alright guys I am just putting back together a d16z6 for my crx I had

crank turned
rods resized
new bearings
head milled
light pnp on head and y8 intake mani
block guard installed
ARP head studs
cylinder walls honed
new Timing Belt, Water pump and all new gaskets
new rings....yada yada yada

but yeah this is my first motor I have ever put together and I tried to be really clean careful and get everything torqued right. Tapped all the holes and chased all the bolts.......I need some suggestions on what to do to break this sucker in to make sure the rings seat properly and I really don't want to mess this thing up.....please let me know any helpful suggestions you guys got and please don't tell me to search thanx guys
Casey

 

ive honestly heard to break in a motor do redline pulls and let the rpms drop back down
without braking and do this repeatedly. i dont remember where i read it at and i know it sound kinda stupid but there were alot of supporting factors why it was good.

 

Seriously though, search.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1354266

It's even in the EF forum too...

 

doesnt look like you built a performance motor, so drive it nice for a few hundred miles, change the oil and then you should be good to go.

I don't believe in the redline theory, its very controversial. Very tight clearances and a lot of heat = no good.

 

It's easy to break in a engine.
Shoot it with a shotgun couple of times.
Then get a pry bar/ big hammer and start hitting it like there no tomorrow.
kick it with a steel toe shoe and you should be able to get in.



But ->
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1354266

 

Don't do the redline pulls. Engines need to get used to the new parts. It's been proven for race engines, but yours i seriously doubt is a race engine. do a 1500... yes i said 1500 mile break in. start off only goin to 3k on the rpms for the first 200 miles, then increase half a "k" each 200 miles after that. You can start at 4k if you want but the best way to do it is to take baby steps.

 

if i were you, i would just run the car normal, no high reving. Try to keep the car running different speeds. as in freeway driving and regular street driving.

 

 

 

what i suggest you doing is going to 3,000 revolutions till ur on 5th gear and downshift to 2nd gear quickly and pull on the e-brake ! . . . MUHAHAHA j/mz . . . nah im just bored right now but what i remember about breaking a engine is to keep below 3,000 rpm like a regular d16 automatic transmission till you reach 500 miles then after that take it to another 1,000 revolution till 25,000 miles is put on and thats when you have a free smoothly engine running . . . clutch should be gripping still

 

You need to use conventional 30 weight oil non detergent, the cheap stuff. This will seat the rings properly. This process on a street driven car can take up to 500 miles approx. I would change the oil & filter once you see that oil is not still being burned in exhaust, it will be clear, instead of bluish or dark gray. Do not use synthetics as they will not allow the rings to seat properly in a timely manner. As far as going easy on the motor, if you didn't rebuild the head with a new cam you can go wild after rings have seated in bore. The cam is the main thing on a new head that requires you go easy.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by UltimX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's been proven for race engines, but yours i seriously doubt is a race engine.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly what is the difference, besides the type of parts used, compression, etc? All engines function the same, and the same fundamentals of pressure and cylinder loading apply to every one.

For everyone who says break it in easy, what is your reasoning? And "because that's what Honda says to do" is not the right answer, because Honda doesn't tell you everything...

 

Race engines usually consist of high powered engines that need to be rebuilt within 30,000 miles. Does yours fit that bill? Unless you have money to burn, then sure, go for it. I'v had people who have done that high reving solution and it works, but it puts wear on the parts real quick. The difference is a lot, stronger engine parts for race engines is the thing that is mostly thought of when I think of a race engine. Built to withstand high rpms when the engine wasn't designed for high rpm useage.

The reason I say to not put a lot of stress on the engine components is because of wear, with greater wear, the engine life doesn't last as long. Havn't you heard the term, "RPM"? Ruin's Peoples Motors. Things like rings, bearings, and what not you decide to change is my reasoning for it. I never said "honda said to do it."

Do what you want to break in your engine, this is what I have done and what someone who builds race engines and understands what wear does told me to do. They told me what works for them and it sure works for the other people who have tried it. They also have rebuilt there engine doing the same process and the engine has lasted them over 200k. Then again this is just my opinion.

 

This is a Touche Subject. Expect to be more confused After everyone replys than you are now. GOODLUCK

I Think The best way is to keep the motor Under 4000 RPMs for the first 300 miles, using straight 30W. Not leting the motor Stay a One RPM for a long time. Then after 300 miles start taking them higher ( gradually). After 500 miles Change your oil, to whatever kind You plan to use. i Recomend Mobil1 10w-30. after that you pretty much can do what you want. lol.

Thats the way i do it. I hear you can drive it like crazy to break it in cuz that what the race cars do. However ive always felt if you want the mileage they get then do it there way. They dont keep those motors long at all. So Breakin isnt really all that important to them. Id be afraid of washing the walls, and the rings never seating right. doing it that way.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by drdisco69 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
For everyone who says break it in easy, what is your reasoning? And "because that's what Honda says to do" is not the right answer, because Honda doesn't tell you everything...</TD></TR></TABLE>

The reason is to Give the rings more time to seat properly. Going ***** to the walls Right out of the box. Will lesson the chances of them seating properly.Plus its easier to wash the walls, when the car is running uber rich, cuz its at WOT.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by UltimX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it puts wear on the parts real quick. The difference is a lot, stronger engine parts for race engines is the thing that is mostly thought of when I think of a race engine. Built to withstand high rpms when the engine wasn't designed for high rpm useage.</TD></TR></TABLE>

What parts wear quickly? The rings? Good, we need them to seat properly in the first few miles, otherwise they may not seat completely around the circumference. What stronger parts would be affected by this high RPM? The pistons? Not really, they don't have metal to metal contact. Bearings? If you want your bearings to break in, you're looking to rebuild the motor in 5 miles.

