3000, 5000 miles? And what is the best oil? I remember someone posting something about a synthetic called Red Velvet?

 

Pick up "break in oil" from any local garage. Run 500 miles, change oil to anything you want because it's broken in.
On first start you need to run engine at about 2000rpm-2500rpm to get the oil pumping to the cam. If using flat tappet it is more important to keep that rpm range because the lifters need to get broken in. After 500 miles and an oil change you should be able to open it up. I did 2 oil changes, first was after about 50 miles, then the second was after 600 miles.

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, Jon (350 TBI!)
91 Red My website

 

I disagree. The first several minutes of an engines life are its most crucial. I always break an engine in with Sythetic, checking the oil stick for any signs of metal frequently for the first couple of hundred miles, then change the oil and filter. I can guarantee that anyone professionally building race engines are breaking them in w/ Sythetic. And if you go buy a zero mileage brand new Corvette, you'll have 5 quarts of Mobil One in the crankcase, so you make the call. I have heard arguements stating that Sythetic oil won't let the rings "seat in", but I've done compression tests after about 500-600 miles and they were just as high as the engines I used to break in with conventional oil. If you use plasma moly coated rings, it takes a little longer anyway, but ends up will with less friction + less heat = more power + more longevity. I broke the 350 that was in my 82 Z28 in w/ Sythetic 2 1/2 years ago, and after around 330 1/4 miles passes and 13,000 miles of street cruising ( the slow, in town, stop and go cruising) and when I took it out to put in my 383, I pulled the heads off the 350 and you could see hone marks in the block. No ridge, nothing, just a little shinier. I pulled it apart to freshen it up, because we are going to put it in a dirt car, but I think it was unnecessary, because the bores, bearings, and everything looked perfect, but you can't ever be too safe. Wanna guess what I'll be breaking it with when I get it back together??

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82 Z28 383, Ported 215cc Dart Iron Eagle Heads, Comp custom grind roller cam, Speed Pro .250" domes, Wheeler Motorsports 4340 I beam rods, Eagle 5140 steel crank, Weiand Team G intake, Holley 800 DP, hedman headers
Trans: Turbo 350 w/ 4000 stall -- Rearend 7.5 w/ Richmond 4.10's, Auburn Minispool
Best ET: *NEW ENGINE* untried at track!!


89 RS, L03 305, Hypertech Chip,cat delete, Dynomax exhaust,K&N open element Filter,160 stat, MSD coil --Trans:700R4 Corvette Servo -- Rearend: 7.5 GM 3.42 w/ posi-lock
New Best ET: 14.91 @92.9
Bassett Racing
Mid Atlantic F Body -82 Z28 Page

R.I.P. Dale Earnhardt #3

 

I've done 2 oil and filter changes so far. One after 500 miles and the second, 1500 miles later. I've only had Penzoil 10w40 conventional oil in it. The guy who built the motor races cars and he said that it would start using oil if I used a synthetic oil. But it uses some anyway with using conventional oil. At the next oil change, I think I'll switch to Mobil 1 synthetic. I've heard excellent things about it. The motor has 3000 miles on it now so I guess it's broken in.

 

I use half synth/half reg and change it after 100 miles. You gotta change the oil ASAP to get the break-in lubes out. They clog the filter!!! Then half/half again until the 500-1000 mile change, then full synthetic ONLY IF A LEAKDOWN TEST CONFIRMS RING SEATING!

[This message has been edited by FastBroker (edited May 11, 2001).]

 

Do you guys pre-lube the motor with hand pumps? I was reading (I think) a linginfelter book and he said that you should always pre lube with a hand pump and he gave some part numbers that you could go and buy. Or did you guys just assemble with a coating of oil and then start it up?

 

Use a pre-luber and an electric drill. Make sure that it's not just a simple rod that drives the oil pump through the distributor hole. It has to have the "sealed oil passage" that looks like two humps on the distributor body. without this feature, you will not oil the driver's side lifter bank at all... Bad explanation but get a distributor or look in a catlog and you'll see the two humps/ridges I speak of. Gotta have 'em in a chevy. best if o-ringed, actually, but don't worry about that.

[This message has been edited by FastBroker (edited May 11, 2001).]

