I bought a new motorcycle today (brand new, odometer read 0) and about 3 hours into a VERY cold ride home, my numb extremities failed me. I missed a shift and redlined it pretty hard.
While everything seems fine, it got me wondering: apart from the obvious risk of instant catastrophic failure, what are the “later in life” repercussions of such abuse during the break in period, and how do they differ from abusing an engine later in its life?
In: 44
(This might be a bit too advanced for ELI5 but I’ll give it a go)
On one hand, break in periods are basically null and void with modern engines, as the manufacturer has already properly broken them in before delivering the vehicle. Apart from an early 1000km oil change or so, the end user rarely has to treat the car any differently from usual early in its life.
However, in the case of rebuilt engines where the pistons/rings/cylinder sleeves have been changed, the general consensus is that after it’s been warmed up you should hit the engine quite hard. The newly-honed and slightly abrasive cylinder walls wear the fresh piston rings down, creating a good seal that stops blow-by and excessive oil usage. While not much actual research has been done, a lack of engine load during this break in period does appear to contribute to both a less-than-ideal piston ring seal and allows glazing of the cylinder walls, both of which decrease performance and increase oil burning for the life of the vehicle.
Modern engines are made very very well to extremely tight tolerances. Once it’s up to heat for the first time, if something is going to break, it will break regardless of how hard you push the engine. (Flat tappet camshafts are an exception though).
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