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Break in oil, normal driving oil......thoughts??

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Brosky

Brosky

Great Pumpkin
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This is a topic that is sure to bring a lot of comments, so here goes..... :yesnod:

I was talking to Bob, the machinist doing my engine the other day and I asked him what he would use for break in and then normal driving oil after the first 600-1,000 miles. Though I'm not surprised at the first part of his answer, I am at the second.

He said that he would run the initial start-up and 20 minute run with Shell Rotella T 15W-40, which is high grade diesel oil. He uses it in all of the high horsepower engines that he builds and breaks in on his dyno. Then a drain and filter change and another run of of the same oil for 600 - 1,000 miles at which another change takes place.

He said that if I saw that I wasn't burning any oil at that time, I should switch to a full Synthetic oil, such as Quaker State's Q-Torque Power SM rated synthetic oil.

Bob said that he felt very comfortable with these oils and the new cam installations that he does. As I looked around, I saw 10-12 boxes from Comp & Crane cams for engines waiting to be built.

Oil is a topic that has been discussed a lot in the past, but it has been a while, so I'm looking for break-in as well as after usage thoughts or experiences, if there are any on this.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

Does Rotella have zinc?
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

Ya know, Bill, I wondered that too. I can't seem to find that it does, because they say that they have a "proprietary" additive developed for this product line.

Now it may, or it may not, depending on what they are trying to keep proprietary. From what Bob tells me, the tractor pull and high rev guys love this stuff. For what they spend on each engine, I can't imagine that they would take chances on oil breaking down and not lubing a cam in a new engine.

There was one of the all yellow 500HP Chevy engines sitting there that was completely redone to probably 650HP and it will get the same oil.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

Paul, I believe the zinc has been reduced considerably in Rotella. Also many of the synthetic oils do not have enough zinc.

I seem to have had pretty good luck with what I did.

Called a couple of oil companies and talked to their tech lab reps. Found one with the zinc level I wanted and used that.

For break-in I added GM EOS and changed oil and filter after 100 miles. Added a couple of oz of EOS to the next fill and changed oil and filter after 500 miles.

Changed oil and filter, no EOS, and went to a 2,000 mile oil and filter routine.

The oil I use is Citgard 500. But I recommend doing your own research and phone calls because of the fast changing oil formulas.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

This has been debated a lot. You might want to read this article, just to get another view:

Newsletter
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

Hey Paul. As far as breaking in a new engine, it's been a while since I had to deal with it, but I've been around a few mechanics and most agree that getting the rings to seat and seat quickly was key, before the cylinders started to glaze making sealing more difficult and sometimes never seat as good as they could.
To that end a lot prefer a cheap oil for break-in. Not for long, then change to what you want to use forever.
As far as the Zinc, and now this is me talking, I'd think about adding it to the cheap stuff.
Next oil change, I'm going to Valvoline VR-1. Possibly straight 50w, but more likely 20w-50.
And Dr. Bill, I'm all set to go first thing in the morning. Jeff hasn't commited to showing up yet, but I'm not thru working on him, yet.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

PB,

Back in the days where no one worried about cams getting wiped out overnight, I did the same thing. Right now, for an extra $20, I'm going to go with what Bob says. Apparently, he feels that this will do the same thing and protect the cam to the max, so I think that I've got to give it a shot, especially now that I know the zinc is in there.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

I'm going to stick with Brad Penn oils for now. They have a break-in oil and their green racing oils that are all up to snuff.

poolboy, cheap oils are still an option on later model cars, I think around '89 on.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

Doug,

I never heard of Brad Pen oils. Which are you using?

I'm looking for all new info here, so let me know.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

Paul, just make sure your machinist will warranty his work if you follow his break in procedure. Race engines don't get warranties, neither do they see extended periods of use. Longer than one season is rare. I'm sure you want your engine to last longer than the typical race engine.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

Shawn,

I had a lot of discussions with Bob about building a reliable and long lasting street engine. I was originally sent to him by a local restorer who uses him for building engines for street use all the time. He actually has a full service four bay garage attached that does a great deal of engine work on every day drivers.

The guy that sent me is a perfectionist, so I trust his judgment. We've collaborated on a few projects over the years when I was still in the business and we tend to think alike about how we like things to be done. Bob fits into the groove nicely.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

Paul - I just put up a new post on this today with product recommendations from Castrol.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

Paul,
Brad Penn oil used to be Kendall (SP?) You can find info on the internet. I believe Brad Penn is short for Bradford Pennsylvania which is where the old Kendall, now Brad Penn refinery is located.

You say Bob does a lot of HP engines. How many are flat tappet? The big concern in the past few years is the effect of current oils on old style flat tappet cams. Just to be sure you may want to discuss the flat tappet issues.

I've talked to Ted at TSI about breaking in a cam. You may want to call and talk. If I remember correctly he said to run the engine at 2000 rpm for 20 minutes. Shut it down, change the oil and start driving. I think he may have said change again after 500 miles.

After Bill's unfortunate problems I did some more searching and reading. I recall finding one site where the author said the engine should be run at 2000 rpm for some number of minutes. He said you do not get full oiling of the cam at lower rpm. Someone may have mentioned this in the threads on Bill's cam as a possible reason for his failure. He hay not have broken it in at a high enough RPM.

What ever you do. I'm sure you will let all of us know both the method and the result. A hotter cam is in my future so I'm anxious to read your experience.

BOBH
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I've talked to Ted at TSI about breaking in a cam. You may want to call and talk. If I remember correctly he said to run the engine at 2000 rpm for 20 minutes. Shut it down, change the oil and start driving. I think he may have said change again after 500 miles.[/QUOTE]

Bob,

He has built a lot of flat tappet engines over the years and stands by this recommedation. I just found a copy of the break in sheet for flat tappet cams from the AERA Technical Committee that came with the cam and it calls for Delo 400, Delvac or Rotella T. Any of these three along with the cam lube that comes with the cam.

I would follow Ted's procedure above as well after pre-oiling the engine.
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

I made alot of phone calls also. I am using VR-1, what's wrong with that? I may switch to full syn.. Also, it is my understanding, that if they haven't already, Rotella will be cutting zinc, but they say the new formula is even better, who knows. Why not just use VR-1? What's wrong with that?
 
Re: Break in oil, normal driving oil......thought

One thing I like about Brad Penn is it's a parrafin based oil rather than the common sulfer based base-stock. The parrafin base is of a much higher quality...IMHO.
 
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