Performance Motor Break-In Procedure?

[AL427SBF]

Just curious on what the recommended break-in procedure is these days for a street performance motor, 10.3:1 aluminum 427 DART small block in my case. Manufacturer's 1st recommended oil change is @ 500 miles, sure no problem. This motor has been run in on the stand, but hasn't seen any load yet. As soon as I get the car road worthy, I'm going to put in Joe Gibbs BR and rack up some miles. I talked to the guys at Joe Gibbs and they said you want to give that motor a good workout and put it under a load to make sure you get your valves/rings seated properly. So far so good, consistent with advice I followed with a BMW sportbike making 170 HP, I hammered that machine up to redline multiple times in different gears after the 1st oil change @ 500 miles. That bike doesn't burn a drop of oil, I literally go 3000 miles between oil changes and I don't add any or see any oil consumption whatsoever. So, how do I translate putting the cobra through its' paces as Joe Gibbs recommends? Certainly climb some hills with it, but how hard do I push it and after how many miles right out of the gate?

[brobehr]

make sure you are up to normal operating temp before you start pushing it.
just my 2 cents worth.




brobehr

[mreid]

Drive it like you stole it early so it gets used to it. No reason to train it to be a p u s s y.

[Gaz64]

Every engine I've assembled is considered run in within the first day.

Don't baby it, don't free rev it, and don't over rev it.

An engine of that size with the right parts should see wide open throttle blasts to 5000 easy.

Generally speaking, the order would be top gear 30mph, accelerate to 50 mph WOT, coast to 30mph. Repeat 10 times.

What carbs and camshaft do you have?

[blykins]

Is it a flat tappet camshaft? That's the first question I would have and even if it's been run in on a stand, I'd still take it easy for a bit.

On the dyno, this is how we break them in.

Fire them up, set the carb and the timing. Put a very light load on them and run them for about 30 minutes. After that, I put a short pull on them to about 5000. Then I run the valves, do an inspection, etc. Then it's on like Donkey Kong.

In the car, you will want to follow pretty much the same procedure. I would drive it a lot on an open road, getting up to speed, then letting the engine brake the car back down to a lower speed. Let it climb back up and do it again. Keep an eye on the gauges and remember that when engines heat up, valve lash/lifter preload changes, so keep your ears open too.

[vector1]

i would change it after the run-in on the stand along with the filter and tear open the filter also to look for anything abnormal. put in some more conventional motor oil and filter and run it like you stole it. change at whatever you feel comfortable with after that. wouldn't be too excited about the change to synthetic until you get everything ironed out.

[patrickt]

I say drive the car reasonably gently for the first 500 miles. Transmission makers recommend that, clutch/flywheel makers recommend that, rear end makers recommend that, plus it will give you a chance to get used to the car. Driving it gently for the first 500 miles won't hurt your engine in the slightest (after it's broken in on the stand, of course).

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Old school guys always said,once you do the 30 minute or so break-in, change oil/filter after the engine cools down. Then get it up to temp and go on the open road, 3rd gear,go from say 2000 rpms to 5000prms with your right foot to the floor, then back off the gas and let it "coast down to 2000rpms, do this 10 times and your good to go.....
Did pretty much this with my 351-W built back in the mid 90's, still running as strong as ever today..........

David

[AL427SBF]

Thanks for the advice, not a flat tappet setup -

Comp Cams 35-426-8 Camshaft
Comp Cams 8931-16 Pro Magnum Roller Lifters
Comp Cams 928-16 Valve Springs
Ferrea F6202 1.600 x 5.060 11/32 Exhaust Valves
Ferrea F6207 2.055 x 5.060 11/32 Intake Valves

I'll run Gibbs BR right from the start, yes it will be warmed up good before I do any revving. I'll put 500 miles on it following the blykins/DAVID GAGNARD approach but will not go WOT to 5K right away, work up to it with a couple of 1/3, 1/2 and then 3/4 WOT runs. Once I get 500 miles on it, it gets an oil/filter change with more Gibbs BR and goes to Goodies Speed Shop for a chassis dyno session. After that, change over to Gibbs HR-4 or HR-3 and I should be good to go. Being all aluminum and clearances @ .0025 in a couple of cases (the rest being tighter), seems I'm on the bubble between HR-4 versus HR-3. Gibbs says HR-4 should be fine, blykins what do you think? Would also like to hear from Keithc8 who is very familiar with Gibbs oil.

