Best Break-in Procedure

[serialk11r]

What do you mean by "the oil is the opposite"? Oil is always thicker at cold temperatures than warm. The goal is to get the oil to be as thin as possible when cold to prevent engine wear.

[carbonBLUE]

Originally Posted by Maxim

I saw somebody say something about not needing to let a car warm up anymore.


This is NOT true. You absolutely need to let a car warm up still. Think about it. Oil that is not warm is much thicker....using high revs on a cold engine is definitely bad for it, it stresses all the components far more than once the oil is hot.

I wont rev a car past around 3500 until the engine is warm.

yeah after the engine is properly broken in its not too bad to rev kinda high, most of the time when i just start the car, 4500 is about where i shift when i leave in the morning for work, 5 days a week for the last 2 years ive had my car
150,000 miles and still going strong

MMC cylinder walls help in the 2zz-ge when reving too high when cold

fuel cut off is at 6800 when my car is just started up, lol... warm 8450 is the cutoff lol...


which makes me wonder if the FA20 has MMC sleeves ...

[ZDan]

Multi-vis oil is NOT thinner at lower temperatures.
What 0W20 really means is:
At 0degrees C, 0W20 will have the viscosity that a 0 straight-weight oil would have at that temperature.
At 100degrees C, 0W20 will have the viscosity of a 20 straight-weight oil would have at that temperature.

A 0-weight oil is thicker at 0C than a 20-weight oil is at 100C.

http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub...l_Economy.aspx

Note that Mobil1 0W20 is 5X thicker (more viscous) at 40C than at 100C.

Multivis oils are still MUCH thinner at temperature! Just not as much so as straight-weight oils are.

[ZDan]

Regarding warm-up or not, it's not going to make much difference. Some weirdos used to INSIST on warming their cars up for 5 minutes before moving, now some INSIST that it MUST be warmed up by driving it (gently). But honestly you're not really hurting the engine either way. Just don't rev high or give it much throttle (high load) until it's warmed up.

[7thgear]

A 1983 Porche 944 owners manual states that you should not wait for the car to warmup and simply drive lightly for the first 2-3 minutes.

If a 30 year old Porsche says it's okay, i'm sure modern cars are okay with it to.

once you get oil pressure, you're good to go. Just dont redline and you'll be fine.

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

A 1983 Porche 944 owners manual states that you should not wait for the car to warmup and simply drive lightly for the first 2-3 minutes.

If a 30 year old Porsche says it's okay, i'm sure modern cars are okay with it to.

once you get oil pressure, you're good to go. Just dont redline and you'll be fine.

^ This.

Also, keep in mind that coolant temp (the gauge on your cluster) is NOT oil temp. It takes longer for the oil to reach operating temperature. Sometimes as much as 15-20 minutes. It's ok to drive, you don't have to idle, as per above, especially if you use a good synthetic oil. But don't hammer it until you've got some miles on the car.

[ZDan]

So it's agreed that a 1983 944 owners manual is gospel for all cars since?

Not saying that warming up by driving gently (low loads, low/mid rpm) isn't the best way to warm it up. It's what i do every day!

But it's going a bit far to suggest that letting the car idle for a while is going to do damage, which has been strongly suggested in some posts.

IMO, if you wanna warm the car up before you drive it in the winter, that's fine.

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by ZDan

So it's agreed that a 1983 944 owners manual is gospel for all cars since?

Not saying that warming up by driving gently (low loads, low/mid rpm) isn't the best way to warm it up. It's what i do every day!

Originally Posted by ZDan

But it's going a bit far to suggest that letting the car idle for a while is going to do damage, which has been strongly suggested in some posts.

IMO, if you wanna warm the car up before you drive it in the winter, that's fine.

the point is the ECU of 30 years ago were smart enough to adjust to ambient conditions, i doubt they have degraded since.

production cars were designed with the idiot driver in mind, turn key and go.


worth while to note i had a chance to talk to an owner of a Radical SR8, and boy does that thing have a complicated start procedure.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/55898600/2...-Owners-Manual


quote:

2006 Radical SR8 Owners Manual.docx
water/anti-freeze Starting Procedure
1.

Always start the engine with a laptop connected to the ECU so that all engine parameters canbe monitored during warm-up.2.

Check oil is visible in oil tank (aluminium casting between engine and gearbox). Check waterlevel, turn on electric water pump (if fitted) to check that the system is free of air (2
nd
switchfrom right, next to ignition switch). Actual oil level does not matter at this point, because anamount of oil has drained back into the engine
–
this returns to the tank when the engine isstarted.3.

Crank engine to get oil pressure with ignition coils disconnected.4.

Connect coils and turn ignition on. Start engine with no throttle, let engine idle atapproximately 2,000-3,000rpm. Check oil pressure is at 60psi minimum.5.

When engine water temperature reaches 50°C, rev engine several times to over 6,000rpmand turn off.6.

Immediately check oil level, it must be 250mm ± 10mm from the top of the filler neck
Restarting Procedure
1.

Ideally, the engine is started 45 minutes prior to going on track. Turn off when the watertemp. reaches 85°C and allow heat to soak into the engine. Restart 10 minutes before goingon track and get the temperature to 75°C.2.

