Benefits of a hard break-in discussion

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by dogememe
Originally Posted by Ws6
Originally Posted by krismoriah72
Do they break in cop cars?

I bet they pin them to the floor every chance they get.. and still live on to become taxis.




Having owned multiple cop cars, they DRINK oil by 200K miles. I was adding almost a quart per gas tank to the last one I had, and then I forgot and it seized up.


I don't know what cop cars you're buying but I've owned three Crown Vics, two ex-police and one ex-government-fleet and none of them burned any oil. And I certainly don't drive gently.

4.6L crown vic. 92-96.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted by Ws6
Originally Posted by krismoriah72
Do they break in cop cars?

I bet they pin them to the floor every chance they get.. and still live on to become taxis.




Having owned multiple cop cars, they DRINK oil by 200K miles. I was adding almost a quart per gas tank to the last one I had, and then I forgot and it seized up.


With all the idling that they do, a cop car with 200K miles has the equivalent of 300K miles. They idle them all the time. The driver doesn't pay for the gas tab.

 

[wtd]

When I first got my Mustang, I did some hard pulls and then let it coast back down without braking. It doesn't use any noticeable oil or has any unusual noises.

My 98 chevy K1500 with the 5.7 that I also bought new, I broke it in like the manual said with no hard pulls and drove it easy for the first 500 miles and it's used oil from the beginning. Not an excessive amount but more than I liked. I'm not saying it was from the easy break in but who knows. It now has about 139,000 miles on it and uses about the same amount.

 

[RDY4WAR]

We're also comparing apples to oranges here. At the OEM, the rings are placed on a mandrel, and then the mandrel is rotated against a fixture with fine abrasive material thereby lapping the ring's faces.

There's also the factor of "is it worth it." Remember that most common OEMs consider up to 10% leakdown and up to 1 quart every 1200 miles as "acceptable" for new engines. The engines that Lake is referring to in that video are designed around getting every last bit of horsepower they can with as little leakdown as possible and the best possible sealing. For me, anything more than 5% leakdown on a fresh engine, after break-in, is unacceptable, and I ideally want <2%. It doesn't matter if the engine is meant for the street or the track. There will be differences in the ring designs and tension, as well as the honing finish, between a dedicate race and street engine, but the break-in will be the same procedure.

 

[oilpsi2high]

I bought my Cobalt SS Supercharged new. It had 9 miles on it when it rolled off the dealer's showroom floor.

That car saw WOT to redline during the test drive. Several WOT and hard 1-2 shifts during the test drive actually. After I bought it and read the owners manual I still did some WOT, but only to 5500 RPMs. No highway steady state driving until after 1000 miles. Also drained factory fill at that time.

Just hit 150,000 miles this weekend. Runs great and uses zero oil between changes. Always used Mobil 1 and AC Delco filters.

 

[samven]

Actually trying to follow the book break in for 500 or 1000 miles is very difficult if you actually need to use the vehicle. I have always avoided the highway except for the on ramp acceleration and then off at the next exit. I look for steep hills and push it a little going up and then drop the tranny in 3rd and coast down the other side. I try to vary the RPM's as much as possible and attempt when possible to stop and shut the engine down for cool off. But I am usually to busy to keep this up much longer than 100-200 miles before it gets the daily grind. In 50 years of driving I only had 1 car that burned oil and that was a 66 Corvair that I bought used in 69. I think the take it easy notes in the owners manual come from a time when engines were hammered together at the factory and we were all running SB oil with 1 year 12k warranties. And any car over 30k was a beater sold to high school kids to try and keep running.

 

[Al]

At something over 100 miles I floored my '18 Forester XT (turbo)(took maybe 2 seconds to do it) kept it floored and let it shift 2 times at redline (did not release gas pedal) I did that several time every 100 miles or so. I still do it a couple times/week. I can not detect any oil use after 16,000 miles.

I did the same on my '19 Crostrek. After 11,000 miles same. No oil use. Noth these vehicles see redline very very frequently.

 

[buster]

I only read about good things from those that do a more aggressive break-in. They always report no oil consumption. I think babying an engine is bad.

 

[DGXR]

My take-aways for normal street cars:
Start with a car with good engineering. If new, dump the factory fill after 500 miles. Maybe do another early oil change before going to the regular service intervals. Use an oil that meets or exceeds the required spec, keep the oil reasonably clean and keep up on the normal service.
I am surprised that nobody said anything about operating temperatures. I always let the engine warm up before pushing it hard. I know the oil isn't hot yet at that point, but I usually can't wait that long.
I'm a bit surprised that nobody mentioned the importance of a good air filter, but also this video was more about lubrication and break-in and less about engine longevity.

 

[Surestick]

Originally Posted by krismoriah72
Do they break in cop cars?

I bet they pin them to the floor every chance they get.. and still live on to become taxis.





You don't see the engine replacements.

 

[PontiacHO]

With today's preset rev limiters and shift points (automatic transmission) I really don't think you can hurt an engine unless it's brought to max rev every start up especially cold. Rings and cylinder wall finishes in modern engines ensures almost instant seating of the rings after initial run in. There are different recommendations for 4 stroke outboard motors that state alternating RPS for the first 10 hours. Then run the [censored] out of it. Otherwise they "make oil". Allowing fuel past the rings if not seated properly. Cars enjoy the ability to decelerate that further ensures quick seating of the rings. Boats don't decelerate too well.