Break-In Procedure

[Toretto]

Gonna be taking delivery of my '21 GT real soon.....and I'm curious to get some opinions on breaking in the car (I know that there's no real consensus).

Since I'm now working from home 100% of the time with no end in sight, this means the car will barely move. If I follow the recommendation of no redlining/keep it under a certain RPM etc., for the first 1000 miles (1600 km for us canadian folks), it's gonna take me months to hit that point.

Do you guys think modern cars doesn't really require "break-in" period? Just drive it with varying RPM's (but just don't redline it all the time)?

Interested to hear all y'all opinions.

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[KeyLime]

https://www.mullenixracingengines.com/how-to-break-in-your-engine

Bike motor or Car motor, this link cuts right to the meat of getting rings to seal near 100%.

The same process is used for aircraft engine break in. Maximum continuous power, for several hours hours, right out of the box. Seems counterintuitive but it helps seat the rings.

 

[Toretto]

The same process is used for aircraft engine break in. Maximum continuous power, for several hours hours, right out of the box. Seems counterintuitive but it helps seat the rings.

That makes sense actually. I think the only thing I followed in the past was not going over 120km/h but that's about it. Growing up I was always told to break in an engine by varying speed (rather than drive it soft) but this article makes a lot of sense too

 

[Toretto]

Just avoid the extremes. No long idles or extended WOT runs. I started hammering away at 500 miles but did some pull before that.

I don’t think it matters one way or the other. Don’t think I have ever heard of problems due to improper breakin on one of these motors.

Thanks for that.

I'm just happy to finally get a coyote, and not having to constantly worry about the 2.3 blowing up lol (joking of course)

 

[Muhnopoly]

Because seating the rings is more important. Break in metal isn't as substantial as it used to be and it usually just goes to the bottom of the pan and stays there.

Just my opinion though, everyone has a different one.

First oil change for me this past Saturday. 6500 miles on the dash. I totally agree with you. That break in oil and seals are more important then metal at the bottom of the pan. The main thing people don't realize is these are beefy motors. They need to be warmed up especially the A10 trans. That baby is jerky if it's not warmed up.

 

[Red65]

As others have said, don't change the oil until after a few thousand miles. While there is a break-in for any engine, it is MUCH less substantial as it used to be back when engines used internal parts like flat tappet lifters. Nevertheless, you definitely want to wait to do extended WOT pulls until after things like the rings and clutch have seated properly. Personally, I would only go to about 4-5k max for the first few thousand. It is VERY important to not simply baby the car during break-in. Part of ring break in is letting the rings get some heat in them. If you change to a really good synthetic oil immediately and just keep it under 2k everywhere you go, it CAN cause the rings to never really seat that well. But as I have stated before, modern machining and parts have a lot more leeway than back in the day. Also, I think it's worth mentioning that you should pick a really good oil and stick with it. One thing that's worse than using a bad oil is constantly changing the oil manufacturer every single oil change. This is why it's so bad to just let jiffy lubes do oil changes for you. Their big batch oil isn't consistent at all. Bottom line, everyone has their break-in method and advancements in manufacturing have made it so you can use whatever you feel comfortable with and it will most likely work out perfectly fine. Just avoid running the factory oil to 10k and don't beat the snot out of it until you get a few thousand on the odometer.

Edit: A lot of people here have had a lot of success using Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w-20/30. Tests have it performing up really close to Amsoil Signature Series, and it has a pretty kickass detergent package. But as long as you use an oil that meets all the SN/API specifications and you stick with it, the engine will run just fine. The oil system on these coyotes is pretty beefy compared to your standard commuter cars.

 

[K4fxd]

Ly-coming aircraft and a prominent race shop say to hammer a new engine and people still say to baby them.

I think breaking them in easy is the reason for so many high oil consumption coyotes. Yes a voodoo and a predator are coyotes.

 

[Pilafiction]

The noises are normal, direct injection stuff. As for break in, I did a pretty soft one. No pulls until 1000. If I could do it again I'd just drive it how I wanted to after 500 miles or so. Just make sure it's warmed up. Engine braking in gear helps too. Dont change the oil before 3000 miles.

I have 1950 on my 2020GT….factory oil. You would run until 3000 miles based on what information…curious.

