Each ICE manufacturer lays down the average motor resource for their units. For cars of European, Japanese and American brands, this is 300-350 thousand km; for the Russian and Korean car industry. Figures of 180-200 thousand km are considered optimal. And for China – 120-150 thousand to drive at slow speeds.
Over the past ten years, large manufacturers have reduced the resource of their internal combustion engines, and millionaire engines are no longer produced. Even with excellent maintenance, the BMW “slab”. A motor set up for many years as an example of excellent assembly and super endurance, will not pull out half a million mileage without a major overhaul.
Not the last role in reducing the engine life is played by the quality of fuel and driving style. Systematic driving at low revs is the most detrimental to any internal combustion engine. Whether it is an atmospheric, carbureted gasoline unit or a turbodiesel.
Motor resource dependence on engine speed
The main rule that a driving school graduate should remember is that the engine will last as long as possible. If you choose your number of revolutions for each mode (each speed). There are modes in which the minimum and maximum wear of internal combustion engine parts occur – the correct sequence allows you to spin up the engine in time, burning the primary carbonization, and not to use high speeds if you need to achieve an average speed.
After a year behind the wheel, the driver develops his style of driving, prefers to accelerate and brake in his way, finds the best option for saving fuel, etc. The question of what speed is best to drive remains a subject of constant dispute. Let’s consider specifically what is dangerous constant driving at low speeds.
Questionable Benefits
[textbox id=’warning’]All old-school drivers prefer to run their car at low revs because there is almost no noise from the running engine in the cabin – you can see less gasoline is being consumed. And most importantly – this is how they teach to drive in a driving school. It is also believed that this mode of operation increases the resource of the internal combustion engine. Is this true in real life? First things first.
What does low RPM mean?
The low speed on a gasoline engine is crankshaft rotation not higher than 2000-2500 rpm; on a diesel engine – not higher than 1100-1200 rpm. The driver deliberately does not raise the speed higher, remembering the words of the driving school instructor. During training, the instructor says that this driving style provides the least load on the engine and significantly reduces fuel consumption.
Indeed, during training, students should be taught the habit of not stepping on the gas. And riding low will allow a novice to start and shift gears on a manual gearbox without jerking. A measured ride will teach you to control the clutch, give you confidence, etc. But after driving to school, driving only at low speeds will bring more problems than benefits.
Conclusion
Fuel consumption directly depends on the fuel that enters the engine cylinders. At low RPMs, fuel delivery is reduced to a minimum, and overall consumption appears to be less. But if you calculate these savings compared to the repair of internal combustion engines, the advantage begins to look like a disadvantage.
