 12-12-2009, 11:39 AM

Or you could go do this break-in procedure, which I'm going to do myself as soon as my car shows up in a few days.
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39955

2010 SSRS · 12-12-2009, 11:41 AM

Hammer it, that is the best way to break it in.

PHEOX · 12-12-2009, 11:52 AM

The 1500 mile break in is not the greatest way to break the engine in. You have to open it up, hard too, and a lot for your first 600 miles or so. The reason why is that the piston seals on a brand new engine aren't formed against the piston wall completely, and the only way to make them form against that wall, is to force them. If you don't, the seals won't expand correctly and will later on, let bad acids get through to the rest of your engine, therefore causing less power and reliability.

BOOTZILLA · 12-12-2009, 12:18 PM

Sounds like a lot of voodoo mythology to me.

Darth_Emma · 12-12-2009, 12:44 PM

Apparently the current thinking is that you should "drive it like you stole it" to break it in.

daphatgrant · 12-12-2009, 12:49 PM

Everyone has their own opinion on this, lol. I don't know what to say OP, a couple guys I work with who where both full time mechanics (extreamly good ones) and now do part time stuff say to beat on it like there's no tomorrow. Another mechanic I know says to take it slow to allow everything to seat correctly.

Got me man

.

KJS · 12-12-2009, 01:05 PM

Why on earth would GM recommend a reasonable break in period if they didn't think it was necessary??? I don't get why people think its best to ignore what the engine designers and engineers who built it recommend! Read and follow the owner's manual.

Do you think that GM wants to see its brand new cars spanked at the stop lights by the competition - huh? ORRRRRR maybe they want to see the engine last a couple of hundred thousand miles if its broken in the right way for a couple of hundred miles.

Someone, anyone please explain why? I'm not interested in hearing that specialty engine builders pound on their new engines WOT - we're talking here about GMs mass produced factory engines with a 100,000 mile warrantee....

(AND FYI - all tire manufacturers recommend a 500 mile break in period for new tires so the plys bed in correctly.)

FEN · 12-12-2009, 01:46 PM

I have the 2SS/RS w/L99 A6. I asked my dealership about the breakin (service dept) and others there and their exact words were "drive it like you stole it......you will NOT hurt it."

I now have aprox. 500 miles on it and i took it easy for most of these miles but i have also went WOT with it many times. It runs GREAT.

I have seen many engine builders put freshly built engines on dynos and make five or six pulls at WOT up into the higher RPM range.

I cannot and will not tell you how to break in your motor but after i took it easy for a few hundred miles i am now driving it "normally"....sometimes at WOT. I am not constantly "ragging" on it but i do drive aggressively sometimes.

Banshee · 12-12-2009, 01:51 PM

Drive it like you stole it...BUT be sure to change your oil at 500 to 1000k. GM does not want a hard break in for liability reasons. You break in easy, less material from rings and bearings in oil. Hard break in seats rings better equals proven reliability and higher hp numbers.

WhyMe · 12-12-2009, 01:52 PM

Fixxxer525 is right. Go to the thread he references and follow the procedures as Darin outlines. It's the best way to get every bit of hp out of the car. I am picking mine up in 1 hour and will find a nice long road to do the hard accelerations 6-8 times then put her up for the night and do it again tomorrow. Pay attention to the fuse pull reset thread and do it if you are unsure of the type of gas the dealer put in the car if they did at the dealership.

eynigush · 12-12-2009, 01:54 PM

Engineers don't write manuals; attorneys write them. Ask any engineer, including the ones on this forum, and they'll tell you to break it in hard bu t at your own risk.

--Eddie

FEN · 12-12-2009, 02:02 PM

I will be doing my first oil change at 750miles and the next at 1500miles.Normal after that.

12-12-2009, 11:19 AM	#1
bfarnin Drives: 2010 camaro 2ss/rs Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: newportville, pa Posts: 5	Break-in Period So we pick up our 2ss/rs rjt today at 3 pm from the dealership, woohoo! the salesman told me that i can't "get on it" for the first 1500 miles because there is a break-in period for the engine. can someone please explain the technical side to this for me? i have to wait 1500 miles to open it up? what happens if it is "gotten on" before the 1500 mile plateau? does this cause long term damage? any insight would be appreciated, thanks!

12-12-2009, 01:05 PM	#9
KJS Drives: '10 RJT,'95&'14 Vette Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Cut Throat, NY Posts: 1,723 View My Garage	Why on earth would GM recommend a reasonable break in period if they didn't think it was necessary??? I don't get why people think its best to ignore what the engine designers and engineers who built it recommend! Read and follow the owner's manual. Do you think that GM wants to see its brand new cars spanked at the stop lights by the competition - huh? ORRRRRR maybe they want to see the engine last a couple of hundred thousand miles if its broken in the right way for a couple of hundred miles. Someone, anyone *please* explain why? I'm not interested in hearing that specialty engine builders pound on their new engines WOT - we're talking here about GMs mass produced factory engines with a 100,000 mile warrantee.... (AND FYI - all tire manufacturers recommend a 500 mile break in period for new tires so the plys bed in correctly.) __________________ *"As ye sow, so shall ye reap" - Me* Mine at sunset Last edited by KJS; 12-12-2009 at 01:51 PM.

