I was wondering if a (give or take) 3 mile drive in the morning would be bad for the car - especially on cold starts. The car is my daily driver to work and I will be moving closer to work next month. Thanks in advance.

 

The only bad thing will be gas mileage. As long as you dont rev it higher that 4k while its cold, you will be fine.

 

Do you start driving as soon as you start it, or do you let it warm up a bit? I live about the same distance from my work and I let it warm up a little when it is cold. I also go really easy on it until it is warmed up to optimal temp.

 

If it's your DD, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I wouldn't be worried about it.

I would recommend changing your oil at slightly shorter intervals. Because the rings don't seal as well when engine is cold, you will get more blow-by, contaminating your oil faster..

 

A few miles is too short to evaporate the condensation inside the crankcase and the exhaust system. This condition basically deteriates the oil much quicker and can cause the exhaust system to rust from within depending on the material of the exahust.

 

Yep, driving under ~3.5 miles is considered 'extreme conditions' in the owners manual and requires more frequent oil changes. Change the oil more often and you should be fine.

 

I let the car warm up for a minute or so then I go on my drive and keep it under 4k. So 1,500mi oil changes..what about viscosity? Should I change to a lighter weight oil? I think I'm on 5w30?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">A few miles is too short to evaporate the condensation inside the crankcase and the exhaust system. This condition basically deteriates the oil much quicker and can cause the exhaust system to rust from within depending on the material of the exahust. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm not worried about my stock exhaust, whats a nice A/M exhaust I should be looking into?

 

I get in my car and drive it across the street everyday and back. I work across the street, I could walk but whats the point of having a car? I do my changes around 2000 miles. I do take it for frequent 20-30 miles trips up and down the highway, just to actually let it work.

 

I wonder what's the widely accepted average miles before Honda's are properly up to optimal engine temp. - 10 miles?

 

That depends on a bunch of factors. If its freezing out it will take longer, if its warmer out it will be quicker.

It also depends on how hard you drive it.

It takes me about (With 1 min of start up wait) about 2.5 miles to reach optimal temp when its 15 degrees out. The warmer it gets the quicker the temp rises.

 

viscosity wise, i would stick to whatever the owners manual recommends for your local temperature range.
general rule of thumb is 5-30 winter and 10-30 summer. Some people think thicker oil is better because it generates more oil pressure.. problem is, the only reason there is more oil pressure, is the extra resistance of thicker oil, so the oil pump is working harder to distribute the same amount of oil.. so stick with the recommended viscosity.

warm up time all depends on air temp.. probably only 5 miles or so in the summer. An oil temp gauge is the only way to know for sure. Water temp will reach normal long before oil temp will.

But most of all, i wouldn't worry about it.. The most damaging part of running a cold engine happens at initial startup, which happens whether you completely warm the engine or not

 

Cool, thanks for all the helpful insight fellas