How can I drive my car without damaging the engine?

speedsix

Leon Cupra R 225
Oct 30, 2004
825
0
I dont need to be ragging around trying to reach a decent speed at over 2500 thats the point the mk1 cupra r is quick just getting to 30. Like i say i can drive my cupra r at about 2500 to 3000 revs and beat most. i just didnt want to do excess damage driving at higher revs in the lower gears. peace
:D
The LCR is slower than a slow thing under 3000rpm, honestly, it's designed to be driven at high rpms, it won't explode! You're probably only using about 80bhp at such low rpms ;)
 
Dec 6, 2008
612
0
Shropshire
Wow it almost seems criminal to have a LCR and only ever tinker round in it, thats like putting kelly brook in a space suit or something lol

I can't give much Seat advice but I can definately second the argument for lubricants. Let your oil get to temp, change it reguarly and make sure you use a good quality approved oil. You can go into a motor factors and pick up 2 castrol 5W30 oils and they would be totally different oils.

Having been round Castrols plant, the research and testing that goes into their oils justifies the price they charge. The oil you buy from the shops has various additives in to tailor it to do a specific purpose (detergents, anti foaming agents etc).

All oils have ACEA standards that they have reached marked on them, find out what SEAT specify as an approved standard and run it.
 

olliep

Wants a mk2 GTI
Oct 3, 2005
709
1
Winchester
and if you do get to destination and have to cool down for a few mins... drive round the block like an old man with your heating on full whack.
 

R69

Active Member
Nov 18, 2008
313
0
West Midlands
Hi there. I normally let my engine run for a couple of mins or so (time for a quick Marlboro :rolleyes:) then set off. Trouble is it only takes me around 7-8mins to get to work. The bike thing is not an option (re Marlboro reference above!)
Is this a bad thing then?
I do generally look after my cars & do have mechanical respect for their working/moving parts, but do worry abut such short journeys, especially in the winter.
Great site by the way! :)
 

Jonesy

Leftie and Proud
Sep 27, 2004
420
0
Pig Hill
I can always remember when I picked mine up from Richard Huzzey's,
was spanking new and Mat told me go careful on the first 1000 miles
then enjoy it and drive it like it like it was meant to be driven :D
 

GREY 225

Jim R
Oct 15, 2006
445
0
Hi there. I normally let my engine run for a couple of mins or so (time for a quick Marlboro :rolleyes:) then set off. Trouble is it only takes me around 7-8mins to get to work. The bike thing is not an option (re Marlboro reference above!)
Is this a bad thing then?
I do generally look after my cars & do have mechanical respect for their working/moving parts, but do worry abut such short journeys, especially in the winter.
Great site by the way! :)

I wouldnt worry too much mate,just change your oil more often,say half the recomended interval and use a good synthetic oil.
I use to only do short trips in my Fabia VRS and in slow moving traffic too so it wasnt getting many revs at all,never had any problems with it.
With my LCR i let it idle for a couple of mins before i set off and then dont rev it above 3000 rpm untill ive been driving for a good 10mins at speed.
 

olliep

Wants a mk2 GTI
Oct 3, 2005
709
1
Winchester
let the oil get warmed up....i usually start my car up and let it idle for about 2 mins ...but i get to my work place within 10 mins....is this a bad thing?!

alot of people (myself included) and the cars manual will suggest idling to warm the engine up is damaging for two main reasons. (i started a cooling down/warming up thread recently and this is what was said); 1) when the engine is cold you use, get this... up to 20 times the fuel you would normally use. this means that sitting on the drive idling a cold engine will get you through your cat' converter much quicker because of un burnt fuel pissing all over its insides. and secondly it will tear tiny holes in your wallet. As well as this when the oil is cold its not doing its job properly so you need it warm asap.

the best advice i've heard is that say for example on a coldish day, start engine wait for revvs to settle down, drive off and keep the revvs at around 2000 rpm until the coolant reaches its temp (think its 90 degrees but i'm not going outside to check). think about how long it took for your coolant to reach temp' and thats about half the time your oil will take i.e. if coolant reaches 90 degrees after 5 mins then oil will be optimum say after ten. so i keep mine under 3000rpm and never boost the turbo until its warm. One massive contributing factor is the AIR CON. if you set off in the morning and have your heater on your engine will take longer to warm up. i learned this in a caravaning magazine of all places. heater takes heat away from the engine in exactly the same way that blowing on hot food cools it down (for lack of a better explanation)

obviously the above is a collaboration of opinions so it may contradict others... so i'm sorry in advance lol
 

g1

Guest
cheers for the reply! think i might just get a bus pass to avoid the short journeys....but then whats the point in having a car!
 

cupra_clive

Guest
seems a shame to get a nice car then not enjoy it.
However you are right that there are some things you can do / not do to treat it well:

1, take it easy for first part of any journey, let the car warm up, when the coolant temp is at 90 remember that the oil hasnt warmed up as fast.

2, for the last few miles of a journey take it easy to avoid parking up with a red hot turbo or baked engine. (some people sit their letting the car run, but why rag it somewhere to get there 60 seconds quicker if you then have to sit there for 3mins).

3, use decent oil. you generally get what you pay for, synthetic oils are not all the same, legally brands can use mineral oil, carry out some sort of treatment to it and call these synthetic oils.

4, check / change oil regularly.

5, dont rag it to the red line all the time, in fact the 1.8T is often quicker changing up a gear well before the red line.

6, dont let the engine labour at very low revs. Its not a good idea to put your foot down or go up steep hills in a high gear at low revs. So dont be lazy drop down a gear.

7, (important this one for a number of reasons). Anticipate the road. You can significantly change how you use the engine, gears/clutch, brakes, suspension and most things on the car simply by changing driving habits. This also leads to better mpg. :) imagine each time you brake you are spending money.

If the oil says semi synthetic then it has to be at least 50% synthetic, if it says part synthetic then it has less than 50% synthetic, I allways use 5w40 Fully synthetic, may cost a bit more but is worth it in the long run.
 

traumapat

Leon Cupra IHI
Jul 24, 2005
5,925
4
sunny sussex
personally i get off the drive asap and stay under 3k. engine`s cold and isn`t lubricated well. car warms faster when driven, so it`s out of the wear zone quicker.

i wouldnt drive with less than 2k revs as the engines working harder
 

MDS

Marco
Dec 10, 2006
936
0
Just as important or maybe even more than driving it properly, is servicing it ...

Keep your car well serviced at the right intervals with good quality parts.

Can go wrong....


Enjoy your car the way you like it... all the best with it.

;)
 
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