can you drive your car too soft?

[silverfool]

i know it's a point of contention for some people whether or not the ECU learns from your driving and how much the break-in period plays a role in the car's overall driving characteristics if at all.

my question is can you drive a car too soft? I bought my LGT with more than 1000 dealer miles on it so I'm sure those bastards drove it like they jacked it....or at least like they were gonna jack some unknowing fool like me.

i normally drive very conservatively (not by choice, you try hitting the boost routinely in OC/LA without entering the backseat of the BMW/infiniti in front of you) and wonder if my infrequent jaunts over 3000rpm can cause any longterm issues. I'd hate to think I've wussified my car. I had an integra when I was 16 and babied it a lot both at break-in and with infrequent spirited driving and towards the end of my ownership it had some problems that my mechanically challenged brain was convinced was due to not pushing it enough.

 

so besides getting decent mileage are their any other outcomes i need to be prep'd for?

[Guest *Jedimaster*]

You can. My father bought a Buick that was used in funeral processions most of its' life(not a hearse). When we got it and drove it above 10 miles per hour, it started burning oil- the rings never seated properly. Eventually the engine was replaced.

[NutBucket]

I'm surprised my parents' cars last so long the way they drive. I know my dad shifts at about 2k almost without fail. Mind you these are not v8's but Camrys, Accords, etc.

 

 

EDIT: I could probably install the valet map on my car and he'd never notice!

[jc51373]

I would have to say the ECU computers are not that sophisticated. The only way you can wussify your car is by not blowing out the motor once in a while with a good red-line romp.

 

The car is designed to be stomped on, it is based on rally deisgn. So all this talk about break-in and babying it to me can get a little silly at times. Unless you are a complete maniac (and they're out there) I can't see the occasional stomp during break in doing any long term harm. You can split hairs about the subject I am sure, but I am not losing sleep over it.

 

You are fine to baby your car, other than ,maybe an injector clog or something stupid you are better off, and statistically speaking you should have less wear and tear and problems. I think it is fun to drive them slow anyway..You go slow for a good couple of days or weeks, then when you stomp on it you remember pretty quickly how freakin quick this car is.

 

The worst thing you can do it let a car sit, which is what that hearse probably did most of the time. A car sitting and not being driven is the WORST thing you can do. Drive it, enjoy it, the way you want to.

[Renesis8]

Camry and Accords are built to be driven at 2000rpm anyways~~

[Xenonk]

yes, it's called parking it and letting it sit there... you know, like what dealers do to cars that never sell.

[JuxtaGT]

Borrowing my knowledge from high performance motorcycle engines, yes, you can drive too soft. More, in particular, is lugging the engine around at low rpms all the time. This will cause a lot of carbon build-up in your engine. Obviously, you don't want to bounce it off the rev-limiter all day, but I agree that our engines (most all modern engines) are designed to be USED. Shifting at 2k rpm is a BAD habit, most engines are not optimized to run that slow all the time, unless you have diesal. I'd keep reving and shift at 3k or 4k, even if you are at very low throttle input.