24501067 how to break in your engine for more power and less wear

8/13/2019 24501067 How to Break in Your Engine for More Power and Less Wear

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Warning:

This is a very controversial topic !!

I wrote "Break-In Secrets" after successfully applying this methodto approximately 300 new engines, all without any problems whatsoeer!

inks to this article now appear on hundreds of motorsports discussion forums from alloer the world! #he reason is that oer time, large numbers of people hae done a directcomparison between my method and the owner$s manual method, and the news of theirsuccess is spreading rapidly!

#he results are always the same!!! a dramatic increase in power at all %&'s! In addition,many professional mechanics hae disassembled engines that hae used this method, tofind that the condition of the engine is much better than when the owner$s manual break-in method has been used!

#he thing that makes this page so controersial is that there hae been many other break-in articles written in the past which will contradict what has been written here!

Seeral factors make the older information on break-in obsolete!

#he biggest factor is that engine manufacturers now use a much finer honing pattern inthe cylinders than they once did! #his in turn changes the break-in re(uirements, becauseas you$re about to learn, the window of opportunity for achieing an exceptional ring sealis much smaller with newer engines than it was with the older "rough honed" engines!

In addition, there is a lot less heat build up in the cylinders from ring friction

due to the finer honing pattern used in modern engines!

#he other factors that hae changed are the astly improed metal casting and machiningtechnologies which are now used! #his means that the "wearing in" of the new partsinoles significantly less friction and actual wear than it did in the distant past!

)ith that in mind !!!

Welcome to one of the most controversial motorsports pages on the internet !!

How To Break In Your Engine Forore ower " #ess Wear !

*ne of the most critical parts of the engine building process is the break in ++ o matter how well an engine is assembled, it$s final power output is all up to you ++



lthough the examples shown here are motorcycle engines,

these principles apply to all . stroke engines/

$treet or %ace otorcycles& 'ars& $nowmo(iles& )irplanes " yes ***

even #awn owers !! regardless of brand, cooling type, or number of cylinders! 1

#hese same break in techni(ues apply to both steel cylinders and ikasil, as well as theceramiccomposite cylinders that 2amaha uses in it$s motorcycles and snowmobiles!

What+s The Best Way To Break,In ) -ew Engine ..The $hort )nswer: %un it Har/ !

Why ..

owadays, the piston ring seal is really what the break in process is all about! ontrary to popular belief, piston rings don$t seal the combustion pressure by spring tension! %ingtension is necessary only to "scrape" the oil to preent it from entering the combustionchamber!

If you think about it, the ring exerts maybe 4-50 lbs of spring tension against the cylinderwall !!!6ow can such a small amount of spring tension seal against thousands of&SI &ounds &er S(uare Inch1 of combustion pressure 77*f course it can$t!

How 0o %ings $eal )gainst Tremen/ous 'om(ustion ressure ..

8rom the actual gas pressure itself ++ It passes oer the top of the ring, and gets behind it toforce it outward against the cylinder wall! #he problem is that new rings are far from perfect and they must be worn in (uite a bit in order to completely seal all the way aroundthe bore! If the gas pressure is strong enough during the engine$s first miles of operationopen that throttle +++1, then the entire ring will wear intothe cylinder surface, to seal the combustion pressure as well as possible!

The ro(lem With 1Easy Break In1 *** #he honed crosshatch pattern in the cylinder bore acts like a file to allow the rings to wear!#he rings (uickly wear down the "peaks" of this roughness, regardless of how hard theengine is run!

#here$s a ery small window of opportunity to get the rings to seal really well !!! the first 90miles ++

If the rings aren$t forced against the walls soon enough, they$ll use up the roughness beforethey fully seat! *nce that happens there is no solution but to re hone the cylinders, installnew rings and start oer again!

8ortunately, most new sportbike owners can$t resist the urge to "open it up" once or twice,which is why more engines don$t hae this problem ++



n additional factor that you may not hae reali:ed, is that the person at the dealershipwho set up your bike probably blasted your brand new bike pretty hard on the "test run"!So, without reali:ing it, that adrenaline cra:ed set - up mechanic actually did you a hugefaor ++

Here+s How To 0o It:There are 2 ways you can (reak in an engine:

34 on a /yno

54 on the street& or off roa/ 6otocross or $nowmo(ile*4

24 on the racetrack

7n a 0yno:

Warm the engine upcompletely !!

