Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Do the SM's get Quicker with Milage

Yeah, that engine loosens up quite a bit as it wears on in.

I did an oil analysis at 12k and again at 16k miles, and the reports came back a bit high in lead content, which the lab says is normally attributed to the breaking in of new engines. The lead level was lower at 16k than it was at 12k, and the engine has never felt or performed better, even though I couldn't tell any difference during that time period, it was very apparent earlier on when it was new.

I will do another analysis at 20k just to check the trend, then I may only do one every 3rd or 4th oil change after that. Using full synthetic may indeed have some benefits!
(I have only used Shell Rotella-T Full-Synthetic 5w-40 since I drained the break-in oil at 500 miles, changing every 4000 miles like my owner's manual says.) I have heard that using full synthetic is not the best thing to break in a new motor as it does not allow the rings to seat properly early on.