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track before 1000 mile breakin period?

Competition Orange

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(1) What do you know about "thermal shake-down"? Or unequal heating and local hot spots? Fatigue consequences from thermal stress?

(2) Have you ever assembled an engine with file-fit rings?

I used to get paid for understanding the first (different industry, but the metal wouldn't know that), and have done the second a number of times (there's something you definitely need to keep in mind).


Norm
Nothing.

All I have is my personal experiences breaking in 5 brand new cars my way.

None burned oil, and 4 were notorious oil burners. All performed great. 1 held (could still, don't know) the fastest and quickest ET/MPH for a stock vehicle in the world. None had ANY mechanical issues through 80k miles when sold.

I'll take those personal experiences over tech jargon and theory any day.

Change the oil with quality oil, I'd use a higher weight, both before and after the track day, and I'd bet he has absolutely no problems, other than trying to finance his habit.
 

Norm Peterson

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Nothing.

All I have is my personal experiences breaking in 5 brand new cars my way.

I'll take those personal experiences over tech jargon and theory any day.
Just because you don't understand it doesn't make it irrelevant like you're trying to make it out to be.

Did you notice that I also have personal experiences? With long-term success comparable to yours including high-rpm use (just not drag racing).

"Theory" + experience > experience alone.

And if OP is going to hit the track a little "early", he should get as many moderate-pace break-in miles in before then as possible. Not Miss Daisy miles, but not John Force miles either.


Norm
 

Competition Orange

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I don't really drag race, it was an example of the cars health. I too do hpdes...

I'm not sure what you're getting at. You've done nothing in here to help educate us poor underlings that don't have your detailed knowledge of metallurgy. You haven't supplied an opinion on the matter and you've only talked down to me.

Considering the average ownership length, countless experiences that say it doesn't REALLY matter, I'm secure with my opinion and actions on this.

Either way, he will be fine...
 

Norm Peterson

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You asked what the risk was, and since you'd previously agreed that the track might be a perfect break-in venue I thought I'd try to find out if you understood what's involved during break-in of a fresh engine. Otherwise it really could be just luck being in your favor so far. Maybe not a bad bet, but still a bigger gamble.

higdominator said:
Track seems like the perfect break in.
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Users thanking this: Competition Orange
Whether I explicitly agree with Ford's thousand mile recommendation or not doesn't matter. But if I was going to short-cut that at all, it'd be by fewer miles rather than more, a "having 900 miles on the clock being better than 500 or fewer" kind of thing.


Norm
 

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chain

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I say why? Get out there and get some miles on her!
 

LG23

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I don't really drag race, it was an example of the cars health. I too do hpdes...

I'm not sure what you're getting at. You've done nothing in here to help educate us poor underlings that don't have your detailed knowledge of metallurgy. You haven't supplied an opinion on the matter and you've only talked down to me.

Considering the average ownership length, countless experiences that say it doesn't REALLY matter, I'm secure with my opinion and actions on this.

Either way, he will be fine...
How is he talking down to you? You responded like a know-it-all and said "don't have an answer? It's okay, say you don't" then provided an opinion.

He simply provided the answer that you were asking for.
 

higdominator

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My initial comment was mostly tongue in cheek, lol. TBH the only thing I "worry" about on a new car is the clutch actuations. I generally try to get to the 500 mile mark with daily city driving. So, I drive the car through the city to work, let it cool, drive it home through the city, let it cool- usually about a week. Lots of stop and go actuations with normal acceleration, minimal high load situations.

After that, it's go time.

As for the motor, ensuring it's up to operating temp is always my #1 priority (even for spirited highway merging). Then I wrap it out at my leisure.

I've run in quite a few motors and honestly prefer to have them run-in on a loaded engine dyno TBH. This way you can do what you have to do with the motor without worrying about glazing the fresh clutch. So...


Give time to break in clutch, get it warm before playing, properly bed factory brakes.
 

MarkH

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I read about the motoman break in process years ago and always run it hard when new and run it normal for the next 300 hundred miles. I would say 1000 miles and you're good to go. Mine was at Sebring at 2.5k miles with fresh oil and still on the full mark.
 
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lugz

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Yeah, I decided to not go to the Track Daze event at VIR today (though the weather is perfect, dammit) and wait until our Memphis track rental in May. I've got about 380 miles on the clock as of today, so I feel better waiting a little longer.
 

sigintel

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Mainly because I wouldn't be tracking this car with 5w20 oil anything...much less Motocraft.
Where was your last track session?
I track the piss out of this car with a Whipple on 5w-20 with a 3.5" on 105oct (?670+?ish RWHP). Rear hood is vented, last session max on track CHT 195.
Broke an opg cold in my NSX and learned then:
Temps dictate what oil to run, not bravado...
There are more engines lost to trying to run heavier oil then from underweight.
All opg failures I have heard of have been on cold or cool engines within first 30min runtime, none after that. Needlessly increasing oil weight just increases ease of breaking opg, wastes hp, and fugs up your cam phasing.
Without vented hood, I ran 5w20 until temps were warm enough to hit 237 sustained on track in the summer (100+ ambient). Then 5w30 until fall.

Put in 5w-50 and check actual cam position vs demand. Yup, they drag ass until 200CHT, losing even more hp.
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