Most of us own a vehicle of some description, and some of us are even required to use one for our duties at work. Because of this, driving is hardly an unfamiliar pastime, but is instead one that we tend to do just as unthinkingly as walking. However, some driving habits can be less than helpful for your vehicle’s engine, and can drastically reduce its life expectancy. Here are some of the driving habits that you should definitely look to cut down on.
Overtaxing a New Vehicle
The first 1,000 miles or so in a vehicle’s life are very important, and the engine needs to get ‘accustomed’ before you start to really push it. During this period, you want to be trying to vary your speed, but don’t push it to excessive heights. It may seem like this is cramping your style, but your engine will last far longer if you’re careful in this initial period.
Setting Off Cold
The processes within a vehicle engine don’t reach maximum efficiency until the engine is warm, and setting off without giving your engine a few seconds to warm up is asking for trouble. Only about 10 seconds is required, unless the weather is very cold, when you may want to leave the car engine idle for up to a minute, and also go easy on the acceleration too.
Short Journeys
Short journeys carry some of the same problems as setting off cold; namely that you’re using your vehicle without giving the engine enough time to reach a comfortable temperature. The oil within an engine won’t act as a proper lubricant until it reaches the optimal viscosity, and, until the engine warms up enough to allow this state to be achieved, driving is actually damaging your engine.
Excessive Revving
Many people rev their vehicles, usually cars, to show off, but you can easily do this in a manual vehicle simply by going above the red line that shows the top range of your permissible engine speed. Not changing gear when you should is putting a colossal amount of strain on your engine, and the ‘revving’ noise that it makes is an easy indicator that it’s starting to struggle. Listen to it, and change gear.
Foot on the Clutch
Many people rest their foot on the clutch of a vehicle without even realising it, and even just a miniscule amount of pressure will mean that it will always be partially depressed. The simple fact is that this leads to wear and tear. Keeping the clutch fully depressed when your vehicle has stopped (such as at traffic lights) is also problematic, as it never has time to ‘relax’, and is instead always under tension.
Improper Gear Shifts
Manual gearboxes might be common, but if you misuse them they can cause problems for your engine. Being in the correct gear is important, as we’ve already stated, but did you know that even automatic vehicles can be problematic? In these, you’ll still need to change between ‘gears’ like ‘drive’, ‘park’ or ‘reverse’, and if you switch between these gears when you’re still performing an opposite manoeuvre (changing to ‘drive’ when you’re still in backwards motion, for example) you’ll create literally months of wear and tear on your vehicle. This sort of action forces the gears within the transmission to act as impromptu ‘brakes’, and this causes untold damage to your drive shaft in particular.
Your drive shaft (or prop shaft) is a key part of your vehicle, as without it a vehicle can’t even move, and poor driving habits can easily cause it to age and wear prematurely. If your drive or prop shaft starts to fail, it will need instant attention, and here at Driveline and Hydraulic Engineering Ltd we are specialists when it comes to drive and prop shaft repairs, and all the components we use will achieve high quality and long lasting results. We can work with owners of commercial fleets, kit cars, passenger vehicles and more, so contact us now on 01524 382262 or email our professional team on info@propshaftrepairs.com to find out more.
