Breaking in my engine...info please
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Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2004
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Breaking in my engine...info please I ve been building a 383 ls1 with a sts kit, and its almost done...Kinda..but i was wondering if i should break it in NA or put the kit on and take it slow. i could put the kit on with or with out the intercooler. It wont be tuned or nething since its the first time it will be running in a year and a half. Ill prolly use the stock injectors until i can get it tuned and use the 60lbs ones, right? the compression is around 9.5:1 Anyone have any input, what should i do? 
Thanks, Dave
Thanks, Dave
Last edited by 95maroman; Sep 15, 2005 at 08:11 PM. Reason: extra info
Whatever you do, don't run any boost till you get a tune... you'll be gambling big time.
Originally Posted by 95maroman
I ve been building a 383 ls1 with a sts kit, and its almost done...Kinda..but i was wondering if i should break it in NA or put the kit on and take it slow. i could put the kit on with or with out the intercooler. It wont be tuned or nething since its the first time it will be running in a year and a half. Ill prolly use the stock injectors until i can get it tuned and use the 60lbs ones, right? the compression is around 9.5:1 Anyone have any input, what should i do?
Thanks, Dave
Thanks, Dave
You should brake it in with the setup your going to run. But PLEASE make sure it is in proper tune! The rings NEED the cylinder pressure that the motor and turbo is going to run in order for them to seal well. What happens is the with the increase in cylinder pressure causes the rings to push harder in the cylinder walls and will result in better sealing as the rings are "fitted" better for that load.
I worked in a NASCAR shop for a few years and watched them brake in new race motors. They fired them up, brought them up to temp, shut them off, checked for leeks, re-torqued a few thing and the re-fired them, and started making pulls, increasing RPM with each pull till they reached peak RPM. Then they made full pulls till they the torque numbers leveled off and they knew the rings had sealed and the motor was ready to go racing.
I worked in a NASCAR shop for a few years and watched them brake in new race motors. They fired them up, brought them up to temp, shut them off, checked for leeks, re-torqued a few thing and the re-fired them, and started making pulls, increasing RPM with each pull till they reached peak RPM. Then they made full pulls till they the torque numbers leveled off and they knew the rings had sealed and the motor was ready to go racing.
I built my blown 383 and put 500 miles on it before I tried any boost. As it turned out, I had some bugs and flaky parts, and I probably would have ruined the motor if I hadn't kept it down low until everything was running well together. Now everything's great and I'm getting around 8lbs. of boost at 6100rpm.
Once you start making boost, the rule to remember is if you hear ANY knock, lift your foot, then figure out why it's detonating, and fix it.
I really like Jeff Hartman's book on Engine Management Systems. His section on tuning a brand new setup helped me a lot.
Jim
Once you start making boost, the rule to remember is if you hear ANY knock, lift your foot, then figure out why it's detonating, and fix it.
I really like Jeff Hartman's book on Engine Management Systems. His section on tuning a brand new setup helped me a lot.
Jim
