Starting a new engine for the first time?

General engine questions/issues that aren't specific to the other categories
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By teal_dx
- Wed May 02, 2007 2:18 pm #7122 I've heard a few different methods of break-in. Some say take it wasy for a couple thousand miles, some say give it RPM's.
The shop that built the block told me to take it easy for the first 50 miles.

For something I have put so much time/$$$ into, I am going to be careful and take it easy at first. Plus the clutch needs to be broken in (500 miles) before I can do any spirited driving. So that limits the ways that I can break in the engine.
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By ohDirka
- Thu May 03, 2007 1:22 am #7178 ive heard the same methods as you stated..with everything ive always broke in ive gone the take it easy route..some of my friends do the high RPM route with their supercross dirtbike motors the cost more than my car
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By Greasedmonkey
- Thu May 03, 2007 2:46 am #7185 im not sure how you break in a clutch...
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By ohDirka
- Thu May 03, 2007 2:52 am #7186 the only way i know to break in a clutch is to put miles on it
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By Greasedmonkey
- Thu May 03, 2007 2:55 am #7188 I dont see why you cant break it in while doing the motor that way. Your not being hard on it.
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By Jsa-SIR2
- Thu May 03, 2007 1:08 pm #7212 yer better safe then sorry, but thats going to be soooooo tempting :D
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By teal_dx
- Thu May 03, 2007 2:08 pm #7220 Ok what about Oil?

I've read to change the oil & filter after the first 10 mins of idling. Then what? On new dars, I''ve heard not to change the oil for the first 6000 miles. Does that apply to re-built engines? Or should I just change it right away after idling, and then every 3k miles?

Also... regular or synthetic? I know there's a few more HP to be found in synthetic, but I've never used it before. What's the advantage/disadvantage?
Does it make any difference which I use to break in the motor with?

By Thateguhate
- Thu May 03, 2007 2:11 pm #7221
teal_dx wrote:Ok what about Oil?

I've read to change the oil & filter after the first 10 mins of idling. Then what? On new dars, I''ve heard not to change the oil for the first 6000 miles. Does that apply to re-built engines? Or should I just change it right away after idling, and then every 3k miles?

Also... regular or synthetic? I know there's a few more HP to be found in synthetic, but I've never used it before. What's the advantage/disadvantage?
Does it make any difference which I use to break in the motor with?


always run non-synthetic the first 3k miles from what ive been told. Then you can change after.

By 915ASEtech
- Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:57 am #48765 The way I learned to break in an engine is as is: If it's completely new, such as a fully rebuilt/overhauled engine, then you must keep revs low. Not to exceed 4k-4.5k rpm and keep speeds of 60 mph or under for a break in period of atleast 500 miles. If it's a used engine, in my opinion, just race it already only if you have done its proper maintenance. This way you can determine if you got a good engine or not. :thumb:
Last edited by 915ASEtech on Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

By 915ASEtech
- Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:04 am #48767 All oils are the same as in what they are designed to do. Cool & lubricate. Difference? Regular oil is natural in a way, made from petroleum. Synthetic is manmade and has additives in them. In my opinion & experience, synthetic runs way cleaner & withstands higher temperatures causing it not to burn so quickly. I use Mobil 1 Full Synthetic Oil w/ Mobil 1 Oil Filter. I might be wasting my money, but atleast I know I'm protecting my investment.
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By LowTEC-Derbo
- Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:56 am #48781 I started my car with a wideband and tuned it realtime to idle with proper afr. Then I checked timing, valve lash (make sure it isnt ticking), coolant, leaks, made sure Fuel was proper, everything was in dandy order. After that, did a partial throttle tune without boost anyhting under 0psi. Broke the engine in for about 500miles. I used 10W-30 non syn oil for break-in. I had a magnetic oil drain plug and it had alot of sparkles on it. 2nd oil change I also ran 15w-40 delo400 oil (it was summer) and ran it again for 300miles. Double check for leaks from all gaskets and then did an oil change to 15w-50 synthetic. Dynotuned on the new syn oil and then replaced the oil after the dynotune.


Its been 20,000 miles on my rebuilt motor and everything is fine and dandy.
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By JDMD15B
- Wed Feb 18, 2009 8:41 pm #97288 i have never run anything other than amsoil full synthetic. ive never blown a motor because of it niether. as far as breakin every motor ive ever touchd was broke in by windin out to the top of 3rd gear and then engine breaking it back down to a stop and then do it agian 3 or 4 times.

my boy built an ls/vtec babyd it for 9xx miles then finally tachd it out and spun a bearing sooo.... id dog the hell out of it first.
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