Topic: Best break-in practices for the 4B11

[Warlox]

I was wondering what opinions people have about break in practices for the 4B11 engines we have. 

The manual says to vary your speed consistantly for the first 3000km and not to cruise at highway speeds for extended periods (more than an hour or so I think they mean).  Also, my salesman recommended to avoid using the cruise control for the first few thousand km which will help avoid maintaining said cruising speeds.

I read a site where this guy who does a lot with engines recommends a rigorous burn in period where he puts the car through a hard paced high RPM dyno ride through all the gears.  I think this guy did mostly motorcycles but he seemed insistent that it applied to any engine.

I think for us guys who arent all that engine savy, we would all like some opinions to the following questions:

What does a properly executed break in period do for your car? 

What would happen if you didnt do this properly (i.e. worst case senario)?  Can you fix it?

Would this differ for a 4B11T (ralliart or evo)?

What does it mean to "seat" your piston rings?  What effect would a poorly seated ring cause?

"Constantly vary throttle/speed" sounds like instructions for the layman.  What does this really mean? 

Some intersting links on the subject:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_should_you_'break-in'_a_new_car
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm (article I mentioned above)

Quote from another site:
"Manufactures are making engines with much higher tolerances today. Where cylinder clearances used to be in the thousands of an inch, now its in the ten thousands. Bores are rounder and straighter. There is know reason to baby a newer engine, it will actually hurt. You need cylinder pressure to drive the rings out onto the bore, which actually shaves the bore into a perfect fit. By babying it the rings will only rub and burnish the surface leaving a less then Ideal finish. So ... keep the revs below 4000 the first 300 miles, then drive it ... accelerate with meaning for the next 2500 miles and your all set. This is how all High Performance engines are broken in, and all engines today can be considered a high performance engine since they pull more power out then there predecessors ever did."

[tatsujo]

It just depends on you man. Whatever you believe in is what you should go with. I think Ferrari or one of those super car brand supports the drive it like you stole it. I understand both sides of the argument but have not seen any instance where how they drove their car the first thousand miles was the reason for a breakdown.

Me personally, drove it like how I was going to drive it overtime the first 1k miles. Hard at times, conservative at times.

[bras_33]

I drove mine hard from day one and it has been good to be since (Mar 07.)

[4B11Bobcat]

Yeah, the Lancer owners manual says take it easy for the first 300 miles, so it can't hurt to follow those precautions. I'm not sure what it says for the Ralliart, but I'd imagine the same applies.

 My car had 300 miles on it when I got it, so who knows how it was driven during that time, but chances are they didn't go easy on it. lol

[9gL]

I went slow and steady on mines. If the saying is true, I should be getter better mpg than tatsujo or bras, lol.

[bras_33]

you can always consult your owners manual for the break in period!!

[fullmetalpanic]

I went slow on mine for the first 200 miles and then did an oil change. After that I've been pretty good. I mean I romp on it every now and then ya know? But I do this with all my new cars. I just figure its not best to romp on an engine that hasn't been broken in and hasn't had its first oil change. All those shavings in there just can't be good for it.

[sneakerhi]

i drove mine normally for about 1000 miles but i tried punching a few times.
after 1k the engine pulled a little more so im guessing it was broken in during the 1k mark

[darkmana153]

when i worked for a dealer we had to break in some engines, our instructions were to drive the car hard!! high rpms (> 4k) for 1 hour straight... then we changed the oil. I believe this should be the same for any motor since all motors are built basically the same.

so i would say it doesnt hurt to ride it hard, i dont understand the "dont drive at highway speeds for extended periods" because driving on a highway is the best thing for any car.

[got_lancer]

when i drove out of the dealership lot, entering the 60 freeway, i put thepedal to the metal and hit 120 mph in the open freeway and been doing that 5 more times and never had any problems with it, HOORAY FOR WARRANTY!!! anyways, all this inforamtion is good, but you drive the car like your supposed ot be driving it, your car will break in by itself nad newer engines in more relaiable than those from before 70's and 80's we got MIVEC GOD DAMNIT!!!

[Lancer//Art]

I bought my Ralliart in December and thought I broke it in commuting 5 days a week for 60 miles a day.  But it wasn't till last week when I took a road trip to Tennessee (800 miles round trip) that I found I broke in my car.  I notice a little better gas milage, it seems to pick up speed easier, and it seems to shift better.

My baby now has 10k    I almost want to put it in a garage for a year due to I hate to see that many miles on it.   

I do have the slight problem or maybe I'm just noticing it more now, but when I park and go from Drive to Reverse to back up, it seems to lag, like I will push on the gas to go backwards and it doesn't kick in for about 3-5 seconds.  Anyone else have this issue?  Can it be explained?  If not I'm worried!

