hoffman
08-28-2002, 07:36 AM
this is an old post from jeremy helling way back in the day. enjoy
There are 8 MAJOR rules, followed by several
more pointers.....
If you want your vechle to last longer, make more
power (and for a longer
period before wearing out), increase fuel economy,
increase the resell value
and have less mechanical problems, follow these
recommendations.....
1. When starting a new (below 2000 miles) and cold
engine, don't let it idle
after you start the ignition. Drive off immediatly
after starting, slowly,
making sure to shift under 2000 rpms until the
temperature gets to normal on
the gauge. This does two distinct things. It gets the
oil moving from the
pan
and into your motor quicker which means less wear
(higher oil pressures).
Also, this allows the motor to warm up quicker which
means less wear per
start up (98% of all wear happens at start up).
2. If possible, the best break-in can be accomplished
taking a short (30-50
mile) trip. If the car or truck has less than 100
miles on the odometer,
stay
below 55-60 mph and vary your rpms (using the #3
"Pyramid" scheme below). I
would also recommend putting 8oz. of Marvel Mystery
Oil in your gas tank at
the dealership before they fill your gas tank. This is
an excellent anti
scuff, light bodied oil which helps seat the rings
more evenly and aids in
lubricating the upper cylinder area which needs extra
lubrication when the
engine is tight and new.
3. There are different wear percentages at different
road speeds (mph) and
different engine speeds (rpms). On your break-in
*trip*, I would start out
at
50 mph for 30 seconds, 52 mph for 30 seconds, 54 mph
for 30 seconds etc etc.
However, it's important that you do not exceed 2300
rpms for any extended
period (max shift speeds). Adjust your speeds
accordingly. If possible, you
can exit the highway and drive at slower speeds in
lower gears as well
(optimal). Engine wear is much more accelerated during
break-in, which will
taper off after a certain amount of wear in time. Try
cruising at 1500 rpms
for 30 seconds, 1750 for 30 seconds, 1800 for 30
seconds and then 1600 for
30
seconds, 1700 for 30 seconds, 1850 for 30 seconds.
Occasionally, slowly
depress the gas pedal until you reach the maximum rpm
limit (again 2300
rpms)
and SLOWLY let off the gas so that the vehicle coasts
back down to 1500
rpms.
This raises cylinder pressure and squirts oil into the
upper cylinder area
which needs that added boost. Do this maybe 4-5 times
during your first tank
of gas.
4. I would follow the above until you need to fill
your gas tank up with
your
second tank of fuel. Use another 8oz. of Marvel
Mystery Oil and fill up.
Then
follow the the procedures again, this time hold your
engine/road speed for
45
seconds to 1 minute instead of changing speeds every
30 seconds. I would
also
do an additional 3-4 coast downs. After you use 1/2
the tank, At this time
it
would be beneficial to try a new trick. At 40 mph in
4th gear, SLOWLY (to
minimize gear lash in trans and rear end) depress the
gas pedal until it is
to the floor. While accelerating count to 5 and hold
that speed for 6-7
seconds. Then SLOWLY let off the gas pedal and allow
the engine/truck/car to
coast back down to 1500 rpms in 4th. The acceleration
portion of this
technique helps seat the rings and helps shear any
abnormal wear patterns
that may have developed during unavoidable stop and go
traffic. The coast
down just adds more lubrication into tight places
inside the engine. Do this
3-4 times during the 2nd tank of gas. After the 2nd
tank of gas DO NOT use
Marvel Mystery Oil.
4. Try to avoid driving your truck/car on short trips,
like to the local
grocery store or Blockbuster video. If you have
another vehicle, drive it
and
save your new vehicle for longer trips. Try to avoid
stop and go traffic, as
this is the main WEAR enemy of a new engine. Also, if
it is below 50 degrees
or above 85 dgrees, it's best to use another vehicle,
but some people don't
have a second vehicle. This will keep uneven wear to a
minimum.
5. At the 500 mile mark, I would change the oil and
filter. Contrary to
popular belief, modern day cars and trucks do NOT come
with any kind of
special break-in oil. When changing the oil, use a
high quality petroleum
based product (preferably 5w-30). DO NOT USE A
SYNTHETIC OIL at this time.
Because of the increased lubricity (slipperiness) of
synthetics, it is not
recommended you change over yet. During break-in,
there is such a thing as
good wear v.s. bad wear. After 2000-2500 miles the
good wear should end and
hopefully the bad wear won't catch up to you for a
couple hundred THOUSAND
miles! Using regular petroleum oils during break-in
ensures you get the
proper amount of "good" wear. This good wear means
parts fit together better
and ensure there are no gauling of metal parts (such
as pistons, bore,
camshaft lobes etc) which leads to wearing out quicker
in the long run. This
also means less friction, less heat and guess what?
