what makes you so sure those first 600 miles are critical.


its the first 20 miles that are really critical.

 

I was told by my dealership to open it up because of the rings. After reading the manual I saw 600 miles until you let it loose. According to the link it says the first 20 miles are crucial. I have 250 miles on my car....is it too late to break it in by running it hard?

 

is it normal for the car to smell like burnt aftyer running it ?

 

^^yes for the first coulpe hundred miles

 

i was told i need to ADD oil once a month like a qt...?
my car has 642 miles and today i ran it a little hard for a few mins and when i pulled up in parking spot while waiting for it to cool off it smelled like burn from where the grille and intercooler are..

 

The mototune method posted above is the preferred method of most professional engine builders. 95% of breakin occurs in the first 15 minutes, if the rings aren't seated properly in that time period, they will never fully seat. I've used that method for years and never had a problem.

 

I saw just run the stuffing out of it from the get go. Start doing 6k drops on the clutch while riding the brake. Shift every gear at rev limiter.* JK, good advice posted her.



*Not responsible for damage should anyone actually follow my "advice".

 

so what's the final opinion about "break-in" on here? i've read all the posts here, but i'm at 275 miles now and don't know if i should start punching it, or take it easy like the manual says. i was talking to a guy last night that said to just run the hell out of it for 20 miles and that would have the rings set better. i don't know what to do, i don't wanna destroy my engine or anything...

 

The thing is, if you let the engine warm up completely (about 15 mins of driving to get the oil warmed) you are fine. Most damage done to the engine is when it's being beaten on when the car is cold.

 

i would def. take it easy past 600 miles, then slowely being to squeeze for power here and there. after your 1000 miles oil change, i think you are set to do at you please but remember its a new car, it going to need at least a few miles to be "really" broken in - so dont beat on it i would think

 

^^yea you would think, but you dont know for sure, so dont give advice. If you baby that ***** for 600 miles, you are doing nothing good for your rings/cylinder walls. You need to put load on the engine to expand the rings into the cylinder walls to get them to bed. Taking it easy for 600 miles will see the rings just passivley moving up and down in their bores, you need the explosive force of the combustion proccess to get in there and PUSH the rings out against the cylinder walls.


Greg

 

What? Who told you this? If you have to add oil (and the oil was fine before you checked it) it mean you are burning/leaking oil -- that is not good. The burning smell is normal, and ok. The metal and whatnot has some coatings on it from being made, that smell is just those burning off. A TBE can do the same thing when new.

Does:
--make sure the factory alignment is to spec
--check the fluid levels right when you buy it (note levels)
--change the oil after the break-in

Donts:
--drive it too hard in the break-in period
--Jon (of TRE) and I spoke for a good while on TCs and break-ins. I did not start dragging or launching my car (05) until I was way past 10k. I was actually at 20k and just changed my perfectly good clutch for the ACT unit. Then started racing. The longer break-in for the drivetrain returns less issues with failures.
--use any oils or fluids that are not spec or approved for oil/drivetrain

 

normal

 

That is true. This method is ONLY after building a motor. All manufacturers know this and do this method. Do any of you guys really think that a company would just build a motor, put it in the car and ship it out? After they install the motor and accessories on a car, they put the car on a dyno to make sure that the rings and internals seats properly. This is probably one of the reasons that alot of people had problems with their Evos when it first came out (misinformation). I repeat, that Motoman method is only for brand new motors.

 

+1 to ex-honda. GM, Ford, DMX, whatever. One of the last stations on the line is an awd dyno - no a hp dyno just a rolling wheel one. They run all the cars to full temp. and check over the whole car for build defects. Our motors come pre-run through this method.

(if I was going to work the line - this would be a fun station -- but Id rather be a test driver )