how to break in pistons???

[peon_slayer]

ok so i know this is a super frequently asked question but i need to be 100000% sure i dont #### this up, this is the determaning factor if i stay dsm or find a new hobby. i will be running manley i beam rods, oem crank, and wiseco standard bore pistons.


how am i supose to break these bad boys in? i need to make sure the rings are 100% seated and the new 16G turbo is flowing good at 5psi for break in..... or is that to low for break in ??? i know i am a total noob .

thanks jordan

 

[lacroixdp]

I break in motors like this:
Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

 

[toofast82]

The Motoman in the above post is pretty popular and worked great for many dsmers

 

[peon_slayer]

thanks i would still like others opinions too though but this looks like the one i would see logically working

 

[DSM_PWR]

1st 500 miles just regular driving... no WOT

Change Oil
*1st 50 miles
*2nd 200 miles
*3rd 500 miles

But then again companies like Buschur dont believe in breaking in motors, they break them in on the dyno and drive it like they stole it ..

People say its because you have to let the piston rings sit, but i believe the rings are set as soon as you fire it up...

People will agree/disagree... but im still going to drive regular the 1st 500 miles..

 

[habitatguy187]

A guy I know built a borg warner MONSTER and took it out the first time and ran it like a dog. I asked him "what about breaking it in?" to which he replied, "I just did."

 

[habitatguy187]

1st 500 miles just regular driving... no WOT

Change Oil
*1st 50 miles
*2nd 200 miles
*3rd 500 miles

This is one thing that my friend did do, he changed his oil like 4 times before 600 miles on the motor.

 

[1bad95tsi]

When i rebuild a motor i warm it up then retourque the head studs as your supposed to, then baby it for 100-200 miles after that change the oil and drive it like you stole it Good Luck

 

[peon_slayer]

thanks guys for the quick replies

i think what im going to do is drive her hard for the first 100KM change the oil, then be a little nicer the next 200km change the oil, then be even nicer to her and change the oil at 650km and call it good....

does that sound broke in???

and do i have to run low boost on a break in???

 

[hereitcomes]

this is a highly debated topic, but there is a small window as soon as you start up the car the first time. You have 15 miles for the rings to seat. You want to beat it, and let the motor know that THIS is what the piss getting kicked out of it is. If not, the rings may not seat correctly and when you DO in fact get on it problems can arise later.

 

[dsmfa9nutter]

Edit- Joe you bastard I was typing. ^

Don't baby it. You need to get on it to seat the rings. There is a short window of time you have before the cylinders/rings will glaze over and you'll eat oil like crazy, then your only option is to take it apart and rehone the cylinders and seat them in right. You don't have to beat the living shit out of it, just a few good pulls out on the back roads, don't forget to engine brake a little too, that'll help seat the rings.

 

[andy4g63]

Here is a link to what AMS suggests:

http://www.amsperformance.com/instructions/EngineBreakInInstructions.pdf

 

[donniekak]

Plenty of load and vaccum on the rings, and not really high rpms for about 5-10 miles does it. Change the oil after a 20 minutes at 2500 rpms in the garage, and then at 50, 250, and 1,000 miles. Then run synthetic. If you compare brand new rings to used rings there is a significant amount of materal removed from the used rings. That is them seating in to the cylinder bores.

 

[dsmmatt28]

Drive it like you stole it. Thats how my motor was broken in. 15,253 miles havent ran no less than 23psi on it. Its at 30psi no problems.

 

[Rob10_99]

Yes, Load, you don't need 8k rpm break in. Load will be whats breaking in those rings, and you do need to beat on it a little. It might burn a lil oil for the first few miles,

 

[My1GLaser]

I changed my filter after 20 min at 2500 rpm in the garage and the oil & filter at 20, 100 and then every 250 miles for the next 4 oil changes, but I am ridiculous. Follow the motoman to the "t" and you will be happy.

Keep it off the highway and don't run it at the same rpm for extended periods. I kept it below 6500rpm for the first 200 miles.

Let off the gas after accelerating and use engine braking, which puts you into a loaded vacuum and sucks the metal shavings right off the cyl walls.

I ran mine at 12 psi for 100 miles and slowly turned it up to 16 over the next 100-200.

I had perfect compression at 150 miles and it is still perfect at 6000!

 

[Evilimports]

So if your going to go beat the hell out of the engine to brake it in, do you let it fully warm up first?

 

[Turbocharged]

You will get many different opinions on this subject. However almost everyone agrees that you want the rings to experience a wide range of cylinder pressure.

My most recent engine break in (this is what I will do for every future build):
1. Warm the engine to normal operating temperature; checking for oil/coolant/intake leaks
2. Turn the engine off and change the oil to remove any material (and assembly lube) left from the build (I suggest using a magnetic oil drain plug to identify any metal in the oil during break in). Oil filter replacement is optional here.
3. Let the engine completely cool (24 hrs if possible).
4. Warm the engine to normal operating temperature.
5. Drive to a nearby parking lot or anywhere you can comfortably change your speed from 5-35 mph. While driving keep your eye on the boost gauge. Give enough throttle to make positive intake pressure then let the car decelerate under vacuum. Downshift during deceleration (engine brake) to prolong the vacuum.
6. After a few miles in a contolled environment (ie parking lot) move to the streets. Accelerate with 75% open throttle but keep the rpms under 6k. Decelerate under vacuum. Do not keep rpms constant at any time. Keep your eye on the boost gauge and cycle the cylinder pressure at all times.
7. After about 10 miles change the oil and filter. Check the magnetic drain plug.
8. Warm the engine to normal operating temperature. Drive as if you were tuning (100% WOT) but with a conservative tune. Keep your eyes on knock, timing, and EGT. Diagnose any knock immediately. Perform several 100% WOT pulls.
9. Perform compression check.
10. If everything looks good drive the car normally. Change the oil after 50, 100, 500, 1000 miles. After 1000 miles switch to synthetic.
11. Check compression after 1000 miles.

This method has treated me well.

 

[Defiant]

F A Q .