28 replies to this topic

[jaydee]

You need to mix both this methods, make sure you have healty oil pressure, then first bed in camshaft and followers, change the oil, and do a first run of minimum 50 miles.

 

Remember that the engine has to be assembled with proper engine lube rather than engine oil, because engine lube is sticky and wont leave surfaces dry if its been sitting for a while.

 

During running in is important that you dont put excessive load before the engine is well warm,  and that mixture is NOT rich, a slightly lean mixture is reccomendable at this point.

 

Comma sonic is an excellent oil for running in, just be carefull that 20w50 weight oils dont flow very good when below 10° degs, so first start up your new engine when its in the garage.

 

Dont listen whoever tells you that this is all BS, all production engines are run on a bench to bed in cams, and a good trashing is part of the quality checks of production vehicles.

[eden7842]

A good man once said to me.

"bed the cam in then f**king nail it"

The words of Paul wiggington.

[Pickering]

I personally do i gentle run in using miller oils running in oil then change oil after a few hundred miles

[59 Speed]

Sorry to change the topic slightly,

but how would you run the engine in using the hard run in method when you need to use the freshly build engine to get to the MOT station?

Cheers,
Ian

[jaydee]

MOT wont be a problem becuase during the run-in process you need a slightly lean mixture.

Just do about 100 miles before the MOT

[iTomKart]

 

Regarding the hard or gentle approach, with my go karts I tend to stick to what the manual says, and drive it with 1/2 to 3/4 throttle, constantly varying the revs etc.

 

Kind of off topic but I want your kart motors staying fresh; they are designed for full or no throttle. When you run a kart engine in you should use full throttle, covering the air intake (choking it) to stop the revs rising when you reach your desired running-in revs, but keeping full throttle. Then when you brake, choke it again until you turn it - keeps it nice and rich, and still loads the engine which is better than 1/2 throttle for a race engine

[59 Speed]

MOT wont be a problem becuase during the run-in process you need a slightly lean mixture.
Just do about 100 miles before the MOT

Cheers for the reply, but the problem is my car has no MOT, the car is currently being restored along with the engine.

Cheers,
Ian

[jaydee]

 

MOT wont be a problem becuase during the run-in process you need a slightly lean mixture.
Just do about 100 miles before the MOT

Cheers for the reply, but the problem is my car has no MOT, the car is currently being restored along with the engine.

Cheers,
Ian

 

 

Ok i understand so now the problem is trying to justify a 50 miles trip just to get to the local MOT station

 

 

 

 

Regarding the hard or gentle approach, with my go karts I tend to stick to what the manual says, and drive it with 1/2 to 3/4 throttle, constantly varying the revs etc.

 

Kind of off topic but I want your kart motors staying fresh; they are designed for full or no throttle. When you run a kart engine in you should use full throttle, covering the air intake (choking it) to stop the revs rising when you reach your desired running-in revs, but keeping full throttle. Then when you brake, choke it again until you turn it - keeps it nice and rich, and still loads the engine which is better than 1/2 throttle for a race engine

 

 

Competition kart engines have virtually no run-in except the run on the bench prior to fitting, and the engines will be stripped down after max 50lt of use.

[iTomKart]

 

 

 

 

Regarding the hard or gentle approach, with my go karts I tend to stick to what the manual says, and drive it with 1/2 to 3/4 throttle, constantly varying the revs etc.

 

Kind of off topic but I want your kart motors staying fresh; they are designed for full or no throttle. When you run a kart engine in you should use full throttle, covering the air intake (choking it) to stop the revs rising when you reach your desired running-in revs, but keeping full throttle. Then when you brake, choke it again until you turn it - keeps it nice and rich, and still loads the engine which is better than 1/2 throttle for a race engine

 

 

Competition kart engines have virtually no run-in except the run on the bench prior to fitting, and the engines will be stripped down after max 50lt of use.

 

 

Yes they are only run in for about half an hour, but the process and method is crucial if you want it to perform at its full potential :)

[jaydee]

Yes and thats why the builder always says to not give it the beans for the first couple of laps, a fresh engine will wreck if not fully warm.

So better to have a nice and happy customer and bed in the engine for them :)

[Dolly 89]

[quote name="jaydee" post="2957552" timestamp="1388324880"][quote name="Smackfiend" post="2957537" timestamp="1388323494"]
[quote name="jaydee" post="2957527" timestamp="1388322607"]
MOT wont be a problem becuase during the run-in process you need a slightly lean mixture.
Just do about 100 miles before the MOT
[/quote]

Cheers for the reply, but the problem is my car has no MOT, the car is currently being restored along with the engine.
Cheers,
Ian
[/quote]
 
Ok i understand so now the problem is trying to justify a 50 miles trip just to get to the local MOT station
 
 I wouldn't worry too much really, of it was me, I would start it up for about 5 mins, then take it out pretty hard, but just take a long route to the test centre, personally you only need about 20 mins of running in time, by that time the rings have hardened and sealed as well as they are going to, if I was to go and run a car engine in, in you're situation, I would go to the country lanes for about 15 mins and just thrash it straight away, after being sat to warm up, and then take it for it's mot, if you leave it ticking over too long you will get a very poor seal on your rings, and end up with blue smoke too soon,

[59 Speed]

I've also been told recently to use WD40 on the bores as lubricant instead of engine oil as using WD40 helps the rings bed in.

Has anyone else done this?

[HarrysMini]

That article was very interesting, thanks. 

 

I too have got to work out how I'm going to run it in without an MOT. I'll probably book the MOT and do most of my running in on the way and way back. Try and make it a 100 mile round trip as you really want to give it some long runs rather than lots of short runs. 

 

Maybe what I'll do is let the car warm up thoroughly for the first half of the journey to the test station, then thrash it a bit for the rest, and then the same for the journey back. And try to avoid motorways as you really need to vary the revs etc.

 

I don't know how MOT testers treat cars, whether they just leave them idling or what. Does anyone know?

 

And I've not heard anything about WD40 on the bores, but if you have oil in the engine, then surely they'll get engine oil on them anyway?

[Cooperman]

I have always run my engines in gently to begin with, then increasing the revs and the amount of throttle opening and thus the load as the engine beds in.

So for the first hours running I keep the revs low & throttle openings light, then over the next hour I take it up to around 4000 rpm with slightly higher throttle opening and more loading. After about 10 to 12 hours I consider it OK to use full throttle and around 5500 to 6000 rpm.

More important is to achieve the best engine settings as if the engine runs with incorrect mixture or ignition advance it can cause a lot of damage, especially if too advanced or too rich.

I had to take a Mk1 A-H Sprite straight to a rolling road on my trailer to get it set up after initial start, so we started it at the R.R. then ran it for 20 minutes on the rollers to do the initial bedding-in. After that we did runs at up to 5500 rpm and at full throttle. It was fine and gave a lot of power. That was a 1098 bored to +0.040" with a 295 head, flat top pistons, a 276 cam, twin HS4's. It gave 74 bhp at 5500 rpm and was a very competitive Historic Car in motor sport.