dangers to car because of a short commute?

[Mooneggs]

I'm posting this in general since this could apply to anybody...

I recently moved to Oregon and now I am 1.9 miles from work (one way). I'm worried that I am damaging my mx-3 by driving it such a short period of time twice a day! I don't think that it even reaches the middle of the temp gauge by the time I get to work/home!

I seem to remember reading somewhere that when you have a short commute condensation builds up in the exhaust system and can cause premature rusting since it doesn't have enough time to leave the exhaust pipe. Maybe I'm making stuff up and it's all in my head... I'm just worried...

any advice/opinions would be appreciated!

[bdr2k5]

just make sure you red line in 2 gears at least once a week

[MX3-Life]

If this is true i would recommend taking a nice scenic root the way home at least 1 day a week. But if you are taking a highway/road way were you can go 80KM/H
then you should be good.

[shameem]

Ya drive on the highway once a week for about 15 minutes and it should keep the carbon buildup to a minimum.....

[fowljesse]

Just cruise over to ol' Fowljesse's once in a while.
What happened to walking through the park?
All those freaking Nike's, and you don't walk?!
Get a bike, or a moped.
Those short miles are the worst for your car, but your K8 is about ready for retirement, anyway.

[94mx3precidia]

Get a bike, or a moped.

thats what i was thinking. Youll be helping the enviroment and you'll be keeping yourself fit.

[MX3-Life]

Just buy a Hummer already and kill the earth i cant take this heat no more!

[jrors]

Yeah. cruise on the highway or cruise for a few miles elsewhere, and you'll be just fine.

[wytbishop]

The real danger of the short drives...or at least one of them, is the fact that the different components of the engine are made of different materials, so they heat up and expand at different rates...and they cool and contract at different rates as well. So piston to cylinder wall clearances and valve to guide clearances aren't quite right until you get it right up to temperature. The problem is exaggerated of course in colder conditions and dangerous if you flog it when it's not warm yet (which of course you would never do).

Worst case scenario is gettin in your car and driving 5 mins to the corner store...the pistons get hot but not the head or the block. You're in the store for 5 - 10 mins and the parts that were not very hot are now cold again and the parts that were getting hot are still warm. You leave the store and go to your moms which is 5 mins away and the stuff that's warm is expanding faster than the stuff that is cold and the piston starts touching the cylinder wall. Seizures are not unheard of. This was a big problem with 2 stroke bikes 10 years ago. Not so much with cars because the tolerances are wider, but I've repaired bikes which have seized from this kind of riding.

Esso suggests driving your car carefully as soon as you can see through your windshield in winter because the engine will come to temperature faster in gentle driving than idling. This recommendation is more with respect to the flow of oil in cold weather, but even in summer you should take it very easy until the car is up to temp. I suggest warming your car up to operating temp if you're not going far summer or winter.

[Flyer]

Dude, 1.9 miles is nothing...walk the bloody distance...takes no more than ten minutes. Might even be less, since there are some routes that make the trip that much shorter...like hopping a few walls...

[eyezpinned]

let the car warm up... i mean if your car is just to the middle of the temp gauge when you get to work, you're in constant open-loop

[MX3-Life]

Yeah sit with the car in park before you go to work and let it warm up to around normal temp.

[hgallegos915]

Bike to work! or get a ninja 250 r

[fowljesse]

Let's build a 90 MPH moped, like they do in Hawai'i. Get 90 mpg, and beat ANYTHING off the line!

[Mnemonic]

1.9 miles? buy a bike mark lol nothing wrong with some exercise