cold weather and your car...

[rh71]

Fuel injected vehicles are easier. Put the key in, leave the throttle alone, start the engine, wait 30 seconds, drive away. Allowing your fuel injected car to cold idle for 3-5 minutes is a terrible thing to do. Your vehicle will love you far more if you drive it with light throttle under a light load until the heater blows warm air. Then you can drive it normally.

Now... why is idling 3-5 minutes "terrible" ?

Picture remote starters... you start the car and leave it for a few mins for the cabin to get warm. Why "terrible" for your car parts ?

 

[jagec]

it's not "terrible", just completely unnecessary.

 

[leftyman]

i always though you let the car idle to build oil pressure and get the oil circulating throughout the block.

 

[captains]

remote start 15 min later go out to hot ass car....... man i love those things


also if i'm gonna run in a store real quick i remote start with the car on and leave with keys and lock doors and go into store.....usually do this in the summer with the a/c on

 

[meltdown75]

aw crap so now it's bad for me to warm up my car?!

man ppl don't realize how FREEZING FRICKING COLD it gets here.

screw the life of my POS car. i like to drive to work in a car, not a freaking icebox.

 

[nakedfrog]

Heh... my old Mercury used to take at least 15 minutes to warm up. My drive to work was 10-15 minutes.

 

[dethman]

it's not terrible, it's just better to drive it. not that it really matters much.

 

[Lasthitlarry]

I know that my manual says that the engine knows its cold so will heat itself during driving.

 

[Savij]

the catalytic converter doesn't function at its peak until it reaches between 400°C and 800°C. The best way to warm the engine and all other components is to drive your vehicle.

 

[Zenmervolt]

It's not at all bad for the vehicle to idle. Just that it warms up faster by driving it, and the faster it warms up, the better emissions and efficiency are. You will not detract from the life of your car by idling it to get it warmed up.

ZV

 

[Captante]

Letting the car run for 5-10 minutes is no big deal, but it will go out of tune a little quicker & also starting it with the fan/compressor running every time with like with a remote starter puts a lot of stress on the electrical system.

 

[bonkers325]

warming for 3-5 minutes is unnecessary. 30 seconds and drive-off (take it easy though) to warm up your car so that the catalytic converter can operate efficiently. warmer engine = warmer air for combustion = better combustion! you get less efficiency with colder air, etc.

 

[zixxer]

my sportbike manual says to warm until engine temp is 140F.. this takes at least 3-5 minutes.. at least.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Captante
Letting the car run for 5-10 minutes is no big deal, but it will go out of tune a little quicker & also starting it with the fan/compressor running every time with like with a remote starter puts a lot of stress on the electrical system.

When the starting circuit is engaged in modern cars, all other electrical circuits are temporarily interrupted. Having the fan or A/C on while cranking makes no difference because those systems are temporarily dis-engaged while the starter is spinning.

ZV

 

[CraigRT]

while the warming up for the engine is unncessary, it's necessary when you are cold, and recently out of the shower... I don't do it for my car's sake, I do it for mine

 

[Heisenberg]

I put a block heater in my Jeep before it got cold. It warms up really fast now.

 

[axnff]

"Warming" your engine for several minutes can be quite bad. It takes longer than blowing warm air to put heat in your oil. Basically, you're running around with cold oil not protecting your motor for longer. Plus, it allows more acid (from imperfect combustion blow-by, IIRC) and water to build up in the oil, which takes longer to burn off - very bad if you're driving short distances.

Of course, if you're not going for 150k+ trouble-free miles, then it doesn't really matter.

And AC is not an electrical circuit, it's a mechanical one (attached by belt to the crank). I believe that most newer models have electromagnetic or vacuum clutches, but many older models had mechanical clutches that would stay engaged after the engine had shut down, so for some models, AC + cold start = tired starter....

