engine abuse?

after a reply of mine on another post i mentioned that i only used the car to go to the gym and back which was only 0.3 miles each way.

i then had comments regarding the engine not having time to warm up and comments such as 'poor car' etc

this got me thinking then that yeah the car hasnt had long to warm up but does it really matter as even if i drove it for 30 miles it would still have to go through the phase of heating up properly so therefor doing just as much damage anyway.

it may be a silly question but it had me thinking about it for a good 8 minutes this morning

could certainly do with a nice long run every once in a while if you are using it for short journeys.

Alot of wear happens when the engine is cold. Takes a good 20 mins for most engines to get to the ideal temp. Im no mechanic but shorts runs dont do a car anygood. But if you cant avoid this just take it out for a good hour run.

Im sure someone will explain in more mechanical/scientific terms.

i normally let mine warm up before i leave the driveway, and allways let her cool down before i put her away (need to get a turbo timer methinks). Any way, oneday i was in a major rush so i didnt really warm her up (1 minute instead of 5 - 8) and noticed that by the time i was at the end of my road (about a minute) she was at normal temps. so, is it worth it? im not sure, but im not risking any long term damage for the sake of a few minutes.....

I got a landrover as per my sig. It hits normal temp in a few mins but this is just the water and not the oil which is at its best when fully warmed up.

thats my point. if a lot of wear happens when the engine is cold then the same wear would happen no matter how long my journey is.

I think what Matlee means is, that a car has to warm up whatever length journey you do, so therefore why is it worse only doing short journeys?

thanx danny!

excactly what i was trying to say lol im finding it hard making any sense with this hangover or maybe im just crap with words

I "think" i remember that you get a fair amount of condensation in the engine and that by not going far the oil doesn't get hot enough to evaporate this off but it will get mixed in the sump.......when you stop you get the condensation again and further water added...........

I think this is why the oil should be changed every 6 months or so regardless of mileage............

I "think" i remember that you get a fair amount of condensation in the engine and that by not going far the oil doesn't get hot enough to evaporate this off but it will get mixed in the sump.......when you stop you get the condensation again and further water added...........

 

I think this is why the oil should be changed every 6 months or so regardless of mileage............

The mayonase effect in the oil me thinks. too many beers on a sunday lol

I prefer to let mine warm up for 5 mins or so before driving anywhere. I usually try to avoid excessively short journeys too. 0.3 miles to the gym? By the time you've opened the car, started her up, driven and parked up, couldn't you have walked there?!

I have been recommended to drive shortly after starting the engine, just avoid any lead right-footedness and stay off the turbos. I know some of my mates with turbo engines go with this line of thought, saving themselves a few mins every morning, but I'd rather be safe than sorry personally.

It's good practice though to avoid cold starts if you can.

Don't you think that using a car to travel 0.3 miles from cold is a little unnecessary?

It takes a fair bit out of the battery when starting the car, I'm not sure if it's got much of a chance to charge up again.

il try my best to stay off my turbo's

You'll go through a lot more fuel as well Matlee as the car will always be on full choke when your using it. Engine wear will always be increased if you just use the car for short journeys all the time.

Sorry, but using the car only to travel less than half a mile to the GYM just made me laugh!

But yes, you'll probably get the mayonaise effect in the oil, though I'm not sure whether this is as much as an issue with a high quality synthetic oil.

Sorry, but using the car only to travel less than half a mile to the GYM just made me laugh!

My thought too! I love it when i turn up at the local sports centre and people are driving round the carpark trying to park as close to the door as possible.... genius!

Other issue with short runs - if the engine is cold then you shouldn't rev it and definately try to keep off boost because the oil isn't hot enough to protect the engine at that time.

By driving like a granny all the time you never open up the valve properly and you can get deposits of crap in the engine that never get burnt away properly. Also your battery will struggle more because the car is hardly having time to re-charge on such as short journey.

m.

Im sure it states in my Vectra sri handbook that you should NOT leave the car idling/warming up for any length of time before driving.I am pretty sure I have read this because I always feel guilty on a winters day leaving the car running on the drive to defrost the windows and get the heater warm before leaving.

Im sure it states in my Vectra sri handbook that you should NOT leave the car idling/warming up for any length of time before driving.I am pretty sure I have read this because I always feel guilty on a winters day leaving the car running on the drive to defrost the windows and get the heater warm before leaving.

I was told this too.

I just jump in and drive, but obviously take it very gently until fully warmed up.

You drive 0.3 miles to the gym?!? Are you American?

If you go for fully synthetic oil in your engine, though more expensive than multi grade it'll maintain a low enough viscosity to provide adequate protection soon after start up. Less chance of sludge build up too. Make sure you do regular oil checks anyway to check consistancy and nature of the oil, ideally every week or so. Oil is the life blood of your engine, cools lubricates and protects (dont mean to sound like an advert, but its true!)

Its simple and quick to do your own oil and filter change in between services, if you've any doubts.

0.3 miles to the gym, get walking or running there.

i dont do walking let alone running

i dont do walking let alone running

Perhaps a push bike, low impact excercise but allows a good calf and quad workout

I'm in agreement that the car needs to warm up too.

I used to have a Renault 5 Turbo many years ago! I used to work about a mile from my house and would drive there and back every day. Eventually my battery went dead and my fuel consumption just got worse and worse.

I changed jobs not long after and had to commute a good 20 miles to work. After a month or so I noticed how much better the car drove, not to mention the improved MPG. The short trips were doing it no good at all, it was a Renault though.

As for driving to the gym! Lol, I know where you're coming from dude. My bro is gym mad and competes too, any form of cardio is a no no.

You lazy git! You can run 0.3 mile in less than a 2 mins without breaking into a sweat. Are you one of those muscle mary meat heads who do 3 reps of 1 tonne, grunting and then make out like they've had a top workout?[GRIN][/GRIN]

. . . muscle mary meat heads who do 3 reps of 1 tonne, grunting and then make out like they've had a top workout?[GRIN][/GRIN]