Motor Break-In Methods/Theories
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KiwiFlavor
Greenie N00B Member
Bump for this thread. As I might be doing this soon.
I did the following:
Pour oil under the valve valve cover with cheap Dino pennzoil 5w30 mixed in some DZZP oil additive. Started and immediately put the RPM at 2500 to get the oil pumping. Have a buddy check for leaks for problems. I alternated RPM’s from 1500 to 2500 until engine was at normal operating temps, shut it down and drained the oil.
Let cool. Filled back up with the same oil mix, started, alternated RPMs again once operating temps were achieved I took it for a drive. On throttle accelerate to 3000 rpm, off throttle to 1,500 RPMs on throttle off throttle. This is where you really want to you get the rings to push against the cylinder walls to get them to seal, boost does help with upping the cylinder pressures forcing the rings out.
Did that for 20 Miles, drain oil again let cool and fill one more time. This time assuming there are minimal shinnies, I drove the car for 500 Miles, keeping idle to a minimum and keep the RPM random.
10,000 Miles later, Car still runs and has great comp. I’ll use this method again for the CX7 break in.
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Pour oil under the valve valve cover with cheap Dino pennzoil 5w30 mixed in some DZZP oil additive. Started and immediately put the RPM at 2500 to get the oil pumping. Have a buddy check for leaks for problems. I alternated RPM’s from 1500 to 2500 until engine was at normal operating temps, shut it down and drained the oil.
Let cool. Filled back up with the same oil mix, started, alternated RPMs again once operating temps were achieved I took it for a drive. On throttle accelerate to 3000 rpm, off throttle to 1,500 RPMs on throttle off throttle. This is where you really want to you get the rings to push against the cylinder walls to get them to seal, boost does help with upping the cylinder pressures forcing the rings out.
Did that for 20 Miles, drain oil again let cool and fill one more time. This time assuming there are minimal shinnies, I drove the car for 500 Miles, keeping idle to a minimum and keep the RPM random.
10,000 Miles later, Car still runs and has great comp. I’ll use this method again for the CX7 break in.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Breaking in has to do with more than just pistons. You're mating rings, cyl walls, oiling camshafts, breaking in rod/main bearings, and a lot more... MZRs have been built and broken in for years and there really no different than any other 4cyl boosted motor.
At the end of the day there's a lot of techniques that work. I made this thread to show what I did and get other people's takes on it/share their methods.
djohns
Greenie N00B Member
Oh I know, I’m not discrediting anything that was said in here since I have yet to break in a motor, was just offering another idea is all. I know there’s a lot more that goes into breaking in a motor than just sealing the rings but getting the manufactures opinion isn’t a bad idea.
Provided the build is good, the only real "break in" is getting the rings seated. Bearings don`t break in, per se, and camshaft technology has come a far way from pushrod flat tappets (roller cams don`t break in at all, for instance).
The break in cycle that was used for my engine was a start up long enough to check for leaks and to get up to temp. Then the oil filter was changed, car driven 50 feet to the dyno. Dyno was loaded so the engine could get into very low boost and high vacuum , alternating for about 50 miles. Filter changed again. Repeat dyno process for equivalent of 100 more miles. Change oil and filter. Repeat again. Car was ready for full boost when it came off the dyno, and I started the tune two days later. Compression and oil analysis have been perfect all along. 31K miles later and no signs of engine issues.
It`s been said a time or two in this thread already, there is more than one way to effectively prepare an engine for duty. Nothing particularly unique about how mine was done, it`s actually a pretty standard procedure. The days of 1500 mile break in periods are well behind us. That was mostly to allow flat metal surfaces to wear together without scoring and shearing off cam lobes.
The break in cycle that was used for my engine was a start up long enough to check for leaks and to get up to temp. Then the oil filter was changed, car driven 50 feet to the dyno. Dyno was loaded so the engine could get into very low boost and high vacuum , alternating for about 50 miles. Filter changed again. Repeat dyno process for equivalent of 100 more miles. Change oil and filter. Repeat again. Car was ready for full boost when it came off the dyno, and I started the tune two days later. Compression and oil analysis have been perfect all along. 31K miles later and no signs of engine issues.
