Cold weather & short trips?

[medic]

Okay, for those of you who don't know, I found myself with a new problem in Feb 2004. I got new job and had to move. Now my commute to work is less than a mile.

As I drove home tonight, I saw the thermometer on the bank read 17F. I knew there was no way I could get my vehicle warmed up before I got home. Some here suggested that I drive the long way to work, but this doesn't always work because I can get called in during the night and they want me there ASAP. I am usually there only about 30-45 minutes, so I let the engine idle while I am there.

Now, my question is: If I did drive and extra 3 miles, 1.5 being highway, on my way home or way to work, is it going to make any difference at all compared to the mile that I would normally drive or am I just causing additional wear and tear on my vehicle, engine, and transmission? (I know that it takes at least 10 miles of highway for the transmission to get up to temp and a least that for the oil)

My personal feeling are this this extra distance will not extend the life of my oil, exhaust, engine, or transmission and I am better of driving the mile and shutting the vehicle off if I am going to be there for the day. Feel free to tell me if you think I'm wrong.

 

[427Z06]

Can you park your car in a garage when at home? If not, do you have access to a power outlet?
What about getting two of those "stick-on" oil pan heaters for the engine and transmission? Plug them in when you're at home.

 

[pitzel]

Yes, save your engine the agony of actually fully warming up.

The first few minutes of operation are the most damaging, irregardless of whether you run the engine for 5 minutes thereafter, an hour thereafter, or a day thereafter. The more you warm it up, the worse the thermal cycling becomes.

However, make a habit of lengthening your trips unnecessarily, and the cost of fuel quickly adds up. I got a new muffler put onto my high cycles/low miles car for $100 Canadian, lifetime warranty. You can't drive very many extra km's on a daily basis, 200 to 300 times a year, with the engine partially warmed up, before your fuel bill is at least $100 higher.

 

[SteveD2]

You're not putting any more wear on your engine than if you had to drive a long way...it's just the oil that suffers. Change it frequently.

 

[Matt89]

I concur...not much sense in driving 'more' in order to save the oil. Changing it more frequently is the ticket under these conditions...

 

[Ryan00TJ]

It's nice having an oil temp gauge. I put one in my 2000 Jeep Wrangler last Christmas and I am amazed at how long it takes the oil to reach 150* when it's cold out. Last night it was 17 degrees out and I had been driving for 10 mins and had gone 5 or so miles, looked down and saw the oil temp was still under 125*. When it's below freezing outside it takes a good 20 mins driving to get the oil above 165*. Go the shortest way to work and change your oil more often.

 

[medic]

Thanks for the replies. It guess it's about time to dump that GC that has been in there for the last 6000 miles.

 

[FL-400S]

If you are THAT worried about it, why not just buy a POS car to drive 1 mile to work and save whatever car you already have for longer trips.

 

[medic]

I wasn't overly worried - though it does bother me to drive such a short distance in cold weather and then shut it off.

I just wanted to know 1 mile vs. 3 miles - which is worse? The more I thought about, it seemed like 3 miles was only wasting gas and maybe causing addition wear, achieving nothing for the good.

I used to drive 30 miles, one way, to work. Who would ever think I would complain about living closer to work?

 

[XS650]

Take the shortest route to work as others have said.

Then get out once or twice a week and drive it long enough to get it up to operating temperature for a while. That will drive the moisture out without putting as many excess miles on it.

You should use a severe duty cycle oil change interval.

 

[kevm14]

My commute is about 2 miles each way, 4 days a week (tuesday through friday). Every weekend, I drive at least 300 additional miles, most of this in two trips of 2 hours each. Am I ok? Right now I'm on my last rinse of ARX with GTX 5w30.

 

[Brikhead]

quote:

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Originally posted by medic:
It guess it's about time to dump that GC that has been in there for the last 6000 miles.

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Granted, I have no experience with GC. But isn't GC "stoudt" enough to handle such abuse w/ a slightly abreviated OCI?

 

[medic]

quote:

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Originally posted by Brikhead:

quote:

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Originally posted by medic:
It guess it's about time to dump that GC that has been in there for the last 6000 miles.

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Granted, I have no experience with GC. But isn't GC "stoudt" enough to handle such abuse w/ a slightly abreviated OCI?

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This is my first run of GC. When I dump it and send a UOA into the lab, we'll see how stoudt it is. I think I have been pretty hard on this oil over the last 8 months.

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by medic:
This is my first run of GC. When I dump it and send a UOA into the lab, we'll see how stout it is. I think I have been pretty hard on this oil over the last 8 months.

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When you get a good UOA you will know more about your duty cycle with GC than any of us.

When you get it, please post the results along with a good description of your driving duty cycle. Your multiple short trips in a moderately cold climate make for a moderately extreme duty cycle. That can be more educational that just another routine report.