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Does driving fast wear out the engine?

I love the thrill of driving fast. But when I was driving with my dad the other day, he said I’m going to burn my engine out in no time. Is he right? Will driving too fast wear out my car’s engine?

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Eric Schad · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Dads are full of wisdom, and in this case, your pop is right. Driving fast can wear out the engine, especially if you’re accelerating and braking with reckless abandon.
Although the engine catapults you forward, it’s full of smaller components that provide the zesty acceleration you crave. When you slam the gas or brakes, these components are pushed to higher stress levels. Over time, this can cause them to fail, which consequently can cause your engine to fail.
So the idea here isn’t so much that driving fast can wear out the engine. It’s that driving aggressively can kill your engine more quickly than
safe or defensive driving
can. For this reason, try to implement smooth acceleration and stay at a safe speed whenever possible. Keep in mind that a new engine can cost between $5,000 and $10,000. So if nothing else motivates you to take it easy, perhaps the financial reasoning will.
Driving fast will wear your engine out over time, and if you don’t have some cash for routine maintenance, you may find yourself in the market for a new car sooner rather than later. But if you need to save some money for repairs or maybe even that next ride, download the
Jerry
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