Date:         Fri, 04 Nov 94 14:16:15 CST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: First oil change

On Fri, 4 Nov 94 13:53:23 CST Dave Black said:
>So, which is more severe, 10 miles in stop and go traffic, or 50 miles at
>65mph, through mountainous, sometimes freezing conditions?

if you mean:
1. crank it up, drive 10 miles in stop and go traffic, shut it off.
or
2. crank it up, drive 50 miles at 65mph, through mountainous, sometimes
   freezing conditions.

i would pick (1). because the oil didn't have time to heat up (unless it was
really bumper-to-bumper and moving very slowly). especially if this (1) was
repeated five days a week.

(2) would not be 'severe' conditions, in my opinion.  now, if you drove 50
miles on a dirt wash-board-type road, in dusty conditions, through mountainous
sometimes freezing conditions, THAT i would call severe conditions as well.

remember, Volkswagens were designed IN germany FOR germany ... and mountains
and freezing are fairly normal over there. ;)

i think the point trying to be made is that it is the TIME that the engine
is run that makes the difference. to drive 10 miles in 15 minutes, then shut
the engine off ... that's severe wear and tear on the engine. but to drive
50 miles in an hour gives the entire engine and drive train time to warm up
to 'operating temperatures', which is what the car was designed for.

so someone who commutes 30 minutes to work every day  will likely have a car
that lasts longer than someone (like me) who lives 6 miles from work and
takes only 10 minutes to get there. so i go out on the weekends and drive
down the interstate for 20 miles, then back ... to help get all that crud
out of my oil. besides ... i just like to ride along in my bus. :)

joel