distance

[e7lew]

hi

how many kilo meters do you drive by your car everyday? and is this distance driven for work or a daily obligation or just hanging out ?

[RandallNeighbour]

My commute in my BMW is about 8 kilometers per day round trip. I live very close to where I work. I drive my Boxster about 250 kilometers per month on average. It sits in the garage until the these three things come together:

The weather is beautiful.
The car doesn't need repairs.
I have the time to drive it.

I have all but sorted out my car now and something does not break every time I drive it so #2 is not much of an issue any longer.

You will find that there are two types of owners on this form. Guys like me and then people who use their cars as their only car and they drive it everywhere... they probably put 15k~18k kilometers on their cars per year or more and enjoy ever minute of it, by the way

[vath2001]

I would want to know "how many miles / klicks" should I drive the car to work?

I live 3 miles from work... not far enough to get the engine and exhaust up to temp. I know its hard on the DD, so I don't want to do that to the Box (when it come out of winter hibernation).

So what is the minimum miles to drive?

[RandallNeighbour]

Vath, you make an excellent point.

Motor oil has it's best viscosity and ability to lubricate the parts of the motor when it is up to full temp. So, bringing the car up to temp as often as possible is certainly preferred.

Allowing the motor to idle at startup for a few minutes while you run into the house to brush your teeth or swill that last half cup of coffee before leaving wouldn't be a bad move, although idling boxsters don't heat up the motor fast, but it should help.

I did this this very morning. I was driving two blocks to meet a couple of buddies for breakfast and knew the car would never warm up and my 1-2 and 2-1 shifts would be brutal if the car was cold (a peculiar cold start tranny issue with my car) so I pulled it out of the garage, left it idling, and took out my California car duster and wiped the car down.

BTW, I always keep my motor under 4k until I am at operating temp. The variocam kicks in at 4200 on a 986 and it's hard on a cold motor to rev the motor that high when the oil is not up to temp for thorough lubrication.

If my box was my DD with my tiny commute, I might be inclined to actually take a longer way to the office. Or, take it out at lunch two or three times a week and really drive the piss out of it (revs to 6k in gears 1-4), which may shorten engine life a little but I swear my motor absolutely loves when I do it!

[FTD]

My excellent commute to work is 6 miles of stop and go 'back road'. I like to pre-heat the engine, or at the least, wait until the choke is in before driving. The engine temp reaches 180 within only two or three miles.

I conscientiously make sure the car gets highway miles periodically.

I believe in running up the RPMs, once engine temp, is 180 when possible.

All of Randall's points are excellent, except I don't think high RPMs shorten engine life. It is good for both of you.

I drive a ton.

My DD (2007 Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer 4X4 V8) gets about 57,000 kilometrs per year (40,000).

I drive the Boxster about once per week, on sunny weekends. When I take it for a drive, I'll go for 500-600 kilometers, then park it till the next weekend.

[Samson]

Originally Posted by FTD

The engine temp reaches 180 within only two or three miles.

I believe in running up the RPMs, once engine temp, is 180 when possible.

Just a little FYI - the 180 degrees on your gauge refers to your coolant temperature, not your oil temperature. Oil warms up more slowly than coolant, so keep that in mind. For reference, my old MFA-equipped VR6 would take about 10 minutes to hit 170+ oil temp (a loose "warmed up" temperature), while the coolant would hit the middle (whatever that was, but "warm") in about 3-4 minutes. That was for 5.8 quarts, and I'd imagine the Boxster takes a bit longer, what with almost twice the amount of oil.

Also, letting your car "warm up" isn't a great idea. In addition to not really warming anything up besides the engine (and not the transmission etc), it can foul plugs and plug catalytic converters.

Anyway, to answer the original question, when I drive the IS, I'd guess 5 miles to and 4 miles from work with the random 10+ mile trip thrown in for good measure. When I drive the Boxster (rarely to work - mostly just for kicks), 15-20 seems to be the norm.