Why do cars like long commutes?

[Garak]

Originally Posted by Char Baby
When I put LOTTA MILES on my vehicles, I had few(er) problems. When I only put on 5k-7k miles/yr, I was replacing stuff all the time.

Some years back, I wasn't doing a huge amount of driving but every time I did, the trip was a minimum of 100 to 150 miles. I noticed much the same thing. My old LTD didn't count, because it had way, way too many miles on it, and because of the vintage.

 

[Tahoe4Life]

Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl


Originally Posted by Char Baby
Originally Posted by Tahoe4Life
The bulk of people who complain about their vehicles not running right are the ones with the shortest commute.


When I put LOTTA MILES on my vehicles, I had few(er) problems. When I only put on 5k-7k miles/yr, I was replacing stuff all the time.



Do you think it's primarily a function of miles or run time, or both?


Probably both. I try to avoid short tripping as much as possible.

 

[Benzadmiral]

My commute for almost 20 years now has been about the same. Coming in, two miles @ 30-45 to the river bridge, highway speed of 60 or more over it and along the expressway it becomes that eventually joins the Interstate system, off at an exit about eight miles from my house, four miles over a six-lane boulevard and then down a two-lane residential street to my usual parking spot near my office. Not much highway benefit. (No wonder I'm bored with this city and my residence.)

Going home, mostly city streets until I can climb up onto the bridge, over it at highway speed, then that same two-mile trip from bridge to home.

Quite a mix: 24-25 miles a day and various trips on the weekends, about 10K miles a year aside from any vacation trips.

 

[NewEnglander]

This is a great question. Let's toss in the inverse...

Are there any cars better suited for short commutes? Perhaps electric?

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted by NewEnglander
This is a great question. Let's toss in the inverse...

Are there any cars better suited for short commutes? Perhaps electric?


I think the vehicles with smaller displacement engines are best suited.
For example, my 2017 Ford Fiesta begins to warm up incredibly fast. The 5.3 V8 in my 2005 Silverado takes a bit longer.

 

[TiredTrucker]

Originally Posted by das_peikko
Ever since I got this new job 40 minutes away from the house, the car seems happier for some reason. More energetic and smoother running.


Now you have an understanding how commercial heavy trucks that run hundreds of highway miles per day last well beyond 1 million miles without a major engine repair. As was stated, your engine and oil gets to full operating temps and is run how a engine should be so it is happier.

 

[andyd]

I put the last 200 K miles on the Borman 6, my first 528e. I put 150K on in a 30mile commute that took anywhere from 1 to 3 hrs. Then The last 50K were a 70 mile trip working 7pm to sometime early in the morning. The ol'girl never ran better. Early one morning, I made it home in 57 minutes. Another time, I ran it to the rev limiter in 2. 70 MPH. I got 105 out of 3 at around 5K RPM. Chickened out. The car weighed 3200 lbs. The 2.7 L put out 128 HP and around 160 lb/ft of torque. above 3K RPM* , it sang a sweet song.
*88MPH in D

 

[red7404]

IMHO the enemy to an engine is water which supports acid. no water = no acid. long distance driving keeps the water out.

 

[DGXR]

One of the oil expert videos explained that the "top comes off the garbage can" when the oil reaches full temperature. What they meant is, generally the oil additives are working at all temperatures but are more effective when at full temperature... better cleaning, better particulate suspension, better protection from deposits and wear, etc. I thought this might relate to the OP's question so wanted to chime in.

 

[AuthorEditor]

Engines prefer steady state running with everything running at proper temperature and under reasonable stress. Long highway commutes produce those conditions. You burn off any moisture in the oil and everything is running in an optimal state the engine was designed for. Particularly in the winter, lots of stops and starts with short commutes leads to lots of crap in the oil, plus there is more stress on the engine, brakes, and running gear accelerating and decelerating, turning corners, etc. Look at generators. They run steadily at their optimal speed and temperature for many, many hours without stopping or pausing. Diesel generators might go 30,000 hours before a major rebuild, and even then they are running just fine when shut down. Think of that. 10,000 hours at 50mph would be 500,000 miles.