New job...very short trips.

[Mark_Walk]

ride a bike...you will not be sweating after just .9 miles.

If you have to drive, change the oil weekly. 10 mile OCI's. The drain bolt will be worn out so get one of those fumoto valves.

 

[Falken]

I had the same problem last Winter.

The way I dealt with it was take it down the highway once a week and do all your groceries on the same day to really bake off the fuel and moisture out of the sump.

Or, if you can easily change your own oil, I would just use Pennzoil conventional every 3 months and call it good.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Mark_Walk
ride a bike...you will not be sweating after just .9 miles.

Wearing a black outfit, considering Florida humidity? You will sweat just standing in one place.

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: gregk24
So my new job is 0.9 miles from my house, yes its really that close, I clocked it when I went there for my interview. My question is, I already know short trips are not good for your car. There is another route I could take that is about 4 miles one way, would it be worth going out of the way to drive the 4 miles or just go the short way of 0.9 miles? Im thinking once I finish off my ultra I might start using 0w20 only because of the VERY short trips. No I am not going to walk, my uniform is black and its sunny and 90 degrees here in FL. And no Im not going to buy a scooter or bike of some sort, dont have the money for a scooter, and dont want to bike because ill be sweating bullets by the time i get to work. Just wanting to know if driving the 4 miles route would be any better for the car vs the 0.9 mile route.


Neither route is probably going to get it all that warmed up.
It's a car, which is basically a transportation appliance.
It is incumbent on it to serve you, not you to serve it.
Use it as a tool to make your life easier, and when it is used up, get another.
If it makes you feel better, take it out for a good 30-40 minutes on the highway every weekend and blow it out.

 

[gregk24]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Mark_Walk
ride a bike...you will not be sweating after just .9 miles.

Wearing a black outfit, considering Florida humidity? You will sweat just standing in one place.


yes, i was going to say, apparently some of you have never been in the florida heat. you walk outside your front door and start to sweat.

 

[gregk24]

Originally Posted By: Tdbo
Originally Posted By: gregk24
So my new job is 0.9 miles from my house, yes its really that close, I clocked it when I went there for my interview. My question is, I already know short trips are not good for your car. There is another route I could take that is about 4 miles one way, would it be worth going out of the way to drive the 4 miles or just go the short way of 0.9 miles? Im thinking once I finish off my ultra I might start using 0w20 only because of the VERY short trips. No I am not going to walk, my uniform is black and its sunny and 90 degrees here in FL. And no Im not going to buy a scooter or bike of some sort, dont have the money for a scooter, and dont want to bike because ill be sweating bullets by the time i get to work. Just wanting to know if driving the 4 miles route would be any better for the car vs the 0.9 mile route.


Neither route is probably going to get it all that warmed up.
It's a car, which is basically a transportation appliance.
It is incumbent on it to serve you, not you to serve it.
Use it as a tool to make your life easier, and when it is used up, get another.
If it makes you feel better, take it out for a good 30-40 minutes on the highway every weekend and blow it out.


Ultimately I agree its just a tool to use, but I need it another 5 or more years, I can not afford another car for sure. Not now and probably not then, So Im going to do the BEST I can to take care of her. I wish I was able to just buy a new car when I needed too, but thats just not the case. Im a college student here, with no help from others. Im doing what I can.

 

[147_Grain]

Originally Posted By: gregk24

I need [the car for] another 5 or more years, I can not afford another car for sure. Not now and probably not then, So Im going to do the BEST I can to take care of her. I wish I was able to just buy a new car when I needed too, but thats just not the case. Im a college student here, with no help from others. Im doing what I can.


Try to think outside of the box in order to be in a much better position in 5 years. If you are looking (with the glass half-full) to improve your situation and act upon common-sense inclinations, then you WILL be at a higher level in 5 years when you need another vehicle. This works in the Game of Life too.

 

[gregk24]

Originally Posted By: 147_Grain
Originally Posted By: gregk24

I need [the car for] another 5 or more years, I can not afford another car for sure. Not now and probably not then, So Im going to do the BEST I can to take care of her. I wish I was able to just buy a new car when I needed too, but thats just not the case. Im a college student here, with no help from others. Im doing what I can.


Try to think outside of the box in order to be in a much better position in 5 years. If you are looking (with the glass half-full) to improve your situation and act upon common-sense inclinations, then you WILL be at a higher level in 5 years when you need another vehicle. This works in the Game of Life too.


Thats my goal..but there is only so much i can do when i have to pay for everything, including school.