Then& using 8th gear:

0o Three 395 Throttle /yno runs from

8; , <; of your engine+s ma= rpm#et it 'ool 0own For )(out 3> inutes

0o Three 298 Throttle /yno runs from

8; , ?; of your engine+s ma= rpm #et it 'ool 0own For )(out 3> inutes

0o Three Full Throttle /yno runs from

2; , 3; of your engine+s ma= rpm#et it 'ool 0own For )(out 3> inutes

@o For It !!

8re(uently asked;uestion/

)hat$s a dyno 77

dyno is a machine inwhich the bike is strappedon and power is measured!

It can also be used to breakin an engine!

*#</ If you use a dyno with a brake, it$s critical during break - in that you allowthe engine to decelerate fully on it$s own! =on$t use the dyno brake!1 #he engineacuum created during closed throttle deceleration sucks the excess oil and metal offthe cylinder walls!

#he point of this is to remoe the ery small micro1 particles of ring and cylindermaterial which are part of the normal wear during this process! =uring deceleration,the particles suspended in the oil blow out the exhaust, rather than accumulating inthe ring grooes betweenthe piston and rings! #his keeps the rings from wearing too much!

2ou$ll notice that at first the engine "smokes" on decel, this is normal, as the ringshaen$t sealed yet! )hen you$re doing it right, you$ll notice that the smoke goesaway after about >-? runs!



Important -ote:any rea/ers have e,maile/ to ask a(out the cool /own& an/ if it

means 1heat cycling1 the engine*

o, the aboe "cool down" instructions only apply if you are using a /ynomachine to break in your engine! #he reason for cool down on a dyno has nothingto do with"6eat ycles" +++

ool =own on a dyno is important since the cooling fans used at most dynofacilities are too small to e(ual the amount of air coming into the radiator at actualriding speeds! *n a dyno, the water temperature will become high enough to causeit to boil out of the radiator afterabout . dyno runs! #his will happen to a brand new engine @ust as it willhappen to a ery old engine!

lways allow the engine to cool down after 3 runs wheneer you use a dyno!1

If you$re breaking your engine in on the street or racetrack, the high speedincoming air will keep the engine temperature in the normal range!In other words, you don$t hae to stop by the side of the road to let your bike cooldown!1

What a(out 1heat cycling1 the engine ..#here is no need to "heat cycle" a new engine! #he term "heat cycle" comes fromthe idea that the new engine components are being "heat treated" as the engine isrun! 6eat treating the metal parts is a ery different process, and it$s already done atthe factory before the engines are assembled! #he temperatures re(uired for heattreating are much higher than an engine will eer reach during operation!

#he idea of breaking the engine in using "heat cycles" is a myth that came from themisunderstanding of the concept of "heat treating"!

7n the $treet:Warm the engine up completely:

Because of the wind resistance, you don$t need to use higher gears likeyou would on a dyno machine! #he main thing is to load the engine byopening the throttle hard in 9nd, 3rd and .th gear!

%ealistically, you won$t be able to do full throttle runs een in 9ndgear on most bikes without exceeding A4 mph 50. kph! #he best

method is to alternate between short bursts of hard acceleration anddeceleration! 2ou don$t hae to go oer A4 mph 50. kph to properlyload the rings! lso, make sure that you$re not being followed byanother bike or car when you decelerate, most driers won$t expectthat you$ll suddenly slow down, and we don$t wantanyone to get hit from behind ++

#he biggest problem with breaking your engine in on the street



besides police1 is if you ride the bike on the freeway too little throttleC not enough pressure on the rings1 or if you get stuck in slow citytraffic! 8or the first 900 miles or so, get out into the country where youcan ary the speed more

and run it through the gears +

Be $afe 7n The $treet !

