Brand new engine, What oil do I use?? HELP

[john_V63400]

Im done wit my engine, I need to add oil soon so I thought I ask for some oppinions, Ive never had to break in a new engine before.

MODS LIST for my 01 GA GT 3400

.030 bore
RSM 8 PSI super charger
MMS stage 1 supercharged cam
Arias forged pistons
Comp Cam valve springs
MMS poly allum. Push rods
Ported upper & Lower intake Plenums
62 mm throttle body
And hopefully a nice tune to go with it.(and some stuff not mentioned)

What oil should I use, and what spark plugs should I use. Please tell me what you think. Or should I just get OEM oil and plugs. NEED HELP PLEASE

[patgizz]

plain old dino oil to help the rings seat...

[bszopi]

Its been awhile since I've done this, but I'm pretty sure you also want a single weight oil, like straight 30W. And when you first start it up, you are supposed to run it between 2-3k constantly for 15-20 minutes.

[patgizz]

brad, the 2k rpm for 20 minutes is for breaking in flat tappet cams. if you've got a roller cam you can start it and go. but don't beat on it till 500 or so miles.

[geoffinbc]

Agreed just run it since it is a roller cam. To seat the rings run regular 5W30. Go driving and run the engine up to about 3000 with moderate amounts of throttle. Then let it engine brake back down again. So your going to have to manual shift your auto if thats what you have. Do this a few times each time go a little faster and give it a little more gas. When your done that change the oil and drive it like a normal person for the first 500. Then go nuts.

[torq455]

Agreed. However, the flat tappet cams only need 1500 RPM to ensure pleanty of oil splash to the cam lobes. Getting a quick drivible tune to drive for 30 mins to get the cam broke in will work. I would stay away from synthetic oil for about 10K miles to make sure the rings are broke in and the surfaces are work hardned.

[AaronGTR]

That sounds about right to me. Regular 5w30 (non-synthetic) for at least 500 miles of light driving. No high rpm or full throttle. If you wanna be really careful with it you could change the oil and filter and drive another 1000 miles or so to make sure it's well broke in, then switch to synthetic.

[DEI37]

That's the way I like to break in a new engine. I'd use a little thicker than 5w30, maybe 15w40. Run it for 500 miles, change the oil, run to 1500 miles, change the oil, do it again at 3000 miles, then go. And if you're wanting to use synthetics, I'd wait until around 10,000 miles, or if you're picky, the fifth oil change, around 9000 miles.

[patgizz]

i run regular 5w30 in them and change after 30 minutes to get all the assembly lube out, then at 500 miles and in goes synthetic. i build 4-5 engines a year for myself and others and never have a problem. have 3 on stands in various stages of completion and building a 302 race motor for a SCCA camaro when they're done.

[SappySE107]

Well, the directions I read were for flat tappet cams. Run it to break those in, then drain the oil and replace the filter. Then drive it 25 miles, change the oil and filter again. You want to get as much of the metal out of the motor as quickly as possible. Then again at 100 miles, then 250, 500, 1000, then 3000 and 3-5k from then on out. After 3k synthetic should be fine. The process for honing cylinders and the materials of the rings allow them to seat better and faster than the old books will tell you for break in.

Id really like to find something official for RPM/load vs run time/milage. I would do a little higher initially and let it engine brake. This helps seal the rings the most because there is more pressure pushing out on the rings. The corvette boards had something saying to do this on new engine brake in twice every time you fill up for x amount of miles. I guess they have a problem with the seating if they don't do that. That was 02 when I read that though.

[Ortie666]

Talking about start-up on engines and the cam break in prossess did you know that its not a good idea to soak lifters in oil, that they should be juss lubed, reason being is that when there not pumped up and you goto fire it up for the first time it gives the cam a running start b4 there is preasure applyed to it,