Break in oil

[tristan6555]

About to install pistons and rings. Whats everyone's recommendation on oils? I considered valvoline conventional 10w30 and Lucas break in. Im seeing to use just vr1 without additive and continue using it. Im going to change it after the 30 minute break in and after 500 miles.

 

[SkylinesSuck]

Never use additives long term. They often fight with the unique addictive packages in the oils. For break in it might be acceptable, but I dunno. Any designed break in oil with flat tapet cams in mind should work fine. I'm a fan on Driven brand products myself, but I won't try to convert anyone.

Don't forget to vary your rpm between 2k-2.5k during initial break in and if you are doing it while parked in neutral, you might consider a fan aimed at the exhaust manifold, especially if it's aftermarket and coated. Consider driving it during break in and alternating between full throttle and max vacuum throttle lifts to help bed the rings.

Many people swear by many different techniques to break in a motor.

 

[ColoJeep]

About to install pistons and rings. Whats everyone's recommendation on oils? I considered valvoline conventional 10w30 and Lucas break in. Im seeing to use just vr1 without additive and continue using it. Im going to change it after the 30 minute break in and after 500 miles.

Honestly , just about any oil will be just fine . You are already going to do the correct thing of a oil change after the cam break in , ( 30 minutes at 2500 r.p.m. )
then again at 500 miles. Did you get the ring end gaps correct ? If yes , the engine will be just fine .

 

[tristan6555]

Never use additives long term. They often fight with the unique addictive packages in the oils. For break in it might be acceptable, but I dunno. Any designed break in oil with flat tapet cams in mind should work fine. I'm a fan on Driven brand products myself, but I won't try to convert anyone.

Don't forget to vary your rpm between 2k-2.5k during initial break in and if you are doing it while parked in neutral, you might consider a fan aimed at the exhaust manifold, especially if it's aftermarket and coated. Consider driving it during break in and alternating between full throttle and max vacuum throttle lifts to help bed the rings.

Many people swear by many different techniques to break in a motor.

I may consider driving it during the break in if others think its a good idea instead of doing it in neutral. It's a 5 speed so wouldnt be hard to do and I live at the edge of a small town so I could get away with it. I was only going to do the additive on the initial 30 minute break in.

 

[tristan6555]

Honestly , just about any oil will be just fine . You are already going to do the correct thing of a oil change after the cam break in , ( 30 minutes at 2500 r.p.m. )
then again at 500 miles. Did you get the ring end gaps correct ? If yes , the engine will be just fine .

Makes me feel better hearing others say it will be fine. Ive never tore an engine down. Im mechanically inclined, and ive seen it done a handful of times. Ive been watching dexjs videos.

 

[ColoJeep]

I may consider driving it during the break in if others think its a good idea instead of doing it in neutral. It's a 5 speed so wouldnt be hard to do and I live at the edge of a small town so I could get away with it. I was only going to do the additive on the initial 30 minute break in.

Sorry , I forgot you are not breaking in the cam and lifters too . yes driving it is the best way seat the rings . Don't keep it at the same r.p.m for long , vary it .
After driving for 30 minutes , make some hard acceleration runs followed by some throttle off deceleration runs . This will help seat the rings on acceleration and pull oil in to lube and cool on decel.

 

[JKP]

This, since you didn't replace the cam/lifters. If you ever do replace the cam/lifters, the manufacturer will have a break in procedure you'll need to follow.

 

[macleanflood]

I've heard good things about Valvoline VR1.

-Mac

 

[JKP]

It has a good dose of ZDDP without going overboard. Non syn for his break in.

M1 recently introduced something similar, but it is way overpriced and full syn.

 

[SkylinesSuck]

Also I melted a catalytic converter breaking in a motor at idle with no airflow FWIW.

Are you not breaking in a cam/lifters at the same time?

 

[topfuel83]

I used Royal Purple break in oil. It's expensive, but a lot cheaper than doing it again. Since I wasn't breaking in a cam, I drove it after it warmed up. I did half a dozen 1/2 load pulls/decels, and then about a half dozen full load pulls/decels. It felt strange beating on a new engine, but since I didn't hone the cylinders, I wanted to get the cylinder pressures up quick to seat the rings. I could tell when the rings seated. The engine was a dog without any power until they grabbed. Haven't had a chance to do a compression test since the rebuild, but I do believe the numbers will be good as the motor has good power, very little blowby, and no oil consumption.

 

[LJBean]

Driven conventional break-in or VR1 conventional are both good options for high-zinc break-in oil. Not a fan of ZDDP additive.

FWIW, I've been running Havoline conventional 10W30 since initial break-in of my stroker - it has higher zinc content then Penz, Castrol, etc., but less than break-in oil and can run a typical 3-5K mile oil change interval. Break-in oils are not made to last more that 500-1000 miles.