I'm getting close to my first engine start - maybe around the start of the new year. Before first flight, I'd like to run it a bit on the ground. Taxi testing. Run ups. Etc. Just make sure that everything is working as it should before getting it in the air. Taxi around, run it up, take it back to the hangar. Look for problems like oil leaks, loose stuff, etc.
But everything I've read, and the great AOPA A&P monthly podcast, says that the goal for a new engine to break it in right is to run it hot from the start. Start it, get it up, get it hot. Break it in quickly because if you don't get it hot enough, you can slow down the break in process.
How do you balance the need for full ground testing of everything (oil flow, oil cooling, alternator, etc) with the need to break in the new engine as soon as you can after starting it?