so im getting my newly rebuilt motor in a couple of days and need to get oil plugs wires filter .... the works.

but what i was wondering is whats the best thing to get. i saw somthin about royal purple making a engin break in oil. should i use it?

and also have had three different stories on how to drive on the motor when i first get it.

1) don't go above 3k to 3.5k RPM's
2) thrash the crap out of it.
3) after idle for about 5 min. everything will already be broken in.

o and btw. its a z6 block rebuilt by bore and hone to 76mm. and zc aftermarket pistons. with new stock rods and new acl race rod and main berrings.

 

I think about the only everyone seems to agree on is do not run synthetic oil during the break in period. I've heard pretty good arguments both ways for the drive it like you stole it technique and the don't go above 3500 RPM technique.

 

drive it like you are told buy the person who built it.

 

You are never supposed to thrash a new motor. Why do you think all vehicle owner's manuals explain not to drive hard when you first get the car (i.e. no aggresive launches, no redlining, etc.)

Maybe it is different for a rebuilt motor, but to me, its common sense.

Talk to your engine builder.

 

BS.

Ring Seal happens very fast like with in the first hour of running .

If your engine specs are out of this world (turbo/tune/high compression something like that) tow it to get it tuned.

Other then that beat it like you stole it and use $10 5 quart jugs and $2 filters and change out after 10 - 20 miles of use.

Pull apart the oil filter and check for shavings.

 

Talk to the builder about all this. BUT one thing I do know is dont use synthetic oil for the breakin period, after that be my guest to use any oil (mobil 1 I prefer!!).

 

Bored out to 76mm, that is a pretty big bore in fact that must mean there isnt any cly wall left. sorry just thought that was funny, I am sure it was a misprint. I just cant imigane anybody driving the hell out of the car and expecting it to do anything but break. When I rebuild motors I usally tell people to just drive safe and not that they are limited to 3k rpms but dont rap it out to 8k or 6k in your case depending on how your head is built. usally going one oil change or 3k miles is a good safe bet and make sure to change the oil at 500 miles that way any left over deposits or anything from the rebuild can get flushed out and not run through the motor for 3k miles.

 

When i built my vitara d16, i didnt take it over 4200rpm for the first 1k miles which the piston manufacturer stated.

 

I have seen it 2 times personally where someone rebuilt their motor and went and thrashed on it right away and low and behold they blew their motors in no time.

my brother on the other hand did a complete rebuild when he put together his ls/vtec and did a very conservative break-in and it had no problems at all. for the first 500 miles he used a non-deterginated (sp) oil, then drained it and replaced the filter. for the next 2500 miles he used regular motor oil, then drained it and replaced it with synthetic and a new filter. he never engaged vtec the entire time and it ran great afterwards.

also during his break-in he did a lot of city driving, not highway. don't really know if it matters but we just thought it best to run it through a larger rpm range than just kepping it at a lesser rpm range. with highway you stay at a pretty consistent rpm but obviously through stop and go traffic there is a lot of variations in you rpms.

like the others have said, everyone has their own opinions but this is just what i have witnessed personally.

hope this helps you.

 

thanks guys. well i currently stay in houston and the car is back home in austin. i guess when i get it back ill drive it from the shop to my house in austin and to the store to get more oil. then ill change it and take it for the 180 mile highway drive.

also work school and home is all right off the interstate so its mainly all going to be highway miles.

o and yes it is a 76mm bore. 75mm is stock. and the pistons are NRP.

 

You mean Non-Detergent oil? Because other than ND30, most consumer motor oil weights (even the cheap ****) are have detergents.

 

That's right. thanks for the catching my mistake. i corrected it in my original post.

 

No problems. I just caught my own mistake ... "are have detergents."

