ERK419

I'm going to be breaking my engine in tommorrow (Sat), I got a Savage X 4.6 RTR. The manual says it will take 3 to four tanks and to let it idle with wheels of the grown for one tank then the next two or three tanks it says to drive around in circles at half throttle.

Now from what I have read on here it should take about 7 to ten tank. And I was told to let idle for the first tank with wheels of the floor and then drive in figure eights for the rest of the tanks.

So what should I do figure eights or circles adn 5 to 7 tanks or 3 to 4

Thanks
Eric

DaveG55

The diffs will seat better if you do figure "8's".
For break-in either do it by your book or, in many peoples opinion, a heat-cycle method is a far better way to break-in an engine.

ERK419

Thanks Dave thats what I thought but just wanted to confirm it agin, thanks. I'm going to do it by the book this time because this will be my first time and I don't want to mess anything up doing it using the heat cycle method.

what about the number of tanks

DaveG55

Well, if you're going to do it by-the-book and the "book" says 3-4 tanks I'd say 3-4 tanks...

ERK419

When I said I was going to do it by the book I just ment the method, I'm going to do figure eights instead of circles, 3 to 4 tanks just doesn't seem like enough becuase I've read on here 6 to 8

mazdab2600

by the 5th tank on mine i was staring the tuning. just a little(hsn) to keep it running smooth.
did my break'in by the book sort of.
idle first tank of the ground.
2-3 short blips around the yard not past 1/2 throttle
4th some blippin and out on the road(open stretch not past 1/2)for some longer runs getting 2nd gear to kick in.
5th started adjusting hsn.still not passing 3/4 throttle
now i'm into the tuning and breaking it stage.

badboy2

My Feedback: (13)

i think the more tanks the better..it wont hurt anyways..jusst make sure ur temps at least reach 200s.

DaveG55

Why, exactly, would you think more is better when the people who make the truck think more is unnecessary?
If your going to start randomly changing their procedure then you may as well look up the heat cycle method. At least it has the experence of hardcore racers and bashers behind it not the uncertain "seems like" of people who own one truck.
But do what you want, follow the book, make up something on your own or use a time tested method. Any break-in is better than none.

rcnitrohead

Use the heat cycle method, theres no reason you shouldnt. There is no way you can mess up, and if done properly your engine will perform better. I always devote at least 15 tanks to break in on all of my engines RTR spec or anything else. I took 1 gallon of break in on my STS 30, and a little over half gallon on my Sirio 18 since it was so tight. Dont idle it, thats so 10 years ago[&:]

ERK419

Ok so if I do the heat cycle would this be the link that I should follow


http://www.johnnycoolguy.com/JCGR/ma..._break-in.html


Also if so I have a few questions. Should I just wrap foil around the head to help it get to the 200 ish range. Also when I'm running it should I be doing figure eights. Also it says the total time should be about 20 to 25 minutes, does this include the time your waiting for the engine to cool down, or is this just the time the engine is running. Also if its 20 to 25 mins this should be between 1 to 2 tanks depending on if the 20 to 25 mins is with waiting for the engine to cool down or not. You said 15 tanks isn't that a little over kill there.

go-to

My Feedback: (2)

Well the same people also say that idling is a good first-few-tanks break in method. The heat-cycle method doing figure-8's is still by far the best method yet. I personally have never gone beyond 3-4 tank of this method and have YET to mess a motor up.

go-to

My Feedback: (2)

The terminology on the different engines is goofy in my opinion. *Break-in* for a stocker would normally take around 3-4 tanks because the *pinch* in the sleeve is fairly loose making it easier for the average Joe to tune the engine afte those first few (3-4) tanks.

An engine like the STS or Sirio as mentioned above have such a tight pinch that they require more run-time to loosen up. Where I come from that isn't breaking it in, but rather wearing the pinch to a point where the engine is useable/tuneable for the average person. I had a WS-7 II with such a severe pinch that after 1gallon of fuel it still wasn't right. Stock engine are purposfully not made this way because the average person doesn't want to mess with all that.

Pinch in simple terms BTW is how tight the top of the sleeve is...it's tapered towards the top of the piston stroke.

For your stock truck you want to leave the factory setting and run it rich for those first few tanks as the link suggests trying to maintain that 200degree F range. When you shut it down after each run make sure the piston is at BDC (bottom dead center...just push it all the way down) and then let it cool fully. Once it's cool then go through the whole run again. Do it 4 time and that should be enough for most stock engines. From this point you begin tuning the high-speed and low-speed needles for some performance keeping the maximum temperature range according to the manual. This is a highly debated number, but I tend to try and stick to around 270-290degrees F.