Should you leave the car engine awhile before turning it off after a long drive?

By, 2018-05-30

Do you drive your car for a long distances and you do care about your engine? Many of us listen to the advice of others and their experiences, especially with cars, so what shall you do if there are different point of views?

Some people believe that it is essential to stop the car after long distances and open the engine hood leaving it to dwell for 3 or 5 minutes before turning off the engine. Others think that there is no problem at all in turning off the engine directly without cooling since no problems will occur.

Further reading: Cleaning your car engine is not a difficult mission anymore!

What is better? And why?

Generally, turning off the engine directly will never cause any problem and you can do so even if you drive the car for long distances and for more than 5 hours.

why?

Cars are designed according to high tolerance standards for all weather conditions. Cars are tested in different weather conditions such as the conditions of the Arabian Gulf climate and its high temperatures and also in the cold weather.

So engines bear high temperatures and you should not always cool the engine before turning it off unless there is a problem in the engine.

You may not know:

The temperature of the engine and its parts while deriving for long distances on highways is less than driving on crowded streets.

Why?

Driving on crowded streets leads to increase the temperature of the engine. On the other hand, there are several ways to cool the engine when driving on the highways even if for long distances. The car fan and the 120 speed wind cool down the engine and the whole car as well.

Further reading: Do not forget to keep these things in your car!

There are other two key standards to rely on:

1. Engine Type:

Most engines are naturally aspirated engines that depend on atmospheric pressure and does not rely on forced induction through a turbocharger or a supercharger.

You can turn off this type of engine directly without any problems whenever you want.

In contrast, there are engines that have a supercharger or turbocharger where the pressure on the and temperatures are higher. In this type of engine you can cool the engine especially if the engine temperature is high. Some car manufacturers have manufactured the so-called " Turbo-timer " to solve this problem. You can stop the car and lock the doors of the car, but the engine will stay for 4 minutes until it cools and then it will turn off automatically.\

Further reading: Do not be afraid from driving during dust storm!

2. How do you drive the car?

The way that you are driving the car is very crucial and the place also that whether it is a paved way or not. All these conditions affect the efficiency of the engine and the effort it makes.

You may notice in the auto racing that cars after reaching the end they continue driving in low speeds to reduce the temperature of the engine gradually.

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