Other than that, I wouldn't recommend the previous statement of "Peddle to the metal" right off the lot, but then again I'm not a car expert and that could be good for it?   

I want to keep the miles off my car, and I could let my wife drive it 15 miles a day instead of my 60 miles a day but I love to drive it so much!  Anyone else have a lot of miles on their Lancer want to share to make me feel better?   

[LogicGTS]

I bought my Ralliart in December and thought I broke it in commuting 5 days a week for 60 miles a day.  But it wasn't till last week when I took a road trip to Tennessee (800 miles round trip) that I found I broke in my car.  I notice a little better gas milage, it seems to pick up speed easier, and it seems to shift better.

My baby now has 10k    I almost want to put it in a garage for a year due to I hate to see that many miles on it.   

I do have the slight problem or maybe I'm just noticing it more now, but when I park and go from Drive to Reverse to back up, it seems to lag, like I will push on the gas to go backwards and it doesn't kick in for about 3-5 seconds.  Anyone else have this issue?  Can it be explained?  If not I'm worried!

Other than that, I wouldn't recommend the previous statement of "Peddle to the metal" right off the lot, but then again I'm not a car expert and that could be good for it?   

I want to keep the miles off my car, and I could let my wife drive it 15 miles a day instead of my 60 miles a day but I love to drive it so much!  Anyone else have a lot of miles on their Lancer want to share to make me feel better?   

I've had my Lancer for 15 months and have almost 29k miles on it.

Feeling better yet?

[kaotikkaos]

I've had my Lancer for 15 months and have almost 29k miles on it.

Feeling better yet?

AhaH I have had my GTS since April 08, so about 16 months, I have 27k, is that good? I got the car with 50 miles on it lol....

[Lancer//Art]

AhaH I have had my GTS since April 08, so about 16 months, I have 27k, is that good? I got the car with 50 miles on it lol....

Someone must have took a joy ride with yours!  I only had 6 miles on mine when I got it.

Average yearly miles on the vehicle in the United States is 12,000 miles.  So 27K in 16 months is almost twice over average.  How can you blame us though? 

[Jedi Mind]

Got mine April 08 and I have 31k 

[mccougar12]

Took it easy in the beginning then drove it hard, now it varies, I usually drive it hard now and the odometer just hit 50K the other day and it still rides like when I got it.

[LancerRA09]

I did 110 on the way home from the dealership with my ralliart =]

[pogiboiuno]

I do have the slight problem or maybe I'm just noticing it more now, but when I park and go from Drive to Reverse to back up, it seems to lag, like I will push on the gas to go backwards and it doesn't kick in for about 3-5 seconds.  Anyone else have this issue?  Can it be explained?  If not I'm worried!

Mine does that too. I think its normal because its just trying to shift into the right gear.

[RADriver]

Drive it like you stole it. It was "broke in" at the factory.

[quaggo]

I do have the slight problem or maybe I'm just noticing it more now, but when I park and go from Drive to Reverse to back up, it seems to lag, like I will push on the gas to go backwards and it doesn't kick in for about 3-5 seconds.  Anyone else have this issue?  Can it be explained?  If not I'm worried!

My 09 Ralliart does the same thing you described when shifting out of park. It is most noticeable when putting it into reverse to back out of a parking spot/garage.

[RCameron412]

My 09 Ralliart does the same thing you described when shifting out of park. It is most noticeable when putting it into reverse to back out of a parking spot/garage.

Same here, and the orange R will start blinking if i hit the gas before it engages.

[Dakingsofly]

AhaH I have had my GTS since April 08, so about 16 months, I have 27k, is that good? I got the car with 50 miles on it lol....

LOL I had my 09 GTS since November 08, I have 29k, I got mines with 6 miles on it

[powight]

When I break-in my new cars I use conventional oil for the first 5k miles changing the oil at 1000, 3000 and at 5000 I switch to Mobil 1 synthetic for the life of the engine.  I also vary my speeds mostly by driving city streets with varying speed limits and traffic lights.  My morning commute is only 10 miles so I will take the freeway occasionally too.  My friends and I use this method in several makes & models with positive results.  My RPM's generally do not exceed 3-4k during the first 1000 miles.  This is my take at breaking in an engine, maybe too cautious but oh well.

[brandonnys]

I do have the slight problem or maybe I'm just noticing it more now, but when I park and go from Drive to Reverse to back up, it seems to lag, like I will push on the gas to go backwards and it doesn't kick in for about 3-5 seconds.  Anyone else have this issue?  Can it be explained?  If not I'm worried!

I noticed this with my RA. I don't know if it's supposed to do that because of the SST tranny, but I just deal with it.

My 2009 RA has nearly 30K on it, and I think that mine is only getting better with age.