Fellow Briskodians,

Quite often on here and anecdotally, it has been said that giving your car some 'welly' every now and then does it good.

My journey to work & back is mostly on motorways and I rarely get above 2500rpm on the 100 mile round trip. I've a 1.9 diesel Elegance with 70k on the clock and it runs as sweet as a nut.

So, my question is this. Does a car benefit from the occasional spirited run or could such an activity be injurious to the engine / turbo etc?

Conversely, is a sympathetic driving style along with regular servicing the way forward to prolonging the life of a car?

Cheers

FP.

Edited 16 March, 201313 yr by flying pig

Italian 'tune ups,' are a great way to keep your engine in top shape. Clears out carbon deposits (especially if using SL fuel/diesel). I find my car runs smoother after a long hot run!

I service my car every 3000 miles and take it on a 20+ mile run weekly! Give your engine and transmission oils time to warm up beforehand.

Never had any issues with engines in 10 years doing this. Cars always make standard power or slightly more on rolling roads.

Engines are designed to be a lot tougher than we think.

My girlfriend has a 1.2 Micra which never goes above 2500 rpm, and she spends a lot of time in traffic. I sometimes drive it- feels rough and sluggish when I first get in it. After a good long run using all the rev range it idles smoother and feels nippy!

These are just my views though.

Indeed,

It is infact bad for the longevity of your DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) not to take your car through the rev range once every so often and they can be costly to replace. May the doctor suggest a good B-road bashing rather then the Mboring after work? :~)

As above, only my humble opinion....

Thanks for the replies chaps.

I'm lucky as I dont have a DPF.

I normally change my oil every 6k as I believe regular oil changes to be a factor in extending the longevity of an engine. As for the advice on taking the B roads home. Thank you doctor, I'll let you know how the treatment goes ;-)

Edited 16 March, 201313 yr by flying pig

Your VNT turbo needs to use the full range of vane motion to stop them sticking. Honestly officer, I was only doing it for the health of my car.

6k oil and filters are needless.

Edited 16 March, 201313 yr by Kiwibacon

It is necessary to let the engine warm up, treat it with respect. If you spend a lot of time on the motorway, do give it some beans now and again.

I never change my oil and filter before 10'000. i don't think it will make any difference with the quality of modern oil.

My old Fabia 1.9 tdi has now done 163'000. and drinks the minimum of engine oil (hardley any). Actually i only check it about one a month! But know i should be doing this more often.

I will most definetly get another VAG 1.9 tdi next time, as it seems so much better for reliability then the 1.6 DPF engines.

3K oil intervals are pointless and a waste with modern oil

my mates 1.9 now has 160k on it and just had its second cambelt (another myth put pay too with 40and 60k intervals). He has a service on variable when the car tells it. It has been anything between 18 to 24k. It still runs sweet as a nut

Cars need a good thrash every now and again. My other halfs 1.9 only goes to train station and back now and it's awful until I use it for work or we go on a long run. I take it to the red line a few times and the amount of stuff that comes out is unreal. It then runs like a dream and and further thrashing results in very few deposits out the exhaust. All that floating around the system can't be good.

On previous cars I changed oil every 6k. I change oil every 3k on my vRS TFSI to help prevent the issue with carbon build up on the valves.

I am a staunch believer in the "Oil Cheap - Engine Dear" school of thought. However I interpret this as using the very best oil, not changing it every few weeks.

"Oil" consists of a continuum of hydrocarbon compounds. From light to heavy. How tight the pass band is depends on manfacture/grade. The lighter grades are more volatile and will tend to be lost soonest, through evaoration in to the CCV system or migration via valve guides and rings into the combustion chamber. The more often an engine it subject to this charge of oil vapour the greater the risk of a possibly deleterious effect on various engine parts.

Synthetic oil is engineered to minimise this, by creating a more homogenous and stable structure with the long polymer chains. However they arise, either "natural" or man-made" the long chain will not last for ever, as various components will have a tendency to chop them up. Gears for example are considered to be fairly tough in this respect.

Back in the "olden days", big fleet users would recycle their oil. Companies like Silkolene would mechanically and chemically clean the oil and replace the additive package. It was found the performance of the oil actually improved as the lighter factions were removed, leaving the most stable cut for reuse.

I remember a variation of the Italian tune. Warm engine and remove air cleaner. With engine running, slowly tip a cup of Redex in to the carb. Take out for a through thrashing. Don't do this anywhere there are smoke controls. Or clean washing (or anywhere really if you fancy the life of your cat/DPF). This was a fairly regular occurrence in one place I worked.

Great answers so far, keep them coming.

What prompted the question was something that happened to me on my way home the other night. I had to accelerate hard in first gear to get away from the lights so that I could get into the lane I wanted.

Looking in my rear view mirror, I was staggered by the plume of smoke that was left behind. Now I know that during the the combustion process smoke will be produced, but it also got me thinking that I had dislodged / cleared out deposits from the engine or turbo. Had I? If so, what exactly are these deposits and where exactly in the engine / turbo do they come from?

Thanks for your views folks.

FP

Kicking it's head in every now and then works wonders. My parents had a Mk1 Octy diesel and was always in town. One day we were out shopping and I went to get the car to save them walking the half mile back. Jumped in and felt sluggish so i did a full bore start flatout in first to see plumes of black smoke out the back. When we drove past where I'd done it there was a long line of carbon and soot on the floor from the exhaust. Drove home quite hard and run well for a good few weeks until it got clogged up again

I assumed the right pedal was simply a switch and the red dots a gear change indicator? Come on chaps, treat it too delicately all the time and if nothing else you'll lose the will to live let alone change your oil every week!

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si si piu veloce..... lol