'Running in' a motor and its longevity
Submitted: Sunday, Apr 18, 2004 at 18:04
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The Horse
Surely the way in which a motor is initially run in plays a massive role in the longevity and reliability of that motor. Allowing all moving parts to smoothly and gently
seat and wear into position must be critical as is the flushing of newly contaminated oil.
When helping a friend buy a new car recently we
test drove a honda civic. The salesman drove us out into the street and down the road for a
test drive - the car was cold and brand new. After nearly 1km we hit the freeway and the salesman floored the car to show us what it had. He passed redline in 2nd gear and took it further to show us how the rev limiter cuts in - holding it there so we could feel it. I took my friend elsewhere to
shop.
Hands up wo would buy a new car knowing it had been treated like that! That experience really had me wondering how many brand new cars had been treated, and perhaps a clue as to why 'lemons' exist.
Reply By: Bonz (Vic) - Sunday, Apr 18, 2004 at 18:41
Sunday, Apr 18, 2004 at 18:41
Most cars these days come already "run-in" I have been told. Theres not the need to go thru a exhaustive slow fast faster type of process like a 1970 Falcon/Holden. That being said, there is still some caution regarding revs during the first 1000km and I reckon this guy's just blown that caution out the door.
As to the wisdom of running in, my uncle always would "drive 'em like you intend to drive 'em from day 1 me boy!" and he had car after car that went like the clappers, he rolled them over at 100000,
miles or km's and he reckoned that was the best way. Who knows?
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member Eric - Sunday, Apr 18, 2004 at 21:12
Sunday, Apr 18, 2004 at 21:12
After all rebuilds, I always ran the motor for 15 min at around 2500 RPM , and then shut it down till the next day . The way i was taught as a Apprentise. The reson behind this , was to get the metals at a high tempreture , and then alowed to cool down . A smal hardenning prosedure . After the initial run , I would frive then around town for a week .. Genera rule was not to do stints of over 30 Kms at a time fir the first week . We also have them a little stick , but nothing over the top .
saying this , the dealer does the initial run in , then the vehicle will do small runs , as in
test , then driven onto a Truck , then the pre delivery ect . So they usualy are run in before you get them . Also the oil used on run in is very fine . Metals eg, rings / bearings & camshafts these days , are a far superior metal to what was used in the days of XY's & HQ's . I wouldn't stress to much about it .
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Follow Up By: The Horse - Sunday, Apr 18, 2004 at 22:47
Sunday, Apr 18, 2004 at 22:47
Eric,
thanks for the reply. I have a funny feeling you know what you're talking about!
Horse
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