THE GOODS : Our Place in the Sun Helps Cars Run
The high cost of automobile insurance, stiff license taxes and long distance commutes have always made driving in Southern California seem like an expensive proposition.
But such grousing ignores one enormous blessing many motorists in the Golden State take for granted. The dry air, sunny skies and warm temperatures that make Southern California such a great place for people also make it a very benign environment for cars.
Almost every car expert agrees cars last longer and cost less to maintain in Southern California and other Southwest desert regions than almost anyplace else in the nation--particularly the Midwest and East.
Auto manufacturers, however, say they have never studied the issue of whether their cars last longer for Californians--perhaps out of worry that their customers in the frigid north may feel cheated.
Even without formal studies to prove the point, it is axiomatic that a mile of driving along the relatively smooth pavement of much of Los Angeles is easier on almost every part of a car--ranging from the sheet metal of the body to the rubber bushing in the suspension--than is driving over the potholes on the streets of New York and other Eastern cities.
“A thousand little things add up to a lot,” says Peter Levy, publisher of the Complete Car Cost Guide that rates cars on their maintenance costs. “It is harder on cars in cold weather. More systems are in use in cold weather.”
Roger Lundenberg, a technician instructor for General Motors in Los Angeles, adds, “Common sense just dictates that there has got to be a difference. At zero degrees, there is more strain on the components under the car.”
Studies show it takes up to 40 seconds for even the best 5W-30 weight oils to flow freely inside an engine at minus 20 degrees, says Valvoline Oil expert Norm Hudecki.
Transmissions also have oil that does not perform as well in cold.
Carlton Joyce, chairman of the laboratory firm United Testing Group and a top U.S. expert in motor oil analysis, estimates that the life of an engine operated in a cold climate is about 15% shorter than one operated in a warm climate. Joyce said that engines use a richer gasoline mixture to start up in cold temperatures, which washes oil off cylinder walls and accelerates wear.
Even though auto makers introduced galvanized steel panels in the mid-1980s to retard body rust, the salt used on streets in the East will still cause corrosion long before it strikes in California.
Suspension parts often perform quite poorly in the cold. Shock absorbers and struts contain damping oils that become quite stiff in the cold and ultimately cause seals to fail prematurely. Rubber bushings also are stiff in cold weather, leading to faster wear.
Just about the only things that take a beating in Southern California are interiors and paint, which are subject to fading from intense and constant sunshine, said Levy. So, your seats may be ripped, the dashboard cracked, the paint flaking, but the moving parts will keep purring.
