Originally Posted by bbobynski

There is some fallicy in the ring breakin advice. I agree that the ring breakin to the cylinder walls happens very rapidly and your comment about the time to the haulaway truck is pretty accurate. The main thing that needs to breakin with the rings is the SIDE of the rings to the SIDE OF RING LANDS. That mating surface is critical for good sealing and the ring motion against the side walls and gas pressure loads against the side walls is what breaks in the rings to the ring lands. This is especially critical in todays engines that have the top ring closer to the top of the piston and that have hard anodized top ring lands for poundout and wear prevention. Hard anodizing of the ring lands leaves a "pebbly" surface when viewed under and SEM. That surface must be burnished smooth for good ring seal and the hard anodized surface is tough to burnish down. It takes load. To really break in the rings against the side of the piston ring lands it is helpful to apply full load for brief intervals and then allow heavy engine braking to load the rings the other way and cause them to move around on the piston so as to burnish the sides of the ring lands.

I often recommend a procedure that can be done on the expressway by putting the trans in a manually selected lower gear so that the car is about 4500 RPM at 45-55 MPH. Full throttle up too 5500-6000 and then lift and allow engine braking back to 4500. Do this 10 times and then drive normally to cool things off. Repeat. Do this several times on several consequtive days. This is excellent for braking in the rings or exercising the rings on an older engine that might have carbon deposits restricting ring motion causing poor oil economy.

Originally Posted by 8strung

What are these "blue highways" you speak of? I've seen you use this term once before, but I'm not familiar with it. I'll be driving on the Interstate

Originally Posted by 8strung

Alright, so I broke in my new White LX MT with a long drive from LA to TX, 320 miles. I tried to vary the rpms best I could and speed as well. Also did some engine breaking from 5500 to 3500 a few times for the piston rings. I accidentally revved hard and high on some down shifts as I got used to the car and tranny, hope I didn't hurt anything. Also had to squeeze the brakes hard to avoid a traffic jam. I didn't skid or anything, but grabbed them firmly. Basically I hope I didn't screw anything up with my stupidity, but time will tell. I figure if some people drag race their cars on the first day, I probably will be okay. Do fast rpm rises from driving MT hurt a new engine?

Originally Posted by dlallen

I broke in our '09 FIT m/t on the interstate by getting on and off every exit I came to. Great for changing engine speed and going up and down gears - fun!

Originally Posted by spaceballs

The Owner's Manual only has a line about not accelerating too rapidly or braking too rapidly for the first 600 miles. Why all the comments about varying speeds?