Super short trips and Oil condition question.

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My daughter lives in Kansas now and lives less than a mile from work. She drives there, parks and after 7-8 hrs drives home. She rarely drives any distances or for long periods of time. With the cold weather coming how bad will this be on the oil?
 
That`s basically how my drive to and from work is,but just a tiny bit longer. If I didn`t have to wear a suit/tie to work,plus cross the interstate,I`d hop on my mountain bike and ride it to work. I always do the 3/3000.
 
It cause's fuel dilution of the oil which can accelerate wear both mechanical and from chemical problems that fuel in oil causes. It is the worst form of driving one can do. Regular use of a good fuel additive and regular oil changes with dino say eever 3-4 months and or 3000 miles which ever comes first can be really helpful.
 
Same situation for me here:

Yes it is severe service but still a options are available.
Most important is to run it @ least once a week on the weekends on the hwy to burn the fuel.
The advice above is good:
3/3k for Dino
6/5k for Synth

Mine's is still 6/7k synth whichever comes first.
 
I'm facing the same thing now in the Astra. 2 mi each way. I'm thinking GC for summer and M1 0w30 SL I have stashed for winter...at 6 months. The engine requires valve adjustment w/bucket-type, so oil condition is important. Same thing for the swirl flaps on the intake. Ecotec 1.8VVT.

I'd like to do dino oil changes at say 4 months, but I have a LOT of synth oils stashed. The M1 and GC being the oldest. Dumping that stuff or PP at 3000 miles is crazy. The ROW does 20k mi changes with Opel LL-025-A oils. The quality of the A5/A3 oils I have should carry the day.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I`d hop on my mountain bike and ride it to work.


This is what I do! I've got a 1 mile commute to work. I figure I'll save the wear and tear on my truck, get some fresh air, and arrive at my office door in style. Six minutes door to door. The only time I drive is if I have errands to do after work.
 
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Originally Posted By: MtnMike
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I`d hop on my mountain bike and ride it to work.


This is what I do! I've got a 1 mile commute to work. I figure I'll save the wear and tear on my truck, get some fresh air, and arrive at my office door in style. Six minutes door to door. The only time I drive is if I have errands to do after work.


Sniff- envious that you have this option.

But not every1 can do this in a suit & tie...
 
I live in Topeka, and drive just 2-3 miles to the Statehouse where I work. I do feel like I'm abusing the car. During the winter, I try to make the 25 mile drive (highway miles) to Lawrence. Just makes me feel better, that the car is getting some miles and at least warming up enough. I do have a transmission cooler on my car, so I almost feel the transmission is getting treated worse than the engine for the short drives.

I use PYB 5W20 with Purolator PureOne. OCI 3k in winter, 5k in summer.
 
Hello,

Fellow Topekan, and short commuter checking in. :-). I just moved back to Topeka after being in other places for 12 years. My new commute is almost exactly 2 miles. I drove this everyday for over two months and got fed up with the car not even warming up. I was already using PP5w20 so I didn't change my oil I changed my commute. Specifically, I put fenders and lights on my hybrid bike and have been successfully commuting by bicycle and couldn't be happier. The fenders and lights cost me less than 80 bucks. I know this is an oil site, but if you don't need to drive......

TripleM,
I do wear ties and nicer clothes. I just roll up the clothes and put them in a messenger type bag and change clothes at work. Most of my shirts and pants are wrinkle resistant and don't seem to mind being rolled up for 15 minutes. Luckily, I don't have to wear a sport coat too often. I only have to cross two major intersections and can cruise through residential areas most of the way. So no major highways to deal with either.

The biggest surprise was how warm I felt even when riding in stiff winds and temps in the teens. I actually overdressed the first few trips. You really generate a lot of heat by pedaling.

Good luck.
 
Originally Posted By: FZ1
Severe service. Run M1 EP 6 mo/5000 mile oci.


Considering the cost of M1 EP, that seems like a horrific waste of money.

I'd probably just put in whatever's cheap (e.g. SuperTech conventional), and change the oil/filter on the 3mo/3000 severe schedule.

If the oil's going to be trashed by fuel dilution and changed out early, why put in the super-expensive stuff?
 
Originally Posted By: heypete
Originally Posted By: FZ1
Severe service. Run M1 EP 6 mo/5000 mile oci.


If the oil's going to be trashed by fuel dilution and changed out early, why put in the super-expensive stuff?


Is it possible that some of the "super-expensive stuff" might hold up better in the presence of fuel than dino or 'garden variety' synthetic?
 
I was in that same boat for about 3 years. In the summer I wouldn't worry as much because I would at least drive around to enjoy the weather etc. In the winter I always did 3 months no matter the mileage. Usually with 5 mins each way and 1 mile I would have about 1500 miles.
 
Id use PP which is what im using for my short trips. It becomes the same cost after a while, plus the benefits.
 
I have a similar driving pattern during the week with my 1 mile commute to work. However i think/hope i make up for it with my weekend driving pattern of two 100 mile round trips to Dallas and back.

While it is hard on the engine and oil, if your daughter gets the car out and gets it good and hot at least once a week, i suspect that the damage would be kept to a minimum with regular oil changes. I've been doing this with the same car for about 8 years (I bought the car new). So far i have 85000 miles on the car and no major problems. No condensation build up under the oil filler cap, no odd looking oil, etc... I did have to replace the valve cover gaskets last year. I don't think that is related, but it could be from too many partial warm-ups. I just dont know.

If she just doesn't care to drive much, maybe that would be a good excuse for some father/daughter bonding where you use her car to take her out to eat once a week. Somewhere way across town.
wink.gif


Edit: I've been using 10w30 and 5w30 dino and changing it at no more than 3,000 mile intervals.
 
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