Driving Long Distance...day or night?

[PlayaDelReyDave]

I fairly frequently drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and also from Los Angeles to the Bay Area. Well, heck, I also drive other places too. What I'm wondering is...is it better on the car over the long haul to drive at night and early in the morning, because it's not as hot. On the way to Vegas, if I went during the day, temps approach 100 degrees. What effect does driving at those temps, or in the 90s, for four to six hours, have on the car, versus, says, driving 20 degrees cooler. Does it matter on the wear and tear of the engine? I would think yes, but then again, well, I don't know much about cars...which is why I'm askin.

Dave

[QuickSEV6]

I don't really think outside temp has much to do with wear and tear.

Even in cold months, engine heat can far exceed 200 degrees (more than a hot summer day)

I think a bigger concern may be the effects of sunlight on the car. I know the sun has faded some of my interior trim. I have a garage now keeping it safe from harmful sunlight.

[lilm]

i agree i cant see how the time of driving would be much different in less your like stopped for long periods of time. But if its all highway driving it shouldn't matter

[NeFaRiOuS_SLE]

For the sun, I think a good, frequent waxing should help a bit, but it won't alleviate the problem.

However, as far as safety is concerned, it is better to drive during the day and drive fully alert (not after 2 hours of sleep and a massive hangover), than to drive at dusk/dawn where it's bright enough to give you the illusion of still-better visibility, but dark enough to not be the truth even with legitimate HID lights, and night... you're more prone to highway hypnosis (sleeping at the wheel), especially if your body considers darkness a time to sleep. But just remember that if it's possible, to turn off the A/C around the Baker area.

[Chinky420]

yeah, i agree generally with what's said above.

the benefit from driving at night isn't going to help your engine, as the engine routinely runs at the ideal operating temp.

daytime driving MAY help out the drivetrain accessories (i.e. water pump, fans, etc), since the temp will be slightly down (i say slightly because the engine will still be running at it's ideal temp, once warmed up)....but it'll be so minute that the extension of the drivetrain accessory life may not matter.

nighttime driving, while it may save a couple months (upto a year, probably) on the drivetrain accessories, you are going to be putting yourself at risk for highway hypnosis, which is really dangerous. exactly as nefarious puts it, if your body is used to sleeping at night, then you're running the risk of crashing your car, and possibly injuring yourself.

myself, being someone who has almost eaten it from highway hypnosis, has to say that you need to be very careful about that. it creeps up on you and when you finally do decide to react to an oncoming situation, it's usually too late.

what good is saving your drivetrain if you end up running your lara into a cement wall at 70mph?

really, when it comes down to it, the things that are going to be benefitted most from night driving over the long term would be your tires and your paint/interior....and maybe a slight advantage in MPG.

but....like everything else in life....it comes down to a cost-benefit analysis....and only you can figure out where to draw the line.

[akora12]

A really hot day will cause fuel to atomize quicker and the engine to run slightly leaner than it would on a colder day. My knock readings reinforce this fact. This really isn't a concern unless you're driving hard at WOT. If you drive normal, everything should be fine.

[ThurzNite]

I prefer night driving, I will almost never drive mornings.

Night time, I assume everybody's got their lights on, headlights and tail, I can spot them from much farther away. There tend to be less at night too. I enjoy the cool air, less parasitic A/C loss. Less crap talk on radio too, some stations just put it on shuffle for an hour at a time. Also, I've never gotten a speeding ticket driving late night open-road.

The downside of night driving... over-driving your headlights. Headlights don't shine bright/far enough.

For daytime, well, if you have a breakdown, you're more likely to get assistance during the day, when AAA trucks are on the prowl. And you can see other cars, they can see you.

Best for your car? I'd say evening, cuz it's usually cooler, and less cars, so set your cruise control and roll, no need to dodge cars.

I used to drive from LA to Fresno monthly, and LA to SD weekly. 23,000 miles/year. I once made it from Irvine to The Strip under 3hrs, leavin around 8pm Friday night. But for some reason, I've never been able to do that coming back Sunday evenings. Strange. Oh yeah, Valentine 1 has saved me numerous times... well worth the $400.

[NeFaRiOuS_SLE]

^Well, that might be the "Fruit police" at the CA/NV talkin'... Too bad the last time I drove to Vegas was in a 4-banger Accord with my mom, a 91-year old lady and another old lady in the car. Wish someone would've shot me since it was so boring; I could NEVER drive without music, and a good chance to go "Autobahn" if I was in the 'Lara, but they decided to sleep!

[Eye8Pussies]

night time quite definitely for me. I drive the 8 hours back and forth from NYC to Toronto about 4-5 times a year if not more

personally for me, it's because I don't like to deal with traffic, which would make the 8hour trip actually 8 hours. At night, I can do it in 7, and even less a couple of times, including gas/washroom stops.

Also though, it IS easier on the engine when driving in the cooler night weather. in addition to what akora mentioned about knock readings, the engine temp will easily run 10-20degrees cooler than during the hot daytime temperature, so = less wear and tear. and yes, the engine does have an temperature efficiency, but it's a range, not a definite number, and driving at night will keep it in the lower end of that spectrum.

[Toy1mzfe]

I just drove from Sf to LA and back.

To me, if u get sleepy at night, go for the day driving. But the thing with night time is that it is much less condensed. Dont forget its harder to see a cop, if its posting on the side of the road looking for speeders.

What i've heard is that when you are driving at night, your engine gets a more dense air into your engine. This increases performance, but im not too sure if its a high amount of increase or not.

IF your good to drive at night, go for it. (less traffic, drive faster, less heat on your engine and paint, and maybe you save some gas since your not punching your a/c.

[krawzyazn]

night driving is better for your car then daytime cooler air!

careful when going through the 5/580 I got a ticket the other day hit me with a LASER gun not radar!!!


Day driving engine temp is 194-202
Air intake temp is 110-120

Night Driving temp 182-188
Air intake tem is 80-88

I have a scanguageII thats how i got my readings!

[bassthrive]

Day (hotter) air will reduce engine power output.

Lookup "density altitude"

[gnegroni]

nighttime driving, while it may save a couple months (upto a year, probably) on the drivetrain accessories, you are going to be putting yourself at risk for highway hypnosis, which is really dangerous. exactly as nefarious puts it, if your body is used to sleeping at night, then you're running the risk of crashing your car, and possibly injuring yourself.

myself, being someone who has almost eaten it from highway hypnosis, has to say that you need to be very careful about that. it creeps up on you and when you finally do decide to react to an oncoming situation, it's usually too late.

what good is saving your drivetrain if you end up running your lara into a cement wall at 70mph?

Even though there might be some benefits with the lower temp, you probably have much more chance of getting hurt than having your car outliving its useful lifespan. I'd say its not worth it, specially when alone. I've seen too many friends and known people die over much shorter distances.