giving it a "long run"
Discussion
you hear people say giving a car a long run does it a lot of good....why is this? why would running a car for 2+ hours do it good? i can understand that once the oil is hot etc it's not really going to do it any harm, but why is it especially good to an engine over say, a 20 minute drive?
my car has just done 270 miles friday in one hit without turning off, and today it did the return leg, but in much poorer conditions and one stop.
so....does it really do it good? i used full throttle quite a few times today, and even red lined it once but only after 20+ miles so all was up to temp of course!
cheers
my car has just done 270 miles friday in one hit without turning off, and today it did the return leg, but in much poorer conditions and one stop.
so....does it really do it good? i used full throttle quite a few times today, and even red lined it once but only after 20+ miles so all was up to temp of course!
cheers
IMHO operating temp and give it beans for a while is just as good.
"give it a run"
That's a phrase my parents generation use when referring to their car that does 3,000 miles a year and leaves town twice a year.
My dads xk8 is such car, he uses such phrases.
I "hoon" it monthly to keep things running well
"give it a run"
That's a phrase my parents generation use when referring to their car that does 3,000 miles a year and leaves town twice a year.
My dads xk8 is such car, he uses such phrases.
I "hoon" it monthly to keep things running well
i guess my next question is....does even red lining an engine that's been on for over an hour etc actually do any harm at all?
most of the trip was sat at 3000rpm (for those who know E38's....you'll know what speed that is
) most of the trip and the engine felt absolutely fine at those speeds but often when traffic meant i slowed to circa 80 i kicked down 1 or 2 gears to get back up to speed quickly....but as said, surely once hot doing this every now and again would do the engine a world of good?
800 miles in the last 7 days for the girl and it wasn't used at all friday or saturday!
most of the trip was sat at 3000rpm (for those who know E38's....you'll know what speed that is
) most of the trip and the engine felt absolutely fine at those speeds but often when traffic meant i slowed to circa 80 i kicked down 1 or 2 gears to get back up to speed quickly....but as said, surely once hot doing this every now and again would do the engine a world of good?800 miles in the last 7 days for the girl and it wasn't used at all friday or saturday!
Jimbo. said:
...does even red lining an engine that's been on for over an hour etc actually do any harm at all?
Nope.
Depends if you have low oil pressure then it's not good or too low an oil level. Nope.
Or holding it at te limiter for minutes at a time isn't good for petrols.
However smashing into the limiter now and again once up to temps will do it no harm it's within the operating rev range of the engine. Do you use a food mixer? If you do it has many settings one will be max you will use it at max for a while. Or if your cutting grass you generally leave it on fast so it's pulling peak power
E38Ross said:
i guess my next question is....does even red lining an engine that's been on for over an hour etc actually do any harm at all?
Well, if it's up to correct operating temperature (and assuming everything works & has it has been maintained properly), I'd say it'd be fine -- no harm.Jimbo. said:
...does even red lining an engine that's been on for over an hour etc actually do any harm at all?
Nope.
Don't manufacturers test engines by running them at the red line over a non-stop 250,000 miles before signing them off anyway?Nope.
I'm sure it was on the Focus ST 5th Gear test, when they went for a poke around Ford test facilities as part of the bit...
Wattsie said:
Don't manufacturers test engines by running them at the red line over a non-stop 250,000 miles before signing them off anyway?
I'm sure it was on the Focus ST 5th Gear test, when they went for a poke around Ford test facilities as part of the bit...
True and yet test it using low quality fuelI'm sure it was on the Focus ST 5th Gear test, when they went for a poke around Ford test facilities as part of the bit...
Also cold start and full power countless times they want to replicate the worst possible use and if it lasts doing that then normal running will be fine.
I did hear a story once about an old lady driver with a v12 Jag XJS - she was the sort of driver who never got out of 3rd gear or above 2000rpm pottering around town. About once every 6 months she's take it to her local mechanic claming it wasnt running properly any more. The problem was the old dear let the engine get thoroughly gummed up and coked to buggery - the mechanic's fix? He hooned it up the motorway and along twisty a roads at a large number of leptons for an hour or two. It always worked properly again afterwards!
Moral of the story - a good hoon or a long run clears out your engine!
Moral of the story - a good hoon or a long run clears out your engine!
Ever seen the inside an engine thats always done big miles compared to one that used for shopping trips only?
Gummed up oil ways, sludge lined blocks, coked up cylinders etc etc.
One of my old Saab's that was used for transcontinental trips, so frequent 1-2000k mile plus trips from 30k to its eventual demise at 280k when it was rear ended, I stripped the engine down & it may as well have been new, still had the bore honing marks & not an ounce of sludge in sight.
Then my mum's Toyota Corolla VVTi with the extended service intervals, used almost always for short trips sludged up so badly at 40k it had blocked the oil strainer in the sump
Gummed up oil ways, sludge lined blocks, coked up cylinders etc etc.
One of my old Saab's that was used for transcontinental trips, so frequent 1-2000k mile plus trips from 30k to its eventual demise at 280k when it was rear ended, I stripped the engine down & it may as well have been new, still had the bore honing marks & not an ounce of sludge in sight.
Then my mum's Toyota Corolla VVTi with the extended service intervals, used almost always for short trips sludged up so badly at 40k it had blocked the oil strainer in the sump
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