The only thing that really does any breaking in is the rings. To do this, they have to press against the cylinder walls. Does feathering the throttle and running it to 3000rpm do this? Of course not, there's a huge vacuum going into the cylinder and it can't load the rings properly. The way to seal the rings is with cylinder pressure. The way to generate cylinder pressure is to apply high throttle angles.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MENACE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The reason is to Give the rings more time to seat properly. Going ***** to the walls Right out of the box. Will lesson the chances of them seating properly.Plus its easier to wash the walls, when the car is running uber rich, cuz its at WOT. </TD></TR></TABLE>

The rings don't need time, they will accomplish 90% of their maximum sealing in less than 20 miles. But if you're not pressing them into the walls, they won't seal evenly and completely. Relying on ring tension to seal them results in an incomplete break-in, as the rings don't have a 100% uniform stiffness all the way around. And as far as running rich, if the car is tuned properly, you won't be running all that rich anyway, it probably shouldn't be more than 12.5:1. This isn't rich enough to wash the walls down, and if you're running richer than that, it's your own fault.

 

I agree with the "easy does it" approach for the first few hundred miles. The rings will seat pretty quickly, but the whole "just to make sure" approach has yet to fail in my book. The guy that babies his ride for the first 500-1000 miles will statistically have less problems down the road (after 50k miles or so) than the guy that did the redline break-in. If this is a drag racing motor, don't worry about it because you will tear it down and rebuild it after a few thousand miles anyways.

This is the same process used when I built my old Chevy motors for drag racing and street use. I always made sure that each motor had a specific use and a specific break-in procedure to compliment to desired useage. If I were to go to the strip later in the evening, I just swapped the street motor out (2 hours, easy pullin) for something more appropriate (big block, perhaps?). When I got back home, I put the street motor back in.

If this is your DD, be cautious and use the easy does it approach. You will be happy with the end results and get a better feel for your motor with lower end torque and power settings while breaking it in.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by drdisco69 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

What parts wear quickly? The rings? Good, we need them to seat properly in the first few miles, otherwise they may not seat completely around the circumference. What stronger parts would be affected by this high RPM? The pistons? Not really, they don't have metal to metal contact. Bearings? If you want your bearings to break in, you're looking to rebuild the motor in 5 miles.

The only thing that really does any breaking in is the rings. To do this, they have to press against the cylinder walls. Does feathering the throttle and running it to 3000rpm do this? Of course not, there's a huge vacuum going into the cylinder and it can't load the rings properly. The way to seal the rings is with cylinder pressure. The way to generate cylinder pressure is to apply high throttle angles.

The rings don't need time, they will accomplish 90% of their maximum sealing in less than 20 miles. But if you're not pressing them into the walls, they won't seal evenly and completely. Relying on ring tension to seal them results in an incomplete break-in, as the rings don't have a 100% uniform stiffness all the way around. And as far as running rich, if the car is tuned properly, you won't be running all that rich anyway, it probably shouldn't be more than 12.5:1. This isn't rich enough to wash the walls down, and if you're running richer than that, it's your own fault.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree 100% evrey motor I build gets broken in hard, Let the car get up to temp, take it to 9k in second and let the engine slow it back to 2k for about 10 pulls. For the next 100 miles I beat on it pretty hard using 30w non detergent oil. After 100 miles I switch to redline 10w30 synthetic or german castrol 0w30. I do this with every motor I build or rebuild. My motors burn 0 oil and have great compression numbers, and are running perfectly, some with over 100k. The key is seating the rings in the first few miles and having the proper af ratios. Bearings dont break in, they ride on a film of oil, if you think they nead to wear into the crank then you have improper clearances.

 

A lot of things have metal to metal contact. You just don't know it. I seriously don't think al lthe shavings on the bottem of the oil pan are from the rings, if you think that, boy, you are sure ignorant. believe it or not, a cam does need break in time also, aswell as pistons, rods, valve tran, the works.

You seem pretty set in on what you are saying so i'm not going to argue and try to differ you from what you believe. I'm just sharing the knowledge i have gained.

 

well guys I am really appreciating all the input since I am pretty ignorant since this is the first motor build......I can see where everyone is coming from with the " run the **** out of it" and the "baby it" approach.......I am learning alot thanx guys
Casey

 

http://www.importbuilders.com/breakinarticle.htm

Go here. This is how importbuilders.com breaks in their motors. Read the entire article.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by UltimX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm just sharing the knowledge i have gained.</TD></TR></TABLE>

As am I. Not trying to start a fight, just giving advice from my experience.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Falcon7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Go here. This is how importbuilders.com breaks in their motors. Read the entire article.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That tells about how to avoid blowing up the motor due to running lean, and infers a certain breaking procedure, but doesn't come right out and say it. They do mention flooring it, lots of throttle, things like that though. But the piston scoring part is an example of things not needing to break in because they shouldn't be touching to begin with. That's not to say that there isn't a *tiny* bit of wear on the pistons, but on a well build motor, it's not something you should be tip toeing around.

 

Ok, so anyways... read the article on importbuilders for a proper break-in procedure...

We just did this exact procedure on a built B18C and it has been running fine for months.