How To Break In a New Engine. 

Idk how to break in a new engine but i do know how to break a new engine

This is the best break-in video I've ever seen. Straight up FACTS from a guy who has actually put an engine together. Unfortunately, the VAST majority of people will incorrectly think they're still "breaking in" after 100 miles.

My tuner told me I was pretty much broke in after they dyno tuned it. Engine breaking creates vacuum and makes the piston rings expand which properly mates them to the cylinder wall. Swapped my break in oil after 100 miles. Then changed it again before 500 miles. Working so far

Dude! I know it's not just me, but rather the whole community that watches your channel, but thank you for the humility and knowledge you bring to the table. A lot of people would simply toot their horn as being the expert, but you recognize that there are different approaches and give your recommendation based on experience and understanding of these machines. Awesome video, man. Keep it up!

Always so informative and well organized! This channel is definitely top five Subaru channels imo! Keep grinding gang!

Iam a mechanical engineer 13 years exp. and was a mechanic for 5 years AND this is the best video on the web about this topic !! 👍👍👍👍👍🇸🇰🇸🇰

I recently bought an Outback with the FA24 engine in it. There was 43 miles on the odometer when I picked it up. I was concerned about how people “test drove” it. I have over 800 miles on it as of now. I drove it moderately for the first few hundred miles and did a few boosted highway entrance ramp pulls. Horsepower and torque feel really solid right now. The manufacturer recommends 1000 mile break in and no more than 4K rpm’s. I’ve only gone over 4K three times for a short period of time. I was a bit nervous that I may have hurt it until I watched your video. I honestly feel very comfortable that I didn’t hurt it. Thanks for a very informative video!

Exactly what I needed, my engine is almost done getting bored/honed so I should be assembling soon! Thanks for the tips

Thank you for all the video's. Waiting on my IAG 900 to come in. Spun a bearing in my stock STI

My longblock will be here any day perfect timing love your videos bro helped me with a lot of stuff pulling motor tear downs etc

you have the best sounding Subaru I’ve ever heard. Nice build and good video

Heat cycles are also very important too! Need to get it up to operating temp🔥

You're like my personal virtual tutor tbh I was stil stuck with the knowledge that engine braking is 300-500 miles. Well you learn things every day thank you bro

It was a very informative video. I learned a few new things today!💪🏾

Sounds consistent with what Andre was saying. Good stuff man 👌🏾

Goog ole boys here swear it takes 2,000 miles to break an engine in. Always thought that was rediculous, especially with modern oils. Good teaching moment. Thx

I was wondering about this. I’m still a long way from finished but it had been on my mind. Not as bad as I thought

what timing, just got my 06 STi rebuilt and here Tanner is to save the day 😎

Great timing, I was lapping valves for my engine going in hopefully this sunday

Followed, probably for way to long, the break in procedure Subaru suggested for my 21 and I use literally 0 oil between changes and I'm at 25k now. I really feel like a good break in is key when I hear about others that use oil at 30-50k miles already.

A great video brother. Stay safe out there.

Vid is good to go. Answered all my questions and thanks.

Really good info, thank you man. Definitely going to do this when I get my new brz, I don't believe the whole "1000 miles, keep it under 4k rpm" thing.

I'm am literally putting my engine the car right now, typing this with greasy dirt hands 😂😂😂😂

Always great info in your videos

Finshing my Ej255 rebuild, thanks for all the videos and info🫡

I think a lot of things said were good, but new parts arent smooth. The metal surfaces have high and low spots. The low load break-in process recommend by the OEM is to ensure these "rough" surfaces are polished down without heat and minimal wear on surfaces. Although oil is meant to hydrodynamically seperate metal parts, we still rely on protecttive additives like ZDDP and Moly. This wear is one of the reasons you don't mix and match engine parts during a rebuild, as the wear has already occurred between contact surfaces. High ZDDP content in break-in oils help coat the metal parts with sacrificial coatings faster than standard oils with controlled levels of ZDDP for say emmisions. They can also help chemically remove high spots in higher doses. I love your recommendation to replace oil at low miles. This helps remove assembly debris and break-in wear particles.

Just got my motor back from outfront motorsports today! This video couldnt have been released at a better time. Thanks for all the great informative content! 👍

Solid advice!

Really enjoyed this,iv got a golf mk6 R and I’m now having my engine fully forged with Carrillo piston & rods fall valve train ect ect gotta admit it’s kinda scary for me as don’t wonna mess it up iv put over 15K into this

Thank you for all your awesome videos. This one is awesome on the subject. Great job. One thing, what weight of oil would be best to break in with? Since the tolerances are tight.

