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  #1  
Old 09-14-2006, 04:53 AM
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svxthc svxthc is offline
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Driving Short Distances

Everyday I drive to and from school, probably 3.5 miles each way. I have an option to either take the highway, which is more of a 5 mile drive, or take the sidestreets. Either way, especially on the street route, my car does not really even warm up. And every day it seems like it takes an extra second to start. This I want to change. When you drive short trips, what parts of the car take the most beating? I'm thinking I will start taking the highway just to warm the car up more before turning it off. It's a little scary considering it only has 74,000 now and used to fire up on a dime every day last year when i had to make trips to another school further away. Would revving the engine in the morning make any difference? Any suggestions?
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  #2  
Old 09-14-2006, 05:20 AM
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Manarius Manarius is offline
1995 Subaru SVX LSi Polo Green
 
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Short trips aren't going to kill your car. They will kill your mpg though.

I don't know how many SVXers do the grounding mod, but that could help with your chugging starter.
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(8/23/07-Present) 1995 Subaru SVX LSi (197k) Polo Green (#1102) 03/95
Mods: DDM Tuning 4500k 35w Low Beam HID, 100w H3 Bulbs, Extra Ground Cables, 15 minute $12.96 mod,
svxfiles designed transmission mount (), sporting a "new" tail light bar,
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Old 09-14-2006, 06:04 AM
dcarrb dcarrb is offline
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Take your car on a long Sunday drive every now and again. I doubt short trips have anything to do with it being progressively more difficult to start, but frequent short trips are definitely harder on any car. Highway miles are much more kind, unless you habitually hammer the gas to get up to speed. And I wouldn't just sit and rev the engine; better to just let it idle for a few minutes, if you must. All in all, if your temp gauge reaches near-halfway, it's probably not a concern.

Ever notice the water dripping from the tailpipes when idling a cold engine? If the exhaust never gets good and hot, that water stays inside your exhaust system.

dcb
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Old 09-14-2006, 07:23 AM
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michael michael is offline
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When was your last spark plug replacement? I have heard about short distance driving being not so good for a car. Mabey you should get a remote starter so you can fire it up while you have your corn flakes.
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Old 09-14-2006, 08:59 AM
PDSides PDSides is offline
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Yes, I'm afraid its time for an "Italian tuneup" on your car. Driving exclusively short stop-and-go distances cause extra wear on your suspension system, brakes and chassis. It also contributes to carbon buildup in your engine, in the long run leading to poor performance and premature wear. I refer to the "Italian tuneup" because Italians seem to instinctively know this and they frequently take their cars out for longer, high speed drives. This brings the water and oil temps up to spec, it lubricates everything properly, it loosens and blows out much of the carbon buildup in the cylinders, it heats the cat converters and burns the moisture out of the exhaust system. Overall, a good 15 minute high speed run (within the limits of the law) will do wonders for your car. It will even help to clean the spark plugs, which may be part of your current hard-start problem. Do this, run down the current tank of gas to almost empty and disconnect the negative cable from your battery over-night. Next morning, reconnect your battery cable, then go by your local auto parts store and buy two things, a can of injector cleaner and a can of octane booster. Go to a major brand gasoline station that does a high volume of business (fresher gas) and fill your tank, adding both the injector cleaner and octane booster. Make sure your oil, coolant, brake fluid and ATF levels are full and that your tires are properly inflated, then go drive your car and drive it HARD. Make quick starts (but ease into stops, saving your brakes), and do some hard acceleration from different speeds; vary your speed but keep your revs up. Do this for 15-20 minutes, then later in the same day, do it again. After the second session you should begin to see a major difference in the way your car starts and performs. Best wishes.
Preston
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Old 09-14-2006, 05:14 PM
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svxthc svxthc is offline
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I like very much, chen cui.
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