Highway driving during break in miles (1 Viewer)

[Moby]

I've been putting a mix of driving in so far, mostly around town, stop and go up to 45, with some limited time at highway speeds (keeping it under 60). No hard stops or starts, no towing.

Based on weather I may have to take the truck on a drive across WA for a bike race this weekend and then down to Oregon early next week. Generally I try to avoid extended highway cruise miles during break in. I will likely be around 500 miles by the weekend. I can take my Golf R, which is AWD and fine in light snow (all season tires), but doesn't have the clearance for an actual storm. One trip isn't worth compromising the break in, but I'm debating whether I'm being too paranoid.

Thoughts?

 

[Madtiger]

Just vary your speed by 10-15 mph every so often with your adaptive cruise.

 

[04UZJ100]

Just vary your speed by 10-15 mph every so often with your adaptive cruise.

Better idea would be to just change gears.

 

[stonepa]

Take the off pavement route. That’s what an LC is made to do.

 

[tominboise]

You're being too paranoid. Drive it and vary the speeds on the freeway every now and then.

 

[Madtiger]

Better idea would be to just change gears.

Isn’t varying engine speed the main idea behind break-in for the seals etc.? Not so much working out your transmission.

 

[bloc]

Isn’t varying engine speed the main idea behind break-in for the seals etc.? Not so much working out your transmission.

Changing gears does change engine RPM without having to cause a hazard by speeding up and slowing down on the freeway.

 

[Moby]

You're being too paranoid.

Yeah, that pretty much sums me up Of course WA schools in the greater Seattle area just closed through 4/24 minimum and Oregon has banned all gatherings of >250 statewide. WA ban is Seattle only, but I'm expecting my race to likely get cancelled. Don't think there's going to be much bike racing this spring...

 

[04UZJ100]

Isn’t varying engine speed the main idea behind break-in for the seals etc.? Not so much working out your transmission.

Don’t gear changes vary engine rpm?

 

[Madtiger]

Don’t gear changes vary engine rpm?

Sorry blonde moment.

 

[OregonLC]

The apex of piston travel will increase slightly with RPM as things stretch. What they don't want is for the break-in period to create a ridge on the cylinder wall because the engine wore into a specific RPM. At least that's the theory I was told.

 

[99Cruiser]

Drive it like you stole it. It is a tough vehicle made to last 25 years. Or better yet, you pamper it for 5 years and then I will buy it from you so I can drive it like I stole it.

 

[Fisher23]

The apex of piston travel will increase slightly with RPM as things stretch. What they don't want is for the break-in period to create a ridge on the cylinder wall because the engine wore into a specific RPM. At least that's the theory I was told.

Just like oregonLC said there.

It is important to vary the RPM so the piston rings do not create a ridge on the top of the cylinder wall.
Also like mentioned above driving in different gears will vary the rpm's. Best to have a mix of low, medium and some high rpms.
The speed doesn't matter it's the rpms you want to vary.

 

[sdnative]

I think it is more to seat the rings properly, not to avoid creating a ridge on top. Improperly seated rings will let hot compression gasses into the oil (blow-by). Using oregonLC argument of connecting rod / piston elongation, you would want sustained high RPM to create the ridge as high on the cylinder wall as possible?

 

[04UZJ100]

I would really love to read an engineering white paper about break in for a modern combustion engine.

Part of me thinks it’s BS and part of me can rationalize it.

 

[OregonLC]

As I understand it, to seat the rings requires high cylinder pressures which you won't have during initial break-in. Let the components settle in with light throttle and then increase % throttle to get things to set up one the initial break-in is complete. I don't believe engines get fully seated until in the 10's of thousands of miles. In fact BMW used to run an add where they showed their engines made more power at 30k than when new. Which isn't unique to BMW, they just figured out how to market it.

Though with modern manufacturing tolerances, I'm not sure how much of this is still true.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

This is what I was taught. never to above 55 mph for the first 1000 miles. It’s not for the motor, it’s for the tranny, and diff gears. For the motor, it wants pressure. That means you want to always be either accelerating or decreasing. Absolutely never cruising. Changing speeds won’t help, it’s building pressure by accelerating. what we are trying to do is seat the ring perfectly while not glazing the walls. With that...
From a new built motor, 3 separate 15 miles runs at grandma like acceleration Give a full fill down between runs. Heat cycles if you will. That was 0-45 miles
45-200, drive like you don’t have anywhere to be. Shoot for 30-50 miles at a time.
200-500, drive normal
At 500 miles, change your diff fluid people.
500-700, spirited driving. Not hard accelerating, not jerks. Drive like you like you love to just drive a little quicker.
700-900, drive like you need to get somewhere. Still avoiding WOT, but drive like you’re in a hurry.
900-1000, drive like a pissed of tennage girl you is on her way to confront her soon to be ex boyfriend becuase she her he hooked up with her best friend. OMG!
At 1000, 3 separate 15 mile runs of WOT up to 90mph. You want to get off at ever exit, and power it right back up. You hate fuel, just hate it, you want every vehicle to be electric. And the way you’re going to help, is by using all the fuels up in your 5.7.
Let a full cool down happen between each run.

