Does anyone drive their car gently?

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DrivinMyEscort

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Indiana, USA
I am curious if there is anyone out there that drives there car gently. I mean every time you take off do gently accelerate. Not stomp on it like some people do. I use my Tach as a reference and accelerate at 2,000 to 2,500 rpms depending on traffic conditions. I just feel that if you gently accelerate and don't drive a car too hard the motor and tranny will last longer. Anybody else agree?

Even when I start the car up I like to let it run for 30 seconds to a minute. Even longer in the winter time. When I have somebody ride with me they always wonder why I just sit there for a minute. I just don't like to start it and drop into gear to quickly. It's like a rule I give my self every time I get into my car.

Just curious what you guys think and do you do the same thing?
 
Simple answer: No

In a car with a powerful engine I can do 2-2.5k rpm and still accelerate normally. In my car that usually takes ~4-6 secs to reach 40 mph. But that's boring so hitting 4k+ rpm happens often. I'm pretty sure the rest of the car will fall apart before the engine with proper maintenance. Over 100k miles and the engine and transmission are still fine.

I don't think I can continually drive like that in a car with an anemic engine. I don't like people riding my tail. I don't like people being roadblocks so I wouldn't want to do that myself.
 
On our Altima V6, accelerating at a rate between normal and too fast equals 2000-2200 rpm. Even at that rate, you can really feel the torque throwing you back in your seat. It doesn't feel like gentle driving, but it's as gentle as it can be.
 
Yes. I accelerate gently, and I idle the car for 5 seconds before I put it in gear.

My Taurus has 174K miles. The engine and the tranny are both original and run smooth as silk -- knock on wood.
 
Originally Posted By: DrivinMyEscort
I am curious if there is anyone out there that drives there car gently. I mean every time you take off do gently accelerate. Not stomp on it like some people do. I use my Tach as a reference and accelerate at 2,000 to 2,500 rpms depending on traffic conditions. I just feel that if you gently accelerate and don't drive a car too hard the motor and tranny will last longer. Anybody else agree?


I don't agree. An engine should be used throughout its RPM range at least every once in a while. Accelerating only between 2,000 and 2,500 RPM, and probably never driving at RPM higher than that either, the cylinder walls will develop ridges over time, because the rods never get fully stretched. Should anybody ever floor your engine, broken rings will likely result.

If you only drive at low RPM, your engine will suffer a lot of unnecessary carbon buildup.

For me, every drive is an Italian tune-up. I red-line the warm engine every time I drive at least once. So far, all my engines have outlived the usefulness of the respective vehicle.

Quote:
Even when I start the car up I like to let it run for 30 seconds to a minute. Even longer in the winter time. When I have somebody ride with me they always wonder why I just sit there for a minute. I just don't like to start it and drop into gear to quickly. It's like a rule I give my self every time I get into my car.

Below freezing temps I let the engine run for maybe 30 seconds before driving off. Otherwise I give it a couple seconds.
 
Usually, more so lately, I go gently to work. If I feel like it I can wring out 13.5-14MPG according to my SGII for just that trip. An improvement of 1-2MPG over my usual style in the same route. Occasionally I will drive just for the sake of driving, and Ill beat the [censored] out of it.
As far as idling, I will let it idle down to under 1000RPM. It takes longer when the engine is cold than when warm, so is a good benchmark.
 
I don't do jack rabbit starts, but rather than "gentle acceleration" I focus on coasting up to red lights so that I minimize braking and keep rolling to the maximum extent. Braking equals energy loss and wear on engine and car more than accelerating does.
 
I do, or at least try to. It's been a while since I haven't gone WOT in either of my cars. In fact, it's quite the opposite and I always take off gently. If I'm going to have to floor it, I take off easy and floor it once the car's moving.

I try to be as gentle as permissible by other road users, not only for the sake of better fuel economy, but to try and extend the life of various components - shocks, body mounts, engine mounts, brakes, etc.
 
I joy in giving my vehicles the apples regularly.

Couple of times a month, I'll stop the Caprice on a clear road, and do a zero-100. E30 will (would) get a cornering speedand out of corner test,and the Turbodiesel a hill speed hold rather than letting it run back...equally, each vehicle gets a couple of "panic" stops per month (and I get the boss to do them too)

But generally, I don't race people to red lights, I get a couple hundred thousand km out of brake pads, and don't wear out clutches.

Sensibly gentle ?
 
I just dawdle around town in my car,sometimes I'm lucky to get over 50kph (the speed limit) as I try to eek the fuel out ($2.21 a litre).The fuel light is on,and I'll try to get to the weekend.

My motorcycle on the otherhand gets used very hard,into the red often.Not the normal way a BMW is ridden,but I use all it's got to give.
 
I drive as hard as the speed limits will allow, which even for my Focus isn't all that much. Where I really hammer my car is corners. Z rated tires and SVT suspension means I don't brake for any bend...most of the time I speed up
smile.gif
. If anything wears out first, it'll be the springy bits. As it is, I'm pretty sure I have a strut mount on its way out.
I maintain my car religiously for the sole purpose of being able to flog it without parts falling off or failing. At 100k miles it still drives like a new car. The interior is pristine too. Unfortunately the outside looks like any other commuter car, even with regular details...but I can live with that, every door ding or rock chip is an urban battle scar in my eyes, adds character.
 
I drive fairly easy. More so in the beginning at least in the Taco. The Jetta on the other hand is a different story.
 
I drive as gently as conditions allow. On rare occasions I have to mash it, otherwise I drive nice and easy.
 
I drive as gently as smoothly as possible and as conditions allow. If there are cars behind me I'll accelerate a little quicker from a stop sign, otherwise it's smooth and gentle. Same with approaching stops, I'll let the car coast up to a mile or so when possible.

I don't let it idle or warm up though, just get in, start it, fasten the seatbelt and go.
 
I try to drive smoothly, but I don't baby it. I usually shift before 3000 rpms, but accelerate at 50 - 75% throttle. I don't let it idle for more than 10 seconds before driving off.

Oh, and I use on-ramps as they were meant to be used: to get up to freeway speed.
 
Very gently with an occasional redline about 4 times a year. As a result, I have gotten excellent UOA's and usually beat the EPA fuel estimates for my vehicles. Yeah, I get tailgated a bunch and even get the middle finger from time to time, but I'm not going to burn up my car and gas as a result of someone else's poor planning. I usually stay within the speed limit and finesse the transmission in such a fashion it doesn't shift as much. I also stay in the right lane when driving the speed limit to not impede faster traffic. You never know. The guy driving fast might be on the way to the hospital.
 
I try to let them warm up as much as possible, & I will try to time traffic lights so as not to have to stop & wear out brake pads-but considering that usually what I drive is heavily loaded & somewhat underpowered-no easy days here. Although the TorqShift in the E-350, which is hauling at least 9K every day & occasionally a 5K+ enclosed trailer-is still original at over 230K!
 
Originally Posted By: DrivinMyEscort
I am curious if there is anyone out there that drives there car gently. I mean every time you take off do gently accelerate.


Yes, everyone in front of me seems to...
 
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