Sigma

This is not a "How do you Break-In the Renesis" question. I've read at least three different methods (MazdaUSA, Racing Beat, and the one proposed by the Pro Rotary mechanic in Japan). They're essentially the same, simply requiring varying lengths of time before driving it like you stole it.

My question is whether or not there is a school of thought in the rotary world for a "hard" break-in. In the piston world there's either the slow and steady break-in, or the hard and fast break-in. I happen to prescribe to the latter, it's never done me wrong, and my cars have always lasted longer, more reliably, and dyno'd higher than others.

Is there any voice in the rotary world that advocates a hard engine break-in?

(Note that I seperate engine break-in from clutch and differential break-in, both of which should get a good 250+ miles on them with minimal abuse)

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

I say go for it.

We need documentation on what the difference in life/economy/power would be!

Keep us posted on how long lasting/reliable/powerful it turns out....

S

vectorwolf

My car was a flogged test-drive mule (had just under 300 miles on it when I bought her), and was driven on a round trip from Indiana to Florida shortly after purchase. 22,000+ miles later, and she still runs smooth as silk. :D

rotarygod

Here's how I personally recommend break-in. It is very different than what is commonly accepted.

Use straight 30W conventional motor oil. Start the car for the 1st time and check for leaks. This all assumes you just built the motor. Let the car warm up completely. Then take it out for a drive and for the first 20 miles, drive it like you stole it! That's right, rag on it right away! The seals will never break in smoothly unless they have alot of force pushing them against the housings. What better way than to give them this push. Race teams do this and it works. Even most manufacturers do this to new engines but they won't tell you that.

At 20 miles, replace the oil and filter. Continue using straight 30W conventional oil. For the next 500 miles or so, drive normally like you would around town. At the end of this 500 miles change the oil and filter again. Replace with more conventional 30W oil and a new filter. For the next 500 miles drive normally but get on it from time to time. At the end of this 500 miles change the oil and filter again. This time you can use whatever oil you want. I personally use Royal Purple synthetic. It's fine for rotaries in spite of what everyone thinks. I've been using it for years.

This break in method works well on the enignes I build and I've never had any problems with this technique. You will actually have better compression then with traditional baby treatment for the first 1000 miles. It's what I do and will keep doing. It's kind of a combination of fast and slow breakin but the 1st 20 miles on a new engine are the most critical so how I treat it the next 1000 miles after that isn't really as critical.

Sigma

So there is some basis of belief for a hard break-in with a rotary. I'll do it your way rotarygod.

Now, semi-seperate question: What about the clutch and differential? On a rebuild one assumes that the differential and clutch aren't new, but one a new car they will be. Do you think such a harsh break-in the first 20 miles will do harm to them, particularly to the differential?

rotarygod

As far as clutches go that is a little different. They do need a slow bed in period. This may be a little hard to do if you are ragging on your car at first. Just don't drop the clutch. Engage the clutch slowly but don't be afraid to floor it after it is engaged. Just don't beat it up. Basically when I say rag on the engine at first, I mean just floor it up to redline. It doesn't mean 8000 rpm clutch dumps.

Sigma

Yeah, I figured the clutch wasn't a big deal. You can beat the engine hard without beating the clutch up. But you can't avoid revving the differential high. And, in my experience, differentials are VERY picky about their break-in. Ah well, a differential rebuild isn't that bad.

tuj

As long as you aren't exceeding normal highway speeds (say under 90 mph) or doing clutchdrops and burnouts, the diff. should be fine.