More POWER (heh heh).
The
main reason for the early oil change (after 500 miles)
is that the increased
wear of the break-in procedure leaves millions of
microscopic metal
particals
floating around in your engine. Some of these bigger
particles will be
trapped by the oil filter, but some of the smaller
particles will be
suspended in the oil which is still circulated
through-out. I normally
change
my oil at the following intervals:
500 miles (oil and filter)
1200 miles (oil and filter)
2000 miles (oil and filter)
3500 miles (oil and filter)
every 3000 miles thereafter
I would wait until you get 5000 (or even more) miles
on your car before
switching over to a quality synthetic oil. I would
change your transmission
fluid and rear diff. fluid at 10K miles.
6. During your medium to long road trips, it is
beneficial to pull over,
stop
the engine, pop the hood and let the truck/car sit for
30-45 minutes for
every hour of driving (again, if you can). This lets
it cool down. The warm
up/cool down cycle works to meld all the parts
together better. The
expanding
(hot) and shrinking (cooling) of all metal parts is
necessary for longevity
as well as extracting all the potential horsepower
your engine has.
7. Your transmission and rear end need a good
break-in too. This is
important for those of you who want to put as much
horsepower to the rear
wheels instead of losing it to "Drivetrain loss".
Friction and heat in the
transmission robs power that would otherwise make it
to the pavement (we all
want as much rear wheel hp right?). Think of your
transmission as this big
box with a bunch of gears meshing together. When new,
the transmission
creates more friction and more heat due to the mating
surfaces being
"sharp".
As the gears and splines wear in, they will fit better
together which
reduces
friction which in turn decreases driveline loss and
increases efficiency.
8. NEVER just follow the recommendations in your
owners manual. There just
isn't enough information there to make a difference.
Do you think the auto
manufacturers want their cars to last forever? Not
hardly. The
manufacturers,
build their cars to last a couple/few years so you
will come back and buy
another one. If it lasted forever, they would have a
hard time selling cars!
And whatever you do, don't believe the old hype that
you should "run the
vehicle during break-in like you intend to run it
after break-in". That's a
MIFF.
There are 8 MAJOR rules, followed by several
more pointers.....
If you want your vechle to last longer, make more
power (and for a longer
period before wearing out), increase fuel economy,
increase the resell value
and have less mechanical problems, follow these
recommendations.....
1. When starting a new (below 2000 miles) and cold
engine, don't let it idle
after you start the ignition. Drive off immediatly
after starting, slowly,
making sure to shift under 2000 rpms until the
temperature gets to normal on
the gauge. This does two distinct things. It gets the
oil moving from the
pan
and into your motor quicker which means less wear
(higher oil pressures).
Also, this allows the motor to warm up quicker which
means less wear per
start up (98% of all wear happens at start up).
2. If possible, the best break-in can be accomplished
taking a short (30-50
mile) trip. If the car or truck has less than 100
miles on the odometer,
stay
below 55-60 mph and vary your rpms (using the #3
"Pyramid" scheme below). I
would also recommend putting 8oz. of Marvel Mystery
Oil in your gas tank at
the dealership before they fill your gas tank. This is
an excellent anti
scuff, light bodied oil which helps seat the rings
more evenly and aids in
lubricating the upper cylinder area which needs extra
lubrication when the
engine is tight and new.
3. There are different wear percentages at different
road speeds (mph) and
different engine speeds (rpms). On your break-in
*trip*, I would start out
at
50 mph for 30 seconds, 52 mph for 30 seconds, 54 mph
for 30 seconds etc etc.
However, it's important that you do not exceed 2300
rpms for any extended
period (max shift speeds). Adjust your speeds
accordingly. If possible, you
can exit the highway and drive at slower speeds in
lower gears as well
(optimal). Engine wear is much more accelerated during
break-in, which will
taper off after a certain amount of wear in time. Try
cruising at 1500 rpms
for 30 seconds, 1750 for 30 seconds, 1800 for 30
seconds and then 1600 for
30
seconds, 1700 for 30 seconds, 1850 for 30 seconds.
Occasionally, slowly
depress the gas pedal until you reach the maximum rpm
limit (again 2300
rpms)
and SLOWLY let off the gas so that the vehicle coasts
back down to 1500
rpms.
