7M GTE Break In *EDIT* ENGINE BREAK IN Questions

[The Juggernaut]

Breaking in a 7MGTE


Here is what we have so far:
-First 50 miles are important, run them non-stop. Nothing over 4000 rpm, no more than 75% throttle. Change oil.
-After first 50, drive the car. Not all out, but drive it hard. Get SEVERAL deceleration pulls (see post #8 for "definition") Continue this for the firs 1k.


Notes:
-No synthetic for at least the first 3000 miles.
-First oil change should be after about 50 miles, second should be around 1000 miles, if not sooner. First is so early because when you first rebuild an engine you'll still have the possibilities of contaminates and minute metal shavings from the machining process/assembly. You don't want that stuff running through your engine.
-The theme I'm noticing is deceleration pulls are a very good way to break in an engine.


STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO

Any engine builders in the house want to put in some good advice?

 

[hvyman]

the first 50 miles is crucial. hard and fast not over 4k. not over 75% throttle. run the first 50 miles non stop. change oil run the next 500 miles same way. change oil run same way for the next 1000 miles. at that point you can make the decision to run syn for the next 5000k or do another 1000k on reg same way then switch to syn. i wouldn't run syn till 2550k. i did a lot of research on this and that's what i have come up with.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
this is for bikes but the same principles are for cars.

im open for more opinions on this as i think i cant have too much info on this as its what makes or breaks your motor.

 

[The Juggernaut]

Thoughts on boosting? Try and stay out of it? Does it matter?

 

[hvyman]

boost up to 4k and not over it. you want to seat the rings not smooth the rings. drive it hard but not full out racing hard. just drive your car. and what i mean by this is not everyday normal driving, drive it hard. cars were meant to be driven so drive the dam thing just don't go full out on it till after its been broken in. then if you want to baby it or race it you should have perfect compression with perfectly seated rings. the break in period is basically seating the rings.

 

[The Juggernaut]

the break in period is basically seating the rings.

Right, I knew that much. I've heard so many different opinions on breaking in an engine. I've heard people say drive it soft, drive the shit out of it, and everything in between. I've heard no synthetic until after 1k and after 15k. I'm just trying to get everybody's take on the matter and possibly get some good info out there for anybody in the future.

 

[hvyman]

driving it soft you will have the possibility of smoothing out the ring and they wont seat good.

switch to syn anytime after 1500k miles. but just for added mental security i wouldn't till 2500k miles. but that's just me.

im sure other will chime in tomorrow. i would like to hear more opinions on this also.

 

[92nsx]

<-----First oil/filter change was after 5-7 min of idle light reving in the garage. Second oil/filter change was with 150 miles on the engine. Third was around 1K miles on the motor. Syn oil (redline) will go in some time when 4-5K miles on her.

As for driving, I took it easy on the engine for the first 20 miles (under 4K RPM, no boost). That was untill I spoke with figgie and a few other people that have built engines. After the first 20 miles it was full pulls (7 lbs of boost) and several deceleration runs in 3rd and 4th from around 5K to idle. Key words there several deceleration runs. Need good strong vacuum pulls on the engine That was the first, O I say 1K miles then came 11-12 lbs and drove like normal.

 

[The Juggernaut]

<-----First oil/filter change was after 5-7 min of idle light reving in the garage. Second oil/filter change was with 150 miles on the engine. Third was around 1K miles on the motor. Syn oil (redline) will go in some time when 4-5K miles on her.

As for driving, I took it easy on the engine for the first 20 miles (under 4K RPM, no boost). That was untill I spoke with figgie and a few other people that have built engines. After the first 20 miles it was full pulls (7 lbs of boost) and several deceleration runs in 3rd and 4th from around 5K to idle. Key words there several deceleration runs. Need good strong vacuum pulls on the engine That was the first, O I say 1K miles then came 11-12 lbs and drove like normal.

By deceleration runs do you mean getting up to a certain rate of speed (say 70 MPH) and letting off the gas and letting the engine speed slow you down? I'm going to assume downshifting while doing this is the best course of action?

 

[grimreaper]

^ yes keeping the vac as high as possible.

 

[kamikazemkiii]

how do u keep the vac high?
just letting the engine slow u down or downshift?