The electric water pump is only used in the pits (if fitted). On track it is not necessary. Useelectric pump when the engine has stopped, to prevent engine from heat-soaking whilststationary. If no electric water pump is fitted, the engine must not be allowed to overheatwhilst stationary.3.

The oil level should be checked every hour of running and it should be topped up to the levelindicated above.
Running the Engine
Do not run the engine under load if:-a)

oil temperature is below 60°Cb)

oil temperature is above 120°Cc)

water temperature is below 60°Cd)

water temperature is above 100°Ce)

oil pressure when up to temperature at 4,000rpm is under 50psi.The oil pressure when the engine is started from cold should run at 90psi at 4,000rpm. When up totemperature the oil pressure should read 60psi at 4,000rpm

[carbonBLUE]

Originally Posted by maxeveland

Just thought I should revive this thread since now we know through the BRZ manual that the recommended break in is at 1000 miles with a 4k rev limit.

If you want to break in according to the manual, you can adjust the shift light to come on at 3800-4000 and leave it like that till you feel the engine is broken in properly

im personally going to 3000 miles before romping on it, so a month of where im not driving it fast... with occasional redlining after 1000 miles, 1-3 times every 500 miles till 3000...

[SkullWorks]

After a long internal debate and a couple chats with friends (I only know car people lol, except my GF who doesn't have or even want a car) I have a strange feeling hear me out... Based on the following...


1. the oil weight specified is 0W-20
2. Most OEM's break motors in on the assembly line
3. The BRZ manual ask for 1000mi break in
4. I'm not aware of any 0w-20 non-synthetic


I have a bad feeling that the factory fill is going to be Synthetic....

I don't want anything less than great ring seal and synthetic isn't going to do me any favors there during break in,

I'm heavily debating pulling the factory fill out of the motor at delivery, maybe even at the dealer, and filling it with some brad penn 5w-20 full dinosaur...

I have had/heard of no bad results breaking motors in with the brad penn oils and I live in So Cal so im not worried about the start up viscosity. I'll change the oil after 500mi and I will not be keeping it under 4000 I'll keep it under 6000 but the more I think about it the more I worry about the sacrifices that may have been forecast by the 0w-20 requirement (assumedly for fuel efficiency)

I'm not buying this car as a hyper reliable new car that's gonna get pampered, I fully intend to break this motor, I have cars that serve the commute function and while I'd prefer to commute in the BRZ (I think) I have already come to terms with the fact that it is going to see alot of down time especially this first year.

[carbonBLUE]

Originally Posted by SkullWorks

After a long internal debate and a couple chats with friends (I only know car people lol, except my GF who doesn't have or even want a car) I have a strange feeling hear me out... Based on the following...


1. the oil weight specified is 0W-20
2. Most OEM's break motors in on the assembly line
3. The BRZ manual ask for 1000mi break in
4. I'm not aware of any 0w-20 non-synthetic


I have a bad feeling that the factory fill is going to be Synthetic....

I don't want anything less than great ring seal and synthetic isn't going to do me any favors there during break in,

I'm heavily debating pulling the factory fill out of the motor at delivery, maybe even at the dealer, and filling it with some brad penn 5w-20 full dinosaur...

I have had/heard of no bad results breaking motors in with the brad penn oils and I live in So Cal so im not worried about the start up viscosity. I'll change the oil after 500mi and I will not be keeping it under 4000 I'll keep it under 6000 but the more I think about it the more I worry about the sacrifices that may have been forecast by the 0w-20 requirement (assumedly for fuel efficiency)

I'm not buying this car as a hyper reliable new car that's gonna get pampered, I fully intend to break this motor, I have cars that serve the commute function and while I'd prefer to commute in the BRZ (I think) I have already come to terms with the fact that it is going to see alot of down time especially this first year.

me too, ill be in japan with my race trim doing the same, ill drive a moped or a bike while i build it

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by SkullWorks

I'm heavily debating pulling the factory fill out of the motor at delivery, maybe even at the dealer, and filling it with some brad penn 5w-20 full dinosaur...

This was hotly debated on NASIOC when the new STI came out. I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to do this, but the dealer is 50some miles from my house. The rings will be more or less fully seated by then TBH.

[Kunzite]

Originally Posted by SkullWorks

I'm heavily debating pulling the factory fill out of the motor at delivery, maybe even at the dealer, and filling it with some brad penn 5w-20 full dinosaur...

[...]

I'm not buying this car as a hyper reliable new car that's gonna get pampered, I fully intend to break this motor, I have cars that serve the commute function and while I'd prefer to commute in the BRZ (I think) I have already come to terms with the fact that it is going to see alot of down time especially this first year.

If you want to break it, the fastest way would be to use no oil at all. I guarantee it will be broken in minutes
Just curious: why do you think a synthetic oil is unsuitable for breaking in?

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Kunzite

If you want to break it, the fastest way would be to use no oil at all. I guarantee it will be broken in minutes
Just curious: why do you think a synthetic oil is unsuitable for breaking in?

Synthetic oils are often referred to as being "slipperier" than conventional oil. That's not good for seating rings, if true. I've never bothered to verify one way or the other.