Hey Guyz, Id have questions on how bad could be my STI after taking it to the race track 2 days ago with 750 miles on it...Somebody told me that Id might blew my rings just for that .....Now, im worry about that.....are they so easy to break?///

 

I'm going to assume that 'race track' is a drag strip and not a road course.

If it still runs fine, the engine is okay. The purpose of break-in as outlined in your Owner's Manual is just to allow the piston rings and cylinder bores to form a good mating surface to retain cylinder pressure and control oil consumption. All you've by taking the engine to redline for a couple of quarter-mile passes is to put the equivalent of a few thousand miles of wear during a critical time for engine break-in.

It isn't necessary to baby the engine, but these aren't drag race engines that are built to much looser piston-to-cylinder wall tolerances for fast break-in. Street engines are built tighter to control oil consumption for over 100,000 miles before needing a rebuild, but only if properly broken in. Any engine won't develop maximum power until the engine is fully broken in.

Some folks feel that driving the car hard is the way to make for a 'looser' engine that develops more power due to decreased friction. I like to think that gradually increasing throttle, RPM, and engine load over the break-in period is more in line with what engineers expect from car owners.

A search of this message board will show that some members are finding that they have to add at least a quart of oil before their next oil change. Even when I let my oil change interval go to 5000 miles, my oil consumption at worst is less than 1/3 of a quart down from the recommended 4.8 quart fill level for a MY02 WRX.

In the end, it's your car and you have to be the one to decide for yourself what constitutes proper engine break-in. Most of us on this board, including me, are not engine designers, nor engine builders, and not even certified Subaru service technicians.

This is a summation of many articles on the subject found on the internet. Some of the information is from MOTORCYCLIST Feb. 1991, titled GIVE IT A BREAK-IN (How to make your bike run stronger and live longer), and some is from a Textron Lycoming "Key Reprint"
article.

The first few hundred miles of a new engine's life have a major impact on how strongly that engine will perform, how much oil it will consume and how long it will last. The main purpose of break-in is to seat the compression rings to the cylinder walls. We are talking about the physical mating of the engine's piston rings to it's corresponding cylinder wall. That is, we want to physically wear the new piston rings into the cylinder wall until a compatible seal between the two is achieved.

Proper engine break in will produce an engine that achieves maximum power output with the least amount of oil consumption due to the fact that the piston rings have seated properly to the cylinder wall. When the piston rings are broken in or seated, they do not allow combustion gases to escape the combustion chamber past the piston rings into the crankcase section of the engine. This lack of "blow-by" keeps your engine running cleaner and cooler by preventing hot combustion gases and by-products from entering the crankcase section of the engine. Excessive "blow-by" will cause the crankcase section of the engine to become pressurized and contaminated with combustion gases, which in turn will force normal oil vapors out of the engine's breather, causing the engine to consume excessive amounts of oil.

In addition to sealing combustion gases in the combustion chamber, piston rings must also manage the amount of oil present on the cylinder walls for lubrication. If the rings do not seat properly, they cannot perform this function and will allow excessive amounts of oil to accumulate on the cylinder wall surfaces. This oil is burned each and every time the cylinder fires. The burning of this oil, coupled with "blow-by" induced engine breathing, are reasons that an engine that hasn't been broken in will consume more than its share of oil.

When a cylinder is new or overhauled the surface of it's walls are honed with abrasive stones to produce a rough surface that will help wear the piston rings in. This roughing up of the surface is known as "cross-hatching". A cylinder wall that has been properly "cross hatched" has a series of minute peaks and valleys cut into its surface. The face or portion of the piston ring that interfaces with the cross hatched cylinder wall is tapered to allow only a small portion of the ring to contact the honed cylinder wall. When the engine is operated, the tapered portion of the face of the piston ring rubs against the coarse surface of the cylinder wall causing wear on both objects.

Each tiny groove acts as the oil reservoir holding oil up to the top level of the groove where it then spreads over the peak surface. The piston ring must travel up and down over this grooved surface, and must "hydroplane" on the oil film retained by the grooves. Otherwise, the ring would make metal-to-metal contact with the cylinder wall and the cylinder would quickly wear out.

However the ring will only ride on this film of oil if there is sufficient surface area to support the ring on the oil. When the cylinders are freshly honed the peaks are sharp with little surface area. Our goal when seating the rings on new steel cylinders is to flatten out these peaks to give more surface area to support the rings, while leaving the bottom of the groove intact to hold enough oil to keep the surface of the cylinder wet with oil. See illustration. At the point where the top of the peaks produced by the honing operation become smooth and the tapered portion of the piston ring wears flat break in has occurred.