)atch your speed + )hen you$re not used to the handling of a newehicle, you should accelerate only on the straightaways, then slowdown extra early for the turns! %emember that both hard accelerationand hard engine braking deceleration1 are e(ually important duringthe break in process!

7n the %acetrack:Warm the engine up completely:

=o one easy lap to warm up your tires! &it, turn off the bike D checkfor leaks orany safety problems! #ake a normal 54 minute practice sessionand check the water temperature occasionally! #he racetrack is the perfect enironment to break in an engine ++ #he combination ofacceleration and deceleration is @ust the ticket for sealing the rings!@o For It !!

Yeah , But ***the owner+s manual says to (reak it in easy ***

otice that this techni(ue isn$t "beating" on the engine, but rathertaking a purposeful, methodical approach to sealing the rings! #helogic to this method is sound! 6oweer, some will hae a hard timewith this approach, since it seems to "go against the grain"!

#he argument for an easy break-in is usually/ "that$s what the manualsays" !!!!

*r more specifically/ "there are tight parts in the engine and youmight do damage or een sei:e it if you run it hard!"

'onsi/er this:

=ue to the astly improed metal casting and machining technologieswhich are now used, tight parts in new engines are not normal! manufacturing mistake causing a tight clearance is an extremely rareoccurrence these days! But, if there is something wrong with theengine clearances from the factory, no amount of gentle running will



fix the problem!

The real reason ...

So why do all the owner$s manuals say to take it easy for the first

thousand miles 777

#his is a good (uestion !!!

A: )hat is the most common cause of engine problems 777): 8ailure to/Warm the engine up completely (efore running it har/ !!!

A: )hat is the second most common cause of engine problems 777): n easy break in +++

Because, when the rings don$t seal well, the blow-by gassescontaminate the oil with acids and other harmful combustion by- products ++

Ironically, an "easy break in" is not at all what it seems! By trying to"protect" the engine, the exact opposite happens, as leaky ringscontinue to contaminate your engine oil for the rest of the life of yourengine ++

What a(out running it in the garage ...

'aybe you hae a new snowmobile and it$s not (uite winter yet, or a new bike and it$ssnowing!!!

#he temptation to fire up a new ehicle in the garage @ust to "hear"the new engine run can be ery strong!

#his is the worst thing for a new engine, in fact, my adice is/don$t een start it up until you$re ready to warm it up for the first ride!

#he reason is that brand-new rings don$t seat all the way around the 3A0 degrees of their

circumference! #he gas pressure from hard acceleration forces the rings to contact thecylinder around their entire circumference, which is the only way the rings can properly wearinto the exact shape of the cylinder to seal the combustion pressure!

ow, imagine if the engine is run in the garage! #here is no load on the engine, so the ringsare @ust going up and down "along for the ride"! *nly a small portion of their surface isactually contacting the cylinder wall! #he ring area that does contact the cylinder wears downthe roughness of the honing pattern on the cylinder walls! *nce the roughness of the cylinder



is gone, the rings stop wearing into the cylinder! If this happens before the entire ring hasworn into the cylinder and sealed, you will hae a slow engine no matter how hard it getsridden after that point!

#he difference between what happens in an engine running in the garage, ersus one being

ridden is a hard concept to put into written words, so if I may use the sounds that we all canrelate to/ it$s the difference between ":ing-:ing-:ing" and "bwaaaaaaaaa"

=uring ":ing-:ing-:ing" the rings don$t get loaded for more than a split second, whereasduring "bwaaaaa", the engine is in 500E ring sealing mode!

%ecent $nowmo(ile Info:

2amaha$s break-in recommendation for the %F5 has been to idle the engine for 54 minutes!Some owners found that the heat build up from doing this was so extreme,

that their taillight had begun melting +++1

2amaha has since changed the recommendation to three 4 minute idle periods!

)hy would 2amaha recommend a break in method which will preent the ringsfrom sealing as well as possible 77


) icture+s Worth ) Thousan/ Wor/s:

The piston on the right was (roken in as

per otoan+s instructions*

These Hon/a F2 pistons

show

the /ifference*

lthough these pistonscame out of engines whichwere raced for a fullseason, they weren$t set-upwith any special clearances

or other preparation!

