Random/high subjective question but i'm wondering if i'm not going insane or it's just placebo effect.

I purchased my car with 46k on it 2 months ago. Prior to me purchasing it the car didn't get driven a lot. I've put 3500 miles on it in the past 2 months and drive it nearly everyday. To me it seems like the ride has gotten softer (but I can't say i've checked the tire pressures lately), the throttle response has gotten better, and some of the odd noises/rattles seem to have subsided.

Just in my mind? Or is there any truth that these cars like being run more consistently? My father always said machinery is meant to be used... it just seems like the car is quieter, more responsive, and more supple than the day I bought it.

Anyone else have similar stories or am I smoking crack?

*and yes - apparently i can't spell cars... or edit thread titles...*

 

Depends on the car. If a car wasn't driven much, the rubber bushings could have become hard and brittle, with less give in them, same goes for suspension that has been frozen in one position. Tires may have also gotten flat spots from sitting, and you've worn down the tread a bit and now notice a smoother ride. Fuel injectors could have been partially clogged, and a couple months of hard driving could have helped clean them out with increased line pressure under boost.

So no, it's not impossible.

 

I can't say for a fact that the car gets better...but I certainly do!

 

I believe the stock ECU "learns" your driving habits and re-maps itself based on the way you drive.

I also think that the more you drive a car the more dialed in you become in detecting the nuances of the car, which can translate over time to the opinion that the car "drives better"; the initial "bud" of a car blooms into it's full potential as the driver becomes more in tune.

And of course there is likely some placebo affect going on too, just like the concept that "a clean car drives better".

 

It could also be that the gas you are using is better than what was in it when you first got the car.

 

Weather could be a factor too.

 

I actually have a similar experience. I don't drive my car much (only gets driven for 7,000 km in my 3 years of ownership) but I managed to go to a rural area last year and drove about 300km each way. Towards the end of the 300km drive, the car was much smoother and shifting was far easier than when I usually drive it in town. And yes, the car was more responsive, quieter, and somehow more comfortable as the trip comes towards an end.

 

My car runs much better when I wash, wax and detail it;-)

 

I thought I was the only one that realized that.

Add an oil and filter change and it gets better.

 

Unlike most of the women I've been with, the 996TT gets better the more you drive it.

 

haha thats a given -


daedalus; Anyone notice their cas get better the more they drive?


- you should try a day at the track, mine never runs better