by Bruce Fielding » Wed May 30, 2018 12:09 pm
From the AAOC Handbook:
The factory suggests that you drive the car normally for the
first 1000 miles. The club offers an alternative view.
We feel that you don’t need to rev engines too hard but you
do need to make them work early on. The power difference
can be VERY noticeable for machines that aren’t babied
through the first hours of their run in.
The reason why you have to ‘thrash it’ out of the box is
difficult to accept for people who remember the good old
days. Machining standards are so much better and hence the
tolerances are much tighter, that there simply aren’t “rough
edges” to smooth off, which used to be the case. Metallurgy
and casting techniques have also improved, so the wear
resistance and consistency of the metal is much, much better.
Couple that with the quality of modern synthetic oils, which
coat the surface more thoroughly, degrade less and bond much
better with the metal, particularly over time, and you can get
a modern engine with 20,000 miles or more on the clock that
hasn’t loosened up - and may never do so fully.
So you need to CAUSE a high wear rate in the engine’s early
days before surfaces become too polished (as opposed to
“bedded in”) to loosen the engine. This is why the bores in
new engines have a light cross-hatched surfaced honed onto
them. If they do become too polished, the oils can’t bond
properly, the engine will remain tight and seal badly. The
initial high wear rate declines quickly as the surfaces polish,
so the period you have available to get the engine bedded
in is very short. There’s virtually no effect on longevity, and
remember, internal friction is the enemy of power and torque.
It’s vital to use varying load conditions, whatever the load
level. Different throttle positions, revs, gears and loads will
prevent pattern-related wear in the early stages.
Letting the engine run down (engine braking) is also good, as
this encourages oil up the sides of the pistons to sweep out
debris, though it’s not ideal to drop down through the gears.
Don’t labour the engine (low revs, wide open throttle). Don’t
use the full rev range initially with only an occasional blip
to the red line. Change the oil early (at 500 miles, and again
at 1000 miles) to clear all the microscopic bits of metal, and
harmful chemicals produced during combustion, out of the
system. After the initial change you’re OK to use the full
extent of the rev range.
CAUTION: Don’t forget to change the oil filter
after 500-1,000 miles.
A suggested running in regime:
First 200 miles
60% rev’s max and never full throttle.
Basic semi-synthetic oil
200-600 miles
75% rev max, full throttle further up the rev range.
Basic semi-synthetic oil
600-1000miles
85% rev’s max, full throttle further up the rev range.
Basic semi-synthetic oil
1000 miles on
Nail it!
Castrol Magnatec 10w/40
All the way through this, warm it up first, never let
the engine labour, use the gear box up and down as
often as you can, and try and avoid motorway use.
Recommended Oils AFTER running in:
Engine: Castrol Magnatec 10w/40
Gearbox: Honda MTF
TIP: The unofficial advice for running the car
in from those that know is 'drive it like you stole it' from day one
From the AAOC Handbook:
The factory suggests that you drive the car normally for the
first 1000 miles. The club offers an alternative view.
We feel that you don’t need to rev engines too hard but you
do need to make them work early on. The power difference
can be VERY noticeable for machines that aren’t babied
through the first hours of their run in.
The reason why you have to ‘thrash it’ out of the box is
difficult to accept for people who remember the good old
days. Machining standards are so much better and hence the
tolerances are much tighter, that there simply aren’t “rough
edges” to smooth off, which used to be the case. Metallurgy
and casting techniques have also improved, so the wear
resistance and consistency of the metal is much, much better.
Couple that with the quality of modern synthetic oils, which
coat the surface more thoroughly, degrade less and bond much
better with the metal, particularly over time, and you can get
a modern engine with 20,000 miles or more on the clock that
hasn’t loosened up - and may never do so fully.
So you need to CAUSE a high wear rate in the engine’s early
days before surfaces become too polished (as opposed to
“bedded in”) to loosen the engine. This is why the bores in
new engines have a light cross-hatched surfaced honed onto
them. If they do become too polished, the oils can’t bond
properly, the engine will remain tight and seal badly. The
initial high wear rate declines quickly as the surfaces polish,
so the period you have available to get the engine bedded
in is very short. There’s virtually no effect on longevity, and
remember, internal friction is the enemy of power and torque.
It’s vital to use varying load conditions, whatever the load
level. Different throttle positions, revs, gears and loads will
prevent pattern-related wear in the early stages.
Letting the engine run down (engine braking) is also good, as
this encourages oil up the sides of the pistons to sweep out
debris, though it’s not ideal to drop down through the gears.
Don’t labour the engine (low revs, wide open throttle). Don’t
use the full rev range initially with only an occasional blip
to the red line. Change the oil early (at 500 miles, and again
at 1000 miles) to clear all the microscopic bits of metal, and
harmful chemicals produced during combustion, out of the
system. After the initial change you’re OK to use the full
extent of the rev range.
CAUTION: Don’t forget to change the oil filter
after 500-1,000 miles.
A suggested running in regime:
First 200 miles
60% rev’s max and never full throttle.
Basic semi-synthetic oil
200-600 miles
75% rev max, full throttle further up the rev range.
Basic semi-synthetic oil
600-1000miles
85% rev’s max, full throttle further up the rev range.
Basic semi-synthetic oil
1000 miles on
Nail it!
Castrol Magnatec 10w/40
All the way through this, warm it up first, never let
the engine labour, use the gear box up and down as
often as you can, and try and avoid motorway use.
Recommended Oils AFTER running in:
Engine: Castrol Magnatec 10w/40
Gearbox: Honda MTF
TIP: The unofficial advice for running the car
in from those that know is 'drive it like you stole it' from day one