Reality check on car-care myths
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 2,804
Likes: 9
From: Wisconsin
That's a lot of 'dry starts' per thousand miles. I suppose a case could be made that 'dry starts' would be another severe service measurement if we could count 'dry starts.'
I too drive only 2500 mile in three to four weeks, but my engine experiences far less 'dry starts' because I don't drive it every day, but when I do drive it my work is about 12 miles.
I too drive only 2500 mile in three to four weeks, but my engine experiences far less 'dry starts' because I don't drive it every day, but when I do drive it my work is about 12 miles.
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,636
Likes: 264
From: Vernon, NY
In the instance you refer to here, it is more of a lubrication issue than fuel. Killing and engine for 5 minutes or so at a time, causes dry starts on hot parts that have no oil on them for a second or two untill the oil pump gets the oil moving. Unless you do it frequently, it's not a huge deal. But if you dry start several times daily. The hot starts take a toll on the wear inside the engine.
Plus it saves a ton of wear on the starter.
As a side note, I got a second key in my wallet, so if I need to leave the truck running say at walmart, I just lock the doors. When I come back, I just pull the door key and open it up to a nice warm truck.
Plus it's my backup key.
at 850 rpm, our injectors spit out a gallon of fuel every 120 minutes, I've learned that anything over two minutes is better to kill the engine
whats it going to cost to replace those brushes after 200,000 miles? $12?
my key can be removed from the ignition while the engine is running, so the first month here working as a delivery I would pull the key and lock the door. i quickly learned this was a VERY bad idea. a dishonest theif will surely break a little window to gain access to an abandoned running vehicle, especially at wal-mart of all places! whats a little pane of glass to them when they have the opportunity to drive a couple hundred miles, run it dry, and take off. then you are out of a vehicle, with a broken window and no gas. all for what? staying warm for an extra 30 seconds it would take to reheat the cab or trying to save those $12 brushes you will have to replace in 15 years, if you even keep it that long.. theft is a combination of two things: opportunity and desire. remove one, and you severely lower your chances of being a victim 
whats it going to cost to replace those brushes after 200,000 miles? $12?
Last edited by Raptor05121; Dec 21, 2009 at 05:22 AM.