Gnarff

Hi

I currently drive a 944 and would like to purchase a 911SC. I use my 944 as a daily driver but during weekdays, I only have to commute 5km in the morning and 5km in the evening. I know that it is not so good for the engine.

How about short trips on a air-cooled 911? Can the engine handle it, or would it damage the engine to much in the long turn. On weekends I drive more or less 100km.

Thanks

Lode

Dan Rufer

Lode:

I've got an '87 Carrera that I drive not quite daily but as often as I can. While I don't have any evidence about engine wear, I don't hesitate to drive wherever I need to go. If my runs are short, I'm not running high RPMs. I would have to believe that the 911 engine does not suffer any more than another engine type during short runs. The 3.0L and 3.2L engines just seem like they will run forever. However, I'll mention that I get long enough drives in frequently to really heat up the engine. Overall, I just drive the car. Good luck in your search. Dan

cmoss

Until recently I owned a 911SC, and the main problem with short hops is that the engine does not have time to reach operating temperature. It used to take a good 10 - 15 minutes to warm up. As I understand it, when the engine is cold it runs a bit rich. This causes the protective film of oil on the cylinder walls to become diluted/degraded. This could lead to excessive engine wear and/or increased oil consumption.

Then again, I'm not a mechanic and I could be totally wrong!

Cheers,
Chris

gerry100

5km (3 miles for us Americans)probaly will not hurt the car if you keep the revs below 3500 and shift very slowly.

It's not much fun driving a 911 like that, and with a cold engine can be annoying.

Give the SC a good workout on the weekends.(I think having the 911 will increase your weekend mileage-you'll go places when you have no place to go).

Get a bicycle for the commute.

pig4bill

As cmoss mentioned, a 911 takes awhile to warm up. This is a unique problem for air-cooled motors in that things have not expanded as when they are at normal operating temps. So you are getting more piston wear because everything is "tight" when cold, which is normally no big deal because you don't rev it too hard until warm and it's a relatively small percentage of total engine time. But if those cold miles are most of what you're driving, the engine will be more worn for it's miles than the usual 911.

A Quiet Boom

My commute to work each day is only 4 miles so To get it a little warmed up I like to start it up and then go inside to grab my "to go" coffee, hop back in the car and run the revs up around 2500 down my street under light load, then keep the revs below 4k until I get to work. After work though I always take a little more "scenic" route and drive about 10-15 miles to get the engine up to temp and prevent any carbon build up etc. Like the others said just keep the revs low on short trips but why not go for a little fun drive each weekend? It's amazing what 30-60 minutes in a 911 with no where to go can do for the soul

Gnarff

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll stick to the 944 to commute en will purchase an "oldtimer" 911 (SC or 2.4) in a few years to drive in the weekends to enjoy the real virtues of an 911 must be good for the soul!

My next work will be further from home

Greetz

Lode