This raises cylinder pressure and squirts oil into the
upper cylinder area
which needs that added boost. Do this maybe 4-5 times
during your first tank
of gas.
4. I would follow the above until you need to fill
your gas tank up with
your
second tank of fuel. Use another 8oz. of Marvel
Mystery Oil and fill up.
Then
follow the the procedures again, this time hold your
engine/road speed for
45
seconds to 1 minute instead of changing speeds every
30 seconds. I would
also
do an additional 3-4 coast downs. After you use 1/2
the tank, At this time
it
would be beneficial to try a new trick. At 40 mph in
4th gear, SLOWLY (to
minimize gear lash in trans and rear end) depress the
gas pedal until it is
to the floor. While accelerating count to 5 and hold
that speed for 6-7
seconds. Then SLOWLY let off the gas pedal and allow
the engine/truck/car to
coast back down to 1500 rpms in 4th. The acceleration
portion of this
technique helps seat the rings and helps shear any
abnormal wear patterns
that may have developed during unavoidable stop and go
traffic. The coast
down just adds more lubrication into tight places
inside the engine. Do this
3-4 times during the 2nd tank of gas. After the 2nd
tank of gas DO NOT use
Marvel Mystery Oil.
4. Try to avoid driving your truck/car on short trips,
like to the local
grocery store or Blockbuster video. If you have
another vehicle, drive it
and
save your new vehicle for longer trips. Try to avoid
stop and go traffic, as
this is the main WEAR enemy of a new engine. Also, if
it is below 50 degrees
or above 85 dgrees, it's best to use another vehicle,
but some people don't
have a second vehicle. This will keep uneven wear to a
minimum.
5. At the 500 mile mark, I would change the oil and
filter. Contrary to
popular belief, modern day cars and trucks do NOT come
with any kind of
special break-in oil. When changing the oil, use a
high quality petroleum
based product (preferably 5w-30). DO NOT USE A
SYNTHETIC OIL at this time.
Because of the increased lubricity (slipperiness) of
synthetics, it is not
recommended you change over yet. During break-in,
there is such a thing as
good wear v.s. bad wear. After 2000-2500 miles the
good wear should end and
hopefully the bad wear won't catch up to you for a
couple hundred THOUSAND
miles! Using regular petroleum oils during break-in
ensures you get the
proper amount of "good" wear. This good wear means
parts fit together better
and ensure there are no gauling of metal parts (such
as pistons, bore,
camshaft lobes etc) which leads to wearing out quicker
in the long run. This
also means less friction, less heat and guess what?
More POWER (heh heh).
The
main reason for the early oil change (after 500 miles)
is that the increased
wear of the break-in procedure leaves millions of
microscopic metal
particals
floating around in your engine. Some of these bigger
particles will be
trapped by the oil filter, but some of the smaller
particles will be
suspended in the oil which is still circulated
through-out. I normally
change
my oil at the following intervals:
500 miles (oil and filter)
1200 miles (oil and filter)
2000 miles (oil and filter)
3500 miles (oil and filter)
every 3000 miles thereafter
I would wait until you get 5000 (or even more) miles
on your car before
switching over to a quality synthetic oil. I would
change your transmission
fluid and rear diff. fluid at 10K miles.
6. During your medium to long road trips, it is
beneficial to pull over,
stop
the engine, pop the hood and let the truck/car sit for
30-45 minutes for
every hour of driving (again, if you can). This lets
it cool down. The warm
up/cool down cycle works to meld all the parts
together better. The
expanding
(hot) and shrinking (cooling) of all metal parts is
necessary for longevity
as well as extracting all the potential horsepower
your engine has.
7. Your transmission and rear end need a good
break-in too. This is
important for those of you who want to put as much
horsepower to the rear
wheels instead of losing it to "Drivetrain loss".
Friction and heat in the
transmission robs power that would otherwise make it
to the pavement (we all
want as much rear wheel hp right?). Think of your
transmission as this big
box with a bunch of gears meshing together. When new,
the transmission
creates more friction and more heat due to the mating
surfaces being
"sharp".
As the gears and splines wear in, they will fit better
together which
reduces
friction which in turn decreases driveline loss and
increases efficiency.
8. NEVER just follow the recommendations in your
owners manual. There just
isn't enough information there to make a difference.
Do you think the auto
manufacturers want their cars to last forever? Not
hardly. The
manufacturers,
build their cars to last a couple/few years so you
will come back and buy
another one. If it lasted forever, they would have a
hard time selling cars!
And whatever you do, don't believe the old hype that
you should "run the
vehicle during break-in like you intend to run it
after break-in". That's a
MIFF.