[RICK LAKE]

AL427SBF Al Talk to Neil or George about breakin, for this motor. My list for new break ins is a little different than others,
Normal 10-30W oil. The motor should have all metal surfaces covered in prelube and or oil from build up. I remove inner springs and run a set of worn out low pressure springs. They are good for about 3,500 rpms and start to float. IMO the most important thing is getting the rings to breakin with the cylinder walls for good sealing and low leak down numbers. Oiling splash of the lifters and camshaft is next. This is a reason for not letting a new motor run at idle and time. Preoil the motor, drop in the distributor and fire it up. Go right to 2,000 rpms min and stay there for breakin. 15 minutes, turn off. Change oil and filter and do again with a good 10-30w or 10-40w oil. I would also add a bottle of oil suppliment from Lucas or EOS from GM to the motor. 500 miles or 4-6 hours on the dyno. Change the oil and filter, install the correct valve springs and keep the rpms under 5,000. Would let motor idle for no more than 1 minute and turn off. IMO idling kills solid cam or solid roller motors. After this time goto and oil you want. If you are racing, after every 2 events, new filter and oil changes are done. This is to prevent any motor issues. Cutting open filters, having a magnet drain plug in the oil pan, once a year bottom end check for play and clearance. All this has help me get 6-7 years out of a motor without any major breakage or damage.
Side note and this is an on going thing here, PREOILERS like an accusump, buy one and use it. I have been running one for 8 years and it,IMO has helped save my motors on the track. If you are not going drysump, than this is a cheap investment against your $17K motor for a long life. 2-3 quart. Rick L.

[blykins]

Originally Posted by AL427SBF

Gibbs says HR-4 should be fine, blykins what do you think?

Is this a race car or street car?

If it's a street car with a roller cam, I would run the Gibbs oil through the break-in procedure. After that, I would switch to an oil of your choice....I use Shell Rotella in all of my roller cam engines.

If it's a race car and you're looking for a few extra ponies, then I would continue to use the Gibbs oil.

[twobjshelbys]

The break in instructions on my Roush 427IR (Dart 351W block) were to use petroleum based 10W30 for the first 500 miles, run it at highway speeds AFTER warmup, and do like Brent said - accelerate, decelerate a little. I did it by visiting on/off ramps on the freeway for about 300 miles. After that it was local driving (which in our area is NOT city start/stop). There was something about keeping it under 5K RPM (which is something like, what, 140 in 4th?) It was hard not to go above that when starting in 1st and 2nd though Cobras are like real snakes - they like to strike fast

Then after the 500 mile change the oil and filter, and after that you can use synthetic. I use Mobile 1 10w30 and it runs great.

[grybrd123]

That's interesting. For my Roush 427SRX, I was told explicitly by Roush (not the dealer or installer) to use Valvoline 10W-30 racing for 3000 miles and then I could use synthetic if I wished.

grybrd123

[greg schroeder]

The 427 W I had was broken in very easy for about 1000 miles with easy warm up and varied lower RPM. The 10-30 oil was changed about every 500 to 1000 miles and proper octane fuel was used. Maybe overkill, but what's a few extra bucks for the fuel and the oil chang every couple months? After break in the warm up always included engine warm up temperature and the oil pressure drop before any spirited driving. The transmission is recommended to remain lower RPM and varied RPM by Tremec as well for 500 miles. The result was an engine that didn't smoke and ended up being one of the quickest street 427W ever put into a Superformance.

You can read about some other results of what happens when cars are pushed cold with new engines after people put then on dynos right away and/or take little care for break in. Generally improper fuel and general poor warm up procedures go along after the poor break in too. Just search some of the lengthy threads about the manufacturer warranty and how unsatisfied the people are with their engines.

Funny story too. My friend just bought a new Audi R8. The dealer told him the car is ready to run hard right away right off the lot. That's typical. We flipped to the break in procedure in the manual that came with the car. Guess what? Varied RPM, lower RPM, 1000 miles.

[AL427SBF]

Rick - Gessford provided some general engine instructions, they kept it pretty generic but covered the essentials: be thoroughly warmed up, don't let it sit and idle, don't lug it (be at 3K if you're going to put your foot in it), use a high quality detergent 30w or 40w racing oil, and recommend DEXCOOL coolant. I intend on going the pre-oiler route, let the debate continue on that subject but I'm sold that it is a good idea, even if overkill with the Gibbs oil.

blykins - It will be a street car with recreational time on the track. I intend to run Gibbs BR for the 1st 500 miles (and with at least 1 change to inspect for debris), then will go with Gibbs HR-4 or HR-3, don't mind the extra $$ for a little piece of mind (1270 ppm ZDDP).

[Mark O'Neal]

If you're not running a flat tappet cam...what is it you're breaking in?

[RICK LAKE]

Mark O'Neal Mark are you kidding or trying to learn something new???
If you are looking for an answer to your question, basicly EVERYTHING.
Piston rings and walls to polish and make a good seal for compression
rod and main bearings to breakin to new parts and loosen up
heat cycles for expansion and retraction of all parts.
camshaft and roller lifter to breakin patterns on the lobes
Even if the valves are lapped the valves still beat in to the valve seats for better sealing and again better sealing of compression
Motors are living, breathing, things. Rick L.

[vector1]

uhmm.... mark o'neal=probe pistons