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Not driving the car everyday?

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Old 05-13-2004 | 06:56 PM
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Adamrotor's Avatar
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Not driving the car everyday?

HI, this might sound like a newbie question, but Ill give it a shot, is it ok or bad for the car not to run for three days by just standing in the garage?
Old 05-13-2004 | 06:57 PM
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no
Old 05-13-2004 | 07:04 PM
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heh why would it be bad to sit for 3 days?

I had my RV parked for a year and a half without issue, it started up and ran just fine.... but I'm in FL, so no winter to freeze things.
Old 05-13-2004 | 07:07 PM
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Thumbs up

Well I am asking because since its a rotary but thanks anyway i guess its ok.

P.S. One reason to my questions like this is, its my 1st car that I had worked for a long hard time.
Old 05-13-2004 | 07:09 PM
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It better not be, I just went on vacation and left it for two weeks in my garage all locked up with the security system on. It cranked right up when I got back. Good little car .
Old 05-13-2004 | 08:28 PM
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Mine stays in the garage all week, every week. Since I have to drive my company car to work, I usually only get to drive my 8 on the weekends. Never had a single problem with it.
Old 05-13-2004 | 08:35 PM
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Mine sits for something like 3 days all the time since I bought it. The routine is basically that I drive it on Wednesday evenings and on weekends. Sometimes other times, sometimes not even Wednesday and rarely, not even all weekend. Haven't had the slightest hint of a problem.
Old 05-13-2004 | 08:39 PM
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If you leave the car unattended for prolonged periods of time (say several months) the battery might lose its charge and your gasoline might get stale.

Older rotaries have had problems with extended vacations in that the rotors would lock up or become "brittle" due to lack of oil in the housings. To remedy this, people would inject liberal amounts of transmission fluid into the rotor housings to keep them "fresh" until the next driving season.

Only time will tell if this problem is still present in the newer rotaries.

But a few days without starting the car should be ok.
Old 05-13-2004 | 09:09 PM
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Something to keep in mind is the cars on the lots...

My car was made in Dec 2003, I didn't buy it until April 13th 2004. The car had 7 miles on it. They clearly didn't drive it every day, not even close.

I'd bet you aren't going to see any problems unless you let it sit there with fuel in the engine for an extended period of time (more than just a few months)
Old 05-13-2004 | 11:12 PM
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I have left mine sitting for up to 7 days in a row no problem.
The comment about the cars on the lot makes sense.l
Old 05-14-2004 | 10:46 AM
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Keep in mind that there are things that you can do to store your car for a long time. Motorcycle guys should know all about this. "Winterizing" a car is a good thing if you're going to leave it idle for months. Days? Not a problem at all. I drive my Grand Prix to work every day, and sometimes I don't drive my 8 for a week or two. I've never had an issue. And as far as I can tell I should never have an issue. If you are going to leave it idle for months you should do a few things like disconnect the battery, change the oil, and some other simple things. Apparently (please don't flame me, I'm quoting someone else, so if I'm wrong be nice... ) oil that has been used can damage the engine if it sits still for too long. Something about the oil becoming acidic and eating the metal ever so slightly. But unused oil does not have this property, so if you change the oil before a long down time you're ok. I remember something about this in the "foaming oil" threads. Something about the foam being acidic. Anyways, I don't want to say too much without knowing for sure. Just know that a few days idle isn't going to hurt anything.
Old 05-14-2004 | 10:54 AM
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I had a bunch of motorcycles up in Kansas, and would only get to ride them once a year when I flew in from Singapore.

The only thing I can say about storing them over the year is that the engines would get jammed up from fuel sitting in them. There are fuel additives that supposedly let them sit in your car without losing their power, but I don't think that helps prevent the engine from being jammed up.
Old 05-14-2004 | 11:36 AM
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I drive a company car, too - so the RX8 is my weekend/Wednesday night car too - and, any other night I need a litte mental health adjustment.

Most "modern" cars with sufficiently new batteries, should be able to sit up to 2 weeks without any problem.

And to Racer RX8 - how can you miss a weekend driving your 8??
Are you doing something (gasp) more entertaining???
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