Paul M

Was reading the owners manual of my new Zen (it's a full mod) and noticed it said no break in was required and yet I hear alot about engine break ins being necessary. I have heard about things needing to settle in, but is it really necessary to not use full throttle for 2 tank fulls? What are the consequences for not doing a break in?

I know the owners manual applies to the engine in it's stock form.

I have a friend who has had several and has never broken one in with no apparent problems .

Not trying to argue, just learn.

Thanks

jacob711

ussually if an engine isnt broken in it will seize up

TIA

So if you run an engine w/o breaking it in it will seize up, but if you break in an engine, which is running it, it won't seize?

How does that work?

Raylon

I've heard multiple things. I hear people swear by a complete break-in, and going really slow. But I also hear people say break them in like you plan on running them. My dad say he used to go with a buddy and test Evinrude motors because his buddies dad owned a boat shop. They would go full throttle out of the box and would never have problems with the motor.

GRANT ED

It doesnt work because its not true. The reason for a break in period is to ensure proper fit between the moving parts, in particular the cylinder and piston/rings. Different engines have different break in procedures. Some engines (like the zen) dont really have any special procedure. Out of interest the breakin for a light aircraft engine is to fly around the first few hour at full throttle.

jacob711

i meant that in the first run that it might seize up because that is when the parts expand the most and on some engines the piston can expand too much and seize in the cylinder, but GRANT ED is right it is to seat all the moving marts so they dont prematurely wear, this is what i was told when i got my nitro car.

madmodelman

I know I'm a naughty boy but with a Sikk supplied and tuned (works) from Sean O'Niell I had no time to break it in for the racing season (instructed to break in for 2 tanks). It goes like a train, 3rd, 1st and 1st in first three races. Maybe I'm lucky but it says it all to me!

martno1fan

i think the best way to run most engines in is to vary the throttle ie not go full out for long periods but rather run at mid to full speed for shorter runs this helps settle everything down .theres a big diff between a 2 stroke engine and a light aircraft engine ,2 strokes need to be run in mostly or they will sieze,ive read zens dont need much running in but i would allways run a 2 stroke in rather than risk it siezing up.

DIYMark

the point of a break in is to wear in the compontents to mate with each other smoothly and to provide a good working life with good performance - no or a poor breaking in may cause teh engine to seize or yeild poor performance. The idea of "wearing in" each surface of contact (ie; piston/cylinder, rings, bearings, bushes) is to have a smooth even surface for the oil to do its job. A good wear in will have a shiney finish on the rubbing surfaces and a poor wear in will leave a satin finish on the surface - that is a surface that once magnified will show a "chattered" finish on the metal. Any lather user, machinist knows how useless chatter is...

So a good wear in will ensure you have the power that your engine was designed to make.

The ways on wear in differ from person to person but GENERALLY it consists of:

Smooth acceleration and de acceleration (to make a smooth/shiney surface on the parts)

Cooling times (allows the components to cool and resize to their original dimentions to "restart" the wear in procedure next tiem use start it up)

Running the fuel a bit rich, however 2 strokes are richer if you add less oil and leaner if you add more oil (ie more fuel to oil vice versa) so if i were to wear in a 2t ill adjust the carbie to a richer setting and increase oil in my fuel (so it aids in wearing in).

And lastly a gerneral rule is to use a bout 5 tanks of fuel for this procedure (small enignes - under 100cc) and for each tank you increase to max rpm u use - for example...

1st tank max of 1/2 throttle for 1 seconds bursts

2nd tank max of 1/2 throtle for 2 seconds bursts

3rd tank max of 3/4 throtle burst for 2 seconds

4th tank full throtle burst for 3 seconds

5th tank full throtle burst for a max of 5 seconds

Perform all of these with SMOOTH acceleration and deacceleration, and bring the bost to speed then hold for time limit, then deaccelerate!!!

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...after this you can (if you want; i recommend) do a 6th tank that is of "noraml" use but with soft acceleration and decelleration to smooth out the wearign surfaces.... after this break in you can use HEAPs of tanks of fuel knowing that your enigne has been broken in!!!

REMEMBER - allow the enigne to cool to "room temperature" between the 1st and 2nd tanks

NEXT allow a 5 min cool between the rest of the tanks.

