Breaking in my engine

[Muzzers]

Hello. I have a 2016 st. It has a stage one remap and ITG induction kit. The engine is goosed so im installing a new one..

With the new engine I am adding an upgraded intercooler (STAGE1) a bigger radiator, the turbo has been overspooled, and turbosmart waistegate..

My questions is about breaking the engine in.

Should I leave off the new upgrades until the engine is broken in? And can I break the engine in with an overspooled turbo that has not been tuned? Im worried about damage to the engine and/or turbo

Any help is appreciated

 

[Grsemky]

There's 2 rules of thoughts when breaking in engines; first is to just let her rip, not always the best.. and secondly is to assemble the motor as it's intended to run and be gentle on the throttle for the first 1k miles give or take

 

[SteveS]

All engines should be broken in the same way. Initial start and run with gentle throttle for a short drive. Shut down, allow to cool, then check fluids, for leaks, and that everything is still snugged up tight and correctly (belts, wires, etc.) Then for the next 500-1000 miles essentially drive relatively normally but no redline operation and no sustained operation at constant same rpm. These miles should also include plenty of firm but not flat out acceleration, then coast back down, accelerate again, coast back down. This should happen in middle gears--2nd-4th--and when there's no traffic around that you will bother. This kind of acceleration is what best seats the rings. Driving too gently will actually lead to an engine that burns oil because the rings never properly seat.

At this point, if it was a one-off engine that was hand machined and assembled, as is typical of boutique performance engines, the treatment differs from modern factory assembled engines that come in cars you buy off the showroom floor. They advise continuing to drive until the regularly scheduled oil change mileage--anywhere from 6000 miles to nearly 10,000 mils-- before the first oil change. But on an individually built engine you would now change the oil after the initial 500-1000 miles.

 

[Silfister]

A lot of what SteveS stated was included in Break-in 101 written by pelotonracer2 over ten years ago. I pretty much followed his advice to the letter and all these years later my little 2015 beast still runs like new (only ~22k on the odometer.) If interested, here's the link:
https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/drivetrain-break-in-101.1659/ This guy's an engineer who's had a lot of experience w/ engines and knows what he's talking about.

 

[Muzzers]

All engines should be broken in the same way. Initial start and run with gentle throttle for a short drive. Shut down, allow to cool, then check fluids, for leaks, and that everything is still snugged up tight and correctly (belts, wires, etc.) Then for the next 500-1000 miles essentially drive relatively normally but no redline operation and no sustained operation at constant same rpm. These miles should also include plenty of firm but not flat out acceleration, then coast back down, accelerate again, coast back down. This should happen in middle gears--2nd-4th--and when there's no traffic around that you will bother. This kind of acceleration is what best seats the rings. Driving too gently will actually lead to an engine that burns oil because the rings never properly seat.

At this point, if it was a one-off engine that was hand machined and assembled, as is typical of boutique performance engines, the treatment differs from modern factory assembled engines that come in cars you buy off the showroom floor. They advise continuing to drive until the regularly scheduled oil change mileage--anywhere from 6000 miles to nearly 10,000 mils-- before the first oil change. But on an individually built engine you would now change the oil after the initial 500-1000 miles.

Should I get the car tuned before breaking in the engine? I can leave off the new upgrades such as, the wastegate. But the turbo has been overspooled, but the ecu has not been tuned for it.. im concerned it will damage the engine during break in?

 

[SteveS]

Should I get the car tuned before breaking in the engine? I can leave off the new upgrades such as, the wastegate. But the turbo has been overspooled, but the ecu has not been tuned for it.. im concerned it will damage the engine during break in?

No. The process of tuning will be detrimental to the engine. To tune the engine they put it on a dyno and do numerous hard pulls. As fas as the turbo goes, what exactly do you mean by "overspooled" Ordinarily overspooling is a bad thing that happens when the turbo spins too fast because of a clogged air filter or broken wastegate or something like that.

 

[Muzzers]

No. The process of tuning will be detrimental to the engine. To tune the engine they put it on a dyno and do numerous hard pulls. As fas as the turbo goes, what exactly do you mean by "overspooled" Ordinarily overspooling is a bad thing that happens when the turbo spins too fast because of a clogged air filter or broken wastegate or something like that.

I had the turbo refurbished as it had a leak and I had to remove it anyway.
The guy phoned me and asked if I wanted it upgraded with stronger components that would overspool the turbo. I agreed. That's as much as I know.

Not an expert on this by any means. Thanks