 

[ice445]

I have 1950 on my 2020GT….factory oil. You would run until 3000 miles based on what information…curious.

I've read plenty of documents from engine builders that say too soon of an oil change is bad for break in. But it just depends on what you want to believe. I don't think it really matters all that much either way. I do know that the "break in trash" is much less on OEM engines than it used to be though, so the benefits of that 1000 mile change aren't huge anymore.

 

[Pilafiction]

I've read plenty of documents from engine builders that say too soon of an oil change is bad for break in. But it just depends on what you want to believe. I don't think it really matters all that much either way. I do know that the "break in trash" is much less on OEM engines than it used to be though, so the benefits of that 1000 mile change aren't huge anymore.

I agree with you and some say factory engine oil is bad, especially after a couple thousand miles. Owners manual doesn't say change factory oil after...so if it looks clean running that oil until 3000 isn't an issue or is it?

 

[Angrey]

1) The rings largely seat in the first few minutes of the motor running, especially with conventional oil which is better for ring seating. Synthetic can take longer, which is why most engine builders highly recommend conventional oil during the break in period.

2) Break in is just as much or MORE for other components, like clutches, gear sets, etc. Every clutch manufacturer has a recommended number of engagements to bed the discs to the flywheel properly. Every ring/pinion manufacturer has a break in period recommended to heat cycle and temper the gears/teeth prior to just abusing them. I'm certain if you called Getrag or Tremec, they'd both recommend heat cycling and initial wear/mating of the components before asking full value from them (to reduce temps associated with bedding).

3) The problem with these discussions is that for every person who presents manufacturer's recommendations or engineering/mechanical principles for break in, there's another guy who either does a burn out on his way off the dealer lot or his crusty old shade tree mechanic says drive it like you stole it from the onset.

Should you break in the motor? Yes. Will the motor survive if you just send it straight away. Probably. Are there other car parts that won't work as well if you flog them from the start, absolutely.

 

[Austin1992]

I did a few wot pulls before the 500mi mark, always waited until oil temp read normal. Took the car on a road trip around with 2k miles on the odo, was expecting to put about 2000 miles on it, get home and change oil, well it turned out to be about 2900 miles so I was near 5k on my first change. Sent a sample to Blackstone and they said the engine was properly broken in and there was nothing to worry about. Fwiw, I’ve ran valvoline full synthetic 5w-30 with Ford racing filters and 5-6k intervals and haven’t developed any ticking at 22k now

 

[Albertcado]

1) The rings largely seat in the first few minutes of the motor running, especially with conventional oil which is better for ring seating. Synthetic can take longer, which is why most engine builders highly recommend conventional oil during the break in period.

2) Break in is just as much or MORE for other components, like clutches, gear sets, etc. Every clutch manufacturer has a recommended number of engagements to bed the discs to the flywheel properly. Every ring/pinion manufacturer has a break in period recommended to heat cycle and temper the gears/teeth prior to just abusing them. I'm certain if you called Getrag or Tremec, they'd both recommend heat cycling and initial wear/mating of the components before asking full value from them (to reduce temps associated with bedding).

3) The problem with these discussions is that for every person who presents manufacturer's recommendations or engineering/mechanical principles for break in, there's another guy who either does a burn out on his way off the dealer lot or his crusty old shade tree mechanic says drive it like you stole it from the onset.

Should you break in the motor? Yes. Will the motor survive if you just send it straight away. Probably. Are there other car parts that won't work as well if you flog them from the start, absolutely.

I just got a new short block under warranty and the oil the dealership filled is full synthetic... is this going to mess up proper break in entirely? Is it enough concern to take it back asap and have them flush it and put the 10qts of blend? So far the new engine has only 50 miles on it. I'm very worried now after reading that the blend is actually better for the rings to seat properly...

 

[Veteran]

I just got a new short block under warranty and the oil the dealership filled is full synthetic... is this going to mess up proper break in entirely? Is it enough concern to take it back asap and have them flush it and put the 10qts of blend? So far the new engine has only 50 miles on it. I'm very worried now after reading that the blend is actually better for the rings to seat properly...
[/QU

https://vpracingfuels.com/break-in-oil-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters/

 

[Veteran]

Above article explains it very well. Reputable company as well.

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