Best Break-in Procedure

[Marrk]

^^"Counterproductive" is what threw me. It sounds like you meant "unnecessary."

Honda and, I think, some other OEMs are recommending leaving break-in oil in for the first 7,500 mi. Seems like more frequent early oil changes would get rid of bits of metal, etc. Then again, another school of thought says that, given the way engines are now built, there really isn't much metal thrown off during break-in. Your statement about discernible cylinder cross-hatching on 250k mi. engines may support that notion.

Just thinkin' out loud here.

[Prof1ig8tor]

Marrk,

Yeah, I still run an oil change at 5 hours in my aircraft and 500 to 1,000 miles in my vehicles (if something I really like) to flush anything that is in there out. I even consider doing that with the other drivetrain fluids as well.

Brand X had a batch of torque converters sourced from Mexico which had metal left in them from their manufacturing processes. When installed they fouled the transmissions in short order. Obviously it was a warranty deal for the manufacturer, but who wants the hassle?

[Marrk]

^^About 8 or so years ago, I converted to being an oil changer. Do it early and do it often. At that time, I could find no one who had even heard of "break-in oil from the factory," including techs at the dealerships.

In 2007, I bought my first Honda, and right there in the manual it said, "Don't change out the oil from the factory until 7,500 mi." I was puzzled because the hard info on break-in oil was still scarce. I thought perhaps Honda was trying to keep the eager beavers from running full synthetic in the engines before it was time to do so safely.

Your post above about dispersants makes sense. And is consistent with some of what I have heard about factory oil, e.g., "It's just mineral oil. Nothing special."

[Future]

As far as for oil, most 2011-12 turbo AND non-turbo Subarus come with synthetic oil directly from the dealer... With high compression, totally new engine, etc.. I'm taking a guess that the FB20 will come with 0W20 syntec too.

FSM says to change oil only at 3k miles then 7500...

[Longhorn248]

Very interesting thread. I plan on simply following what the owners manual says with regards to a break in period and being religious about letting the engine warm up sufficiently before pushing it too hard. It will be fun to see the differing opinions if a regular use engine oil thread gets started. There always seems to be multiple camps that are all set in their ways when comparing organic, synthetic, and blended oils.

[Marrk]

I agree, Long'. Engine oil is a much-discussed and fun topic. Sometimes, the subject becomes as mysterious and mystifying as the kabbala.

Hardcore engine oil dudes will want to get on Bob the Oil Guy's forum. Believe it not, there is such a thing. (Has it already been mentioned?)

[Longhorn248]

Originally Posted by Marrk

I agree, Long'. Engine oil is a much-discussed and fun topic. Sometimes, the subject becomes as mysterious and mystifying as the kabbala.

Hardcore engine oil dudes will want to get on Bob the Oil Guy's forum. Believe it not, there is such a thing. (Has it already been mentioned?)

I think it's been mentioned a couple of times. I've gone over there in the past to try and become a little more educated on the subject, but I just got more confused Well, not necessarily more confused but there are certainly a ton of viewpoints and information to digest.

[Marrk]

If you are going into any oil discussion, you have to be prepared for more conflict than resolution.

I've been thinking about it for ten years. The "Is there such a thing as 'break-in oil'?" question alone is monumentally difficult to get a certain answer on.

Good luck. And keep distilled beverages handy. :happy0180:

[JFC]

For me personally all the new/rebuilt engines ive ever had its all the same procedure for me.

Find local/nearest freeway/motorway, accel hard in 3rd from 2000>6000rpm then engine break, always let the engine brake by itself back to 2000rpm then repeat, seats the valves better, or so im lead to believe.

Do this 30-40mins every 2nd or 3rd day, regular driving in between.

Approx 500miles drop the oil, add fresh stuff and away you go.

And yes always drive light footed till at normal operating temp. Or at least the cold start features turns off, which you can normally tell because at idle the rpms are at 800-900 instead of 1100-1200rpm.

[ahausheer]

Here's an idea, listen to the people who actually know stuff. For example, real scientists such as the ones at Toyota and Subaru who have had millions of dollars at their disposal and spend their whole career studying the exact thing we are discussing. Just because a well read/well written mechanic sounds like they know what they are talking about doesn't mean they are right. Until someone presents a scientific study that shows breaking it in hard is better I will follow the owners manual.

[cossey]

I run development programs for fuel injection equipment and after treatment for one of the Tier I OESs and it involves running alot of engines on dynos both for durability and emissions testing. We get crate engine in direct from the car manufacturers engine plants. they have already been hot tested at the end of line which involves pumping hot coolant and oil into them then firing them up. this happens at every manufacturer that I know of as no one wants to wait till the engine is in a car to find that there is a problem.

We then stick full synthetic oil in, warm the engine up at low speeds and increasing load (this is still higher load than can be easily achieved in a vehicle) till everything is up to temps. Double check pressures and temperatures then run a full load power curve. The engine is then run in at high speed and load for ~5 hours then the power curve rechecked. normally the first curve will be 5-10% down on rated power the second will normally be high.

The first oil change is 50 hours then 250 hours after that. we have tried breaking them in gently but they always end up taking far longer to get to the correct power levels and they don't last as long.

[Marrk]

^^Thanks for this post, cossey.


Just to be clear: What do you recommend that we do with our street cars?



OT: Nice Megane.

[ahausheer]

Cossey thanks for posting, much appreciated. I am curious what doesn't last as long when the engines have been broken in gently and what gently means. Also it sounds like your break in procedure is far more extreme than what one could achieve in a road car. I wonder if on passenger cars what we are referring to as breaking it in hard would actually be considered gentle within your programs thus not really making a difference?

[Marrk]

Originally Posted by ahausheer

Cossey thanks for posting, much appreciated. I am curious what doesn't last as long when the engines have been broken in gently and what gently means. Also it sounds like your break in procedure is far more extreme than what one could achieve in a road car. I wonder if on passenger cars what we are referring to as breaking it in hard would actually be considered gentle within your programs thus not really making a difference?

Good point.