I've heard this numerous times. "Short trips are what damages motors" Why is this. What can get damaged?

I ask because I live 1.5 miles away from my job. And I do "short trips" daily going to and from work.

I always let my car (00 Si) warm up for a few minutes before driving it. I never ever get on it past 4k rpms unless it's not FULLY warmed up. Can I be causing damage? Is it the warm up, and then rapid cool down of the motor that's bad?

Thanks.

 

I really wouldn't worry about it. The reason people say these things is for a couple reasons:

1) People do not generally warm up / cool down their engine on a short jag.
2) The most wear put on your engine on a normal drive is startup.
3) Old people with old cars know old things.

So just take care of your car like you should, perform regular maintenance, and have some peace of mind.

 

yeah, and for the letting it warm up... you don't have to do that on a fuel injected honda. it'll even say in your owners manual that the best way to warm the engine up is to start driving it.

also there is more strain on your driveline and engine durring accel. so in short drives or stop-go traffic you spend more of your time accelerating compared to crusing on the highway.

but keep in mind, you drive a Honda, not an old buick.

 

In fact... from my '97 Coupe owner's manual...

Applicable text is in bold. My favorite part is in italics.

Page 96

Driving Habits

You can improve fuel economy by driving moderately. Rapid acceleration, abrupt cornering, and hard braking use more fuel.

Always drive in the highest gear practical for your speed and road conditions. Gain the best fuel economy by using the upshift indicator, if equipped, to direct your shifting during acceleration (see page 36).

Depending on traffic conditions, try to maintain a constant speed. Every time you slow down and speed up, your car uses extra fuel. Use the cruise control, when appropriate, to increase fuel economy.

A cold engine uses more fuel than a warm engine. it is not necessary to "warm-up" a cold engine by letting it idle for a long time. You can drive away in about a minute, no matter how cold it is outside. The engine will warm up faster, and you can get better fuel economy. To cut down on the number of "cold starts," try to combine several short trips into one.

The air conditioning put an extra load on the engine which makes it use more fuel. Turn off the A/C to cut down on air conditioning use. Use the flow-through ventilation when the outside air temperature is moderate.

 

Its never leting your car get up to operating temp before shuting it off again thats the problem with short trips. If all you ever do is the 1.5 mile thing work and back, and never get out on the freeway, its harder on your engine. Water actualy condesates in your block and gets in the oil, You need to get the engine up to operating temp for a while to boil the water out. And there is more wear on the cylinder walls on a cold engine, so driveing at 2500 rpm instead of idleing at 1500 rpm, increases cylinder wall wear. As for going by the owners manual, who here changes thier oil at 7000/6 mo.?

 

^^ Thank you. Nice to see someone has the right idea.

You need to boil the water out.

It was the same back went I started driving in 1970.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stock_honda_coupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">As for going by the owners manual, who here changes thier oil at 7000/6 mo.?</TD></TR></TABLE>
It's actually listed as every 7,500 miles (12,000 km) or 12 months.

 

^ does the manual really say that!?!?! I change my oil religously every 2500 miles/3 months, whichever comes first.

And I do not just drive my car to work.. I also drive my car to shcool mon-fri, which is a 14 mile trip each way. (28 round trip). This means I should be okay, right? Since although I do the whole short drive thing to work, I drive a good distance to school daily.

LMK, thanks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Razr2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">^ does the manual really say that!?!?! I change my oil religously every 2500 miles/3 months, whichever comes first.

And I do not just drive my car to work.. I also drive my car to shcool mon-fri, which is a 14 mile trip each way. (28 round trip). This means I should be okay, right? Since although I do the whole short drive thing to work, I drive a good distance to school daily.

LMK, thanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yes, the manual really says that.

And 14 miles is fine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Razr2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">^ does the manual really say that!?!?! I change my oil religously every 2500 miles/3 months, whichever comes first.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's serious overkill.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Padawan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

That's serious overkill. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Is it really? I also change my oil every 3k miles.. How often do you change yours?

 

Normal maintenance and regular check ups will keep that si motor running for a long time, don't look at everything in a problematic way. If you burden yourself with miscellaneous problems time after time on weather this will affect your engine or this,or that then your mind will tell you that you did mess up your engine, i am just taking a philosophical approach to it, so just do the regular maintenance and take care of it and don't red line at every highway entrance and your car will take you so long that you will praise honda for the rest of your life.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kaluwa3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is it really? I also change my oil every 3k miles.. How often do you change yours?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Generally, I stick with the manufacturer's recommendation.

 

1 1/2 miles just run to work

 

I change mine every 4,000/4mo. Thats what the dealership sticker says. And the oil is always black and a little thin when it comes out.

 

I think it's like 3,750 miles driving in severe conditions.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1sickEJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1 1/2 miles just run to work</TD></TR></TABLE>

either that or bike, the cardio wouldnt hurt him

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EK_B &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think it's like 3,750 miles driving in severe conditions. </TD></TR></TABLE>
It is.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2053807

 

i change my oil when it gets dirty, but there is a big thread here about oil/ engine wear at start up read here. http://63.240.161.99/motoroil/

 

3750 is really the best thing to do especially if you use any oil and if you like to keep up with your maint schedule. tire rotation every other oil change, and 3750 makes oil changes and services line up.