im not sure if this has been discussed before. The following site describes how to break in a motor by running it hard..not babying the motor. ALot of motorcycle people break in their motors this way. Dan over at DPR recommended this break in procedure as well so thats what i did for the motor i juss put in. Ive only put under 100 miles on it so far so i really cant comment. here's the link if anyone is interested in reading up on. Tell me your opinions on what you think.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

Rather interesting. I'm glad I don't have to worry much about it because I never buy new cars I've heard this elsewhere. Still, Nissan knows about their engines and doesn't recommend this approach. Part of that could be though because they don't feel comfortable asking the average joe to go WOT on their car at any point in time. Could open them up to a lawsuit if some clown runs his car into a bus stop.

I have to take issue with him telling a person to drain out the synthetic if the car comes from the factory like that. Vipers come factory filled with synthetic and I can't imagine that Dodge doesn't know exactly what's best for that engine.

 

The only thing that "breaks in" is the cam shaft.
A 20 minute no load run at mid RPM's is all you need to break in an engine.

Then drive it like you stole it!

 

What about the piston rings wearing in on freshly honed cylinder walls?

 

It's a common sense thing if you ask me. Unlike people in the race business, we don't have the luxury of tearing down a motor after every use. Personally, I would baby something that is new. There is no magic number, just use your head. When you put new brake components in, do you slam on the brakes immediately to break them in? When you install replacement parts for a Kohler faucet, do you just turn it on and off repeatedly to get things seated properly (nowadays the ceramic cartridges do leak eventually, imho the valves were much longer-lasting) or are you gentle on it at first? Due to leasing I think there is a lot of disregard for taking care of things.

 

Good question Ben, I don't have that answer. My brother builds motors and races, were talking V8's that make upwards of 850HP - NA. (Under 5 second 1/4 mile times in a rod). All of his race buddies and the engine builders he's hooked up with always say the break in period is only for the camshaft. I don't know the reason or theory behind any other parts in the engine, especially the piston rings and cylinder walls, but I do know exactly what the "Big boys" do. My brother held the fastest Pontiac big block powered car for 2 years in the east coast. He's well known in the drag racing community. He's never had an engine failure, and he usually always wins the race. His engine break in is and always has been 20 min. at app. 3000 RPM's with no load. Then it's off to the track for a win. The last car he built over last winter won the first time it went down the track. The owner took home a check for $2500 bucks, fastest car in it's class for that day.

Believe me, the guys my brother is hooked up with know their stuff and he's been involved with drag and stock car racing for over 16 years. I'd rather listen to their advise and guidelines over a person who races their daily driver.

 

One more point, have you seen what the cylinder walls of a VQ motor look like with 100,000 miles of ware and tare? If the engine has been cared for, you can usually clearly see the cross hatching still on the cylinder walls. So whats breaking in or wearing in?

Hopefully the initial seal that the piston rings make never changes from the first second the engine is fired up.

Another rule of thump top engine builders have is you always change the cam and lifters as a set. Even in a completely "broken in" engine, if the cam and lifters have been changed, it's run through a break in period again, just as if it's a new motor even though only the cam and lifters have been changed.

 

my friend recently bought a new 350. they told him if he babied it he would get a little better gas milage and a little less performance out of it, if he broke it in hard hed get a little worse gas milage (2-3mpg) but better performance for the life of the car....

 

When nissan replaced my motor, I asked around and got a lot of people suggested breaking it in that way. So I basically drove it pretty hard to red line and let it engine break quite a few times in 2nd gear. 20,000 km later and the motor is running smooth as hell and doesn't burn any oil.

 

And how many 2nd owner maximas were bought by grandma, and never drivin hard until 60k miles.

