So whats the procedure to break in a new engine with the turbo on? Stay out of boost for a while to break in (basically baby it), then tune it? Do a rough/rich tune and break it in with some boost so higher rpm's can be seen? Other?
12.6 @ 114.6 MPH
Pull the waste gate spring so it wont make much if any boost. Find a big open stretch put it in 3rd gear. Floor it up to 3000 rpm then coast down to idle with it in gear and without the brakes. Then go back up to 3 grand a couple more times the same way, then go to 4 grand and repeat. Keep doing that until you do a few pulls at redline then drive home normal and change the oil. They you're good to go, thats how racing engines get broken in, except they do their pulls on the dyno. the absolute worst thing you can do for a new engine before its broken in is drive a long distance on the highway.
1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by:
Kronos Performance
WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer
Thats going to be fun with an open dump. So far the only driving the new engine has seen is about 10 miles of city driving (kept at or under 3000rpm), which was unavoidable.
12.6 @ 114.6 MPH
Talk to your engine builder... Best advice I can give you.....
P&P Tuning
420.5whp / 359.8wtq
Engine break-in is one of those things that nearly everyone does differently. Essentially its a debatable subject. Whatever you do and the most common theme through all engine break-in procedures is to just be certain you are not holding the same RPM for any extended periods of time. They can be broken in just fine on the highway so long as you are making sure you are altering RPM levels whether through speed or gear changes. You also do not want to take it up to redline initially because components are still settling in but again even that is debatable by some builders. My personal builds, I allot a 500 mile period of break-in. Stay out of boost too because hammering in too early can have an affect on the rings and cylinder wall mating surfaces.
ASE Master Certified Automotive Technician
Threw my car on the dyno did around 20 pulls...drove it 500kms home. Minus the head gasket everything seems to be holding up for me. Got around 5000kms on the car since. All with various driving styles. I just figured I would drive it from the beginning the way I was going to normally dive it. I know everyone seems to have a different opinion on this subject.
I got the actual break in procedure, but what did everyone do about untuned boost? Take out your WG spring or do a rough/rich tune for when/if hitting boost?
12.6 @ 114.6 MPH
--Glowin Cavy-- wrote:I got the actual break in procedure, but what did everyone do about untuned boost? Take out your WG spring or do a rough/rich tune for when/if hitting boost?
Either get a base tune, or stay out of boost.
FU Tuning
Its easy just keep your foot out of the pedal. You can do normal driving without ever seeing boost.
ASE Master Certified Automotive Technician
Right, but how do you hit high rpm's without pushing boost? Besides removing WG spring...
12.6 @ 114.6 MPH
--Glowin Cavy-- wrote:Right, but how do you hit high rpm's without pushing boost? Besides removing WG spring...
Less throttle.
Considering you have an auto, you can't do this in "Drive", but you can hold a gear using the 1, 2, or 3 positions. This will keep the trans from upshifting when you don't want it to.
I have no signiture
Its all about throttle position. I can hit redline and stay well into vacuum. Less than 1/4 throttle and it usually will stay away from positive boost pressures. I know a guy who has been running his honda for 2 summers now and its not tuned. Not that I recommend it or would ever do it but his car hasn't blown up yet.
Some cars do run on "low" boost to break in. My friend bought a "low" boost blower setup for his crown vic that the guy only used to break in his race engine in his mustang.
1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by:
Kronos Performance
WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer
From the sounds of it you have very little experience with forced induction
It will make more sense once you start driving it. It's all about load and throttle position as several others have mentioned. Redline can be reached no problem without ever going above atmospheric pressure so long as you are limiting load by adjusting throttle position as the RPMs climb. RPMs go up and your foot should be slowly coming off the pedal to maintain vacuum. Try to stay below 5in/hg otherwise your TPS and MAP readings will start to conflict (untuned) and your car might get a little jumpy as ECU hiccups through trying to figure out why your so close to atmospheric pressure with less than 75%+/- throttle position. Just make sure you have a vac/boost gauge hooked up and you will be able to keep a close eye on it. I would get a wideband on there right away too so you can at least keep an eye on the two most important things while running untuned.
ASE Master Certified Automotive Technician
I wouldn't say that. Although based on my recent questions, I deff see how it seems that way.
I'm not very experienced with rebuild break ins. Also, My other cars I've boosted where auto, so I can't say I ever really noticed the throttle/boost relation. I generally thought it was more of an rpm relation. I more or less always notched the effects when under load. Wideband is of course in.