 

What is Basett Racing disagreeing with? I'm confused, the only thing I see that is different with his post and mine is the use of Synthetic oil. Personally I think it's a waste to spend money on Synthetic when you're changing it in like 100 miles. Just use dino juice, break it in for 500 miles keeping it under 4000rpm and you should be FINE. After the initial break in you could go to synthetic if you want. This isn't only my opinion but also the Larue brothers (englishtown pro street racers). They have a 750hp '70 Yenko Nova and own a local garage, they know what they're doing. Lets just say that they're running with GM motor mounts . Somethings just aren't worth wasting money on and I figure (just like them) that a daily driver isn't a SC, turbo, or No2 monstor with crazy tolerances so why spend all that money? People have been breaking in new engines with dino juice for a VERY long time now so how is it a bad thing all of a sudden?

------------------
, Jon (350 TBI!)
91 Red My website

 

I guess he breaks in with synthetic alone. I have had bad luck doing that but he may have had good luck. A few motors I did that on had a little too much blowby when the circle track racing started, from incomplete ring seating. Not good. I still say that you must do a leakdown test to see if the rings are seated/seating. Do a leakdown test on an absolute fresh rebuild and you'll know what I mean... I shoot for 4-8% leakdown, and only then do I go full synthetic. Synthetic oil is great, it's just too damn good to allow fast/proper break-in of high-friction components... You need to seat the rings FULLY and IMO, it's tough with moly rings and synth, especially. With any rings, I usually find that they are not fully seated until 2-3k miles, anyway., especially on a streeter.

The cost of a $30 synthetic oil/GOOD filter (Fram HP4, for instance) change should not be an issue on a multi-$grand motor, BTW... What matters is proper breakin of bearings and rings and piston skirts. This will lead to longer engine life if done properly...


[This message has been edited by FastBroker (edited May 11, 2001).]

 

To answer Speedlovr, I like Mobil-1... Easily attainable/cheap and enough Pro racing teams use it that it must be sufficient. Any brand-name will do, though, I am sure.

 

J Prevost, I was only disagreeing w/ the use of conventional oil for break in. Its not that conventional oil will hurt anything, just that I want sythetic oil on my bearings when they turn for the first time, and it will prolong the engines life. And as Fastbroker said, sometimes it takes a little longer to get the rings sealing, but Its worth the extra effort to me, and $30 is a small price to pay for longer engine life. After intial break in 20 mins @ 2000, I run the engine for another 30 mins at around 200 degrees, and then put 100-150 miles on the oil and then change it, and the leakdown is about the same as the engines I used to build w/ conventional oil. I don't know who the Larue Bros are, but Clements in SC, builds $36,000 800HP+ sprint car, and 750HP+ late model dirt track engines and they don't have a garage, they have a HUGE raceshop and supply most of the Southern All Stars Late Models with there engines and they break their engines in w/ Mobil. But there again, Its not really that conventional oil is bad, but sythetic is better. The flathead Ford used to be THE engine, but the OHV Chevy made them history, times change

------------------
82 Z28 383, Ported 215cc Dart Iron Eagle Heads, Comp custom grind roller cam, Speed Pro .250" domes, Wheeler Motorsports 4340 I beam rods, Eagle 5140 steel crank, Weiand Team G intake, Holley 800 DP, hedman headers
Trans: Turbo 350 w/ 4000 stall -- Rearend 7.5 w/ Richmond 4.10's, Auburn Minispool
Best ET: *NEW ENGINE* untried at track!!


89 RS, L03 305, Hypertech Chip,cat delete, Dynomax exhaust,K&N open element Filter,160 stat, MSD coil --Trans:700R4 Corvette Servo -- Rearend: 7.5 GM 3.42 w/ posi-lock
New Best ET: 14.91 @92.9
Bassett Racing
Mid Atlantic F Body -82 Z28 Page

R.I.P. Dale Earnhardt #3

 

I'm running Kendall GT1 20-50 (green slime)and I haven't had a problem. in both my street car and my bud's race car.

One time when we forgot to unlock the timing (Fel-Pro DFI) after we set it (28*) and made a run (11 @164) we melted 7 plugs (406w/34#)we pulled the motor apart and the only damage was pieces of spark plug stuck to the pistons and 2 of them had cracked on the crown, the bearings were PERFECT!