Heat Cycling, is it worth it and why discussion.

[Extreme RC Mods]

I made a statement in a thread that heat cycling does more damage then good and is a waste of time. I figured I should start a thread so we can discuss the pro's and cons of heat cycling so we could determine if it's worth all the extra effort, so chime in with your thoughts and lets get all the info on the table.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

It seems to make sense as far as wearing the internals together. I've done it a couple times and the results seemed right what you look for. It's not so much of a pain in the butt, yet it is time consuming. Bottom line is that if you say it isn't necessary, I won't bother with it anymore. You have the experience, we might as well benefit from it.

 

[Pope]

From my years working with metal. It only takes once to heat temper metal whether you are trying to make it harder or softer. The only thing you are doing after the first time is wearing them in. Now both are equally important. How hard the metal gets is decided by how hot it got and how fast it cooled. You can either make it softer or harder. This works by exciting the molecules in the metal and than having them either all align when cooling to make it harder or have them be in a very unaligned configuration to make it softer.

Another way to harden metal is by way of work Hardning. This is what you are doing as you run it more and more.

 

[2revo1maxx]

The sleeve is just as hard after 5 gallons as it is when you pull the engine out of the box, I don't believe there's any significant tempering taking place. Chromium is extremely hard already.

I'm totally with Robin on this one. I believe it's a waste of time, and you're basically forcing the engine to break in. In my opinion, the best way is to fire it up and run a few tanks non-stop. The most important thing is to reach an ideal break-in temperature and run slightly rich for as long as possible. That way the engine can break in without the extra tightness (pinch) that that you would feel when turning over a cold engine. It's easier on the new conrod, bearings, and piston/sleeve set.

 

[Phins Fan]

I made a statement in a thread that heat cycling does more damage then good and is a waste of time. I figured I should start a thread so we can discuss the pro's and cons of heat cycling so we could determine if it's worth all the extra effort, so chime in with your thoughts and lets get all the info on the table.

With somebody of your stature in RC how do you break in a motor if you dont necessarily believe in the heat cycle method?

 

[Metalhead Matt]

I shall bookmark this response. Hell, you're getting my next serious nitro anyways. Goin' big!

 

[Extreme RC Mods]

I'm going to try and write it up similar to my tuning guide with the theory following, it will take a bit of time to get it right but I hope to clear any confusion in the end.