78 la 360, just primer my engine without cranking on it, able to turn oil pump thru distributor shaft, had 60 lbs pressure and my rockers were oiling and I have roller rockers no cam break in, thanks for the tips, will use your technique for seating my rings

Extremely helpful nice one 👌

YES. The video I've been waiting for! Lol many thanks for sharing your knowledge on the subject! * so now you talked about the seating of the piston rings , and you explained that the process of the rings getting seated happens rather fast..And that your method of getting them seated involved driving the car at various RPMs while inducing vaccum. You advised against letting the car run at idle speeds on the first start up, and that's where I'm lost... So ... After the fuel pump and oil pump are primed, how do you burp the coolant system without having the car sit at idle for an extended period of time? The last time I burped my coolant it took A WHILE. How did you get around this?

Awesome vid, thank you so much. I'm about to get my newly rebuilt VQ35DE for my 2004 pathfinder and want to break it in properly.

Great video I’m one of those hard break in guys it’s worked out fine for my Sti. Knock on wood 😂

Always great to hear that STI running. I will have to double check but I thought my Subaru manual said 2500 miles for break in. Guess it’s time to have fun with the turbo then. Great video.

Absolutely fantastic info good sir thank you for all you do and share. Always love a good education.

This is a great video. Thanks 🙏🏼

A lot of motorcycle and watercraft builders also go by heat cycles. i used 8 heat cycles on my hi performance gp svho. ive had that motor 4 years and currently its 25 % more hp over showroom stock zero issues. changed the oil at 8 hours too

Clear flood mode cranking is all I have to say for priming. Well for an FA or FB engine at least.

So close to 100k😩🔥🙏Keep up the vids

Dont forget that aside from your 3 stone or ball hones grit, it’s allllll about the crosshatch angle specification to get the proper balance of oil retention and compression and heat dissipation. Machine shops can take it a step further with their machines by achieve a perfect “plateau” cut that accelerates break in

Just got my 19 sti back from the dealer who put in a new short block. They said they did the varying of rpm to seat the rings at first start up. The thing that has me puzzled is my boost was showing at 16.8 peak psi which means when they drove it after install they were hitting full boost. Has me a little concerned but i've been varying my rpms, engine breaking and not hitting boost myself even if it appears they did. Gonna start to incrementally add light boost like 4 psi and then change the oil at 1000kms and go back to normal driving.

Here's what I picked up: 1. Conventional Oil to Prime engine - idle and check for leaks - don't forget to add coolant - Rev to 2k rpm - shutdown and drain oil. 2. Engine Break-in Oil - 0 to 50 miles. Stay out of boost (30% throttle or so)! Drain and change at 50 miles. 3. Engine Break-in Oil- 50-250 miles. Limited boost (30%-50% throttle or so)! Drain and change at 250 miles. 4. Regular Synthetic oil of your choice. Have fun full boost full throttle.

Good informative video

Just finished my EJ build. Cosworth break-in procedure on the dyno ~1hr, maintenance, then tune and power runs right after. Simples

Thanks for the video Tanner, this was great! Having the brand new type RA long block assembled for my launch edition this week, so this video comes in handy. Instead of following Subaru's break-in process of first oil change after 1k, I'm going to do an oil change at like 500 miles. Edit, side though. Makes sense that the boost gauge isn't functioning on the center gauges. But, does the drivetrain screen still work?!

Perfect time new engine should be done this coming week

Hey @smeedia im building my fa20 and i was wondering if the motul 10w-40 mineral break-in oil is the one i should use during the break-in procedure

Tbt to when you told me this break in for my 21 STI but I was picking it up from my dealer out of state and didn't really have much variation since it was pretty much all highway 😅😅 I tried to fluctuate between 5th and 6th at different speeds to help as much as possible but yeah

What type and brand of conventional oil do you use for the cam break in? And I have Brian cower cams on my STI in my new built motor. I haven’t started it yet. But I noticed when I turn the crank by hand (the correct way of course) I hear the left head clucking and then after a few more turns the right head. That normal? Thanks

I had my foot resting on the pedal of my new car when I started it and revved to red line lol I’m not used to driving light digital petals. 😅

coming out with this video right when im going to put in a new engine lol thanks

do you think if u do it with e sparks plugs in would that be ok?

Would you recommend the same process for a 4x4 3.0 litre Diesel engine?

Awesome video bud! I actually need some advice on my build. I had a complete rebuild on the car and it's sat for about 6-7 months. It was on e85 and my parents have been running it from time to time running it on 93 to burn up some of the old fuel. What would be some stuff that I should do when I finally get the car back? I'm planning on changing the oil and going over all the fluids.

