running in an engine, conflicting information

[skiddz]

hi everybody ([crowd]hi dr. nick[/crowd])

i have searched but search engine = ghey and im a search retard.

having rebuilt my 20v and still in the process of putting it back together i thought i would look into running in proceedures, but there is so much conflicting information

This guy recons you flog the bejeesus outta it

these guys as well as others recon let it idle high for 20 mins turn it off then drive normally for 500k's then a bit harder after oil change

my mechanic told me let it warm up with a high idle, then drive it no more than 50% throttle up to bout 100-110 km/h then deccelerate to 80 or so then gently back up to 100 or so then after about 50k's drive it a bit harder with varying throttle and a bit of hard acceleration and decceleratio

im confused by this, which is a better method? the car is going to be daily/weekend fun not chasing peak HP really

cheers
luke

[tomvale13]

I've heard running in on the Dyno is the best way, although my car is turbo and I dont know if that affects matters.

It was a combo of your 2nd and 3rd options on a dyno that I was told about.

[Kyosho]

Always been told to PUSH a performance engine, but don't high rev it.

Basically, use as much throttle as you want, but have a lower rev limit in on it. Break it in, how you want it to be driven all the time.
Same way we break in the diesel engines, load them right up at low RPMs.

[roadsailing]

i reckon mototune guy is on the money, basically load the engine up, keep varying the revs and don't sit on one RPM for too long. run mineral oil for the first 100 ks or whatever, dump it change it and run it for a bit more, then flush and put in synthetic oil.

fair bit of info on performanceforums

[jezza323]

most important thing is not to hold it at 1 load/rpm for extended time, vary it

[Billzilla]

Your mechanic is right.
No high revs for at least 1,000km or so, use lots of throttle and vary the revs every now and then.

[MRMOPARMAN]

i agree with your mechanic. recently did this with my rebuilt 4age (used old cams and pistons though).

used the shittest oil i could find, and ran it in varying load and rpm without letting it get over 4000. did that for 1hour, dumped the oil and filled it with good stuff and she's been all good after that

[GTA22]

They say that you should run a cheap thin mineral oil to flush any contaminates out from the bedding in process and run nontap water (rain water) without coolant for a few runs, so the gaskets settle in, as coolant can leech into any voids and believe it or not create a lock of corrosion.
You have to bed in the rings and they say to drive normally for the first 500 but do not over rev or under rev and vary the revs consistantly, also semi steep hills are good as it needs a certain amount of load for the bedding in process.
EG leave car in 4th gear and accelerate from 55 - 60 to 85 - 90 and then deaccelerate back to 55 - 60, throw in a few not to steep hills and vary all revs.
The most important thing is to not maintain consistent idle or revs and dont labour the engine or rev the ring out of it.
Catchya Simon

[skiddz]

i agree with your mechanic. recently did this with my rebuilt 4age (used old cams and pistons though).

used the shittest oil i could find, and ran it in varying load and rpm without letting it get over 4000. did that for 1hour, dumped the oil and filled it with good stuff and she's been all good after that

only 1 hour of "running in" with non-synthetic oil and then you went to semi-synthetic? hows the compression?

from what i have read the rings havent fully bedded untill about the 4-500km mark?

[Billzilla]

Yeah I'd keep away from synthetic oil for at least 1,000km or so.

[skiddz]

thanks bill, im gonna tackle the running in thing after exams probably late at night on the freeway and on the road out to beauy

[o_man_ra23]

The first 400kms use the worst oil you can buy... that homebrand shit is the go. You dont want any slippery properties, you want the rings to grind themselves into the bores to create a better seal... and the oil, as said, is there to wash the shit away. Change at 100 to more shit oil, change at 400 to a better mineral oil, then semi synth at 1000... if your going to rev the ring out of it later, change to fully synth at 2000, otherwise maintain semi, but change at 2000 all the same.

Varying engine speed is very important (as mentioned) and keep the idle up around 1500 or so for the first 400kms to keep the fuel pump going. Change your filter every time you do an oil change, and flush with shit oil (once around the block with oil filter new oil, then drop oil, change oil and filter) during the first few changes. You use a lot of oil and filters, but its worth every cent.

moderate inclines, high gear, lots of throttle... dont labour the engine, but load it up. Also decelerating using compression is good as it puts the pistons into a different wear position and gives a more even result.

But hey, you have a couple of years to learn all this

If you changed cams to new ones, then you need to go through the 20 min at 3000rpm with big fan pointed at radiator (important), but if you are using stock used cams, no need.

[blacktop]

I have mates that reckon you can't beat a Heavy foot but limited rpm, as in flog it like a drag race from every set of lights but change gears at about 4500-6000 rpm and after the first oil change flog it even harder up to about 6500-7000rpm with the occasional red line, then after the 2nd oil change you should be right to drive normally

[Billzilla]

You certainly can run them in quickly like that, but they will also wear out faster.
So I'd recommend more babying to make it do a few hundred thousand K's.

[brett_celicacoupe]

whats the opinion on running in a boosted engine? run as low boost as possible?