How far is far enough?

[NickM450]

I feel I may be in the same position as a few owners, I want to drive my car more, maybe even use it daily

I own a Chimaera 450, how far, is far enough to get her properly warmed up and working as she should? I hear to many stories about it being the short journeys that ruin an engine, but I also know that little use is no good for her either.

I know it sounds like a daft question, but at the moment my 'commute' is a mere 5-10 minutes I start at around 4am and don't fancy getting up 30minutes earlier just to take a longer route to work

[Chris71]

Well, driven sympathetically those five minutes won't do any more harm to your engine than five minutes of cold running followed by a two-hour drive, so there's no reason you shouldn't use it for the commute if you can blow the cobwebs out every so often on longer runs. You'll probably find the MPG is pretty dire if that's a factor - my 500 seems to cope much better with long runs and warm weather.

[Jhonno]

I'd say it was too short imo..

[Jhonno]

Chris71 said:

Well, driven sympathetically those five minutes won't do any more harm to your engine than five minutes of cold running followed by a two-hour drive, so there's no reason you shouldn't use it for the commute if you can blow the cobwebs out every so often on longer runs. You'll probably find the MPG is pretty dire if that's a factor - my 500 seems to cope much better with long runs and warm weather.

Other than the fact the it wont all get up to temp etc..

[Julesprivate]

My commute is much the same (3.6 miles door to door). I don't use the Chim EVERY day but I do take it in twice a week or so. If you do a lot of short journeys then you just need to up the frequency of oil and filter changes.

Mine's warm enough to enjoy the last 1.5 miles, mainly as the first 2 are through the village and in moderate traffic.

Short journeys tend to increase the condensation inside the engine, I believe it just doesn't get hot enough to burn it off so it emulsifies the oil. Frequent changes will make sure the viscosity isn't impacted too much.

I change my oil & filter once a month (~1000 miles) - but mainly as it's convenient for me to block book a day per vehicle per month so my wife knows what to expect LOL

[Julesprivate]

Chris71 said:

You'll probably find the MPG is pretty dire if that's a factor

^^ THAT

Mine seems to manage about 15 MPG used on that type of journey and ~27 on a run..

[Laser Sag]

Julesprivate said:

Mine's warm enough to enjoy the last 1.5 miles, mainly as the first 2 are through the village and in moderate traffic.

i would suggest some caution on that one, on the T cars it is very noticable that the water is up to a reasonable temperature after a few minutes but the oil temp lags a long way behind

[Jhonno]

Laser Sag said:

Julesprivate said:

Mine's warm enough to enjoy the last 1.5 miles, mainly as the first 2 are through the village and in moderate traffic.

i would suggest some caution on that one, on the T cars it is very noticable that the water is up to a reasonable temperature after a few minutes but the oil temp lags a long way behind

This.. Takes a fair bit longer for oil to get up to temperature!

[Chuffmeister]

I wait for it to climb above 70 degs and increase gradually above 3k rpm from that point.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Chris71 said:

Well, driven sympathetically those five minutes won't do any more harm to your engine than five minutes of cold running followed by a two-hour drive

Can't agree with that!

A five minute drive will warm the engine only slightly, causing condensation as it cools again. Water and combustion acids will accumulate in the oil, and you're never getting it hot enough to get rid of those contaminants so they will build up if you do it repeatedly. The oil will soon be severely compromised in its ability to protect the engine. However, a two-hour drive at full operating temperature will drive off the water, leaving the oil much cleaner.

[NickM450]

I'm getting the impression its probably not a good idea then, or will I be ok with just a few days a week. The drive home will be a substantial run up to temp.

[slippery]

Surely all of the above is a good argument for taking the long way to work and back?

[Steve_D]

Yes the short runs are likely to shorten the life of the engine but what is the point of having the car if it just sits in the garage.
Pretty much everything else on the car will benefit from being run regularly so I suspect it is swings/roundabouts.

Use the car...that is what it was made for.

Steve

[C3BER]

All engines need a good run to clear the crap out of them. This also includes the exhaust system, the water system and so on. It's one of the reasons engines go bang after they've had a low milage life over many years.

Drive the dam things.

[Sardonicus]

Steve_D said:

Yes the short runs are likely to shorten the life of the engine but what is the point of having the car if it just sits in the garage.
Pretty much everything else on the car will benefit from being run regularly so I suspect it is swings/roundabouts.

Use the car...that is what it was made for.

Steve

< This and just take for a proper run from time to time to boil off any condensation that may have accumulated in the eng internals

[Jhonno]

NickM450 said:

I'm getting the impression its probably not a good idea then, or will I be ok with just a few days a week. The drive home will be a substantial run up to temp.

I'd go with this.. Few days a week, with decent runs in and around.

[QBee]

All cars suffer crap mpg on short journeys, especially diseasels, as they seem to take longer to get up to temperature. My Audi does 45mpg overall on my 90 mile journeys to clients, but is reading low 20s after the first five miles....

Buy an electric car for the drives to work, charge it up overnight, or get your work to install charging points - there must be some sort of Euro grant available for that.

Or cycle and get some much needed exercise! Lowest cost of travel of them all.

[jamienshelly]

QBee said:

Or cycle and get some much needed exercise! Lowest cost of travel of them all.

that's not very nice QBee. Suggesting the OP is fat.
I on the other hand, am getting fat as I walk no where now, our local shop is about 300 meters from us, yet I will still, go and remove the roof drive the stones throw to get the milk whilst the kettle boils, and I have nearly made it back once before it had.
Its your car op, and drive it when you want to, whether it be 20 miles through country lanes or 300 yards to the shops.
I am sure that you will not use it all week then park it up, then at the weekend and go for drive in another car, we all buy these cars to drive and be happy, ours gets plenty hot enough during the week.
All I will say is just avoid high engine revs until it has warmed up though.
There are to many owners who would love to have see through garage doors so that their car would never have to come out. Its your car drive it when you want to, if its it the rain, so be it, if its in the snow, fair play to you but you don't need our approval to do so.
Enjoy

[QBee]

No offence meant. Never met Nick. I am sure he needs to be fit for his job.
I am just aware personally that I would get far too little exercise if I didn't have dogs and horses to keep me fit. I don't live near the shops or my clients these days, but when I did I used to get the border collie out when I needed milk.

[NickM450]

No offence taken

As it happens, I had a good chuckle to myself, I can not stand cycling, I'd rather walk, and yes I do have to be fit for my job, luckily my job involves shifting between 2 and 5 tonnes of stuff from a lorry by hand so I manage to work up a sweat doing that

I wasn't looking for approval as such, just re assurance that I'm not doing her any harm. Like you say, it's my car and I'll drive it when and where I see fit....... on that note, its all academic now anyway, moved out of my house last evening so had to move her, she sounded like a complete bag of nails Don't know if it's just the followers/pushrods tapping AGAIN and my mind playing me up or if she really did sound and feel like a poorly car

Edited by NickM450 on Saturday 7th September 09:21