new engine break in

Corvettes ship from the factory with Mobile 1. As do many other high end vehicles.

Big Chris

David A. wrote:

Corvettes rarely work as hard as a working pickup. Most Corvette owners treat their baby like one & put few miles on them during their ownership. Sure, they DO get on them once in a while, but rarely. Factory built motors are run on test stands for a while to verify proper operation also. If it were mine, I'd break it in with non-synthetic first. I'd change over after the 2nd oil change.

Ok then, we'll also have to ignore that Cadillacs ship with Mobil 1, Dodge Viper, all Porsche models, Mitsubishi Lancer, Ford Mustangs, Aston Martins, Mercedes Benz (including the new 626 hp SLR) all ship with Mobil 1.

Do as you wish, it's your motor, but the above list is not granny's grocery getters type line-up where you stay off the throttle while owning them.

Big Chris

I have built many engines. Always break them in with regular oil,but change it again shortly after you run it. That get`s rid of all the cam lube. After the 2nd or 3rd oil change,then go to synthetic. My last motor I broke in at the drag strip.

Good. Take advise from a guy who blew up his motor. I used to know a guy who rode bikes. He always said "if your going to ride your bike slow, break it in slow... if your going to ride your bike fast, break it in fast." And his bikes always went fast....

GMC Gremlin

BTW, forgot to mention the "blow up his motor" bit was a joke....

GMC Gremlin

If you build it right,it shouldn`t matter how you drive it. I guess all mine have been built right, Cuz I drive them harder than most.

you don't buy a new chainsaw and cut twigs

Just get in the thing and drive it......seriously. Use regular oil if you wish for the first couple thousand miles...or just start out with synthetic. As Chris mentioned, many vehicles are factory filled with synthetic. "Breaking in" motors is really a thing of the past. I think the thing that most vehicle manufacturers want you to avoid is to buy a car, and then go on a 2000 mile trip doing 60 miles an hour all the way. The idea is to do many different type of driving in the first 1000 miles. And take it easy, but there is no need to be anal about it. If it blows up, it certainly wont be because it wasn't broken in "properly".

Ian

Hello David,

This is from an article written by Lee Swanger (of 6.2-6.5-dieselpage.com fame) referring to a diesel engine:

"In a brand-new or rebuilt engine, only the top compression or fire piston rings require break-in or seating. Everything else is ready to run. To break in the rings I put some significant combustion pressure behind them, forcing them against the freshly bored and honed cylinder walls. I warmed up the engine by driving an easy 45 mph for 5 miles, then gave it two half-accelerator pulls from 35 mph to 70 mph, and cooled it down at a steady

55-60 for a couple miles. Then I did it again, this time with about three-quarter pedal, and again, and again. I kept one eye on the oil pressure, one eye on the speedometer, one eye on the Exhaust Gas Temperature Pyrometer, one eye on the road, and one eye on the rearview mirror. The EGT never went over 1000 °F, but I "tickled" it a couple of times. Once back at the shop, we changed the oil and filters, and I was nearly ready to head back to Miami..."

My brother-in-law bought a brand new gasoline engine sub about 12 years ago and the instruction manual had break-in instructions similar to the above. We drove from NYC to New Hampshire starting after midnight and followed the break-in instructions. That 5.7 liter engine never needed a drop of oil between oil/oil filter changes for the next five years...

Good luck, Franko914

I'm not saying to ignore anything. Do you see any of these vehicles getting worked hard daily. I doubt it. New, expensive, performance vehicles rarely get worked hard. All the vehicles you named happen to be CARS. Call the Mercedes, Porsche, VW, etc. SUV's a truck if you want - owners don't use them that way. Car engines rarely work as hard as a truck. And you're right, it's my motor, & 235,000 miles on a '95 K1500 5.7L with no oil use between changes says what I'm doing works well, thank you.

Thanks for all the answers guys. I'm still not sure which oil I'll start with but I do appreciate the input.

I kept one eye on the oil pressure, one eye on the speedometer, one eye on the Exhaust Gas Temperature Pyrometer, one eye on the road, and one eye on the rearview mirror.

Humm.........really like to meet this guy.......seems he has at least five eyes. :-)

The above break in advive seems right to me; unless anyone strongly disagrees with this, I'll do about the same. Still plan to hold off on the heavy lifting for a while. I can't see any benifit to the engine by lugging 1 1/2 ton of gravel right away.

The EGT

Dave