o and i would say a car with 80k highway miles is probably better off then one with 40k busy city miles for sure

 

Yes, short trips are bad for your car. How bad is debatable.

Your doing all your driving on cold oil, oil needs to be hot to provide the best protection.

 

yes but even long trips start on cold oil, like i said before if all your miles are short city trips then its not good

 

You're paranoid about hurting your engine with short trips. Please tell me you're joking.

 

I am paranoid too. I usually take my wife's civic for short trips. when we go out of state I always take S2k.... civic is too boring.

 

The commute isn't that harsh since my trip to work is very straight and I don't get stuck at a lot of lights. If I were driving if around NYC then it would be a lot more taxing as opposed to driving on LI.

 

just maintain the car and you will be fine

 

When I lived about 2 miles from Ft Monmouth I used to make the ~5 minute drive if I was tired or the weather was bad. Otherwise I'd walk. However, I think the frequent short trips are the primary reason my stock catalytic converter went bad. Fortunately, that was only a $250 DIY fix thanks to a Berk HFC.

 

Short trips don't allow your engine to get to full operating temperatures. As a result, you will gradually increase moisture in your oil and your exhaust system. Since there is carbon (soot)and a little sulfur in the gas, it forms a dilute acid that will cause corrosive wear. That's why exhaust systems on short trip cars don't last long.

The engine will get affected by that corrosive wear over time, but the damage is very gradual. In addition, more wear takes place when you start your car than when you drive it. That is why cars with mostly highway miles last much longer than short trip cars.

Years ago there was a thread on another forum where a guy did numerous Used Oil Analyses (UOAs)with different filters, and it showed how moisture content in the oil gradually creeped up. This moisture becomes slightly acidic due to the products of combustion, which causes corrosive wear. Long trips allow this moisture to evaporate. Without moisture, corrosive wear is minimized.

And idling your car for long periods isn't good either. The car doesn't get to full operating temperature and you end up getting fuel dilution in your oil. It's the long highway trips that do the most good.