So define a short trip ?

[OtisBlkR1]

Im reading alot about short OCI'S and short trips to work, my question is, in everyone subjective opinion whats considered a "SHORT" trip? Im almost exactly 9 miles from work 70% hwy 30% town. In my opinion this is a fairly short distance and my engine is hot, but its a 15 minute drive.. depending on traffic maybee 20 minutes.. So i consider my drive "short/intermediate" In the winter im 3/4 the way home before my temp guage gets up to operating temp.. with that said, I no longer do extended Oci's for this reason. 5,000 miles and its getting dumped.

I may be wrong, but its what im comfortable with.

So whats your take on a "short" trip ?

what would you consider a optimal distance ?

Im of course looking for generic answers..

Other posters have me curious..

 

[OldCowboy]

A short trip is anything that doesn't get the oil up to operating temp long enough to boil off any fuel and water contamination of the oil. Amsoil defines a short trip as anything less than 10 miles.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

So by Amsoils standards and in my situation, My daily driving habits are almost perfect.. not to close-not to far.. give or take a mile or two either way

 

[demarpaint]

A short trip is any trip that doesn't allow the oil to reach operating temps and burn off excess fuel and moisture in the oil. It will vary from engine to engine. Eg: my cast iron 4.9L Ford is going to take a lot longer to reach operating temps than my 3.7L Jeep. A good rule of thumb is about 20-30 minutes driving time to reach operating temps and burn off the excess fuel and moisture. It could be a little less in the summer, and a bit longer in the winter depending on ambient temps. JMO

 

[ahoier]

You will find the terminology will be different from manual-to-manual, and even from car to car (duh...different manuals). Simply due to the fact not all engines are engineered the same.

But yea, I'm in sort of the same predicament, where I live, I'm about a mile (give or take) away from the I-95 ramp, and from there, it's about 9-10 minutes to work, depending really how traffic is flowing.....Google Maps (for the same route) tells me it should be 14 minutes, 8.9 miles but I have gotten there in 9 minutes

But yea, was kinda curious to.....during the summer the temperature gauge always makes it to the "median" area.....but during the winter months (and we're talking Florida winter....maybe 40 degrees? lol) I've seen it be a little shy from the "median" range on the temperature gauge....granted, that is for the "coolant temperature" - so I don't exactly know what that means about hte OIL temperature.....but I am running a little less than 50% antifreeze, more h2o than antifreeze

 

[HTSS_TR]

Short trips should take into account ambient temperature. If temperature is above 80-90F then 10 miles is not short, but if temperature is below 0F then 10 miles is a short trip.

 

[Vikas]

Quote:
In the winter im 3/4 the way home before my temp guage gets up to operating temp.

I think you need to take a closer look at your cooling system (thermostat). Unless you are talking about -30 ambient temperatures, your car should not need 7 miles for reaching the operating temperature.

- Vikas

 

[mechtech2]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Short trips should take into account ambient temperature. If temperature is above 80-90F then 10 miles is not short, but if temperature is below 0F then 10 miles is a short trip.


Right - ambient temps are a big factor.

And BTW, we do not need to 'boil' or 'burn' water out. It goes away nicely at oil temps way below boiling [normal hot oil temp].

It can be quite normal for a car not to heat up in winter for 8-10 miles. The thermostat is just fine, the engine is just giving off heat to the atmosphere too quickly.
Consider a partial radiator block - like a piece of cardboard or hard plastic - kinda like what you see on the front end of heavy trucks in winter.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

well, i should have stated that better (my bad) half of my trip time-wise is in town, or around 4 miles in town or 30mph zones and at lights, when i said "3/4 the way home" i was using the ole mental time clock becouse once i hit the highway its only 7-8 minutes before i arrive home.. although mile wise its the longest distance or around 5-6 miles. When its blistering cold out at or around zero or single digits, i can fire my truck up in the work parking lot, let it run for 1-2 minutes and take off, by the time i reach the highway and im out of the city limit (around 4 miles) the truck is not always fully up to what i call "operating temp" or at 190'-200' where the temperature guage stays when the truck is fully warmed. its a 5.3ltr (of course when my speed picks up on the highway it gets to operating temp fairly quick)

the cooling sytem is working fine, truck is maticulously maintained.. just slow driving in a v-8 for the first half.. thanks the lord for heated leather

