Often people explain that it’s because you ride a cold engine. But a long ride also starts with a cold engine. So how can two 5km trips per day be worse than a two 20km trips per day if an engine starts cold in both scenarios?
Or does this arguments works under presumtion that you ride 100km in 20 short trips vs 5 trips?
In: Engineering
I think it mostly because short and long trips are associated with different places, and therefore ways of driving. In towns, where you start, stop, turn, bump and whatnot, your car takes a way higher toll on its movable and wearable parts from all the manoeuvring. On the highway, where you maintain a consistent speed, you’re basically only using the engine and wheel axels. No breaking, no speed bumps, no tight turns, no change in RPM — nothing sudden.
That’s why people often separate local miles from highway miles, for example when buying a second hand car.
Add to this some of the details given in other answers, and I think you have quite a full answer to your question.
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