 

[Soccerman06]

As far as I know, Diesel engines require you to warm them up somewhat before you start driving them, atleast in older climates. Like up in Duluth, its kinda necessary to let cars warm up because it can be -30 F--I need to get to school w/o freezing (fvck walking 2 miles through the city).

 

It's better to drive and warm up all your components at the same tme.
The car also warms up 10x quicker when you drive it.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Originally posted by: CraigRT
while the warming up for the engine is unncessary, it's necessary when you are cold, and recently out of the shower... I don't do it for my car's sake, I do it for mine

I know what you mean, this morning is was like 42F outside. I thought about calling in sick to work.

This is when living in a dang near tropical climate is great. I hate the cold.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

How cold are we talking?

20 degrees and up... doesn't matter. Hop in and go. The heater will be going inside of 5 minutes.

0-20 degrees... better let it warm up. LOTS of things in your engine need time to thaw out before you hit the road. 10-15 minutes should be fine.

-10 - 0... 15 minutes minimum.

-20 - -10... have it plugged in. A block heater is usually enough for these temps... Then let it warm up for 15 minutes or so.

-30... Better be plugged in. 20 minutes of warm up. You might have heat eventually depending on your car

-40... See -30

-50... Make sure you have a full tank of gas and leave it running. Block heaters are useless at this temp without using an oil pan heater as well. Your tires will lump along as the flat spot where the tire was sitting on the pavement will stay flat for quite a while down the road.

-60... Motor oil turns into caramel. Your block heater and oil pan heater only slows down the freezing process. Good luck.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: axnff
"Warming" your engine for several minutes can be quite bad. It takes longer than blowing warm air to put heat in your oil. Basically, you're running around with cold oil not protecting your motor for longer. Plus, it allows more acid (from imperfect combustion blow-by, IIRC) and water to build up in the oil, which takes longer to burn off - very bad if you're driving short distances.

Of course, if you're not going for 150k+ trouble-free miles, then it doesn't really matter.

And AC is not an electrical circuit, it's a mechanical one (attached by belt to the crank). I believe that most newer models have electromagnetic or vacuum clutches, but many older models had mechanical clutches that would stay engaged after the engine had shut down, so for some models, AC + cold start = tired starter....

I'm not talking about 1970's dinosaurs, I'm talking about modern vehicles. I don't know a single multiport EFI vehicle that does not use an electromagnetic clutch for the A/C compressor. If the vehicle is modern enough to have the electrical cut-out when the starter circuit is energized, it's going to have an electromagnetic clutch on the A/C compressor that will be disengaged during start-up.

Regarding it being harmful to the engine, BS, pure and simple. My old Accord rusted in half at 220,000 miles (15 Ohio winters) and was idled outside the house until warm almost every single winter day. The engine never had a single issue related to oil (water pump and alternator were the only replacements) and it burnt less than half a pint of oil every 3,000 miles when we finally got rid of it.

ZV

 

[meltdown75]

well, i jumped in my cold car and fired it up this morning and drove away 30 seconds later. i guess the warming up days are over for now, we'll see how old Betsy likes it.

 

[Biggerhammer]

Originally posted by: bonkers325
warming for 3-5 minutes is unnecessary. 30 seconds and drive-off (take it easy though) to warm up your car so that the catalytic converter can operate efficiently. warmer engine = warmer air for combustion = better combustion! you get less efficiency with colder air, etc.

Most of the winter, I can't see through the windshield unless the car's been running ten minutes or more.

 

[desy]

If its colder than -20 C or 0 F its better to let it warm a few minutes if its outside as the engine isn't the only component that needs warming tranny fluid is like glue when you get down to -40.
Above that temp and yes 30 sec to a minute is all you need, I don't know if its 'bad' it isn't the best and probably the biggest thing is your burning gasoline for no reason.

If your car is taking a long time to warm up get some cardboard in front of the rad with a 5" dia hole in the center. My Honda dealer told me when I bought my new Civic 'the manual says not to do it , I'm telling you to get some cardboard in front'