It`s been said a time or two in this thread already, there is more than one way to effectively prepare an engine for duty. Nothing particularly unique about how mine was done, it`s actually a pretty standard procedure. The days of 1500 mile break in periods are well behind us. That was mostly to allow flat metal surfaces to wear together without scoring and shearing off cam lobes.
Is it any different on precedures for different piston types? I will be building my motor this up coming spring and will be using 4032 Mahle Power Pak pistons. Also any suggestions for PWC for these if anyone has used them. My build will somewhat resemble the Corksport Dankai stage 1 motor.
I don't see why different pistons would change the breakin process. You're mating the rings to the cylinders, so as long as the pistons and rings are sized correctly the procedure is the same. Hard break in is the way to go. I think most of the engine builders around here will speak to that. My recently built motor just finished up it's hard break in and is running great so far. Only a couple thousand on it so far, but I have no concerns.
KiwiFlavor
Greenie N00B Member
I threw my car on the dyno at 220 miles after the rebuilt lol.
Fire up car, check for leaks, go out do a couple pulls. Lots of high rev, high vacuum stuff, so rev it out then let off and let it engine brake back down.
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
This article is about motorcycles and the site ain't pretty, but it has a lot of info on the thought process behind the whole thing.
How many miles on your build now Kiwi? And you think I should do a mildly aggressive cam grind done while im at it? I was planning to do the upgraded 65lb Crower valve springs. My friend said he has a guy he has do his racing cams and it would be $300 for the regrind.
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Awesome thanks for the link and info! It will be a while before I get to tear it out and build it but im getting really anxious about it for sure
KiwiFlavor
Greenie N00B Member
I have about 900+ miles now making 371 on 93.I stayed with stock cams and drivetrain as I wasn’t planning to rev high and my
initial goal was only 450-500hp.
That’s around my goal as well just figured it might make it easier to reach my goals with the cams worked on and a bit of porting done on the heads. He said it would be about 200 to have someone in the shop do some port and polish on the head. Figured I might as well while it’s apart right? What pistons did you go with?
KiwiFlavor
Greenie N00B Member
I guess if it’s only $200 why not. That’s a steal for port and polish.
I went with Manley Platinums. They seem to be the go-to pistons for us.
40K miles on the mahle 4032 pistons here. Not an issue at currently 33psi and what some might call a lot of methanol. Stock cams at just a tick over 500whp. Aftermarket cams don't have a particularly good track record with the mazdaspeed community and regrinds are rarely a good end result. Definitely get the heads ported and polished if the shop is reputable.
As far as break in, did mine on the dyno after it was built. Took three hours. I hit 22+psi a few times on the way home from picking it up and started tuning four days later.
As far as break in, did mine on the dyno after it was built. Took three hours. I hit 22+psi a few times on the way home from picking it up and started tuning four days later.
I'm not a CS guy by any means, but were there any reported issues with the new revision of the CS cams after they fixed the coating issues from the original run? I think most big power speeds are running the CS cams.
If you want to look at regrinds, don't go with Crower. They like to stamp shit on friction washer surfaces and be general douches. The flow numbers with my regrind that I WAS going to run looked good on paper, but never got validated. I believe @Enki is running a custom grind as well, so that'll be interesting stuff.
Dang that’s a lot of boost! Glad to know my piston choice should hold up...haha Thanks for the comment and seems like a hard break in isn’t that uncommon with our platform then apparently? What turbo setup are you running with your car? I want to be mostly pump gas for reliability so would 5th/6th port be the way to go?
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If the guy will back up his work I may have him keep it close to the CS Cam specs they give.
When you increase flow with things like cams and head work you will flow more air at lower boost numbers. 33psi looks cool on paper, but boost numbers really don't mean anything. It's the airflow that matters. This is nothing against @VoodooJef 's build or anything. He's making good power for a lot of miles now, but don't get hung up on boost numbers. If I were you I probably wouldn't even mess with regrinds. I ended up wasting a couple hundred bucks before just going with the CS cams.
Ethanol is wonderful and you should run a blend if it's available near you.