Julie - relax. Don't worry. Its an urban myth.
Worked in the motor trade long, have we?
|
"found to have been actually damaged" ?
But the damage would only become apparent a few years later, when the accumulated wear means the engine or catalyst need replacing prematurely?
|
Simple answer: buy a diesel. Works much better when cold..
As for petrol engines, my wife has destroyed 2 in 20 years through an average journey length of 1 miles, 4,000 miles a year. Mind you it took 4 years and 7 years repectively to do so.
Diesel Peugeot 106 on same cycle has now lasted 39,000 miles in 10 years... still going strong.
madf
|
not sure about long term damage, but my S reg 1.0 litre Micra flooded after a very short trip i.e. side of the road onto the drive. Happened twice, then i learnt that it needed a run to burn off the fuel. Only happened in very cold weather and the AA fixed it both times by cleaning the plugs.
Bit of a nuisance really, would agree with the diesel comment, get no starting problems with the Octavia
|
a couple of notes have been removed, including my own.
Please read the small print if you are confused as to what is or is not acceptable here. Including the bit about Moderators\' decisions being final.
If you wish to discuss the moderating policy or approach then do not discuss it here. You should feel free to e-mail HJ at mailto:letters@honestjohn.co.uk or the moderators at mailto:moderators@honestjohn.co.uk
|
|
|
|
Worked in the motor trade long, have we? >>
Yes. But clearly you resent my knowledge. Goodbye.
|
>> Worked in the motor trade long, have we? >> Yes. But clearly you resent my knowledge. Goodbye.
{waves}
That will be the day.
|
There is an answer.
Buy two of the same car. That way, no need to move cars, just take the one nearest the road. And just take out the CD changer magazine, to make sure you have 'your' music. And don't carry too much other carp, which is good to keep the cars clean anyway.
--
Dr Alex Mears
Seat Leon Cupra
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
|
|
i did chuckle when i read this, but then realised that there is a couple up my road who have two Ka's, complete with consequetive number plates, but oddly they still seem to treat them as his and hers i.e. move one to release the other.
|
|
|
|
>>Yes. But clearly you resent my knowledge. Goodbye.
Dammit, sometimes I\'m slow. I just realised, you\'re <0.One%, aren\'t you. I thought I recognised the style.
|
I\'m going to have to jump in and support No Dosh here. While eMBe undoubtedly does have a lot of motor engineering experience, he does not have experience of this particular problem. BMW M52 factor was largely caused by high sulphur petrol from cold-start then switch-off washing down and reacting with the Nicksil bore linings of these engines. Same goes for Jaguar V8s. And, as for lesser cars, many years ago my mum handed down her old Y reg Fiesta to my wife. Sweet little car, ten years old but only 22k miles. Because of mum\'s short runs from cold regime, its poor little pistons rocked around in the bores like Growler\'s cassette cases in his armrest cubby. The engine was knackered at 22k miles from short run syndrome. So while it may be necessary to start cars from cold then switch-off almost immediately sometimes, it is very bad for the engine.
HJ
|
|
I can't find the post now, but in the early days of the backroom someone decided that the answer to this problem (when washing the car) was to park it on two planks inside the garage. As required, more planks were laid and the car could be easily pushed in and out of the garage without starting the engine. Someone suggested that to reduce wear even further, a line of planks could be laid leading to the local shops.
|
carrick,
Would this be planks that sloped down to the shop, and then sloped all the way back.
Nearly perpetual motion?
Now there is one plank with that idea that comes to mind!
M.M
|
|
|
|
It seems to me that the engine "run time" from cold is the important factor, as opposed to the miles taken.
What do the Backroomers think is the minimum time to avoid problems?
|
OK, I own up, I was the plank who suggested this one some time ago.
Actually it was a serious suggestion, despite the merriment it produced.
What I recommended, and I use the method myself, was to make two short wooden ramps about 4" high and place these in the garage so that the front wheels drove up them on parking.
Then it is possible to coast out of the garage into the drive without starting the engine, in order to wash the car, or load up with luggage or passengers ready for a later start.
Obviously it won't suit all circumstances, and probably not Julie's one of shuffling round several cars.
A second use is that the car is then normally parked in the garage with the front a few inches raised, making oil changing easier and even tilting the drain plug downwards.
|
|
|
It seems to me that the engine "run time" from cold is the important factor, as opposed to the miles taken. What do the Backroomers think is the minimum time to avoid problems?
The correct minimum should probably be until the engine has reached its correct operating temperature. However that may take some time, ticking over, as the engine is not put to work and who wants to sit on the drive for 10 - 15 mins let alone the environmental aspects of everybody doing this. I would think that the minimum time would be until the fast idle has dropped to a normal tickover and preferably until the temperature gauge has started to climb. When my other half and myself have to trade car places on the drive we just drive round the block, which takes about 5 minutes. This has the desired effect of working the engine, hence warming it up more and by the time we arrive back the temperature gauge has started to climb and the fast idle has dropped off.
|
I stalled driving out of my garage yesterday and could only just get the engine started again.
Whenever possible I try to get the engine up to tempreture before turning off.
|
Oh yes it must be a much better idea for the environment to sit on your driveway with the engine running.
Just don't think of how mant cat's you could have bought with the fuel you've wasted.
Good grief this place gets worserer and worserer.,
|
My old 1992 Honda 1.5 lsi was subject to a lot of cold engine moves into the garage simply because I could not be bothered to put it away as soon as I arrrived home knackered after a hard days work.
This was over the 12 years that I owned it and after 160000 miles
it still had the original cat and the engine showed no signs of wear at all.
A testament to Japanese engineering and quality quality perhaps?.
Mal.
|
|
I know its better for the car to run the engine when its warm but i think people are going a bit over the top with this, i think engines are lot tougher than people make them out to be. My mum has had her zx for at least 5 years or so in this time she has had it, its daily journey has been almost 2 or at most 4 mile round trip, it almost never gets up to temperature and thats all it has done for last 5 years apart from the occasional long journey. The car itself is 10 years old and has 67k on the clock and it has never broken down, runs perfectly well and never fails an emission test at MOT time, as i far as i know still on the original Cat (not been changed while she's had the car anyway) now if a citreon 1.4 petrol (which shows no signs of dying anytime soon) can stand up to this sort of abuse then i really wouldn't worry about moving a car out of the garage and moving cars round on the driveway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
