[brycerichert]

Has engine break-in been beaten to death here? I'm not sure as I'm a new member.

I know they will tell me to do it a certain way... but I think that's just so they can get me past 36,000 miles.

What really is the best way to seal the rings properly from the get-go to make sure that the engine has maximum power later on. Or, am I oversimplifying things here?

Thanks for the info!

 

[2010gt1]

all i did was try to lay off the throttle to much for the first 1.000 miles. after that, it was all she wrote

 

[brycerichert]

Don't you want to take care of the rings while the crosshatching is still there to use that friction? I'm a newbie at this as you can see. Hopefully there will be some strong opinions on each side on this one so I can weigh the responses... I would think it's like oil, everyone will have an opinion I hope!

 

[MustangChris810]

all i did was try to lay off the throttle to much for the first 1.000 miles. after that, it was all she wrote

Ditto.

And I hit the drag strip at 4000 miles :bigthumbsup

 

[5venoms]

The crosshatch in the cylinders is not going to disappear within 1,000 miles. The fact is I have torn down engines with 100,000 miles that still have a croshatch present in the cylinders. It is different for every engine but one thing is for certain the crosshatch will be present for a while. The rings typically seat within the first 50 miles of driving. With today's modern machining there isn't much of a need for a lengthly break in period. That is old school. To seat the rings simply vary the RPM the first few times you drive. After that let her rip.

 

[a351must2]

A twisty road with hills and corners should be perfect then

btw, when I was first working with 2.3L Turbos, I tore into a couple engines that were over 150K miles that still had crosshatching all the way around the cylinders.

 

[SeanL]

But while the crosshatching is still there, is it really sharp enough to do anything after a point? I would think it loses the cutting ability, otherwise the rings would continue to wear excessively, right?

 

[SJPONY]

I don't know about the 5.0, but I've had two 2010 4.6s (One F-150 and one Mustang) and a 5.4 (F-150) and all of them picked up performance pretty dramatically at 1000 miles, exept the Mustang, which is only at 800 miles so far.

 

[cababah]

in my 2011 manual, ford says not to perform extended wide open throttle for the first 100 miles. they explicitly said the engine does not require a break in. I imagine this 100 miles is also for transmission, cooling etc to break in. I tend to trust what the manual states..afterall they did build the car/engine.

also the manual states not to put the car through performance/track conditions until you hit 1000 and to vary engine speed for the first 1000..so at the end of the day my understanding is after 100 miles you can start opening her up now and then.

 

[Allentown]

Also they are pre run at the factory and they change the oil to get the shavings out before shipping so it's already go several miles and a fresh oil change from the time it's mileage is set to zero

 

[SJPONY]

Allentown,

That is interesting to know. When I bought my 2010 Mustang GT, had 15 miles on it. My 2010 Chrysler 300C had 2 miles on it when I test drove it and I bought it and drove home with 12 miles on it. You could tell the dual exhaust, etc. was breaking in on the 300, as it was very hot and you could smell and hear it. This was not the case on the Mustang.