Ok guys been asked to stick this up by a couple of people although we give our run in procedure with engines when sold so here it is.
it may differ from other things you see on the net but I don't care what they write as this seems to work fine for everyone so im basing it on what I do with my own engine if just been rebuilt.
on assembly
If building the engine yourself use an engine build lube to coat bearings this will prevent any wear on initial start up
initial start up
Once the engine has been fitted youll need to use either a running in oil or do as we do and use 15/w40 mineral based oil for the first 1000-1500 miles.
disable engine to prevent it from firing up straight away (on a gtir we unplug the injector resistor pack mounted on n/s inner wing).
crank the engine over for around 30 secs to get the oil pressure up.
plug the resistor pack in then she should be ready to fire up.
If new cams have been fitted youll need to hold the revs up to run these in as per there spec sheet but we will base this on used cams run in.
once engine has fired up leave it idling and immediately check for any oil and water leaks.
make sure coolant in rad is topped up and leave the rad cap off until up to temp and air bubbles have worked there way back to the rad and dispersed (there is a bleed point on thermostat housing but you don't normally need to use this).
Make sure the fans are cutting in at required temperature then turn the engine off and allow it to cool for half an hour or so.
you will then notice once its cooled that the coolant level in the rad will drop so fill it up again to the brim and replace the rad cap.
initial drive
Take the car out on an initial drive around the block (keep it local), do not drive it hard just a steady pace, then return back to your house and check once again for oil and coolant leaks. You will notice a lot of oily smoke from under the bonnet and the cockpit may smell of burning oil but this is normal as its just oil burning off parts you have had your greasy mitts on but that should all clear up within a few miles.
Once you are happy that there are no leaks and everything seems to be working ok including all your engine ancilliaries, then you can carry on with the run in procedure.
driving
Do around 50 miles in the car at no more than 3k rpm with lots of gear changes and use engine braking also (country lanes are ideal)
once you have done the 50 miles drop the engine oil and change the filter as this is the initial cutting in period and you don't want little bits of metal floating around in the oil. replace oil with 15/w40 mineral again then proceed until you cover 500 miles.
500 mile
Once you have driven to this you will need to drop the engine oil again and replace oil and filter once again using a mineral based oil.
also you can up the rev limit to around 3.5k rpm until the next period............remember lots of gear changing and engine braking, DO NOT think you can cheat by holding a constant speed on a motorway as this is a poor way of running an engine in which could result in glazed cylinders and blowby from piston rings.
1000-1500mile
Ok once you reach mileage between the above you have as good as run the engine in so your now ready to drop the oil and use fully synthetic based oil such as 10/w50.
so drain oil and change filter again then add the synthetic oil.
this is also a good time to check engine over and make sure there are no bolts, hose clips or anything else that may have vibrated loose so give engine a general once over and good eyeball.
After that your ready to roll with the boost, but I would strongly advise getting vehicle on a rolling road to have the fuelling and ignition checked before you do this as poor ignition / fuelling, excess boost can very quickly destroy a new engine (as ive found myself on more than one occasion) so paramount that the checks are performed prior to slapping your foot down.
The rr operator will set the boost to what he considers is a safe level for the ignition and fuelling your running, if he notices a problem with either then he should inform you that the boost should not be raised until the problem is rectified.
Also it is a very bad idea to run an engine in with a big turbo fitted or lots of aftermarket parts, far better to run in on a stock ecu, turbo etc.
the reason I say this is because if the car was previously mapped to run big power then it will be mapped very much on the rich side to help keep cylinder temps down and prevent any det on pistons, now this is a good thing on a used engine which has been run in and has miles under its belt so to speak BUT on a brand new engine overfuelling and aftermarket mapping can be a real killer during in the cutting in period of the rings as it can borewash the oil from the cylinders and allow cylinder temps to rise to a point where ring gaps will close up and heat is transferred to heatspots on pistons (normally near gudgeon pin and ringlands) which can then easily melt a forged piston, plus you also run the risk of spinning crank journal bearings due to fuel mixed with engine oil which can break down oil viscosity at higher oil temps.
Last of all as this is turning into a bit of an essay lol
Do keep a close eye on oil and water levels throughout the entire run-in procedure as you may find the engine burns some oil until rings are bedded in correctly.
In a lot of cases its not the engine that destroys itself its normally either driver error (not following run-in procedure, mis-shifting at high rpm, inpatience etc) or due to an ancilliary part failiure that goes un-noticed and is left. Any ancilliary item such as defective turbo, sensors not working correctly, air leaks, faulty injectors, faulty afm or wiring WILL affect fuelling and this in turn could result in premature engine failiure so its vital that everything is checked (especially on a 20 odd year old car with age related parts fitted).