12-12-2009, 01:51 PM	#11
Banshee Institutionally Insane Drives: 2013 IOM 2SS/RS 1LE Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Detroit MI Posts: 2,115 View My Garage	Drive it like you stole it...BUT be sure to change your oil at 500 to 1000k. GM does not want a hard break in for liability reasons. You break in easy, less material from rings and bearings in oil. Hard break in seats rings better equals proven reliability and higher hp numbers. __________________ It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?

12-12-2009, 01:54 PM	#13
eynigush SoCal C5 Family Member Drives: 2010 Camaro SSRS Rally Yellow Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 412 View My Garage	Engineers don't write manuals; attorneys write them. Ask any engineer, including the ones on this forum, and they'll tell you to break it in hard bu t at your own risk. --Eddie __________________ Kooks 1 7/8 headers w/high flow cats Magnaflow Cat-back Competition Series Cold Air Intake by CAI Inc.

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12-12-2009, 11:22 AM	#2
BOOTZILLA Banned Drives: Black 2010 SS/RS Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The 'Wood Posts: 196	Read the owner's manual if you want to know exactly what your dealer is talking about. - Keep it under 100mph - Keep it under 4k rpm

12-12-2009, 11:39 AM	#3
fixxxer525 Account Suspended Drives: 01S10,01CBR600,05Ducati, 10 2SS/RS Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: San Diego Posts: 377	Or you could go do this break-in procedure, which I'm going to do myself as soon as my car shows up in a few days. http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39955

12-12-2009, 11:41 AM	#4
2010 SSRS Drives: 3 V8 Camaros Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Ocean State Posts: 111,187 View My Garage	Hammer it, that is the best way to break it in.

12-12-2009, 11:52 AM	#5
PHEOX Drives: '06 Jeep Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Cypress, Texas Posts: 629 View My Garage	The 1500 mile break in is not the greatest way to break the engine in. You have to open it up, hard too, and a lot for your first 600 miles or so. The reason why is that the piston seals on a brand new engine aren't formed against the piston wall completely, and the only way to make them form against that wall, is to force them. If you don't, the seals won't expand correctly and will later on, let bad acids get through to the rest of your engine, therefore causing less power and reliability.

12-12-2009, 12:18 PM	#6
BOOTZILLA Banned Drives: Black 2010 SS/RS Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The 'Wood Posts: 196	Sounds like a lot of voodoo mythology to me.

12-12-2009, 12:44 PM	#7
Darth_Emma Psssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh! Drives: under contruction Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Marysville, Ohio Posts: 12,996 View My Garage	Apparently the current thinking is that you should "drive it like you stole it" to break it in.

12-12-2009, 12:49 PM	#8
daphatgrant June '10 Drives: '10 2SS/RS RJT Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Upstate NY (FingerLakes) Posts: 2,395	Everyone has their own opinion on this, lol. I don't know what to say OP, a couple guys I work with who where both full time mechanics (extreamly good ones) and now do part time stuff say to beat on it like there's no tomorrow. Another mechanic I know says to take it slow to allow everything to seat correctly. Got me man .

12-12-2009, 01:46 PM	#10
FEN Drives: BLACK 2SS/RS Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 1,092	I have the 2SS/RS w/L99 A6. I asked my dealership about the breakin (service dept) and others there and their exact words were "drive it like you stole it......you will NOT hurt it." I now have aprox. 500 miles on it and i took it easy for most of these miles but i have also went WOT with it many times. It runs GREAT. I have seen many engine builders put freshly built engines on dynos and make five or six pulls at WOT up into the higher RPM range. I cannot and will not tell you how to break in your motor but after i took it easy for a few hundred miles i am now driving it "normally"....sometimes at WOT. I am not constantly "ragging" on it but i do drive aggressively sometimes.

12-12-2009, 01:52 PM	#12
WhyMe Drives: 2010 Summit White Camaro 2SS Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Alamo Heights Texas Posts: 114	Fixxxer525 is right. Go to the thread he references and follow the procedures as Darin outlines. It's the best way to get every bit of hp out of the car. I am picking mine up in 1 hour and will find a nice long road to do the hard accelerations 6-8 times then put her up for the night and do it again tomorrow. Pay attention to the fuse pull reset thread and do it if you are unsure of the type of gas the dealer put in the car if they did at the dealership.

12-12-2009, 02:02 PM	#14
FEN Drives: BLACK 2SS/RS Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 1,092	I will be doing my first oil change at 750miles and the next at 1500miles.Normal after that.