When the engine is operating, a force known as Break Mean Effective Pressure or B.M.E.P is generated within the combustion chamber. B.M.E.P. is the resultant force produced from the controlled burning of the fuel air mixture that the engine runs on. The higher the power setting the engine is running at, the higher the B.M.E.P. is and conversely as the power setting is lowered the B.M.E.P. becomes less.

B.M.E.P is an important part of the break in process. When the engine is running, B.M.E.P. is present in the cylinder behind the piston rings and it's force pushes the piston ring outward against the coarse honed cylinder wall. Piston rings are designed to take advantage of the pressure and us it to push the rings out against the cylinder wall. Therefore, as pressure builds during the compression stroke, the rings are pushed harder against the cylinder wall which aids in seating the rings.

The higher the B.M.E.P, the harder the piston ring is pushed against the wall. The surface temperature at the piston ring face and cylinder wall interface will be greater with high B.M.E.P. than with low B.M.E.P. This is because we are pushing the ring harder against the rough cylinder wall surface causing high amounts of friction and thus heat. The primary deterrent of break in is this heat. Allowing to much heat to build up at the ring to cylinder wall interface will cause the lubricating oil that is present to break down and glaze the cylinder wall surface. This glaze will prevent any further seating of the piston rings. If glazing is allowed to happen break in will never occur. Also, if too little pressure (throttle) is used during the break-in period glazing will also occur.

Most people seem to operate on the philosophy that they can best get their money's worth from any mechanical device by treating it with great care. This is probably true, but in many cases it is necessary to interpret what great care really means. This is particularly applicable when considering the break-in of a modern, reciprocating engine.

For those who still think that running the engine hard during break-in falls into the category of cruel and unusual punishment, there is one more argument for using high power loading for short periods (to avoid excessive heat) during the break-in. The use of low power settings does not expand the piston rings enough, and a film of oil is left on the cylinder walls. The high temperatures in the combustion chamber will oxidize this oil film so that it creates glazing of the cylinder walls. When this happens, the ring break-in process stops, and excessive oil consumption frequently occurs. The bad news is that extensive glazing can only be corrected by removing the cylinders and rehoning the walls. This is expensive, and it is an expense that can be avoided by proper break in procedures.

We must achieve a happy medium where we are pushing on the ring hard enough to wear it in but not hard enough to generate enough heat to cause glazing. Once again, if glazing should occur, the only remedy is to remove the effected cylinder, re-hone it and replace the piston rings and start the whole process over again.

We asked four top motorcycle engine builders what they do to ensure peak power output and optimum engine life. Here is a capsulation of their responses.

"If the wrong type of oil is used initially, or the break-in is too easy, rings and cylinders could (read will) glaze and never seal properly. A fresh cylinder wall needs some medium to high engine loading to get the piston rings to seat properly for good compression but make sure you don't lug or overheat the engine. Use high quality, low viscosity oil (Valvoline 30 weight), no synthetics, too slippery. If synthetics are used during initial break in the rings are sure to
glaze over.

An engine's initial run should be used to bring oil and coolant (air, oil, and/or water) up to operating temperature only, with little or no load, then shut down and allowed to cool to ambient temperature. This is important. After each run the engine needs to completely cool down to ambient temperature. In Texas, especially in the summer, that's still pretty hot. After a cool down period, start it up again and take the motorcycle for it's fist ride (you hope).

This time give the engine light loads at relatively low rpm and stay out of top gear. Lugging the engine, i.e., low RPM with a lot of throttle (manifold pressure), is more detrimental than high rpm. Another key is too constantly vary engine load during the entire break-in period. A constant load is not ideal for breaking in bearing tolerances. This second run should last only 10-15 minutes before another complete cool down.

The third run should see slightly higher rpm with light to medium power loading using short bursts of acceleration to help seat the rings. Again 10-15 minutes of running should do it and again avoid top gear. A forth run should consist of light to medium engine loads with a few more bursts of medium-high rpm, and lasting just 10-15 minutes varying the engine load and again avoiding top gear. Next while the engine is still warm drain the oil and change the filter. This gets out the new metal particles that are being worn away. Most of the metal particles will break away within the first 50 -75 miles. To ensure the rings seat well, use the same high quality oil and don't be shy about short duration high rpm blasts through the lower gears after the oil has been changed.

