Whats the normal break in for a fresh motor with flat tappet cam? Im getting a killer deal on some brad penn oil and just wondered if i could run the break in all the time or should i switch to regular brad penn oil after?

 

I'm not familiar with that oil, but regular oils nowadays lack zinc because the newer cars have mostly roller lifters that don't really need zinc and the oil companies can make the oil cheaper without it.

So running a new cam on regular oil can lead to disaster. Use Delo 400 or other deisel oil, or use a zinc additive to break in the cam. I'd run an oil with zinc in it all of the time anyway.

I've always been told- break in a flat tappet cam at 2000 rpm for 20-30 minutes with maybe some slight variations in rpm.
This seems wrong on a new engine, but it keeps the oil flowing and slinging around. And momentum helps keep the lifters sort of floating across the noses of the cam lobes instead of digging down into them hard while the cam gets broken in.

 

Edit: ^^^^ Beat me to it.

I usually run them at 2000-2500rpm for the first 20 minutes. I'll rev it up a few times during that time too. After that, change the oil and filter and you should be good to go (as far as the cam). You aren't supposed to use syntetic oils (or blends) for break in. They don't have the propper addative package (Zinc?) I'm not going to tell you what oil to run, but I've been using Shell Rotela diesel oil in my motors for the last 4 years. Never had an oil related problem.

 

The higher rpms keep the lifters spinning on the lobes of the cam. Establishes a wear pattern.

 

brad penn is a higher performance oil comparable to royal purple. Its made in PA all USA refined. I talked to several machine shops and all recommended this oil over royal purple b/c its not synthetic.

has anyone ran break in oil all the time im just trying to figure out what to do with the other 5 quarts that i get in a case...

 

Good point about the lifters spinning while moving up and down. I've always wondered, do hydraulic flat tappet lifters spin too, or just solids? I know hydraulics are crowned, so I assume they spin too.