Hey all, just found this forum and I'm wicked excited. Looks like a wealth of knowledge and info on just what I'm looking for.
My Explorer Sport should be here any day (pics to come), and I plan to install the Rx OCC once it becomes available...beyond that, what are your thoughts on break-in once it shows up? Run it hard with the stock (*synthetic?) oil, swap oil for conventional to better seat rings, etc??
I found this from Tracy @ Team Rx:
Mainly they are in the blow-by that all engines have, but in the past 10-15 years engines (except aircraft, etc. where safety is more important than inconvenience and ring seating is critical to safety) come prefilled with a synthetic blend or full synthetic. This oil is far to protective to allow the friction needed for the rings to seat, or wear in the the cylinder walls if driven per the owners manual (babied) so after 400-500 miles the cylinder walls will form a hard glaze that prevents any further seating and this brief window has passed. In the old days, engines came prefilled with break-in oil and this allowed enough friction to seat the rings in this short window, but it also required you drive very easy to prevent damage to bearings and journals, etc. So now most drive esy during the first 100 miles and the rings never fully seat allowing excess blow-by and oil consumption.
So it is important to either drain the factory oil day one and fill with conventional to break in, or drive relatively hard (full accelerations and deceleration's are critical to produce side pressures needed to facilitate ring seating).
***just wondering some other thoughts of personal experience with this.
Thanks guys!!
My Explorer Sport should be here any day (pics to come), and I plan to install the Rx OCC once it becomes available...beyond that, what are your thoughts on break-in once it shows up? Run it hard with the stock (*synthetic?) oil, swap oil for conventional to better seat rings, etc??
I found this from Tracy @ Team Rx:
Mainly they are in the blow-by that all engines have, but in the past 10-15 years engines (except aircraft, etc. where safety is more important than inconvenience and ring seating is critical to safety) come prefilled with a synthetic blend or full synthetic. This oil is far to protective to allow the friction needed for the rings to seat, or wear in the the cylinder walls if driven per the owners manual (babied) so after 400-500 miles the cylinder walls will form a hard glaze that prevents any further seating and this brief window has passed. In the old days, engines came prefilled with break-in oil and this allowed enough friction to seat the rings in this short window, but it also required you drive very easy to prevent damage to bearings and journals, etc. So now most drive esy during the first 100 miles and the rings never fully seat allowing excess blow-by and oil consumption.
So it is important to either drain the factory oil day one and fill with conventional to break in, or drive relatively hard (full accelerations and deceleration's are critical to produce side pressures needed to facilitate ring seating).
***just wondering some other thoughts of personal experience with this.
Thanks guys!!
So you're in the right spot! I went to Royal Purple Synthetic at 2000 miles and there are lots of theories on break in driving styles etc. However keep in mind, ring and cylinder metallurgy/surfacing technology has advanced just like everything else in this world so the old 'rough as a cobb' surface finish in the cylinders that was required to get the rings to seat is a thing of the past. Rings are much closer to seated right off the showroom floor than they were 25 years ago.