Love your contents! If the car was previously tuned on all the mods including bigger turbo, injectors, pump, etc.. and there are a few maps including valet and economy. Would it be ok to break in a new short block with economy or valet map on pump gas?

Hi. Can i please ask a question and get your opinion? I bought a brand new CF MOTO 450RS motorcycle and from new, gear changes were rough and it had vibrations. After the first service, the bike felt a lot worse, and engine was over heating sporadically. At 1400klm I realised when the dealer said that it was normal and I had taken the bike back 6 times, back to the dealer, I investigated the problem and found the dealer was filling the oil to below the empty level. When I toped up the oil, it took 750ml to get it to the full line. That's 1/3rd oil missing since new. In the cf moto user manual it states that the oil should only be filled to below the low line, but in doesn't say if this when the bike is on the side stand or upright on a service stand. Turns out they were filling it up on the service stand in the upright, and those instructions were for the bike being on the side stand. So dealer was filling my bike and some others short of oil. Engine now sounds rough compared to new bike and I am hearing a slight ratting sound. Can you please tell me, during this crucial run in period, what is the potential damage to the engine and gear box? I think during the crucial 1000klm run in, period not having enough oil to meet even the bottom line of the low😊 indicator mark would have caused damage, but dealer said no, it's o.k..

Love the content!!! Does the ( break in period ) included brand new off the lot cars?? As in new cars from the dealership?? Might sound dumb but I thought I would ask for the public. I bought my STI new from the dealership .. thanks

After the braking oil.......what type of oil u use,,,,,,,,,I have a 2007 sti limited.....iag second stage ,,,,,,,and iag said motul 5w 40,,,,,,the builder said 10w 40 Castrol regular oil,,,,,,?????love your channel lots of grate advice

Only thing that really bothered me is around the 3:00 mark when you explained the rings. ONLY the 3 piece ring at the bottom is the oil control rings. The top 2 are compression rings even though they are made/coated of different material (chrome, moly and cast typical). I did take all your advice on the priming of the engine etc. thanks.

I changed the oil at 50 mile then 250 then 500 and drove the car like you and then changed it again to motul v300 at 856 miles then on the dyno it went

What about the rest of the drive line?... Does the clutch/transmission/breaks take less than 500 as well? I got a WRX coming in next month and I take the time to follow break in on my new vehicles... but I also hate wasting my time and want to treat it like a toy sooner than later

I got two hours to talk about engine breaking in I am all about learning how not to break my engine again I am on my 3rd EJ and 3RD turbo set up currently at 197 miles on the new engine thx for the info

@smeedia hi ya,iv got a golf MK6 R & iv just had my engine re built with everything,Carrillo piston & rods supertech valvetrain cometic gasket ARP bolts polished/ported head & so much more,long story short my friend who’s built so many engines has now decided to leave me stranded right at the last bit & he knows the running in wasn’t something i wanted to do,we did the priming turning it over so all that is done,it’s now just the run in & he’s saying 500 miles (he’s always been extra safe) can you give me any tips? From what i THINK i no is..don’t keep at same speed change gears up & down regularly & do a lot of engine braking either by the paddles (it’s a DGS) with a 7 speed RS3 box,or just in S mode & let the gears drop from 5/4/3/2 ect then pick back up to speed & repeat,never staying at the same speed always up a little & then down a little,& keeping the RPM under 4K ? From what iv said is there anything you’d say to do or not do? BTW it’s on the 2.0L block well apparently it’s now like a 2.1 & the turbo of choice is a G25-660 i no you can’t put foot down for the turbo to come on but i really want to give this car the best start because iv put around 17K into this build & im from the UK BTW I’ll appreciate any tips you can give 🙏

What a timing coincidence. I did a thing yesterday and swapped my 21 wrx for a 22(even got the dealer to swap my parts back to stock so I dont have to do the work 🤣). Basically a straight swap over due to the insane used market. So in the break in period now. I miss the power I had in my 21, but im going to enjoy getting more power from the FA24 😁

Since you're going to be in Spokane in a few weeks for your tune, if you're in town for the weekend, we should do a Subaru / Car "meet and greet." For all the locals who follow you. Just a thought.

Smart guy!

Is it true that new cars from the dealership were already broken in? Thanks bro, great review for this topic🤝

IAG has the 1000 mile engine break in. Very difficult to follow. 1000 miles with no highway mileage. Tough to do in town.

17:03 YES! That's how you have to be on RU-vid. I got a Naturally Aspirated EJ251.. Is the procedure still the same/about the same? About 100-250 miles and done?

