Engine break-in no longer critical

Sat., Sept. 17, 2005

Greg Zyla King Features Syndicate

Q: Greg, my wife and I are about to buy a new car, and she wants to take it on a long trip right after we take delivery. I’ve always heard that the engine needs to break in for 500-1,000 miles and shouldn’t be driven at constant speeds during that time. Could we damage the engine by not breaking it in first? — Jim in Florida

A: Jim, when cars were built by hand and not by computers, there was a break-in period for the engine to help the rings seat properly on the pistons. A different weight mineral-based oil was used for the first 500 miles to help seal the rings.

However, according to my friends at AMSOIL, a synthetic-oil manufacturer, today’s modern engine manufacturing and materials technology is much more sophisticated. Passenger cars and light trucks with regular gas engines do not require the extensive break-in process. By the time you get your new vehicle, the engine has already been through a series of hot tests run on in-plant chassis roll testers to check functionality of all systems, and then driven around the plant to get the vehicle to the dealer. These heating and cooling cycles accelerate break-in.

Breaking in a new engine is the one area where petroleum oil is better than synthetics. Petroleum oil has a very low film strength, which is ideal for breaking in a new engine. That is why we recommend you run the factory-installed petroleum oil for about the first 500 miles. Then drain the oil, remove the factory-installed oil filter and install AMSOIL Synthetic motor oil and an AMSOIL Super Duty oil filter, and you’ll be ready to go.

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