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
It’s kind of a tricky one. You’re right in what you’re saying but the idea is if you drive your car for 2 hours continually each day, or ride it for 10 minutes every day, in principle the damage to piston rings etc is identical. But if it’s a choice between driving the car for 2 hours continually each day or 10 minutes 12 times a day, with a break in-between, the latter is arguably worse. This is because you allow the engine to cool, meaning it has to ‘bed in’ all over again.
Plus, it’s not all about the engine. Other components in the car can be potentially worn more with constant, short trips. The battery, for example. Especially if it’s a bit older, it might slowly lose charge and not fully get it back with many small trips.
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