How'd you run your engine in??

[ctrain]

flog it

(10char)

[ToyTA22]

My prior engine builder, I have shiffed towns, told me use elcheapo oil ie kmart or bigw $5 special for first 500km keeping revs below 3500rpm varying speed on regular basis. Then drop oil, put in 10w50 or 20w50 oil and increase rev limit 1000rpm every 250K and keep increasing load, ie drive around hills as well as flat roads.
that engine won me a few hillclimb and dirt sprint trophies and is still used today in a mates rally car, only changed head gasket since he owned engine. Still sounds strong and drives hard at events, he let me drive his car recently.
The particular vehicle was also my daily driver, that engine was built in 1994.

[old_mr2]

confirm oil pressure
confirm no leaks

FLOG IT

[andrew_mx83]

confirm oil pressure
confirm no leaks

FLOG IT

Well said. How to run in an engine in 8 words.

[dnegative]

I like to warm things up for a minute or two whilst checking everything over, last thing you want is to miss something in your haste Two minutes at the start wont affect a thing, wipes any highspots off before the work begins lol
But nothing better than full noise and full load, its either going to work or its not guys. You think race engines get 1000km of dyno time before seeing the limiter and being tuned?

[trdee]

the way race engines are put together is significantly at odds with the way street motors are put together, to the point that a lot of them will shit themselves if they dont have oil and coolant preheated and the engine already pressurised to operating pressure before being started etc

generally though, you will find that most run-in procedures happen to have the same elements that every new car manual states for their run in procedure too. all the way back to my 1988 AW11 manual, which says no lugging of the engine or limiter bashing for the first few thousand km. no extended idle times. just keep it rowing through the gears at different engine loads and different rpms as much as possible...

[dnegative]

the way race engines are put together is significantly at odds with the way street motors are put together, to the point that a lot of them will shit themselves if they dont have oil and coolant preheated and the engine already pressurised to operating pressure before being started etc

Not talking about F1 motors lol, those fuckers probably wont even crank if they are not at 65c. But for big power street and race motors that are comprised off production engines the things generally get run up to full throttle soon enough.

[old_mr2]

My dad used to race grand nationals/supersedans in the 80s and 90s. He used to build the motor (350 chev) during the day, trailer it to the track, roll out onto the track for heat 1 and flog it.

This is him back in '1986'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41D9p...feature=relmfu

Number 11 Ralph Ranger

[Just1n_mc]

I think that's the path I'm going to go down.

I'll run it up to 5,000-6,000rpm for the first couple hundred km's. Drop the oil then ran it up to redline from there.

[oldeskewltoy]

This... \/



get it warm...

push it hard, but keep it under peak rpm.


Part of the reason you break it in fast and hard is you want the rings to seat asap. Ring sealing helps keep the head from getting excess carbon do to burning oil.

After a good run in 30 + minutes of driving, drain the oil, and cut open the oil filter to inspect the filter for metal shavings. SOME particulate matter will be in the filter, but it shouldn't be anything large.

Replace filter, replace oil with a good quality conventional oil. Use that for 500 miles to 1000 miles... and you are good to go.....

Caveats... check for leaks, check for any failures, or potential failures.

[4th surf]

Ok here is how I do it no matter what the engine and I have built engines from mild and warm street cars, race cars, Marine diesels and in more recent years Jap turbo diesels.

First up when you build your engine everything must be perfectly clean with the last clean prior to assembly being the white rag and meths. The white rag should not discolour on the final clean. I assemble pistons into bores dry yet with a very light skim of oil in the ring compressor. A good assembly lube is used for all rotating components and oil system primed. Where possible the engine is spun upto full oil pressure prior to fitment. Now by dropping the pistons in dry there is one big advantage. The rings are bedded in by the time the engine has warmed up on first startup. With any install cooling system is bled and checked, oil pressure checked and if a new cam has been fitted the engine must be run at 2500rpm for 10 minutes to run the cam in. This is also the case with some EFI engines where a stepper motor is used for idle control (example Holden 304 EFI V8). The main thing is that it's all down to how the engine is built and the care and attention taken during the build. I was taught to build engines by one of the best engine reconditioners around where I grew up and served my time and have built them that way ever since. I do not use running in oils but rather a good quality oil and change at 1000km then at 10 thou. Then engine can be driven as normal or even taken out on the track and thrashed. In fact the first test drive I thrash the bollocks off them then deal with any issues which may crop up. Never had an issue

[dnegative]

You only have to break in flat tappet cams

[Billzilla]

I think that's the path I'm going to go down.

I'll run it up to 5,000-6,000rpm for the first couple hundred km's. Drop the oil then ran it up to redline from there.

Barely acceptable for a race engine, very much NOT the way to go for a road engine.
Road engines run in best when babied most of the time.
A rough rule-of-thumb - Run in fast = lots of power but not for long. Run in slow = good reliable engine for a long time.

[BLK_20v]

Do you have anything to back that claim?

[TERRA Operative]

How does a well sealed engine from a fast run in = a short life?

Conversely, how does a poorly sealed engine from a soft run in become a long lasting reliable engine?