 

[The Juggernaut]

So what do we think is a good safe time for WOT? Why no synthetic right away?

 

[CajunKenny]

Something else to keep in mind is that you'll want to stay out of heavy boost (or boost at all for that matter) for five complete heat cycles. Then retorque the head.

 

[ma71supraturbo]

My method:

fill oil filter before installing it
pull efi fuse
crank engine for 10 sec, wait 10 sec (let starter cool), crank engine for 10 sec
plug efi fuse back in
start car up, let oil pressure come up.
while car is idling, get out and look for any leaks
get back in car, and drive gently around the block until engine comes up to full operating temp
Pull back in, pop hood and check again for leaks while idling
turn off car.
change oil/filter (still dino oil) (double all other fluid levels)

Now I like to break in my engines on mountain roads. IMO this is perfect because it you are constantly varying speed/rpm and load. I still try to stay out of heavy boost (I might do 5psi up a hill) but the goal here is varying loads going from engine braking to slight boost -- all while not maintaining the same rpm.

After ~50-100 miles I change the oil again, then once more after another 500 miles. After that, I don't really worry about it -- I pretty much just drive normally (no racing, but running full boost for short bursts is perfectly fine).

After that I pull the valve covers and check the HG torque (I've never had arps need to be tigthened) and double check the valve lash (PITA, but occasionally one valve will be just outside of tolerance).

 

[The Juggernaut]

What is the purpose of changing oil after only 50 miles, or in some folks cases, even less?

 

[apexi287]

What is the purpose of changing oil after only 50 miles, or in some folks cases, even less?

When you first rebuild an engine you'll still have the possibilities of contaminates and minuet metal shavings from the machining process/assembly. You don't want that running through your engine:nono:.

Deceleration/engine braking and vacuum is the key, remember the scratches from the hone are what help to seat the rings to the cylinder walls, they aren't deep it doesn't take long until the walls are smooth and then that's it your rings are seated. Drive it how your going to drive it, hard:evil2:! Boost is fine just don't over boost keep it low but don't worry about staying out of it too much.

 

[Rennat]

If you use assembly lube you probably wont get it all the first oil change... so after about 50 miles you should get all of the "other stuff" thats inside the engine...

i switched to synthetic after using castrol HD30 for about 600-800miles... (3 oil changes in this time period though)
and thats on probe .40 over pistons, titan head gasket, and arp head studs... ect ect...
now im on redline, and last time i did a leak down none of my cylinders were over 6-9&#37;...

but i went out and did 5, 3rd gear deceleration pulls... only brought it up to 3500 though (city streets). but after those 5 pulls i did a pull with about 4psi of boost but not for very long, just to make sure it held.

 

[hvyman]

you want to change the oil as often as possible because the rings will wear/ break in and there will be small amounts of metal in the oil.

i would say if your stock turbo stock boost, boost to 4k 2-4th gear then then engine brake down then down shift to 3rd(since you'll be in 4th)engine brake to 2nd down to about to 3k the boost up to 4k again to 3rd and 4th gear and repeat process. forgot about this part. good vacuum is great for the rings as you want pressure going both ways on the rings.

driving it slowly(i.e. staying out of boost) means your driving it slow and smoothing the rings= no no. break those ring in and seat them dont smooth them.

if he doesnt post here i would pm IJ.(name IJ.) about this he would give you the best answer as he basically knows his shit period.

 

[The Juggernaut]

Well I started this thread for info for my break-in that will start sometime next week, hopefully monday or tuesday. But I remembered I couldn't find much on this so I thought I'd just try and get as many people to post up info and to edit the OP so the it is readily available without too much reading. So keep it coming guys, I know you can only beat this horse so many times, but like I said originally; it seems like everybody has their own idea of how to break-in a new motor.

 

[gaboonviper85]

personally my first oil change would be after five minuets of idle...I'd never drive the car untill it's first oil change just to flush the system out!

Don't wait 50 miles to change oil and filter...it's not the best of ideas.

 

[92nsx]

Why no synthetic right away?

It is way to slippery, and dosent let the rings and valves seat in place. Look in the oil forum I believe Jdub has a few threads about it.