New Engine Break In Procedure.

Use 0-30, or 5-30, or 10-30 motor oil and a Honda filter. Do NOT use synthetic motor oil for break in.

Make sure the fluid levels are where they should be. Start it up and keep the engine at 2500 -3000 rpm for about 20 minutes. Make sure there are no leaks, or mechanical problems. The only idling will be for setting the timing.


Before doing the schedule, remember that running the engine at steady rpm (like cruising on the freeway) is not good for break-in.


METHOD 1: Endyn Way

0-200 miles ( 0-325 km ) : Try to keep the highest rpm under 3000 rpm. Every 15-20 miles, zing the engine to 4500 rpm in first and occasionally in second gear.

201-400 miles ( 326-650 km ): Try to keep the revs limited to 3500 rpm. Raise the "zing" rpm to 5500 with the same frequency as above.


401-600 miles ( 651-970 km ) : Go to 4000 rpm for driving limit. Raise the "zing" to 6000 - 6500 rpm and include 3rd gear pulls, same frequency.

600-800 miles ( 971-1290 km ): 4500 rpm driving limit. "Zing" it to 7000+ rpm and include partial 4th gear pulls.

800-1K miles ( 1291-1615 km ) : 5000 rpm limit with "zing" to 7500+ rpm with some pulls all the way through 4th and partial fifth gear pulls.


Now, don't misunderstand me on the zings. You don't HAVE to scream the engine religeously at the prescribed intervals. If you don't have the space to run the engine up in the selected gears, don't do it. Just know that you can, and IF the opportunity comes around lay into it. Don't over-do the procedure.

I recommend that the oil be changed at the 1K mile marker. If the plugs are looking good and if the compression's (and leak down numbers) good, switch to Mobil 1 for life. Use either 0-30, or 10-30.

After the oil change, you might want to reset the valves and from that point on, drive it the way you'd normally run it.


METHOD 2: 2000 NIRA Comp4 Class Champion, Stephen Sakai's Way



1: Let the motor idle for about 30 minutes then change the oil.


Then take it out and road test for short distances until you reach about 100 miles. Then change the oil again.

Once you reach about 100 miles it should be broken in by then. Change the oil at 250, 500 and 1000 and then normal from then on. If you are scared you can wait until 500 miles before you start beating on it.

2: With respect to breaking in new cams : As long as you lubricated the cams properly on installation, there is no real break-in procedure.


METHOD 3: Ken Wood's (from Temple of VTEC's FAQ Section) Way

1. Use regular oil, not synthetic, during break-in.

2. When you first start it up, let it COMPLETELY warm up, not just kinda warm, all the way warm.

3. While it's still hot, check and see if the head needs to be
retorqued.

4. Check the timing again, as well as the valve adjustment.

5. Very slowly and using the lowest rpms as possbile get to about
65mph. Put the car in 4th gear. The coast, in neutral, to about 30.

6. Go from 30 to 65, in 4th gear about 20 times. This allows the rings
to seat, so do it right, and do it 20 times.

7. Drive EASY for about 150 miles. Change the oil. Still just the
regular oil.

8. Drive easy for another 150 miles. Change the oil again. Still just
the regular oil.

(I realize that steps 7 and 8 say the same thing. Do it twice)

9. Drive it kinda easy (no trips to redline) for another 1500 miles.

10. Change the oil again. Now you can use the expensive synthetics if
you want to.

11. After that, the motor is pretty much broken in, so "go run the dang
thing to see how fast it is!!!!".



Of the 3 methods, Stephen's method of only going for 500 miles on break-in is pretty aggressive and I personally would opt for the other more conservative methods of going longer but that's me. I would personally change the non-synthetic oil more frequently than the way the Endyn method states.

well I always find it quite amusing the hear peoples ways to break in motors. honestly if the rings dont seat in the first 30 seconds their never going to seat right. thats why i always tell people to get the motor to running condition, pull the plugs, and continuously turn the motor for about 45 seconds. then run the motor with dino oil for a few hundred miles with the occasional hard pull. then drive like you want to.

if you break it in on a dyno theres another way.

CJ

lol, yeah everyone seems to have there own way of doing it. I pulled this info from a few other sites and found it a bit interesting.

i read this somewhere i cant remember where though and its how i break my engines in.

start it up and let it idle for like 5 minutes or so making sure everything is well lubricated inside the engine. then i take it out and and do between 5 and 10 hard pulls to 55 mph and then let the engine itself do most of the braking. then after the pulls drive it nicely to around 500 or 1,000 miles. then drive it like normal after that. i change the oil after the first 200 miles, then at the 1,000 and 2,000 mile point, then every 3,00 or so after that. the way the guy that did the write up explained things is that the harder you drive it at first will force the piston rings outward and in turn that will make the rings seat better. then the reason for letting the engine slow the car down is that its supposed to creat a vacuum of some sort and its supposed to suck out the small metal particles from the rings and the walls.

anyways the way this guy explained things was much better than what i did. everything he he said made sense to me so thats what i do.