 

i've never "broken in" a motor. and all mine are fine. ring seat happens very fast. within the first few miles of driving. once the rings are sealed you're good to go. just dont use synthetic oil. i use valvoline 10-30 and a wix filter from oreilly. my ls-t that makes 500hp now idled for about 5-10 minutes while we set up all the basemap and such. then we did some part throttle driving. then 12 pounds of boost!

just decel using the engine brake during y our break in. the theory is that the vacuum will pull all the fresh metal that comes off your cylinder walls out the exhaust. my motor still runs fine and it saw boost within the first hour of its life

motor:
stock sleeve stock bore b18a1
wiseco flat tops
eagle h beams
acl race bearings
manley springs/retainers
custom grind cams
polished head
golden eagle block guard
arp main and head studs
built by secret services auto

 

conservative driving and conventional oil change is your best bet here.

 

The way I've been told to do it, and have done both of mine are to start up the fresh motor and let it idle. Checking under the motor for any leaks and just keeping an eye on it and the temp gauge and let it idle until it hits operating temp and the rad fan kicks on. Then shut the motor off, check the oil and fluids, let it cool for about 30 minutes then start it up again letting it idle till the fan kicks on. Then after that starting to drive it relatively easy for 200-300 miles, change the oil. Then progressively let the foot get heavier from there.

 

x2

 

I talked to Earl Laskey about this and he said to run junk oil in it till operating temperature. Check for leaks while it's running. Verify oil pressure with a manual gauge. Shut it off and change the oil and filter. Go tune. It's really that simple. We aren't in the ring technology days were people used to use Bonami to break in rings

 

ok well ill get ahold of my builder. he builds and tunes cars all day long. so ill just se exactly what his cup of tea is and ill let yall know.

 

every motorI've everdone I use regular
(non synthetic) motor oil and changeitoverto synthetic in the first 300 miles of driving. I never go over 3500 rpms until at least 800-1000 miles are on the motor. Even with stock motors that sit for a year I break them in like this. My buddy just rebuilt his D16 and in the first 200 miles hadsome blow off but it quit. MOST IMPORTANT WHETHER BREAKIN THEM IN OR JUST DRIVING THEM, WHEN YOU FIRST START THE MOTOR NEVER REV IT OVER 2,000 RPMS UNTIL IT IS FULLY WARMED UP!!!!! I've stuck with that strategie for years and I my motors never haveburned oil ever since I started doing that procedure. Usually I start it up go in get ready to roll and but that time your good to go, but if you gotta roll in a hurry on a 30degreeday, jump in and don't take it over 2,000-2,500 RPMs. As soon as that gauge gets to normal operatingtemp, I'll redline it in every gear. thats why that redlines there, to show where its safe to rev to. I had an 89 Civic Si I sold to this dumb kid for 800 bucks cuz ithad rust and 230,000 miles, mind you it did not burn oil at ALL! Within a week that kidhad that car using a quart a week cuz as soon as he started it, he would redlinethe **** outof it.

 

I'm in the process of breaking in my rebuilt b16. I'm at approx. 300 miles right now and I don't go past 4k and let it warm up. I will be replacing oil at 500 and get a bit faster after that but little to 0 vtec...

 

Nice same thing I said almost.

That's all you're breaking in ''ring seal'' it's not a delicate slow process people unless you are following some manufacture recommendations on some (pistons / clutch) beat on it taking it slow doesn't do a thing it's an engine.

 

Well coming from a friend of mine who races professionally (both cars and motorcycles), assuming you did everything correctly, drive it hard to seat the rings and retain compression. One guy he knows took his bone stock e46 M3 from the factory and beat the **** out of it, took it to a dyno later on and put down 17whp MORE than every other factory E46 that day.

Manufacturers give you the break in period purely to save their asses from EVERYone beating the crap out of it, and having a higher chance of warranty issues.

 

Breaking in engines the hard way is not uncommon for motorcycle (sport/race) engines.
Not sure about car engines though.

 

i've blown one and i'm sure i'll blow another 3,blow-or-go