Nope just break it in, http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/fre...should-i-break-my-new-rebuilt-dsm-engine.html


im in the process of breaking mine in now.

this saturday i'm ready to do it , all is in place fresh rebuilt. and if never you could help me could be nice

iugrad92turbo said:

Nope just break it in, http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/fre...should-i-break-my-new-rebuilt-dsm-engine.html


im in the process of breaking mine in now.

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Jeeze, the tech advice on that first page of the thread is brutal to say the least.


You don't baby a performance engine during break-in. Fill it up with a conventional break-in oil(Brad Penn has some great oil) that has a high amount of ZDDP(But be careful, if you have a cat. converter, this could be detrimental to the longevity of the cat)...Fire it up and let it warm up to operating temperature. This gets everything fully lubricated, works the assembly lube out of the valvetrain and bearings, flushes out any left over machining crud, etc. You can check for leaks, adjust fuel pressure, and tune the idle a bit while this is going on.

Then you shut it down, change the filter, throw in some fresh break-in oil, and go straight to the engine/chassis dyno, race track, street tuning, whatever. Use it the way it's meant to be used. Boost, nitrous, whatever. After a solid session of tuning/whatever, do another oil/filter change and at that point you're about done. You can then switch over to your semi-syn or whatever oil you want to run. A quality race oil is always ideal...albiet a bit pricey.

If your engine is built at a reputable shop with an in-house dyno, they'll throw the motor on the dyno and do this before you even get to take it home.

Everyone has their own idea on how it "Should be done" based off of what some old-timer Mitsu tech said once, etc, but the above-mentioned method is the most common you'll see with reputable performance engine builders. We've done this with everything from budget street motors to big-dollar drag race motors, and everything in between.

Break in methods vary depending on who you ask. Both the easy break in and the motoman break in method work, it's up to you to research and figure out which is best for you or what you are most comfortable with.


For the initial start, I would just prime the engine first and then let er rip. You'll quickly find any leaks, misfires, etc and this is the best time to fix them.

I would take it easy for the first 100 miles or so.

motomattx said:

I would take it easy for the first 100 miles or so.

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I wouldn't...Unless you're trying to break-in a brand new ring & pinion or gearset at the same time. That's a different ballgame.


Properly seating the rings and valves are crucial. That won't happen properly without RPM and cylinder pressure.


To each his own I suppose...I guess just do what your engine builder tells you to do.

b00sted said:

I wouldn't...Unless you're trying to break-in a brand new ring & pinion or gearset at the same time. That's a different ballgame.


Properly seating the rings and valves are crucial. That won't happen properly without RPM and cylinder pressure.


To each his own I suppose...I guess just do what your engine builder tells you to do.

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I have always been curious about this as well after seeing The Motoman article. Old school guys say baby it 2000 miles. Hardcore new builder say run it hard to seal the rings fast from the beginning.
Boosted , do you think switching to synthetic like that would be too soon, i was told stay on conventional for first drain, then 300 mile drain, then 1000 mile, then switch to synthetic after that

b00sted said:

I wouldn't...Unless you're trying to break-in a brand new ring & pinion or gearset at the same time. That's a different ballgame.


Properly seating the rings and valves are crucial. That won't happen properly without RPM and cylinder pressure.


To each his own I suppose...I guess just do what your engine builder tells you to do.

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Agreed. I did an assload of research on my first build and decided I was going to break mine in "hard". I was running 10lbs on my s16g and boosting fairly heavily. 50 miles in my compression was still pretty low, turned the boost up to 21lbs and drove it like I stole it. At 100 miles I was a solid 155 in all 4 holes. I've used the same method on countless other builds with great compression.

Babying it doesn't work. Even the FSM states 30-60mph pulls at 50-70% throttle.

I beat the shit out of my motor for breaking it in, noticed it smoked a little ay first and that's when I was babying it then I decided to romp on it hard and it went away somehow, of the motor was built right I don't see an issue on beating on it for break in in my opinion.

I always recommend the hard break in method. Just preference for me ive had friends do soft break ins with success and I did a hard break in to compare. Both motors are running strong with no issues. Thats my .02 cents

I do alittle of both methods if that's possible ! I like to get everything together and prime oil let the car idle for a few minutes while checking over things, than get on the road asap. For the first maybe 3-5 miles I will try to only use the gas and less brake, just doing easy pulls and then letting the engine slow me down again. Then after that I will do a few somewhat hard and long pulls again letting the motor slow me down, and the rings have always set great for me usually around 10 miles I can feel and here the difference, then I change the oil at 30 miles and again at 800 miles, then back to normal changes. Just remember you have like around 20 miles to get the rings to fully seat, if you miss that window your pretty much screwed! I build all sorts of engines and my customers want them to run for years not just one or two passes down the track. So I take alittle extra time and care breaking in the motor so they will last. I just rebuilt a Vw golf 2.0 motor for my wife's car and using my method I could feel the rings fully seat around 8-10 miles and my first tank of gas got 31.5mpg!, so my method works pretty well if you ask me!

The long accepted method is an easy break in, your owners manual tells you to take it easy for a reason, they want it to last while its under warranty. Every engine that I have seen blown up with low mileage on it was broken in the beat on it method. That mototune guy is an idiot that is a nobody, he is an old man that put top ends in dirt bikes for the neighbor kids, he has zero credentials and the only reason that people want to cite him and his "method" is because your average kid that has a Dsm is lazy and impatient and want anyone at all to tell them that its ok to beat on things right away so that they dont feel wrong about being impatient Engine vacuum or load does not seat piston rings during break in, FRICTION does. The reason that you lose compression after getting an engine hot is from the heat taking the spring tension out of the piston rings, not lack of vacuum . Nothing has changed in materials since the small block Chevy came out, the Dsm engine still uses a cast iron block, aluminum pistons, steel crank, steel rods, and chrome plated rings, same as the 57' Chevy, so anyone referring to the easy break in method as "the old way" guess what? your bottom end is just as old as a small blocks technology wise so stick with what has been proven for decades.

Interesting read....

The way I see it you have nothing to lose by going easy on it for a bit - if use the hard break in method, there's always that chance or voice in the back of your head wondering...

Just my $0.02

motomattx said:

The long accepted method is an easy break in, your owners manual tells you to take it easy for a reason, they want it to last while its under warranty. Every engine that I have seen blown up with low mileage on it was broken in the beat on it method. That mototune guy is an idiot that is a nobody, he is an old man that put top ends in dirt bikes for the neighbor kids, he has zero credentials and the only reason that people want to cite him and his "method" is because your average kid that has a Dsm is lazy and impatient and want anyone at all to tell them that its ok to beat on things right away so that they dont feel wrong about being impatient Engine vacuum or load does not seat piston rings during break in, FRICTION does. The reason that you lose compression after getting an engine hot is from the heat taking the spring tension out of the piston rings, not lack of vacuum . Nothing has changed in materials since the small block Chevy came out, the Dsm engine still uses a cast iron block, aluminum pistons, steel crank, steel rods, and chrome plated rings, same as the 57' Chevy, so anyone referring to the easy break in method as "the old way" guess what? your bottom end is just as old as a small blocks technology wise so stick with what has been proven for decades.

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Have you read the FSM? It doesn't say to baby it. It say 30-60mph pulls at 40-70% throttle. That's not babying it.

Personally, I disconnected the waste gate for the first 500 miles, running 0 boost, then hooked it up for 10 lbs for the next 500. then up to 15lbs for about 300, then 22lbs

Agreed, and just check it at each stage, for noises, leaks...