Tim, can you explain the advantage of heat cycling in your breakin procedure with an 860/880 aluminum/nicasiled cylinder walls, aluminum pistons, aluminum block and aluminum head.
I can understand the advantage if we are working with steel or cast iron, but not sure what it is doing for us with mostly aluminum parts.
Everything else in your following statement, I can understand and agree with.
The key to BB long life, when ever you start it, dont use throttle, cold starts let it idle for at least two min before you touch the gas, always let your sled idle down after hard pull, even ride it easy for a min or two to stableize your cooling system, Use Engine ice coolant, or add water wetter to your cooling system, never use more then 50% coolant mix, water cools better then antifreeze. Run good oil and lots of it, so many song and dances about 40-50to1 ratios, OUCH, i run 28to1 and my pipe head pistons, valves are clean as whistle and no loading up.
And when its new, heat cycle it on the stand at least 5 times in 15min on and 30-45min cool down.
and last, break it in nice, 30 min of easy runing, one 5 second hard pull, 30 second idle down then let it cool for 20 min, do that the first tank, you will have pistons that look new after 500 miles.
OH, never use clear gas cans, never let your gas sit exposed to ultraviolet light EVER! 91 octain becomes 86 octain in 4hrs of exposure in a clear gas can left in undirect light!!!!!
THe age old story, things always blow up last ride on sunday, large majority of that is because there gas sat in the sun all weekend and they ran there hotrod on 85 octain or less.
)...and Joe Q skidoo is on the phone, he tells me "his sled ran better with the stock head VS RKT's"... I'm kinda floored at this (I've been selling them since 2001 for a reason) and ask him what sled?... "its an XP" he says...hmmm I think, what jetting are you at??..."I jetted UP 1 size"...OOOPS...I recomended he REJET to 450's and retest...he said " NO WAY, I'll burn down"...I said "If it burns down with 450's I'll buy ya a piston"...