 

I'm not a big fan of that article because while today's engines require little if any break in, a clutch or automatic transmission do. Brand new OEM street clutches in manuals and automatic clutch packs and seals DO REQUIRE that you go softly on them for 500-1000 miles and I'm not talking about shifting hard at WOT either. Overworking these parts can spell a very short and expensive life for your transmission. This guy is trying to apply what he's learned in motorcycles to that of any type of engine. Case in point, motorcycles don't make squat for torque and they weigh next to nothing therefore most OEM clutches can handle the abuse plus they're very cheap to replace. A street car on the other hand is the complete opposite. There is a lot more force working against the transmission in a car. PERIOD. Also, this guy builds race motors therefore the trannies he uses will typically have very grabby and basically unstreetable clutches. Now if he was trying to convince me of this break-in procedure with a fully built LS1 with a fully built 4L60E automatic in a 3000lb chassis, then I'd say he's right on the money. But for a street car using basically stock parts? No way.

I would never recommend using very light throttle as a way to break in a motor and tranny, but going all ***** out is rediculous for a street car. I'd recommend using part throttle acceleration during most of the driving and then at times holding second/third and winding the motor out 500-1000rpms short of redline along with nice lift throttle shifts for the first few hundred miles. Change the oil after 1000 miles and you're done.

 

dave: you are smart

 

hummm maybe i missed it but i got the idea that he wasnt telling you to mash on the car but not breaking it in by light throttle the whole time.

also, while advice from a top engine builder that wins 5 sec 1/4 mi races all the time seems good, but is it entirely applied to street cars? those guys dont keep their engines for even 1/10 of the time we do in our street car.

 

My car went over 140k before she was driven hard at all. My dad never romped on the car all 13 years he owned it (1988-2001). I was the first person to play dirty with it.

 

I would definitely advise that you change teh oil within the first 1000km (~700miles) if you break it in this way...some technically inclined guys told me to change my oil multiple times within the 1st 1000km but I just did it once.

 

That's me! 2nd Owner for two weeks, bought by my Grandma and never driven past 3000RPM since I bought it at 64000km!

I guarantee the car never surpassed 3000RPM with Grandma. Can I save my slow (but beautiful) Maxima by trying the same break-in technique? Please help! Since this is slightly OT, I'll post a new thread in the 4th Gen forum.

 

You know, it would be telling if somebody knew what the super car manufacturers suggest for breaking in their vehicles.

 

I've been told the same theory by an engineer that has recently worked for Honda and raced their cars in 1/4 competitions and rally events. He just rebuilt his turbo 2L Cosworth engine and did the same "250-mile" agressive break-in. He also did this with his 2L S2000, 350Z, and 2.2L S2000, however he doesn't keep cars long enough to tell what long-term effects would be.

I'm still not convinced though and drive like a granny until 1K miles, then medium throttle jaunts for 3-4K, and then drive it like I stole it from then on.

 

Why would you need to break in your motor, after that much mileage your motor is as broken in as its ever going to be

 

Having agressively broken in two different brand new VQ engines and then swapping one for a Grandma broken in VQ I can say the latter seems to have been better. Or at least in my case. My second engine felt as if it had a bit more power at the exact same mileage. However that could have been the result of many other things. And because of that I am a firm believer in a 10k mile dino oil break in period for VQ engines.

But for engines that are already broken in it is good to give them a healthy dose of Italian Tuneups to keep them performing well. I have seen this proven dozens of times over the years and now I see it on a daily basis.

 

Sorry gentlemen, didn't mean to pull this thread OT. I did post my Grandma Maxima question on the 4th gen forum. SR20DEN please PM me with your list of "Italian Tuneups". Your first-hand experience on this matter would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

Umm "Italian Tuneup" is an expression which basically means drive it like you stole it. An engine that occasionally driven hard will run smoother, get better mileage and perform better. I have solved many running problems on customers cars simply by beating them up a little.

 

Haha....I should have told that to my customers back in my Valet days.

 

Thanks doc. Why can't all prescriptions be this fun?

 

I definately agree with that.

 

yep, I beat mine up once in a while... though lately with the PR CAI and the B-pipe, it's become more than "once in a while"

Back when I didn't have my own car and had to borrow my mother's car, I noticed the car ran really well when I was driving it, partly due to me doing tuneup work on it. Anyway, after I got my own car, she drove it like a granny and very sparsely. I had to drive it once, and I noticed right away it performed like crap. A few days of me driving it and it was back in shape

 

I totally agree.