#hese engines were neerworked on prior to beingraced! #hey were totallystock as built by 6onda!

#he only difference was



)fter a full season of har/ racing:

, erfect %ing $eal ***

, -o $cuffing ***

, #ots of Trophies !!!

the break in method theyused!!! #he one on the right was broken in as per

'oto'an$s instructions!

#he one on the left was broken in exactly accordingto the owner$s manual! #heresulting leaky rings haeallowed pressure to "blow by" down into thecrankcase on acceleration,and oil to "suck-up" intothe combustion chamber on

deceleration!-ee/less to say& this (ike

was slow !!

It+s up to you: #he loss in power from an easy break-in and the resulting poor ring seal can beanywhere from 9E - 50E ++

In other words/#he gain in power from using this break-in method can be anywhere from 9E - 50E ++

p/ate ,Some hae felt that the piston which was broken in hard in the aboe photo is too clean to be true ++"#hat piston is impossible, there must be some trick going on!"

So, here I present/ "#he Impossible &iston 'useum"

6ere are 5. pistons from 5. different bikes, with seeral manufacturers represented!Some are from streetbikes and some from racebikes!

ll of the engines had the correct @etting, the reason some hae black carbon deposits is because they were run on "pump gas", which burns dark regardless of the @etting!)hereas the lighter ones were run on oxygenated race fuel, which gies a ery light tanto gray color! 'any of the black-carboned pistons were from racebikes!1



0isclaimer:bsolutely no photo altering or physical cleaning of the pistons is allowed in the museum++)e run a legit exhibit, and all the artifacts on display are 500E genuine!

ote/#he controersial piston in the aboe picture is the last one in the middle row,and it$s indicated by the arrows!

2ou can take a closer look by clicking on the photos to see the full si:ed ersions/

!!CC

It looks like there are more than 5. pistons, because the area in the 3 photos oerlap!It$s 3 segments of a panorama photo to gie you multiple iews of this extraordinarilyrare collection!

#he pistons hae been stacked for display purposes only, they aren$t going back intoengines! lways be super careful when handling pistons, as the aluminum is soft andery easily dented, causing combustion leakage, and friction !!! neither of which is goodfor power!

s in any museum, some of the specimens are better examples than others, but the pointis that none hae any leakage past the top ring, because they were all broken in by themethod described here +#he only impossible thing about these pistons !!! is that it$s impossible to achiee this result with an easy break-in!

What a(out street (ikes ...

http://www.mototuneusa.com/the_impossible_piston_museum_2.htm



#his piston is from a A40 6onda6awk! #he brown discoloration

that extends up into the piston pin bore is burnt oil from the extremeheat leaking past all 3 rings ++

#he uneen heat leakage was so bad, that it caused the cylinder todistort and become out of round,causing piston to cylinder scuffingin the tight part of the "oal"cylinder! )hen I showed the customer his

pistons, he said/

1 I /on+t un/erstan/ how that happene/& I followe/

the owner+s manual (reak,in instructions 3; !! 1

)hy would 6onda recommend a break in method which will preent therings from sealing as well as possible 77


A: )hat$s the third most common cause of engine problems 777): ot changing the oil soon enough after the engine is first run ++

'hange Your 7il %ight )way !!#he best thing you can do for your engine is to change your oil and filter after the first 90miles! 'ost of the wearing in process happens immediately, creating a lot of metal in theoil! &lus, the amount of leftoer machining chips and other crud left behind in themanufacturing process is simply ama:ing ++ 2ou want to flush that stuff out before it getsrecycled and embedded in the transmission gears, and oil pump etc!!!

Why /o the manufacturers recommen/ waiting until < miles to

flush out all the loose metal ...


2 more wor/s on (reak, in:

-7 $Y-THETI' 7I# !!

se Dalvoline& Halvoline& or similar 3 w 8 etroleum 'ar 7il for at least



5 full /ays of har/ racing or 3&> miles of street ri/ing 9 /riving*

)fter that use your favorite (ran/ of oil*

Diewer Auestions:A: If (reak, in happens so uickly& why /o you recommen/ using petroleum (reak, in oil for 3>

miles ..

