Thans again everyone for all the information (some of it very spirited). I have been tring to get in contact with a friend of mine who is a widely regarded engine builder. He has build and tested thousands of engines and has been a consultant for engine design and testing on many projects world wide. He just got back into the country and I spoke with him about this subject. He notes that there is no controversy about engine break in. The facts are clear and no debate is necessary. Engine break in is absolutely necessary becasue nothing fits perfectly. There are high spots which need to be worked in and each part needs to find its grove. He notes that perphaps most importantly the tapits and cam are soft to start out with and need to "work harden" under varing loads but not high stress. He noted if proper break in is not followed you will know your service manager better than you would otherwise. He has done tests himself as well as read other reseach on "engine stretching" and there is no evidence that running the engine at higher rpms early in its life will increase its overall performance.

His recommendations are to keep the rpms low over the first 1000 miles. Varing the rpms frequently with no sudden burts of power. He would change the oil at 1000 miles with petroleum based product recommended from the factory. The second 1000 miles you can increase the rpm range but not to get within 1000 miles of redline. Bursts of power at this time is ok but not all the time. He would then change the oil again at 2000 miles with a synthetic oil. He thinks the best brands are redline or moble.

There you have it from the definitive source on this subject. Thanx again for all your imput. happy driving