How To Break In Your Engine For More Power & Less Wear !

[boxerboy]

Controversial subject usually.

There's the manual description, then there's this theory.

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

Who writes the manual? Engineers, marketeers or barristeers? <_<

Edited November 27, 2008 by boxerboy

[pegaxs]

It all sounds about right. I race motorbikes and was a mechanic for 15 years. My brother is a race engine builder and engine reconditioner. He is also a fitter and turner. This method is how i would run in a new engine in a newer car. There is also a good point he makes with the difference between loading an engine and trashing an engine.

Most modern car engines are built using better materials and better tolerances then older engines were built with. This is how my 08 Aurion 3.5lt V6 has more power then a '78 Kingswood 5.0lt V8. (That and VVTI, double over head cams and fuel injection also help.)

Probably more important to engine life and wear is not so much the running in, but the use of a good oil. Most cars now tend to run an almost diesel engine oil. That means it is very high in detergent (not dish washing liquid) that has the ability to keep the inside of the engine clean. Diesels have high carbon deposits on the inside of engines, so it needs something that can wash that out and keep them clean. Try looking into a rocker cover of a diesel that hasn't had an oil change in a long time, and the oil looks like paste, not oil.

His guide sounds pretty well spot on. And in the event of anything going wrong with your cars engine, how are Toyota going to prove one way or another how you ran the car engine in ?

[DJKOR]

That actually does sound quite valid. It makes sense though. Kind of like wearing it in to withstand it's maximum output. I guess this is why Toyota says there is no specific break-in period. It does also seem like the wrong thing to do, but that's just from a general perspective.

I really had no control over my car and it's break-in period. I think that all comes down to the first person that hired it. Hmmm. What would they have done after seeing <100km on the ODO...

[Hiro]

That actually does sound quite valid. It makes sense though. Kind of like wearing it in to withstand it's maximum output. I guess this is why Toyota says there is no specific break-in period. It does also seem like the wrong thing to do, but that's just from a general perspective.

A lot of cars these days have effectively been run in before they even hand the keys over to you....so any "running-in" is irrelevant. However, it obviously does apply to freshly rebuilt engines.

[tekkyy]

I believe the situation its complex with so many variables

so in the end its different procedures for different purposes

follow the manual and you'll be doing what Toyota warranty wants, reliability

the product manager would have been shot if it wasn't written for that in mind

it also means it might have been written for 6 years reliability not 10 years if they had to choose between

as an enthusiast you might have other desires like max power

but I am suspicious of the alternate techniques written by people with "decades of experience" or whatever

due to the massive envolution of engines and still continuing today

Edited November 27, 2008 by tekkyy

[the_random_hero]

Whenever we rebuilt the doorslammer, top bike or top fueller engines, they were ALWAYS run in something similar to this - five minutes to warm up, then a couple of runs to the limiter to make sure everything is working, then a quick pull down and inspection. The engines are either going to be right to race with, or explode (as one of the bike engines did, just managed to move out of the way of a piece of head flying towards me).

[Freddo]

do toyotas really get delivered with the engine run in already?

i thought only honda does that.

[dave262]

You might also note that Toyota says to not idle the car for long either, and mentions specifically to start moving pretty much straight away. I still wait until the engine drops the revs down to about 2000 RPM before moving anyway, if only because I hate the lurch as I try to put it into gear when it is revving so high!

It does however surprise me that the car revs so high when cold though, as the article does mention that lots of wear can occur on the bearings when revving straight after the engine starts, as there is no oil in these locations temporarily. On cold starts the Aurion seems to jump up to around 2500 RPM or sometimes higher immediately after start! You would expect that there would be a 1-2 sec delay or something to get the oil moving...

[dave262]

do toyotas really get delivered with the engine run in already?

i thought only honda does that.

Toyota does this, but it has only been a recent change as far as I'm aware. That is why you don't need to change the oil so soon after getting the car, which you would have to do on most older cars (due to the buildup of metal filings etc in a new engine). This is also part of the reason that long term costs are kept down low, as services are only every 15,000km - as the engine was already clean initially and faults are found in the factory rather than being sent out.

[robie]

from my experience from working at ford with both general customers n police persuite vehicles u could tell the diffenece in perforamce between the cop cars n the general use car and the only difference between the 2 is the way there driven from birth thrash it from birth it will fly but for wear on the engine best thing to prevent wear is more regular services i know alot of people with commodores now every one knows they have rear main leak issues but the people i know service them every 5000km and they've never had ne problems with them so yeah that my little bit of input

[tekkyy]

You might also note that Toyota says to not idle the car for long either, and mentions specifically to start moving pretty much straight away. I still wait until the engine drops the revs down to about 2000 RPM before moving anyway, if only because I hate the lurch as I try to put it into gear when it is revving so high!

It does however surprise me that the car revs so high when cold though, as the article does mention that lots of wear can occur on the bearings when revving straight after the engine starts, as there is no oil in these locations temporarily. On cold starts the Aurion seems to jump up to around 2500 RPM or sometimes higher immediately after start! You would expect that there would be a 1-2 sec delay or something to get the oil moving...

wonder if there is a difference between 2k rev with no load and 2k rev moving the car

and how it all fits together that manual tell us not to idle and starting moving straight away