): Because while about ?0E of the ring sealing takes place in the first hour of running the engine,the last 90E of the process takes a longer time! Street riding isn$t a controlled enironment, so most of themileage maynot be in "ring loading mode"! Synthetic oil is so slippery that it actually "arrests" the break in process before the rings can seal completely! I$e had a few customers who switched to synthetic oil too soon, andthe rings neer sealed properly no matter how hard they rode! #aking a new engine apart to re - ring it is thelast thing anyone wants to do, so I recommend a lotof mileage before switching to synthetic! It$s really a "better safe than sorry" situation!

A: y (ike comes with synthetic oil from the factory& what shoul/ I /o ..

): I recommend changing the factory installed synthetic oil back to petroleum for the break-in period!

A: What a(out the main an/ ro/ (earings& /on+t they (reak , in ..

): ctually, the operation of plain bearings doesn$t inole metal to metal contact ++ #he shiny spots onused bearings are caused from their contact with the crankshaft @ournals during start up after the engine has beensitting a while,and the excess oil has drained off! #his is the main reason for not reing up the engine when it$s firststarted!

#he sub@ect of plain bearings is one of the most mysterious aspects of engines, and will be coered in afuture issueof &ower ews! In it, I$ll reeal more information that fully explains the non-contact phenomenon!

A: Why change the oil at 5 miles .. 0oesn+t the oil pick up

screen catch the aluminum (its ...

): It$s true that the screen stops the big pieces, but many areas of the engine aren$t within the oil filtrationsystem! #he oil that is splashed around will circulate metal debris to the lubricated bearing surfaces! 8orexample, transmission gears and their ball bearings are unprotected by the filtration system, and een thecam chain makes a perfect "coneyer belt" to bring metal debris up into the cylinder head ++

close examination of a new engine will reeal lots of aluminum deposits on steel parts! #his aluminumcoats and tightensup the clearances of the parts, which creates a loss of power! 'ost of the time I spend "blueprinting"an engine is actually inspecting eery part and "de-alumini:ing" them ++

I prefer to remoe the oil pan and clean the aluminum bits out of a new engine out that way, but a G90 oilchangeis an easy and inexpensie way to flush the initial particles that come loose in the first miles!



A: What a(out motorcycle D*$* car oils ...

): #his is a topic all by itself ++ It will be coered in a future issue of &ower ews!

A: Will this (reak , in metho/ cause my engine to wear out faster ...

): o, in fact, a poor ring seal will allow an increase in the by products of combustion to contaminate theoil!cid contamination and oil consumption are the 9 reliability problems which are the result of an"owner$s manual" or "maga:ine tech article" style easy break-in!

By following the instructions on this page, you$ll find that your oil is cleaner and the engine will re(uicker!&lus, you$ll hae much better tor(ue and power across the power range from the astly improed ring seal!

%elia(ility an/ ower are 3; connecte/ !!

What are some of the other common myths a(out engines ..

Here are some popular engine tuning concepts in which the truth is

uite the opposite of what is commonly thought:

, Bigger orts

, olishing The orts

, Ignition )/vancers

, Flatsli/e 'ar(uretors

, Fuel Inection Tuning

, 'am Timing

, Getting

Intake Porting !!

$maller Intake orts @ain ; ore ower !! Never Before Seen in Magazines

.

#earn How to 0o it Yourself !!

If you$e found the Break In Secrets article interesting, please sign up for &ower ews'aga:ine!

8ind out why the manufacturers recommend an easy break in,and the reealing eidence which proides answers to those good (uestionswe$e all wondered about!



#he (uestions the manufacturers wish you wouldn$t ask !!!1

&lus, find out how much more power the readers of this page hae gained, as well as photos and analysis of other engine parts in long term tests of this process!

)hether you$re into motorcycles, cars or snowmobiles, &ower ews 'aga:ine containsthe most proocatie engine tech articles in the world !!!

!!! you$ll neer think about engines in the same way again ++

24501067 how to break in your engine for more power and less wear

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