Engine Performance

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Old Mar 14, 2001 | 10:48 PM
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therocknj's Avatar
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Post Engine Performance

I only have 400 miles on this truck and the engine feels very tight. How long does it take to loosen up & is there much of a performance diffrence.
 
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Old Mar 15, 2001 | 12:17 AM
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Most people start feeling a difference between 2k and 5k miles. Some of us have even noticed changes all the way thru 10k miles.

 
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Old Mar 15, 2001 | 03:06 PM
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Hi therocknj,

Dennis gave some good advice.

New engines made in the last 10-12 years or so seal much tighter, many use zero-gap piston rings, etc. and the net effect is that it will take anywhere from 4000 to as many as 8000 miles for new engines to fully loosen up & make their rated power & mileage, that's perfectly normal.

There is no break-in period per se anymore, thanks to advances in assembly techniques, metallury & lubricants. So at 400 miles, you can drive it anyway you like, but it's going to take somewhere between 4000 & 8000 miles to see it's best power.

This isn't going to be any "big" difference, though it's enough to be able to feel a little bit for those that are very attuned to their vehicles. In reality, you're only talking about maybe 12-15 hp or so in these V-8 F-150's, and for some people, that's enough to feel.

So as you accumulate more miles, you may notice that it feels a bit stronger, but it won't be a really significant difference.

Good luck with your truck,

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