Well that is a interesting question. A new engine can be broken in using Synthetic oil. All oils allow some level of friction to occur. So with a synthetic oil the engine will break-in. It might take 5 to 10 times long, but eventually it will happen.
Another thing to remember is todays engines are not the same as the engines being producted 10 or 20 years ago. A new engine today right out of the factory has tighter tolerances than a engine 20 years ago after it has been perfectly broken-in. Typically when breaking in a engine all you are really doing is seating the rings.
Some of this improvement is due to better quality control, some due to foreign competition, but primarily due to the EPA placing more restrictions on the amount of pollutants a engine can produce.
Tom
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin, US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)
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