Im doing a first start up on a type ra block soon, so you think its a good idea to keep those sparkplugs out to prevent load on the rings when priming?

I work at a engine plant for one of the big 3 they only us oil on the piston bores to help the operators with inserting the pistons. The whole engine is assembled dry no oil.

Usually the "break in" is the trial and errors phase. After that I'd leave the rest to the monitoring systems. Most dudes assume it takes thousands of miles🤦🏻‍♂️. Just as long as components are well lubricated and at optimal temps, range, specs, ext.... This was a great topic to bring up T. Im more of a run it-break it -fix-it and repeat type of dude to make room for improvements. -Smeedia in a nut shell😅 No offense T 😅✌🏼. + my tuner recommends stock-ish 15+ wrx's with bolt-ons, spark plugs to be gapped at .30-.33 But Subaru recommends .22 for maximum performance Seems very low Imo? Blu sounds INSANE!!

Exactly what I’l do with my Smeedia engine

Hard self reassurance starts at 3:05 lol. But jk as usual you're the man

Things I like about this channel… 1) The average 50 year old Joe Lunchbox can apply a lot of knowledge learned here to his own car, even if he leaves it bone stock. 2) The host is well spoken and doesn’t talk down to newbies and casual enthusiasts. 3) There’s no screaming and flailing around. Just good info presented calmly. 4) I really dig the old school, “Don’t do what I’m about to show you how to do” approach. That’s how Gen X learned half the crap we know. lol

Question for you. What brand of break-in oil do you recommend? I am about to start the process and want to ensure I have everything I need.

I like Nardo Grey and have yet to see any Subaru done in that color. I mainly see it on new muscle cars, high power audi lol, and exotics.

We need a teaser of the new whip!! It is Thursday after all!! 🙏🙏🙏

Nice timing I just bought a 2022 wrx haha

Could you make a version for non-mechanics? My dealer put in a new engine, so I just need to know what to do now. And I don't understand your terms; have no idea what "boost" means. The 500 miles info was super helpful, though - thanks!

good video

This is in general even with IAG Engines? Because I'm like 700miles on my Stage 2 Tuff and Haven't introduced Boost yet. Should at least introduce it to maybe 10psi? What do you think?

Love this video, very informative. I'm thinking making strengthening my stock FA20DIT F weak point just make it more reliable and I'm not ready to have it make more horse power. This is my second wrx since someone else wrecked my first modded wrx I bought from a dealer.

I thought blow by referred to the combustion gases and fuel passing the rings into the crankcase resulting in higher crankcase pressure and that oil passing the rings into the cylinder was just a symptom

Hi. I have a same build as yours around 400whp build. Your sounds pretty rowdy I love it My question is engine breaking I am about to break in IAG closed block When doing engine break-in can I heel and toe BLIP the throttle( like I always do) to down shift so engine break. Or is it preferred to stay in the gear and let engine break when coming to a stop? I do hear in your video ( driving part ) you do blip the throttle for downshifts

Just got a new IAG stage 2 tuff they recommend 1k with a break in tune, is a break tune critical or can I just keep the revs down and stay out of boost and all that on a normal tune.

Thoughts on the take I’ve heard where you need to use high rpm to have the rod forces/stretch in order to seat the full length of the hone? I.e., low load but up near redline and engine brake back down?

What would your break in procedure be when collecting brand new car from dealer ? as manual has no break in procedure at all

Do I need a tune for changing out my factory boost controller to the grimmspeed boost controller solenoid?

I have a heavy heavy clutch. how am i supposed to stay under 3k rpm when i have to be at 3k to even get her rolling

Who did your dashboard.. what is it called?

They haven't been putting zinc in automotive oil for a long time because it builds up in catalytic converters. However Kawasaki lawnmower oil has zinc already added comes in most of the common viscosity ratings and is cheaper than break in oil. I use 20% Lucas synthetic oil stabilizer for all oil changes too. I think this is one of those things where there is no right answer because there are too many variables hence all the "controversy" surrounding break ins.

You can prime oil on any Subaru 09 and up by putting the gas to the floor with it off, holding it there, and then cranking. It's cuts fuel and spark automatically

My iAG engine listed 800 to 1000 prior to a tune. My break in tune limited RPMs to 3800

What happens if you let it idle during the break-in period?

So I’ve been absolutely grandmaing my new iag block for the last 200 miles, I assume I’m good at this point to drive it like a normal car?

Can you just take off oil filter and make sure oil is dripping from there when cranking - ensuring oil pump is primed and pushing oil up. I don't have anything to measure oil pressure with...