How long a car engine can run continuously?

[Karabiner98k]

Recently, I travelled around 400 kms with my car between 2 cities. I drove non-stop for about 5-6 hours (between 100 - 120 km/h in top gear).

When I arrived to my destination, someone told me that I have worn down my engine. He told me that I should have stopped every 100 kms and let the engine to rest for a while. He told me that I have damaged my engine.

I am worried about my car now. Did I wear down the piston rings and main bearings? Do you think the damage is serious?
My car is Peugeot 406 1.8 16V Petrol.

I started my car today but the engine seems to work fine. I don't dare to drive it until I make sure nothing has happened.

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

There is nothing better for the car than to run in constant light load and optimal working temperature. 90% of the wear of the engine occurs during cold start (although cold start in the Tropics is different than the cold start at far North (or South depending on the hemispere). The piston rings wear more only if you keep the rpms constantly high and at higher loads (the higher the pressure upon the piston head the more it pushes to the side and wears the piston rings).
There is an unwritten rule that for a certain engine high are rpms that are more than 70% of the range between 0 and the beginning of the red section of the rpm counter.

 

[manuelf]

To add to what @CrunchSlaughtered said: Having longer trips with oil temperature in the optimal window 90-100° celsius leads to water evaporation from the oil, which is healthy! Engines, which see only short-distance trips all the time suffer from water ingress in the motor oil, which affects its lubrication properties negatively, which again leads to increased engine wear!

 

[Betty Swollocks]

someone told me that I have worn down my engine. He told me that I should have stopped every 100 kms and let the engine to rest for a while. He told me that I have damaged my engine.

This "someone" is an idiot.

I have sometimes driven for 1,500km with just one stop for fuel.

 

[TheNewBATMAN]

What about BEVs? Serious question. Especially for those short-distance trips not good for combustion engines.

 

[LaArtist]

W123-W124 era diesel Mercedes Engine. Put it on when you are born, you will probably die before it does. Haha

 

[fortuner]

I am not so sure who the guy is or what knowlege he has when I was in South africa I did regular trips from Durban to Louis Trichardt which was over 1000km I did them just with fuel stops.... I even once did a trip of 1900 km with 2 stops for fuel and snacks.

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

W123-W124 era diesel Mercedes Engine. Put it on when you are born, you will probably die before it does. Haha

In fact in the northern parts of Russia they start the diesel engines (especially those of the Kamaz trucks) in the beginning of November and they shut them down in March.

 

[manuelf]

What about BEVs? Serious question. Especially for those short-distance trips not good for combustion engines.

I would tend to think, that short-distance trips are rather healthy for BEVs? They have no lubrication requirements like ICE, which need a certain temperature window, which is achieved only after some operation time...
And doing short-distance trips (if you charge after the trip/don't start with almost depleted battery) avoids the risk of deep discharge the battery, which speeds up battery aging ...

 

[Giannis]

someone told me

That someone is an idiot, as has already been said by other members. Please use your car again. If your Peugeot were to break down, it won't be because you did 400km with no stop. It will break down because it's Wednesday.

 

[Karabiner98k]

There is an unwritten rule that for a certain engine high are rpms that are more than 70% of the range between 0 and the beginning of the red section of the rpm counter.

My car RPM ranges from 0 - 6500 RPMs. 70% of 6500 = 4550 RPMs

I mostly drive between 2500 - 3500 but occasionally I rev the engine to higher RPMs (5000 - 5500) because it is good for the engine and cleans some of the accumulated carbon deposits in combustion chambers.

My maintenance is excellent and I check and replace everything a little sooner than recommended. So, I think I should have no problem driving my car non-stop during a trip of 400 - 500 kms.

I strictly prevent short distance driving in the city. I always extend my driving to let the engine get to its operating temperature before turning it off.

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

The biggest enemy of the car is the cold weather start (below 3 degrees C). All the steel parts are tight, the oil is two thick and due to this a friction inducing heavy wear occurs. The other bad thing is water. At 24 degrees C 1 m3 of air can contain 17 grams of water (100% humidity). At 6 degrees it can hold only 4 grams. So the biggest sin in cold weather is to leave the car with almost empty tank, because the air in the tank is hot like to whole car. During the night this air cools down and segregates the water contained in it. The fuel filters are not always capable to separate it all. That's why the cleverest think that can be done is always to leave the car with a full tank so that there is almost no air in it.

 

[Karabiner98k]

Yes, revving a cold engine causes the most wear and tear.
When I turn on the engine in the morning I let it idle for about 3 minutes and after that I start moving slowly in first gear and don't rev past 2000 RPM until thermostat opens. After that I drive gently for another 10 to 15 minutes and keep RPM below 3000 until the temperature gets close to operating temp. After that I increase my speed and RPM gradually.

I think the second biggest sin is to LUG THE ENGINE. It causes knock and puts internal parts under heavy pressure.

Almost all the people who drive manual cars tend to lug the engine. I have seen people flooring the throttle in 6th at below 1000 RPM!!

 

[Betty Swollocks]

When I turn on the engine in the morning I let it idle for about 3 minutes

I wouldn't even let it idle. You need to give the engine load to get the oil temperature up quicker. Best thing you can do is move off straight away.

 

[Matski]

I had a Peugeot once. Best technique for keeping the engine in tip top shape, was to pay for the warranty.

 

[Karabiner98k]

I wouldn't even let it idle. You need to give the engine load to get the oil temperature up quicker. Best thing you can do is move off straight away.

Yes, the engine needs load to warm up quicker but the first 2 or 3 minutes idling is unavoidable because it lets the oil to flow through all moving parts and gets a little warm (if not hot).
So, letting the engine to idle for half an hour until it reaches operating temp is not a good idea but moving off straight away is also not good for most engines though it depends on the type of car you own.
Most advanced car maintenance articles mention that 2 or 3 minutes idling is necessary especially in winter.

 

[MikeJ]

So... How many roadside rest stops does this someone own?

 

[asrapid1]

Recently, I travelled around 400 kms with my car between 2 cities. I drove non-stop for about 5-6 hours (between 100 - 120 km/h in top gear).

When I arrived to my destination, someone told me that I have worn down my engine. He told me that I should have stopped every 100 kms and let the engine to rest for a while. He told me that I have damag...

Worn down an engine after 400 km of non stop driving..he is messing with you. Don 't let that person in your car anymore. If he ask why you tell him because he add additional weight and after couple of km. it will worn out shock absorbers and springs. Even better tell that person to loose weight if he wants to drive with you in a car anymore.

 

[Centurion]

Yes, the engine needs load to warm up quicker but the first 2 or 3 minutes idling is unavoidable because it lets the oil to flow through all moving parts and gets a little warm (if not hot).
So, letting the engine to idle for half an hour until it reaches operating temp is not a good idea but moving off straight away is also not good for most engi...

I let tend to let my car idle on the driveway for 2-5 minutes while defrosting the windshield and windows.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Warming Up Your Car in the Cold Just Harms the Engine

"In the thick of winter, the common wisdom is that when you are gearing up to take your truck out in the cold and snow, you should step outside, start up your engine, and let it idle to warm up. But contrary to popular belief, this does not prolong the life of your engine; in fact, it decreases it by stripping oil away from the engine's cylinders and pistons."

"The life of components like piston rings and cylinder liners can be significantly reduced by gasoline washing away the lubricating oil, not to mention the extra fuel that is used while the engine runs rich. Driving your car is the fastest way to warm the engine up to 40 degrees so it switches back to a normal fuel to air ratio. Even though warm air generated by the heater core will flow into the cabin after a few minutes, idling does surprisingly little to warm the actual engine."