Do not skimp on your break ins as you will only rob your engine of its potential!!!!!!!!

martno1fan

well said mate wish i could have said it like that !!i dont understand why anyone would pay big bucks for an engine then not run it in propperly,i understand garys reasons as he had no choice and a full seasons racing to take part in but one wonders how fast his sikk would be with a propper running in period?.

DIYMark

Yea i wonder how much more faster he could go - jsut a thought maybe in the first race it was a crude form of wearing in (explains 3rd) then in the other races the "worn in" engine helped him achive 1st in both race???

TERBObob

My Feedback: (21)

hummm .... without sounding like I am wanting to step on some toes here with this answer , here is what I found , and am also curious , if anyone else has found the same to hold true .
I do not do ANY form of break-in ( unless you call WOT right out of the box , a break in ) , and after a half a dozen , or so , runs , the engines seems to come alive . ( actually get a few more hundred R's and seems to loosen up a bit )

rickburnout666

This question has appeared in the past, and it will again. It has caused a few rows, and posts, and threads have been removed, my advise is listen to what people say, and then break it in how you see fit, i wont say what i would do as i dont want to upset others/cause rows, and i dont want to cause you confusion in your choice .
Things that have to be thought about are, how deep are your pockets, and are you racing it or using it for fun (want it to last)
Good luck

Paul M

I have not had an engine seize, YET, but I have noticed the same thing TerboBob noticed with mine with the increase in performance after the 4th or 5th tank.

When I had my Mathe 35, Luigie at ELIKA said that not doing a proper break in would rob the engine of its full potential, but as we continued to discuss it the power losses seemed negligable by my standards but I don't have any racing near me so it didn't really matter. He went on to say that some of his customers were racers that did not run the engines in and basically beat the crap out of them for a season and then sold them to buy a new one each year.

On the other hand, you hate to spend alot of $ and not get full potential. I just don't have alot of time to run my boats so the thought of spending a lot of time putting around and waiting for engines to cool makes me crazy.

Thanks for the input.

HAS anyone had an engine sieze up out of the box ostensibly from not running it in?

redlinemotors

It is a good idea to break in a motor. I guess I just dont have the patience.. Never siezed one.

[email protected]

GRANT ED

I am a member of a model plane/heli club and a model car club. Between them There would be 150 members. I personally have about 25 running nitro engines in various models. I have never seen or heard of an engine siezing due to not being run in. I have also seen a bunch of engines pulled out the box and just run normally from day 1. A lot of team racing car guys do not break in their engines at all. I remember an interview with Jared Tebo who said he does not run his engines in because he feels his engines make better power with no break in. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is many, many different ideas on running engines in. I have myself used several different techniques. I have even used different techniques on the same model engine. To be honest I cannot tell any difference in performance or general running between engines. My tip for break in is pick a technique that appeals to you and use it. There are many out there and they all seam to work.

MrMikeG

I have seen ZENOAHS seize without proper break in. How do you think the "Piston mod" came into the engine builders? How many engine builders turn the top of the piston down? Do you think they do that because they like to waste time? No, it is so that the guys that run flat out right out of the box don't seize their full mods!

TERBObob

My Feedback: (21)

Mike .. without sounding argumentitive here ... if your talking about flat topping , or aka doming , the piston , its NOT for that reason , but for better ignition burning .
Or are you referring to camferring the piston domes edges ?

Believe It

pretty sure he is talking about turning the top of the piston down around the ring. I ran about a gallon through my stock 260 without touching anything and had no problems.

Justaddwata

My Feedback: (3)

Bob - I believe the mod that Mike is referring to is where material is removed from the skirt portion of the piston to reduce galling. I have heard of a handfull of people having issue with the piston galling on the cyl and reference to this mod being one way to avoid it.

As a rule - I take it easy on a motor with a new ring. I probably push it a touch harder than I should at times but by no means go out racing. Zens really do seem to have a break in period. Once that ring seats in after a few tanks there is a notable difference in how free it runs, a little easier to start, and a little more pace down the straight. Perhaps my own belief

Flabum

One more note on break in: it is not a good idea to use a synthetic oil during break-in, synthetics supplies too much lubricity not allowing break-in wear to occur.

MrMikeG

Yes I was refering to turning the top down to prevent seizing (not flat topping). 260's are prone to it.