That's about it guys
any Qs then fire away
remember this is my own run in procedure and advice given from what I have learnt in the past and had experience from, youll read other varying versions on what you should and should not do so its upto you which way you wish to proceed with running in an engine, but I find if you stick basically to whats written above then you wont go far wrong
it may differ from other things you see on the net but I don't care what they write as this seems to work fine for everyone so im basing it on what I do with my own engine if just been rebuilt.
on assembly
If building the engine yourself use an engine build lube to coat bearings this will prevent any wear on initial start up
initial start up
Once the engine has been fitted youll need to use either a running in oil or do as we do and use 15/w40 mineral based oil for the first 1000-1500 miles.
disable engine to prevent it from firing up straight away (on a gtir we unplug the injector resistor pack mounted on n/s inner wing).
crank the engine over for around 30 secs to get the oil pressure up.
plug the resistor pack in then she should be ready to fire up.
If new cams have been fitted youll need to hold the revs up to run these in as per there spec sheet but we will base this on used cams run in.
once engine has fired up leave it idling and immediately check for any oil and water leaks.
make sure coolant in rad is topped up and leave the rad cap off until up to temp and air bubbles have worked there way back to the rad and dispersed (there is a bleed point on thermostat housing but you don't normally need to use this).
Make sure the fans are cutting in at required temperature then turn the engine off and allow it to cool for half an hour or so.
you will then notice once its cooled that the coolant level in the rad will drop so fill it up again to the brim and replace the rad cap.
initial drive
Take the car out on an initial drive around the block (keep it local), do not drive it hard just a steady pace, then return back to your house and check once again for oil and coolant leaks. You will notice a lot of oily smoke from under the bonnet and the cockpit may smell of burning oil but this is normal as its just oil burning off parts you have had your greasy mitts on but that should all clear up within a few miles.
Once you are happy that there are no leaks and everything seems to be working ok including all your engine ancilliaries, then you can carry on with the run in procedure.
driving
Do around 50 miles in the car at no more than 3k rpm with lots of gear changes and use engine braking also (country lanes are ideal)
once you have done the 50 miles drop the engine oil and change the filter as this is the initial cutting in period and you don't want little bits of metal floating around in the oil. replace oil with 15/w40 mineral again then proceed until you cover 500 miles.
500 mile
Once you have driven to this you will need to drop the engine oil again and replace oil and filter once again using a mineral based oil.
also you can up the rev limit to around 3.5k rpm until the next period............remember lots of gear changing and engine braking, DO NOT think you can cheat by holding a constant speed on a motorway as this is a poor way of running an engine in which could result in glazed cylinders and blowby from piston rings.
1000-1500mile
Ok once you reach mileage between the above you have as good as run the engine in so your now ready to drop the oil and use fully synthetic based oil such as 10/w50.
so drain oil and change filter again then add the synthetic oil.
this is also a good time to check engine over and make sure there are no bolts, hose clips or anything else that may have vibrated loose so give engine a general once over and good eyeball.
After that your ready to roll with the boost, but I would strongly advise getting vehicle on a rolling road to have the fuelling and ignition checked before you do this as poor ignition / fuelling, excess boost can very quickly destroy a new engine (as ive found myself on more than one occasion) so paramount that the checks are performed prior to slapping your foot down.
The rr operator will set the boost to what he considers is a safe level for the ignition and fuelling your running, if he notices a problem with either then he should inform you that the boost should not be raised until the problem is rectified.
Also it is a very bad idea to run an engine in with a big turbo fitted or lots of aftermarket parts, far better to run in on a stock ecu, turbo etc.
the reason I say this is because if the car was previously mapped to run big power then it will be mapped very much on the rich side to help keep cylinder temps down and prevent any det on pistons, now this is a good thing on a used engine which has been run in and has miles under its belt so to speak BUT on a brand new engine overfuelling and aftermarket mapping can be a real killer during in the cutting in period of the rings as it can borewash the oil from the cylinders and allow cylinder temps to rise to a point where ring gaps will close up and heat is transferred to heatspots on pistons (normally near gudgeon pin and ringlands) which can then easily melt a forged piston, plus you also run the risk of spinning crank journal bearings due to fuel mixed with engine oil which can break down oil viscosity at higher oil temps.
Last of all as this is turning into a bit of an essay lol
Do keep a close eye on oil and water levels throughout the entire run-in procedure as you may find the engine burns some oil until rings are bedded in correctly.
In a lot of cases its not the engine that destroys itself its normally either driver error (not following run-in procedure, mis-shifting at high rpm, inpatience etc) or due to an ancilliary part failiure that goes un-noticed and is left. Any ancilliary item such as defective turbo, sensors not working correctly, air leaks, faulty injectors, faulty afm or wiring WILL affect fuelling and this in turn could result in premature engine failiure so its vital that everything is checked (especially on a 20 odd year old car with age related parts fitted).
That's about it guys
any Qs then fire away
remember this is my own run in procedure and advice given from what I have learnt in the past and had experience from, youll read other varying versions on what you should and should not do so its upto you which way you wish to proceed with running in an engine, but I find if you stick basically to whats written above then you wont go far wrong