 

[tiger862]

I have been doing short trips for years. I put less than 6k a year and 90% is stop and go. MaxLife Synthetic Blend every 6 months and never look back. Don't worry about mileage. Sometimes I only go 2k and others have gone 5k. I don't worry about warming up engine or oil getting up to temp since it is hot and humid in Louisiana.

 

[silverrat]

Your transmission is more likely to fail than your engine is in 5 years. As a college student I drive a 93 Accord and spend way less in maintenance than you plan to.

 

[ARB1977]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Mark_Walk
ride a bike...you will not be sweating after just .9 miles.

Wearing a black outfit, considering Florida humidity? You will sweat just standing in one place.

Puts hair on your chest.

 

[toneydoc]

Lots of old people drive a vehicle for very short distances a few times a week. After many years they have minimal mileage on their vehicles. When they get ready to sell the vehicle, many people want to buy them because they have little mileage, never get abused on short trips, and pay a nice price to buy them off these little old ladies. Your car and its short trip will not be any different.

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: gregk24
Originally Posted By: Tdbo
Originally Posted By: gregk24
So my new job is 0.9 miles from my house, yes its really that close, I clocked it when I went there for my interview. My question is, I already know short trips are not good for your car. There is another route I could take that is about 4 miles one way, would it be worth going out of the way to drive the 4 miles or just go the short way of 0.9 miles? Im thinking once I finish off my ultra I might start using 0w20 only because of the VERY short trips. No I am not going to walk, my uniform is black and its sunny and 90 degrees here in FL. And no Im not going to buy a scooter or bike of some sort, dont have the money for a scooter, and dont want to bike because ill be sweating bullets by the time i get to work. Just wanting to know if driving the 4 miles route would be any better for the car vs the 0.9 mile route.


Neither route is probably going to get it all that warmed up.
It's a car, which is basically a transportation appliance.
It is incumbent on it to serve you, not you to serve it.
Use it as a tool to make your life easier, and when it is used up, get another.
If it makes you feel better, take it out for a good 30-40 minutes on the highway every weekend and blow it out.


Ultimately I agree its just a tool to use, but I need it another 5 or more years, I can not afford another car for sure. Not now and probably not then, So Im going to do the BEST I can to take care of her. I wish I was able to just buy a new car when I needed too, but thats just not the case. Im a college student here, with no help from others. Im doing what I can.


Just take it out every weekend for about 1/2 hr.@ hwy. speed. It will be fine. Don't sweat the small stuff, you have more pressing issues on your plate right now.

 

[Pajero]

Study hard my friend...best of luck in school

Kind regards,

Pajero

 

[JustinH]

I work .6 miles away from home. Drive the grand marquis every day since the heat hit 108 this week.

I tried walking but 1.2 miles in the heat in dress clothes doesn't work.

I fill my 4.6L with motorcraft motor oil and filters and don't worry about it.

I change oil by time, every six months. I put about 3200 miles on in 6 months.

 

[Clevy]

In my opinion this is an application where one of the ultra high viscosity index oils would be of the most benefit.
An oil such as tgmo 0w-20,the Mazda 0w-20 etc would be ideal.
The oil is already almost the same consistency when the engine is started as it is at full temp,so because the engine will be run for such a short time the oil won't get hot enough to activate the anti-wear additives,however the friction modifiers(moly) will step up and work its magic.
I suggest either of those 2 I mentioned. Its an ideal application for them in my opinion.

 

[ediamiam]

loaned a 2nd car to my sister for about a year. short commute to BART. Muffler rusted out, bolts to exhaust manifold worked loose. the car was used to 20k annually. Good advice to take it out once a week and put some miles on it.

 

[Vikas]

Quote:
Wish someone told me that before I joined this site 8 years ago...
This is a complete lie. Lots of people told you this but you wish you had listened. Come to think of it, you could still use that advise

 

[virginoil]

Is public transport available?

I had to reread your post 0.9 miles.

In the morning it should be reasonably cool.

Going home in the afternoon heat should be ok even you raise a sweat.

Are you in good health ?

Physically in good condition ?

Do you go to a gym ?

If yes guess what ?

 

[KitaCam]

A one mile bike ride may indeed be uncomfortable under the mid-summer sun, especially if you're not used to biking, even casually...I know...I ride a lot here in FLA...

...but Nov. to April should be a breeze...take you dark jacket off and put it in a courier sling bag (along with a casual polo for the ride home) and just make it a nice casual peddle...it's only a 10-minute ride...and once you've done it for a few months you'll like doing it more and more...

I casually ride my bike all year 'round here...my favorite ride is Riverbend Park in Jupiter...

One other auto-related option is to let the car idle for a few min. before starting out...to get the water temp up at least...and staying is a lower gear to keep the RPMs up...