Daily short distance bad for engine?

[EddieFosts]

As titled, will a short distance on a daily basis he bad for the engine?

I'm in the process of moving jobs and will be working about a mile and a half from where I live. My concern is that running a stage 3 GTI as my daily may not be the best for the car doing that short journey twice a day? 

Presuming frequent oil changes would help this but might be worrying for nothing!

Any ideas?

[slix]

I drive about 4 miles to work and never had any problems. You will probably get loads of mayonaise under the filler cap though.

And 1.5 miles would be a good excuse to get the bike out in the summer?

[lukemk5gti]

I drive about 4 miles to work and never had any problems. You will probably get loads of mayonaise under the filler cap though.

And 1.5 miles would be a good excuse to get the bike out in the summer?

Second that.

For over a year my trip to work was one mile but I had to cross a causeway so I couldn't really walk or cycle and had to stick it out.

I got plenty of mayo in the oil filler cap.

Made up for it by taking it on a 300 mile return trip every other weekend!

[fab5freddy]

I drive about 4 miles to work and never had any problems. You will probably get loads of mayonaise under the filler cap though.

And 1.5 miles would be a good excuse to get the bike out in the summer?

Second that.

For over a year my trip to work was one mile but I had to cross a causeway so I couldn't really walk or cycle and had to stick it out.

I got plenty of mayo in the oil filler cap.

Made up for it by taking it on a 300 mile return trip every other weekend!

As has already been said, won't hurt, just try take for a long spin at the weekends and blow out the cobwebs  Good excuse for giving it a bit of a thrashing 

[GTIEagles]

I had the same concerns with mine and would often take the "scenic route" back just so it would get up to temp! I would probably consider changing the oil every 6 months and a spirited drive at the weekends does no harm either 

[Dan_FR]

Just drive it incredibly gently, light loads and minimal revs and it will be fine.

I have to take the car to work a couple days a week which is only a mile or so away and it's been fine for the last 3 years. I 'baby' it when cold and give it some stick on a weekend once I have chance to get it fully up to temperature.

[AJP]

I do lots of short journeys to and from work, and the coolant doesn't get close to 90. I know in the back of my mind it's theoretically not doing it much good, but I do the same as the guys above have posted - tiny throttle inputs and a good half hour or so up to temp and through the revs once or twice a week - and it's all running well. I'm inclined to think modern engines and software are better equipped to deal with short journeys. Some older stuff I used to own really didn't fare as well.

Mayo around the filler with short trips and low temps is almost guaranteed to some degree.

When we had the inlet off to do the injectors it wasn't at all bad in terms of carbon buildup, so that's a bit of a reassurance.

With all that said, the car definitely seems a little stronger in the few drives after a good long journey. I often go down to Pembrokeshire, a good 5/6 hour drive, and it always feels like it gets an extra 10bhp across the curve in the old butt dyno.

[GTIEagles]

I do lots of short journeys to and from work, and the coolant doesn't get close to 90. I know in the back of my mind it's theoretically not doing it much good, but I do the same as the guys above have posted - tiny throttle inputs and a good half hour or so up to temp and through the revs once or twice a week - and it's all running well. I'm inclined to think modern engines and software are better equipped to deal with short journeys. Some older stuff I used to own really didn't fare as well.

Mayo around the filler with short trips and low temps is almost guaranteed to some degree.

When we had the inlet off to do the injectors it wasn't at all bad in terms of carbon buildup, so that's a bit of a reassurance.

With all that said, the car definitely seems a little stronger in the few drives after a good long journey. I often go down to Pembrokeshire, a good 5/6 hour drive, and it always feels like it gets an extra 10bhp across the curve in the old butt dyno.

I have noticed exactly the same thing after it's been on long drives, the engine feels more eager and responsive almost like having a mini remap! Glad to hear it's not just me that notices it as I thought it was a placebo at first 

[AJP]

I do lots of short journeys to and from work, and the coolant doesn't get close to 90. I know in the back of my mind it's theoretically not doing it much good, but I do the same as the guys above have posted - tiny throttle inputs and a good half hour or so up to temp and through the revs once or twice a week - and it's all running well. I'm inclined to think modern engines and software are better equipped to deal with short journeys. Some older stuff I used to own really didn't fare as well.

Mayo around the filler with short trips and low temps is almost guaranteed to some degree.

When we had the inlet off to do the injectors it wasn't at all bad in terms of carbon buildup, so that's a bit of a reassurance.

With all that said, the car definitely seems a little stronger in the few drives after a good long journey. I often go down to Pembrokeshire, a good 5/6 hour drive, and it always feels like it gets an extra 10bhp across the curve in the old butt dyno.

I have noticed exactly the same thing after it's been on long drives, the engine feels more eager and responsive almost like having a mini remap! Glad to hear it's not just me that notices it as I thought it was a placebo at first 

Aye, you can't beat an Italian Tune Up!

[EddieFosts]

Ah that's good to hear, cheers for the input!

Will probably cycle it in the warmer months but not my cuppa tea in the winter ha.

Good excuse to give it a few beans at the weekend though as mentioned.

My other half is after a Mk5 GTI (candy white so not that we'll ever find one) and had a little Yaris so tempted to use that for the daily run but rather not have to drive a little 60bhp roller skate 

[pudding]

It used to be really bad for engines!  Mainly because the condensation inside a warming up engine mixes with combustion blow-by and produces quite a nasty acidic vapour.  It used to rot exhausts from the inside out pretty quickly back in the day.  Rod and main bearings didn't much like it either. 

It's not so bad these days with modern oils, better quality metals and better production tolerances.

A decent run evaporates off all the harmful contaminants from the oil, clears out PCV lines of mayo, burns off localized carbon build ups on the piston crowns and spark plugs, shifts all the moisture from the exhaust, evaporates moisture from the air filter, MAF & coils...... in short, you don't want water and rich warm up gases inside the engine, and you definitely don't want damp sensors either.  It's why engines feel so much better after a long run.  Everything gets up to optimum operating temperature.

It's also why frequent oil changes are important.  All of that warm up crap quickly deteriorates the oil. 

I never have and never will buy a low mileage shop run car.  I'd take 200K motorway mile car over a 20K school run car any day of the week.

[grey golfster]

As titled, will a short distance on a daily basis he bad for the engine?
I'm in the process of moving jobs and will be working about a mile and a half from where I live. My concern is that running a stage 3 GTI as my daily may not be the best for the car doing that short journey twice a day? 
Presuming frequent oil changes would help this but might be worrying for nothing!
Any ideas?

Yes!!!

Very bad for much more than the engine tho. Think of all the other wear and tear too.

Buy that cheap Yaris if you really must drive 1.5 miles to work.... Honestly!?!

[david25]

I never have and never will buy a low mileage shop run car.  I'd take 200K motorway mile car over a 20K school run car any day of the week.

I've currently got a shop car (purchased at 25,000 and 9 years) hasn't blown up yet!

[colesey]

I have owned my Gti since new in 2006 and it has covered just 23k miles in that time, half on short local journeys and the remainder on long runs. Always serviced every year, mostly with Millers Nano oil. There have been no issues and it continues to run like new in many respects. I would say that history and condition are more important on cars of this age than mileage, be it low / medium / high.