Bedding in Engine after Rebuild.

[paulmann]

Hows does it work bedding in the engine after a rebuild.

I am not doing the rebuild a repuatable performance garage is.

He said he would put about 300 miles on it on the rolling road before mapping. Does this sound ok? is this how its done?

This is a weekend car so I don't drive it far myself.

Any advice welcome.
ta.

[Mikejc]

Many will tell you that 300 miles will do the trick but as I see it the more the better if your looking for longevity of your newly built engine. I personally aimed to get 1000 miles on there before mapping the car. As it was due to time I had to settle for 500 road miles and then an hours session on Race Shacks state of the art dyno. This in short put's the equivalent to 500 miles on your engine in an hours session. This is achieved by first measuring the weight of the car and then by using that info running the car up and down through the gears in order to apply the load needed to bed your engine in etc. Pretty clever stuff and it's the only dyno of it's kind in the country!

If you need any more info then please get in touch

Mikejc

[TBDevelopments]

i like to baby it to be honest as well bud, check for leaks.

Usually give it a little bit of stick in 1st when its fired up to get the piston rings to seat properly. Then take it easy until i'm happy.

Tim
xxxx

[Mikejc]

With engine fully built and ready to go, cheap mineral based engine oil in place and all levels checked etc...

If you have new cams.... 20 mins idling @ 2000rpm to bed them in. During which you should be checking Oil pressure, fuel pressure, and for oil, fuel and coolant leaks etc. Set a rev limit of 4000rpm. Then if your happy that you have a decent enough base map it's time to hit the road. (Too rich or too lean a fuel mixture could spell bad news so be sure here!)

Take it easy and don't stray too far away from help, put a few miles on all the while checking all pressures etc (if you have gauges/laptop) Then pull over, check engine top and bottom with the car running for leaks of any kind. Repeat this process until you are happy that all is as it should be.

Once your happy that everything is holding up it's time to start pilling on the miles. Sitting in 4th gear until you see 500+ miles on the clock is not what's needed here. Up and down the gears is best as it creates the load that in needed to bed the engine in. Avoid boost in 1st and 2nd gear to begin with but don't be too afraid of a little/low boost in 3rd, 4th and 5th, always mind full of your 4000rpm limit !

People have the different ideas as to when the first oil change should be swapped out but we felt that 500 miles was suitable. After which more mineral based oil is put in and another 500 miles is racked up.

Once you have got you desired amount of miles on the car it's time to change out the oil filter and put in a fully synthetic oil of your choice
Then the fun part happens.......mapping!!!

Mikejc

[TBDevelopments]

good post mike.

Everyone has a different way of running in an engine but thats very similar to my way as well.

Tim
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[Mikejc]

good post mike.

Everyone has a different way of running in an engine but thats very similar to my way as well.

Tim
xxxx

I agree peoples opinions vary but for the most part you'll not go far wrong with the above as a rough guide

Mikejc

[paulmann]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Looks like I am going to have to do a few laps of Halifax then!!

Can you impose a rev limit with an apexi PFC?

[Gordy]

Can you impose a rev limit with an apexi PFC?

For the purposes of running in you are the rev limiter.

Personally I would choose approximately 3500 rpm for the first 500 miles and then 4500 rpm for the second 500 miles.

Never rev the car in neutral (never, not just when running in. The reason is that the engine is designed to rev under load, not free-rev... free reving accelerates the engine faster than ideal and hence significantly accelerates bore wear).

After starting the engine let the oil circulate for a few seconds before driving off. Don't let the car sit there to 'warm up'. It just wastes fuel. The best way for a car to warm up is to drive under light load.

Use small throttle openings. Do not lug the car along at low revs in a high gear and do not rev the engine high in a low gear.

Vary the revs. Avoid prolonged exposure to the same constant revs.

Once the engine is warmed through a small amount of boost is acceptable in the higher gears for a few seconds at a time. Avoid full throttle, full boost.

Once the oil change is completed at 1000 miles then the car can be used more agressively, but this does not mean that you can immediately thrash it. Over the course of approximately 300 miles the revs and load (/boost) can be increased incrementally until maximum.

Once the engine is run in:

Service the engine regularly.
Use good quality oil, oil filter and air filter.
Let the oil circulate for a few seconds before driving off.
Use small throttle / medium revs untill the engine is warmed through.
Do not rev the car in neutral.
Do not lug the car along at low revs in a high gear.
Do not exceed the maximum design revs of the engine.
(Assuming a turbo engine) allow the engine to idle for approximately 1 min after coming to rest.

[splashnatz]

i did 500 miles not exceeding 3000 revs, in town so through the gears regularly. then changed oil and filter, another 500 miles of the same, then oil/filter again, then allowed a little bit of boost for another 500 miles.
then had it road mapped and full boost allowed. no probs yet, and everything seems to of bedded in nicely.

[Nick Bryant]

what would you say are tell tale signs that would let you know if the rings werent bedded in properly if there is any??

[paul_h]

what would you say are tell tale signs that would let you know if the rings werent bedded in properly if there is any??

it would be smoking

[Driftlimits Performance]

Good read....

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Luke

[cantfindausername]

I can almost hear the controversial can of worms being opened here...

My advice is to ignore the too-ing and fro-ing of people that will argue their process is best, and pick one that you personally are comfortable with, and stick to it.

Good luck! =D>

[dj_davo]

with the absence of aftermarket gauges and power fc's etc. though, how do you monitor fuel and oil pressure?

i'm sure the oil light would come on/or not go off is something is amiss there but do you just trust that? and what about fuel.

[cantfindausername]

I guess you could test the pressure sensor before starting if you suspect it.

As for the fuel, I guess we just have to leave it to the car to do what its meant to do. I can't see a reason why it wouldn't be right if its just been removed and re fitted.

I'm in the same boat, or will be soon. I'm going to try and hook up an oil pressure gauge... if I can remember what sender unit is what

Just gonna on that engine like a hawk when it starts. I will be using 2 other people as well as myself to monitor it on the first few start ups, and before/after/during test runs around the block.

[paulmann]

now I am totally confused.

I think I will do a little more confusing research and come to my desision.

[cantfindausername]

Just put it together and turn the key. Watch for leaks, Get in and around the engine as they may not immediately run to the floor. If its all good, take it for a drive.

[Bender Unit]

Read this thread, its been covered in depth

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic. ... es+bullock

[Mikejc]

I can almost hear the controversial can of worms being opened here...

My advice is to ignore the too-ing and fro-ing of people that will argue their process is best, and pick one that you personally are comfortable with, and stick to it.

Good luck! =D>

Now you've made the poor guy worry with your post above!

My ideas on how to run an engine don't stray too far from anyones methods you'll find as their really isn't that much to it. A few small details may differ but for the most part my post offers a safe, tried and tested method that will ensure the job is done right

Mikejc

[cantfindausername]

I think you'll find it was the mention of fuel pressures etc that confused the situation.

And I see the "my methods the best" posts are already coming out...

The fact remains that most peoples processes differ, if only by a little, hence my advice to pick one that he is comfortable with and stick to it, and ignore all the banter that is common on these threads.

Ant