I have been researching engine break in for a 2005 S2000. I have heard everything from hard break in http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm to do what the manual says. I am only able to drive my car on special occasions for a while... so its kinda rough to have to drive 1000 miles on a sub 55 engine.... and my last s2k i didnt follow procedure and it produced amazing numbers... should i fillow regular engine break in? What ill effects will it have if I dont follow the break in. And when should I change my oil? Thanks guys!

 

You need to go by your own conscience on this one. But consider this .............
If you follow "Motoman's" advice and something on the car happens to break, will you take it to Motoman to get it fixed?

 

That's the way I'm going to break in my next car. I bought my s2000 used so I'm not exactly sure how it was done in.

 

This has been discussed before and the consensus is to use motoman's advice if you want a "loose" engine with the potential of more power earlier in life, and use the factory recommended break in for increased longevity. Here's one of the threads. Here's another one that addresses this very issue. And here is a nice technical discussion about engine break-in.

The whole purpose of break-in is to smooth out asperities (microscopic irregularities) in metal to metal contact areas (like main bearings and in the cylinder bore).

IMO, if you are going to race a newly built engine follow motoman's procedure. If you want a long-lasting durable engine be more gentle. And by the way, engine break-in doesn't end at 600 miles, so I continued to moderate my driving until I had surpassed 2k miles.

 

The old time advice of varying loads and varying RPM while avoiding WOT and continuous load works very well. With six gears and highways that tolerate speeds from 55 to 75 it easy to break it in relatively quickly. Truthfully it is difficult to get higher loads on the engine without flogging it in city driving so the highway is a good option. Although the manufacturer says 600 miles, full break-in may take three times that so increasing use of high RPM and high loads over an extended period might be prudent, but going easy all the time will delay break-in further.