[matty]

hi all. just had a full rebuild on my g16b and want to know what is the best way to run in the motor with the first drive. thanks all

[mongrelzook]

Been told heaps of things but basically go easy don't rev to high 1/2 revs. Valve bounce the shit and I'll be pulling it out again.

Best experience iv had was run in at half throttle 3500 max for 500 km then open up to 3/4 throttle for 500 then full and full revs. Did this in a worked carby piston mazda motor an still running as hard as the first full throttle 7 years later.

[fordem]

No lugging, no sustained high rpm operation for the first 1000 miles and try to avoid sustained operation at any given rpm for long periods - you want the revs varying.

The idea is to ease in to it, drive gently for the first few hundred miles, not exceeding say 4000 rpm, and then gradually increase that rpm limit, so that by the end of the 1000 miles, you are taking it to 5000 & above - quick bursts of acceleration up to that limit are not only acceptable but recommended as the increased combustion pressures push the rings against the wall helping them to seat, but because they are kept short, there's no excessive heating.

[harvs]

Might be of interest. The instruction sheet for my new rings (Hastings) had a section on running them in.

Paraphrasing what they said:

On initial drive, accelerate from 35mph to 60mph at full throttle ten times. That will bed the rings in.

I've heard things like this before, however never actually seen it in writing from a reputable manufacturer. But they are just talking about their rings, so you need to balence that against flogging your bearings too soon.

The choice is yours, I'm going to do some hard acceleration without too many revs on first drive to help the rings bed in before all the hone marks smooth off, then basically ease it in for a few kms.

Speaking of that, I need to get to work. I've got an engine to put in.

[matty]

yer i read that to harvs but it seems a little harsh on a new motor.
iv also heard you can run them in on a dyno as it may be an option as i have to get it tuned anyway.

[jonno_racing]

i drive them hard but dont rev them past about 4k for a few hungie, change oil, then let rev a little harder for a thousand km change oil... then drive them as u will every day. i run them in hard to love being drivein hard.. run a motor in as u want to drive it.

[masterA]

Vary the speeds/revs and up them constantly....never keep it rev/stay at constant speed/revs as it will glaze the pistons/bores and you're back to square one

Some pople worul argue to just rev the shit out of it but i wouldn't suggest that.

The most important thing i did when i got my new motoribke was to change the oil at 300km (instead of the recomended 1,000km).....you should have seen the metal fragements/filing that came out!!!!!
Did it again at 1,000km and the oil was still black but after that my 5,000km service was clean like i put it in yesterday and i drive it hard...it sees regular redline all day/every day and haven't had any problems with loosing oil or compression

[Che]

Are you in Perth Matty? Go for a run to Northam or Lancelin - there's a few rolling hills that'll be good news for your engine. Load is good, as long as you don't let the revs drop too low.

My method was to go for 20 minute runs, followed by 20 minute cool downs, each time going for more RPMs and not being a grandma about it. I did that for a run out to Northam, then on the way back I gave it a pretty decent workout without being feral, and have been since. I'm 3000 K's in now and it's running peachy. Oh yeah - I changed the oil at 1000 Ks.

[FullyZooked]

IMHO the most important stage of any engine run in is the first 20 minutes or 50km.

The trick here is to accelerate and place the engine under load with full throttle.

When in third gear-30km/h go full throttle but shift up the gears before 3500RPM. Maintain full throttle and load that sucker up. Once at 100km/h in top, back completely off the throttle and allow engine braking to slow you down, continue dropping back the gears to keep it at 2-3,000rpm to allow a good bit of engine braking. Once stopped, repeat 3-5 times.

This is crucial in the seating of your new rings. High load under acceration and pressure created whilst engine braking forces your rings against the cylinder wall and ensures maximum ring seal.

Keep in mind you only get one crack at seating rings. As soon as your hone marks are gone theres no more chances.

After this process town driving is best suited for general running in. Varying RPM and stop starts are just what you want.

No no's:

Don't grandma that new engine or you'll have grandma smoking you at the lights....on her gopher!

Avoid highway driving within the first 500km.

Run it in hard, it will go hard. Run in soft and...your an idiot!

[matty]

i have talked to a few diffirent people in the know and fullyzooked is dead wright. one chance of seating the rings.
thanks fullyzooked.

[FullyZooked]

No stress mate, this is one thing you want to do right the first time.

[MacDaddy]

fordem wrote:

No lugging, no sustained high rpm operation for the first 1000 miles and try to avoid sustained operation at any given rpm for long periods - you want the revs varying.

The idea is to ease in to it, drive gently for the first few hundred miles, not exceeding say 4000 rpm, and then gradually increase that rpm limit, so that by the end of the 1000 miles, you are taking it to 5000 & above - quick bursts of acceleration up to that limit are not only acceptable but recommended as the increased combustion pressures push the rings against the wall helping them to seat, but because they are kept short, there's no excessive heating.

Yep, this is exactly what i was told, when i bought my brand new 1L Sierra...

jonno_racing wrote:

i drive them hard but dont rev them past about 4k for a few hungie, change oil, then let rev a little harder for a thousand km change oil... then drive them as u will every day. i run them in hard to love being drivein hard.. run a motor in as u want to drive it.

I agree with, run a motor in as you intend/want to drive it in the future, but only after the first 1000kms... dont be a nanny....

masterA wrote:

Vary the speeds/revs and up them constantly....never keep it rev/stay at constant speed/revs as it will glaze the pistons/bores and you're back to square one

Some pople would argue to just rev the shit out of it but i wouldn't suggest that.

The most important thing i did when i got my new motoribke was to change the oil at 300km (instead of the recomended 1,000km).....you should have seen the metal fragements/filing that came out!!!!!
Did it again at 1,000km and the oil was still black but after that my 5,000km service was clean like i put it in yesterday and i drive it hard...it sees regular redline all day/every day and haven't had any problems with loosing oil or compression

I wouldnt rev the shite out of it from new...
Agree, you want the pistons and bores to harden and temper, heating up and cooling down, in short periods of time... driving at a constant speed for a while will glaze them up, so no long highway driving for the first 1000kms... also, oil is the engines best friend when running in, some say a cheap mineral oil is the best for it, and change it often, like every few hundred kms, or 3 or 4 times during the first 1000kms... the zook engine loves to rev out, and a bit of care running it in, will see it happily rev out for a long time...

[steak_knife]

fordem wrote:

No lugging, no sustained high rpm operation for the first 1000 miles and try to avoid sustained operation at any given rpm for long periods - you want the revs varying.

The idea is to ease in to it, drive gently for the first few hundred miles, not exceeding say 4000 rpm, and then gradually increase that rpm limit, so that by the end of the 1000 miles, you are taking it to 5000 & above - quick bursts of acceleration up to that limit are not only acceptable but recommended as the increased combustion pressures push the rings against the wall helping them to seat, but because they are kept short, there's no excessive heating.

cromo ring's, love em.......

I've built an eng or 2 in my time, many nicely bombed..
This is how I've "run in" mine.... ( customer's different story)
from start up, you want the revs varying from just above idle to around 4k till operating temp/thermostat open is reached, rad cap on, check for leak's in the cooling system & repair if needed.
shut down, change oil & filter hot.
Then treat it like your going to for the rest of it's life ( thrash f*#k out of it)

mongrelzook wrote:

Valve bounce the shit and I'll be pulling it out again.

Yet to see an efi eng valve bounce on throttle, down shift is a different matter.