How Long Should a New Battery Last?
If you are gonna get a battery charger, look into a Deltran Battery Tender Plus.
It's one of the better charger/tenders on the market around $40. I have 2 of them...one on my Harley and the other on my Mustang. Been working flawless for over a year
It's one of the better charger/tenders on the market around $40. I have 2 of them...one on my Harley and the other on my Mustang. Been working flawless for over a year
Walking The Fine Line...
Joined: Feb 2005
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From: The Lounge
It's not so much the exhaust and undercarriage that you need to worry about as it is the engine oil and engine/trans internals.
Frequent engine starts and stops and short commutes put more wear on the engine than 100K+ miles of strictly highway driving. That's why oil change intervals are usually closer together vs a car driven on the highway. Proper operating temp isn't achieved in short drives. The coolant may say the car is warm, but the oil temp may not be.
But there isn't much you can do really other than drive around more.
IMHO, cars should come with an hours meter and you do the oil changes based on start/stops and hours run vs actual vehicle mileage.
But....so MANY variables such as humidity in the air, climate, etc.
Frequent engine starts and stops and short commutes put more wear on the engine than 100K+ miles of strictly highway driving. That's why oil change intervals are usually closer together vs a car driven on the highway. Proper operating temp isn't achieved in short drives. The coolant may say the car is warm, but the oil temp may not be.
But there isn't much you can do really other than drive around more.
IMHO, cars should come with an hours meter and you do the oil changes based on start/stops and hours run vs actual vehicle mileage.
But....so MANY variables such as humidity in the air, climate, etc.
At the rate I'm putting miles on the car, it'll be a decade old before I get any real miles on her. By then, I'll likely have put her out to pasture.
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From: Rio de Jeneiro or East Coast
Odd. For the last four years, my daily commute has been ~7 miles. I have my car on a lift at least 4 times a year, and haven't seen any signs of wear on the exhaust system... It may be rusting from the inside out, but by now, especially considering the bulk of my car's life has been in rainy Washington state, I'd have some visual indication that the short trips were having a negative impact.
I change my oil every 3-5000 miles with Mobil 1. Usually closer to 3,000, but no one is perfect. Car only has 29,000 miles - it's an 05.
My long term experience is with 3 Volvos from the 90's, with a combined mileage (with no engine repairs) of >1.2 million miles, and one VW fastbak (1971) with 238K miles. I think this is pretty good. My G now has 85K miles.
Last edited by Infiniti Chica; Dec 29, 2009 at 04:51 PM.
The NW is pretty easy on cars at least vs the east coast and the midwest. Geez. But we call can't have Cali or AZ cars.
As far as the exhaust is concerned, you just need to drive long enough to heat up the pipes to evaporate any moisture out. 7 miles is plenty of time.
But I'd definately take it out on the freeway though or use a good synthetic. Short duration trips is hard on the engine. Tends to make the oil sludgy.
GW, peer down the oil cap and see if the valvetrain has a nice alumium color to it. If yes, then you're good with whatever you've been doing.
As far as the exhaust is concerned, you just need to drive long enough to heat up the pipes to evaporate any moisture out. 7 miles is plenty of time.
But I'd definately take it out on the freeway though or use a good synthetic. Short duration trips is hard on the engine. Tends to make the oil sludgy.
GW, peer down the oil cap and see if the valvetrain has a nice alumium color to it. If yes, then you're good with whatever you've been doing.
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From: Rio de Jeneiro or East Coast
The killer for many engines is sludge that hangs out at the bottom of the oil pan, or even on top of or the sides of the pick-up screen, where it can't be easily cleaned off even by frequent oil changes with good synthetic oils (and where it can't bee seen thru looking at the valvetrain). This oil becomes like cholestrol that's clumped together that eventually can clog the screen itself (thus starving the engine) or some other set of small pores in the engine).
I've seen this in several engines, after the pan has been removed, even tho the rest of the engine looked fairly clean.
Just my 2¢
OP, my apologies for hijacking your thread... what was your question by the way? Oh yeah, it had to do with battery life. Again, sorry for the hijack.
I've seen this in several engines, after the pan has been removed, even tho the rest of the engine looked fairly clean.
Just my 2¢
OP, my apologies for hijacking your thread... what was your question by the way? Oh yeah, it had to do with battery life. Again, sorry for the hijack.
My battery just turned 5 yrs a few days ago. I have something like this that I use to test the battery charge.
Right now the battery is still holding some charge and don't have any issue starting. The car is always inside the garage except for the 1st year and only gets driven during the weekend (currently at 34k miles).
I am debating if I should just change it or keep on using it for maybe another year or so
I think the consensus is I should change it. My other car (Sentra) battery is also about 5 yrs old and still functioning (touch wood).
Right now the battery is still holding some charge and don't have any issue starting. The car is always inside the garage except for the 1st year and only gets driven during the weekend (currently at 34k miles).
I am debating if I should just change it or keep on using it for maybe another year or so
I think the consensus is I should change it. My other car (Sentra) battery is also about 5 yrs old and still functioning (touch wood).
That tester just tests voltage.
A proper test is with this
http://www.amazon.com/3181-130-Amp-H.../dp/B000O3U2UQ
A proper test is with this
http://www.amazon.com/3181-130-Amp-H.../dp/B000O3U2UQ
Maybe I should pick one up myself. Do you just plug it into Pos and Neg post, turn it on and it tells you everything?
Well, you need to disconnect the batt from the car, but it's pretty easy to do the actual test
Well, you need to disconnect the batt from the car, but it's pretty easy to do the actual test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpDe251Fwxs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpDe251Fwxs
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Joined: Dec 2009
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whtespark, as previously mentioned, if your vehicle sits for long periods of time, a battery tender/maintainer is a great investment, regardless of what battery you are using. If you do not use a battery maintainer, storing your vehicle with a fully-charged and disconnected battery is a good practice.
The battery should also be checked periodically while in storage, to make sure it maintains at least 12.4 volts. If it needs charging, that should be done with a battery charger, before the vehicle is driven. If you rely on your alternator to recharge a deeply-discharged battery, you can shorten the life of both your alternator and battery. In some instances, a battery may have enough of a charge to start a car once, but if the car isn’t driven long enough for the alternator to recharge the battery, you could find yourself stranded a few miles from home.
Likewise, if you need a jump to start your vehicle, you should recharge your battery with a battery charger as soon as possible. If not, the alternator may not fully-charge the battery and you could find yourself in a dead battery/jump/dead battery/jump cycle until the battery or alternator fails.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
The battery should also be checked periodically while in storage, to make sure it maintains at least 12.4 volts. If it needs charging, that should be done with a battery charger, before the vehicle is driven. If you rely on your alternator to recharge a deeply-discharged battery, you can shorten the life of both your alternator and battery. In some instances, a battery may have enough of a charge to start a car once, but if the car isn’t driven long enough for the alternator to recharge the battery, you could find yourself stranded a few miles from home.
Likewise, if you need a jump to start your vehicle, you should recharge your battery with a battery charger as soon as possible. If not, the alternator may not fully-charge the battery and you could find yourself in a dead battery/jump/dead battery/jump cycle until the battery or alternator fails.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
