Is it bad to drive for short distances?

[Rayme]

Nothing bad will happen if you drive it carefully after you just started it, just don't rev the crap out of it until it's fully warmed and you'll be golden.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Wo6M

Lol wow I guess years of experience working with engines and cars , not to mention schooling and the fact that I work at a dealership must mean o give bad advise.
The car runs rich at start up untill

O2 reaches 600 degrees (it has a internal heating circuit to help)
Coolant temp reaches a certain voltage output.
Pre set time must pass

Those 3 things are what usually run open or closed loop.

Drive it as soon as its started?
Clearly you guys don't understand the dynamics of the cylinder walls.
When cold they are a bit oval shape , when fully warm they become much more round.
The engine had no load before you put it in gear. If you drive it right after starting you risk scoring the walls because of the engine load and engine not fully warm.

But do as you will . It's your car .

True if you're talking about redlining it out of the gate, I believe the general consensus is that driving it gently (for us, staying under 3k is how I would describe it, at most half throttle) is GOOD for warming up the car. As posted above the high idle has more to do with lighting off the catalytic converter than warming materials. You're not wrong, I just think your tactic is too extreme. Guess I'll post results in a couple years if it ever needs a rebuild of my daily "start, check mirrors, drive gently" routine and it's effects on cylinder walls.

Originally Posted by slowbrz

I wish only the people who knew what they are talking about would provide me information so that Im not misled.

NOBODY here knows what they are talking about. NONE of us have access to the terabytes of test data that auto manufacturers generate testing cold start up performance and effects of specific drive cycles on durability, we COULD extrapolate from material data bases with the thermal expansion coefficients and lifetime stress data and make approximations or carry out our own tests a la Mythbusters.

Or we could take our best guess, realize that most engines make it to 200k without significant issue and at that point it is financially trivial to rebuild or buy another.

:happy0180:

Credentials: Rocket Scientist

[Mikem53]

Originally Posted by slowbrz

I tend to drive my car as soon as the idle drops. This usually happens 45 seconds after I start the car.

I do the same..

[Mikem53]

Originally Posted by Wo6M

Lol wow I guess years of experience working with engines and cars , not to mention schooling and the fact that I work at a dealership must mean o give bad advise.
The car runs rich at start up untill

O2 reaches 600 degrees (it has a internal heating circuit to help)
Coolant temp reaches a certain voltage output.
Pre set time must pass

Those 3 things are what usually run open or closed loop.

Drive it as soon as its started?
Clearly you guys don't understand the dynamics of the cylinder walls.
When cold they are a bit oval shape , when fully warm they become much more round.
The engine had no load before you put it in gear. If you drive it right after starting you risk scoring the walls because of the engine load and engine not fully warm.

But do as you will . It's your car .

In a perfect world.. this would be ideal. I even know of race teams that circulate hot water
in the engine before firing it up for reasons you mention..
but in the real world.. its just not so.. and there are many cars running around with hundreds of thousand miles that are used everyday and no ill affects. Its ridiculous to idle your car for 10's of minutes..
just start it, let the idle settle before putting it in gear.. and drive
easy for the first 10 minutes or so... waiting for x degrees on the O2 sensors, oil or whatever is not necessary... it will last plenty long without doing any of that crap... you will get tired of the car before anything goes wrong with it..

[Mikem53]

to the OP..
A real world example.. My neighbor starts her honda up each morning.. drives 1.5 blocks to the bus stop for her daughter.. drives back.. does it again about 45 minutes for the other kid..
She does this every school day.. its ridiculous.. not to mention picking them up each day.. they sometimes walk home... but she always drives them in the mornings..
They have 190,000 miles on the car last time I spoke to her husband.. they go off on long weekend trips and vacations alot..
just drive your car as you need to.. drive it easy until warm.. and take it on a spirited run once in a while to get it fully warmed up.. you will be fine..

[Sasquachulator]

Originally Posted by Mikem53

I do the same..

same 30 seconds is all you need. Because its enough to get the engine oil circulated or something.

5-10 mins is usually for getting heat inside the car on cold winter days.

[Mikem53]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

NOBODY here knows what they are talking about. NONE of us have access to the terabytes of test data that auto manufacturers generate testing cold start up performance and effects of specific drive cycles on durability,

I beg to differ.. You dont need terabytes of data or crap to know that cars last a long time
if they are maintained and not abused. Its been happening for decades.
You just need to open your eyes to see.. you dont need to monitor temp sensors or know the expansion rates of metals to make your car last.
In fact the original question is kinda silly to begin with.. what did the OP do before this car?
this is a very entertaining thread in so many ways..

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Mikem53

I beg to differ.. You dont need terabytes of data or crap to know that cars last a long time
if they are maintained and not abused. Its been happening for decades.
You just need to open your eyes to see.. you dont need to monitor temp sensors or know the expansion rates of metals to make your car last.
In fact the original question is kinda silly to begin with.. what did the OP do before this car?
this is a very entertaining thread in so many ways..

Did you read my post past what you quoted?

I was addressing the people who are ADAMANT that putting any load on the engine before it's up to temp will ruin the engine or that if you don't redline it every morning your rings won't be seated and you'll burn oil or the people who think that if you wait longer than 1,000 miles to change oil you're wearing out your engine.

The data DOES exist, Williams claims 27TB per F1 weekend
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...255223262.html
I'd be incredibly surprised if a multi-billion dollar auto manufacturer didn't have similar amounts of data.

But I guess this post was pointless since we agree :happy0180:

[torqdork]

Originally Posted by Porsche

...Were I in your situation, I'd change my oil every 3000 miles or at least once yearly...

The 2013 FR-S Warranty & Maintenance Guide specifies oil and filter changes every 7,500 miles or 7½ months, whichever comes first, for normal duty and every 3,750 miles or 3¾ months, whichever comes first, for severe duty defined as "repeated short distance driving; driving in extremely cold weather".

http://a230.g.akamai.net/7/230/83646...ranty_2013.pdf

[Mikem53]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Did you read my post past what you quoted?



But I guess this post was pointless since we agree :happy0180:

I did see ur post and agreed with it.. I was not addressing you.. But didn't make that clear. I was agreeing with you adamantly.. ! My apologies..

[GNS]

Cliff's notes for the OP:

- Start car, drive away after 10 - 20s and drive easy
- Occasional short trips are perfectly fine
- Once or twice a week, do a 10min warmup then 15 - 30min regular/hard driving
- Oil changes every 3750 miles as per severe duty guidelines, as anything other than perfect test lab conditions is considered severe duty.

[slowbrz]

I have a side question that is somewhat related:

I drove my car for about 10 minutes then parked for 30-40 minutes. Then my cousin drove it and redlined it after about 3 minutes. I dont know if the car has been properly warmed up yet.

How bad is this? Id never let him drive it again but if it happens once or twice is it bad?

[kajun]

Originally Posted by slowbrz

I drove my car for about 10 minutes then parked for 30-40 minutes. Then my cousin drove it and redlined it after about 3 minutes. I dont know if the car has been properly warmed up yet.

How bad is this? Id never let him drive it again but if it happens once or twice is it bad?

Really depends; what were the outside temps? That'll help your engine start warmer. In the ten minutes you drove, did the car get to full operating temp? When your cousin started it, what was the temp gauge pointing to?

It's not great treatment for the car, but it wouldn't have wrecked your engine just from that. Don't do it regularly and you'll be fine.

[BlueDubbinTDI]

Holy balls you bought the car to drive it just go drive the thing! If something goes horribly wrong my guess is that you still have a shitload of warranty left. your day hasn't truly started until you add a tire squeal to it