A few more 15-20 minute sessions should be used to work up to the engine's redline gradually increasing the engine loads. After some definite hard running and 250-500 miles it's a good idea to check the valves. After 500 miles re-torqueing the head is suggested. Switch to synthetic oil but not before 500-1500 miles. Most of the engine experts warned of the danger of breaking in the engine too easily and ending up with an engine that will always run slow whether it is from tight tolerances, inadequate ring seal or carbon buildup. Engine load is more detrimental than rpm because of the head created internally, so avoid lugging the engine but rev it freely especially in the lower gears. Basically, be sure not to get it too hot but be sure to seat the rings properly.

So that's it, sure a lot different than keeping under 4000 rpm for 500 miles then under 5000 rpm for 1000 miles. Maybe bike manufacturers are being super cautious at the expense of your motor's performance? I think that they take the cautious route that works over time (1000 miles, or about 20 hours of break in) versus a faster route that can be more easily screwed up.

...listen to the parts changer at the shop with a sub-high school diploma tell you "just run 'er in like you're gonna ride 'er. If you wanna fast bike, then you gotta break it in hard." This is bullsh!t. All you've done is put 50,000 miles of wear on a 1000 mile engine. I don't care if toothless tells you he's built 100,000 mile engines. If these people are so knowledgeable, why are they making $6.00 an hour? Your "intuition" on how an engine should be broken in is no different. It's all uninformed guessing.

Follow the Triumph break in schedule for your engine. At least if you plan on keeping it. You think it can't hurt to change to oil too often, but you're better off leaving the break-in oil in until 600 mile service. After that, change it everyday if you want. Another part of the break-in procedure is heating and cooling cycles. It does no good to the break-in to fill it up with gas and do a 600 mile trip. The pistons need to be heat forged to the bore they ride in. This happens by heating and cooling it often. To quote from Motorcyclist Magazine - January 2000 issue, Street Wise:

"...As for break-in, proper heat cycling of the engine is really more important than rev range. Many parts in a new engine have internal stresses from manufacturing processes, which are slowly released by heat. If you took a piston out of your 13-year-old Ninja and one from your absolutely brand-spanking-new GSX-R and put both in an oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for half an hour, you'd be surprised at the outcome. The 13-year-old scarred and worn-out piston will look like it did when you put it in. The new piston will be warped and completely destroyed. The reason is that heat unlocks the internal stresses and allows the molecules of the metal to rearrange. The same process happens inside the engine during break-in, but the cylinder walls confine the piston. Many heat cycles later, the piston has relaxed and taken on the desired shape inside the cylinder.

The bottom line - gentle break-in is important for all friction surfaces in the engine. Piston rings, crank and cam bearings also need time to bed in and heat cycling allows clearance tolerances to settle. Also during this process a small amount of metal is collected in the oil from components coming to agreement on what size they are going to be at operation temperature, which is why it's important to change the oil and filter within the first 600-1000 miles on the engine.

Other items not commonly thought of during break-in but very important for safety are suspension bushing, brakes and tires. The handling characteristics of a new motorcycle will change as these components break in. Proper suspension sag cannot be set until the bushings and shock loosen up with wear, and if you have the will power it's wise to wait until after the first scheduled service before doing any aggressive riding on a new motorcycle..."

You also need to handle the throttle judiciously. Just because you're at a point in the schedule where you can't go over 6,000 RPM *doesn't* mean that you can give it full throttle from 3,000 to 6,000 RPM. You create very high combustion pressures that aren't doing the new, unseated rings any good. At the same time, barely cracking the throttle doesn't put enough pressure on the rings to seat them. Hard throttle from low RPM is also hard on the big end, crank and tranny bearings. Don't lug it! The fine points are in the manual. I've broken in every engine by the manufacturers recommendation and yes, it takes up to 15,000 miles until oil consumption stops completely (BMW's), and it doesn't loosen up completely until 25,000 miles, but I plan to keep these bikes well past 25,000 miles. I don't feel like doing a rebuild at 40,000 miles. I like engines where all cylinders pull equal weight. I like getting extremely good gas mileage too. These are just some of the benefits of a properly broken in engine.

It doesn't hurt to warm the engine up and to avoid redline for the 1st 10 minutes. The cold, thick oil is like a brick wall from the piston rings point of view when it's going 60MPH down the bore. Thick, cold oil + redline under high load = broken piston rings and scored bores and pistons. It definitely doesn't hurt the T5 engines with the fuel injectors to let it warm up...

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"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

Good stuff Wingless! This is another valuable, searchable answer/advice any new members can find!

 

thanks for the copy/paste