 

[45ACP]

well, i should have stated that better (my bad) half of my trip time-wise is in town, or around 4 miles in town or 30mph zones and at lights, when i said "3/4 the way home" i was using the ole mental time clock becouse once i hit the highway its only 7-8 minutes before i arrive home.. although mile wise its the longest distance or around 5-6 miles. When its blistering cold out at or around zero or single digits, i can fire my truck up in the work parking lot, let it run for 1-2 minutes and take off, by the time i reach the highway and im out of the city limit (around 4 miles) the truck is not always fully up to what i call "operating temp" or at 190'-200' where the temperature guage stays when the truck is fully warmed. its a 5.3ltr (of course when my speed picks up on the highway it gets to operating temp fairly quick)


Sounds like you are describing a short trip to me.
If this was your ONLY trip with the vehicle, the board guys would likely say "use one grade thinner motor oil."
Condensation and water gets sucked out through the PCV valve. Not really "water" but "droplets" that may be lurking when its not all cold and there s that morning dew and wetness on everything, and smoke coming out of (almost) everyone's tailpipes if you notice some cars smoke and some dont brand new old it varies greatly.

Ive lived around your area before. REALLY COLD!!! I think your 30 second to one minute (larger engine) warm up is warranted for below-zero starts. Some would disagree, but at least its flowing when you take off, slightly better than after the key is turned. So yeah i would do the same thing

Just dont rev it up superfast. (Reportedly some people do, and they are fine. i wouldnt, though.)

 

[rslifkin]

I agree that some larger vehicles (such as pickups with large engines, large cooling systems, etc) can take a while to get to temp. In 20* F weather, my Jeep usually takes 3 - 4 miles to hit full coolant temp, and probably 10 to hit full oil temp.

I'd consider a short trip anything where it takes more than 1/3 - 1/2 of the trip to get the coolant up to full temp, as anything shorter than that certainly won't get the oil warm.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Yep, Indiana gets the Nasty some years going both ways (hot and Cold) in the summer i always fire it up, and as soon as the revs come down to normal idle (6-8 seconds or less) it goes into (D) and im off..

In the winter, before i leave the house on truly nasty days i will go to the garage and fire up my truck, let it go for 5-8 minutes before i return and leave.. the leaving work part stinks, who wants to let it run for 5 plus minutes getting it warmed before they leave ? a minute or two lets me know the oils flowing and even if the tach has not settled its better than just jamming it in gear and going... my two cents..

my original intention for this post wasnt just to get feedback on my distance and driving habits, im curious in you DD what you consider long and short.. lot of threads on here and alot of opinions..

 

[doyall]

OK, it may take 10 minutes/10 miles in warmer climates to get the engine to operating temps, but how much longer after that does it take to burn off the fuel dilution from the cold start and water condensation from the last shut down?

 

[bruno]

Oil temperature lags coolant temp and oil needs to be at a stable temp for a while to drive out condensates . How long ? Depends on your car and the ambient temp .
My own guess is anything less than twenty minutes from a dead cold start is a short trip .

 

[4x4chevydude]

any trip that is not long is a short trip...problem solved...lol

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Originally Posted By: 4x4chevydude
any trip that is not long is a short trip...problem solved...lol


thumbs up

 

[4x4chevydude]

I am glad I got a thumbs up for my smart answer instead of middle finger up like I was anticipating.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

lifes short and way to many people need to lay off the coffee.. i have a pretty good humor and can take a joke.. lord knows i dish enuff of it out myself.

 

[Bruce T]

There are too many variables to define "short trip" in terms of distance or time. Use the oil temperature.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

as im sure your aware not all PC/DD autos have a oil temp guage.. only cooling system temp, I fall into this. I know its a generic question, but was intended to drum up opinions and conversation.