12.6 @ 114.6 MPH
turbo's are load based where as a supercharger is rpm based.
load is dependant on your turbo size: a small turbo will require less engine load(less engine throttle) to spin up where as a larger turbo will require more engine load (more engine throttle). since turbos are load based instead of rpm based, gear changes will effect this. as you shift up in gears the engine is working harder causing an increase in load. so your turbo will spool up later in first gear than it will in 5th gear.
as far as break in i would get the ecm tuned and then drive it for 500 miles under 4000 rpm with a break in oil, trying to fluctuate the rpms as often as possible. royal purple makes a nice break in oil. after 500 miles. change oil and filter. inspect oil to make sure there are no massive metal chunks. if all is good, then go all out at full rpm and full boost......
JOE L wrote: royal purple makes a nice break in oil
To be more specific(cus i read it wrong twice before i realized what he meant) they make an oil specifically for breaking an engine in. Never ever use a synthetic for brake ins.
Zs Z wrote:JOE L wrote: royal purple makes a nice break in oil
To be more specific(cus i read it wrong twice before i realized what he meant) they make an oil specifically for breaking an engine in. Never ever use a synthetic for brake ins.
We dont have a flat tappet cam and push rods. They whole synthetic thing was that it was too slippery for flat tappet cams to properly wear into each other correctly. In other words it was too good of an oil. We dont have to worry about that. There are specific break in oils but again they are targeted at much older engine designs.
1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by:
Kronos Performance
WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer
Such as high Zinc content!
All good advise again. I forgot to mention I only ever use dinosaur oil (conventional) for my break-ins as well. Some will debate whether synthetics have an effect on ring surface/cylinder wall break-in regardless of the cam system. I have always just used conventional oil for break-in as a safe guard and then after the 500 mile break-in I drain the conventional out and fill it up with Mobil 1 synthetic from there on out. If your engine is all still apart I HIGHLY recommend GM E.O.S. Assembly Lubricant P/N:88862586 for just about everything internally for a first time start up. Very light amount on the cylinder walls, drizzled on the cam lobes, rockers, bearings, you name it. I actually use this on any engine after tear-down/reassembly. If the part has been cleaned and dried it gets an E.O.S. treatment upon going back in. Last thing you want to do is scuff that crosshatching off in the first several thousand revolutions because of insufficient lubrication.
ASE Master Certified Automotive Technician
CaliforniaDomestics wrote:All good advise again. I forgot to mention I only ever use dinosaur oil (conventional) for my break-ins as well. Some will debate whether synthetics have an effect on ring surface/cylinder wall break-in regardless of the cam system. I have always just used conventional oil for break-in as a safe guard and then after the 500 mile break-in I drain the conventional out and fill it up with Mobil 1 synthetic from there on out. If your engine is all still apart I HIGHLY recommend GM E.O.S. Assembly Lubricant P/N:88862586 for just about everything internally for a first time start up. Very light amount on the cylinder walls, drizzled on the cam lobes, rockers, bearings, you name it. I actually use this on any engine after tear-down/reassembly. If the part has been cleaned and dried it gets an E.O.S. treatment upon going back in. Last thing you want to do is scuff that crosshatching off in the first several thousand revolutions because of insufficient lubrication.
x2 on starting with conventional oil for break in, then switching to synthetic.
FU Tuning
i removed on of my intercooler pipes and put a filter on it for my break-in. i ran 10w30 conventional oil and changed it every 500 miles for 2,000 miles then switched to 15w40 diesel oil for summer and 5w40 turbo diesel oil for winter . i started it and let it run for a minutre or two for the first start up. let it cool down. took it down the road until it warmed up again and started giving it hell. after 5 heat cycles i retorqued my head studs and i highly recommend everyone does. there was a significant difference in torque, got an extra 1/8 to 1/4 turn before it retorqued. i do things alot of other people dont, but i have been 20+psi for over 20,000 miles now and all is dandy
running rich? turn the boost up
I haven't had much of any time to drive it lately, but I've got about 12 miles on it thus far, but the studdering/vac fluctuations I was having seem to have gone away and all seems pretty normal now.
12.6 @ 114.6 MPH
TurboFire wrote:i removed on of my intercooler pipes and put a filter on it for my break-in. i ran 10w30 conventional oil and changed it every 500 miles for 2,000 miles then switched to 15w40 diesel oil for summer and 5w40 turbo diesel oil for winter . i started it and let it run for a minutre or two for the first start up. let it cool down. took it down the road until it warmed up again and started giving it hell. after 5 heat cycles i retorqued my head studs and i highly recommend everyone does. there was a significant difference in torque, got an extra 1/8 to 1/4 turn before it retorqued. i do things alot of other people dont, but i have been 20+psi for over 20,000 miles now and all is dandy
thats awesome, nothing like potentially overspinning/hurting your turbo