that is what I was taught as the perfect motor break in while in the car. (Break in outside the car, wayyyy faster to seat the rings)

if you don’t do this, you’ll still get to 200k. If you do this, and change you oil when it’s needed. You’ll get to 500k plus.

really guys. Just don’t cruise down a highway slightly changing speed. Heavy congested city driving of NYC or LA would be perfect. Constant accerating anddecelersting. Just keep the ground speed below 55 for at least 500 miles for the gears.

 

[04UZJ100]

This is what I was taught. never to above 55 mph for the first 1000 miles. It’s not for the motor, it’s for the tranny, and diff gears. For the motor, it wants pressure. That means you want to always be either accelerating or decreasing. Absolutely never cruising. Changing speeds won’t help, it’s building pressure by accelerating. what we are trying to do is seat the ring perfectly while not glazing the walls. With that...
From a new built motor, 3 separate 15 miles runs at grandma like acceleration Give a full fill down between runs. Heat cycles if you will. That was 0-45 miles
45-200, drive like you don’t have anywhere to be. Shoot for 30-50 miles at a time.
200-500, drive normal
At 500 miles, change your diff fluid people.
500-700, spirited driving. Not hard accelerating, not jerks. Drive like you like you love to just drive a little quicker.
700-900, drive like you need to get somewhere. Still avoiding WOT, but drive like you’re in a hurry.
900-1000, drive like a pissed of tennage girl you is on her way to confront her soon to be ex boyfriend becuase she her he hooked up with her best friend. OMG!
At 1000, 3 separate 15 mile runs of WOT up to 90mph. You want to get off at ever exit, and power it right back up. You hate fuel, just hate it, you want every vehicle to be electric. And the way you’re going to help, is by using all the fuels up in your 5.7.
Let a full cool down happen between each run.

that is what I was taught as the perfect motor break in while in the car. (Break in outside the car, wayyyy faster to seat the rings)

if you don’t do this, you’ll still get to 200k. If you do this, and change you oil when it’s needed. You’ll get to 500k plus.

really guys. Just don’t cruise down a highway slightly changing speed. Heavy congested city driving of NYC or LA would be perfect. Constant accerating anddecelersting. Just keep the ground speed below 55 for at least 500 miles for the gears.

This sounds like a load of absolute bull****. It’s 2020. We are not trying to get our Model T to regularly start.

I manage an operation encompassing nearly 1,000,000HP from over a dozen GE gas turbines compressors. None of them have break in requirements - even after overhauls. Restart, confirm operational parameters, and fully load.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

This sounds like a load of absolute bulls***. It’s 2020. We are not trying to get our Model T to regularly start.

I manage an operation encompassing nearly 1,000,000HP from over a dozen GE gas turbines compressors. None of them have break in requirements - even after overhauls. Restart, confirm operational parameters, and fully load.

Well.. if you read the bottom of my post, I said that you could do none of this and make it to 200k. Showing that I wasn’t saying that any off that was actually needed.

Also, there is a difference between gas turbines and passenger car motors. So don’t know what you are trying to prove.

Regardless, you should know that anything that runs in 75-100% load lasts forever. Which most passenger motor don’t do. When they do, they get to a million miles, like the 4.7L in a ‘07 Tundra that was used by a oil industry hot shot.

So calm down killer. Hell, you said in another post that fuel dilution cannot happen in a modern engine. Way to show that you have very little knowledge of how an ICE works.

 

[04UZJ100]

Well.. if you read the bottom of my post, I said that you could do none of this and make it to 200k. Showing that I wasn’t saying that any off that was actually needed.

Also, there is a difference between gas turbines and passenger car motors. So don’t know what you are trying to prove.

Regardless, you should know that anything that runs in 75-100% load lasts forever. Which most passenger motor don’t do. When they do, they get to a million miles, like the 4.7L in a ‘07 Tundra that was used by a oil industry hot shot.

So calm down killer. Hell, you said in another post that fuel dilution cannot happen in a modern engine. Way to show that you have very little knowledge of how an ICE works.

Did the hot shot driver follow your break in procedure? Or buy his truck and get on the highway?

Don’t recall the details on fuel dilution - please do tell.