Short drives around town
12-24-2019, 02:32 AM
#2
No car does 'well' if the rides are so short that it can't warm up fully. Your fuel economy will suffer, and the RX8's is already poor.
Beyond that, carbon accumulation will increase with short drives and cat life might be reduced. Carbon will cause seals to bind resulting in loss of engine compression.
A short drive here and there is fine, but do make sure you get to wind it out between.
Beyond that, carbon accumulation will increase with short drives and cat life might be reduced. Carbon will cause seals to bind resulting in loss of engine compression.
A short drive here and there is fine, but do make sure you get to wind it out between.
12-24-2019, 04:56 AM
#3
RX-Heaven
iTrader: (6)
I agree with the above. Ensure the engine is up to normal operating temperature before turning it off. If you are making frequent short trips, ensure you take the car for longer drives when you don't have to make the short trip.
12-24-2019, 07:09 AM
#4
I always warm up the car before I move it, and I always get a few high revs out of it, so I'm not just turning it on and going around the block. Just seems strange to me how some people have mentioned this to be detrimental to the engine, how the car would know the difference between a 10 to 15 minute drive, and a two hour drive, given precautions are taken. Maybe I'm just not understanding it correctly. Thanks fo the responses.
12-24-2019, 07:42 AM
#5
I always warm up the car before I move it, and I always get a few high revs out of it, so I'm not just turning it on and going around the block. Just seems strange to me how some people have mentioned this to be detrimental to the engine, how the car would know the difference between a 10 to 15 minute drive, and a two hour drive, given precautions are taken. Maybe I'm just not understanding it correctly. Thanks fo the responses.
Once up to temp, it doesn't matter if you drive 10 or 100 minutes, you're right. The problem isn't the run time, the problem is that if it takes 10 mins to warm up and you do 10 minute drives, all the car is ever doing is warming up. That's not a good long-term regime for it for the reasons stated above.
Also feel free to get into the high rpms, but that's not the point of the frequent redline recommendation. The point is that you do full throttle acceleration for the longest time possible. The pressure and heat so generated are what burns off carbon. The rpms are a fun side effect. You don't actually need to redline, and there's reasons you may not want to get all the way to 10. For these reasons, redlining in 1st is not great and hard on the drivetrain, accelerating uphill in 3rd or so from 4k to ~8.5k is better.
12-24-2019, 09:16 AM
#6
Registered
It seems like half of the advice I read is to warm it up by idling, half is to not idle excessively and instead drive it gently to warm it. I've been letting it idle to warm on cold mornings, first start, not sure if that is recommended or not.
12-24-2019, 03:48 PM
#7
Smoking turbo yay
Unless you drive a carburated car, there is no benefit idling a car to warm, piston or rotary.
I personally never do it unless forced for safety reasons, like if my windshield is frosted, then there is no way I can drive it until the window clears up.
A trickle charger is also recommended if you do short drives, just to keep the battery in the optimal condition.
I personally never do it unless forced for safety reasons, like if my windshield is frosted, then there is no way I can drive it until the window clears up.
A trickle charger is also recommended if you do short drives, just to keep the battery in the optimal condition.
Last edited by UnknownJinX; 12-24-2019 at 03:50 PM.
12-26-2019, 08:20 AM
#8
Don't warm it up by idling, that's the worst possible way to warm it up: the car runs cold and rich the longest. 10-15 seconds, then get on your way gently. Warm it up while moving. If it's the dead of winter, then wait for the temp needle to start moving, then set off.
Once up to temp, it doesn't matter if you drive 10 or 100 minutes, you're right. The problem isn't the run time, the problem is that if it takes 10 mins to warm up and you do 10 minute drives, all the car is ever doing is warming up. That's not a good long-term regime for it for the reasons stated above.
Also feel free to get into the high rpms, but that's not the point of the frequent redline recommendation. The point is that you do full throttle acceleration for the longest time possible. The pressure and heat so generated are what burns off carbon. The rpms are a fun side effect. You don't actually need to redline, and there's reasons you may not want to get all the way to 10. For these reasons, redlining in 1st is not great and hard on the drivetrain, accelerating uphill in 3rd or so from 4k to ~8.5k is better.
Once up to temp, it doesn't matter if you drive 10 or 100 minutes, you're right. The problem isn't the run time, the problem is that if it takes 10 mins to warm up and you do 10 minute drives, all the car is ever doing is warming up. That's not a good long-term regime for it for the reasons stated above.
Also feel free to get into the high rpms, but that's not the point of the frequent redline recommendation. The point is that you do full throttle acceleration for the longest time possible. The pressure and heat so generated are what burns off carbon. The rpms are a fun side effect. You don't actually need to redline, and there's reasons you may not want to get all the way to 10. For these reasons, redlining in 1st is not great and hard on the drivetrain, accelerating uphill in 3rd or so from 4k to ~8.5k is better.
Thank you
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