is it bad to leave the car idling?

[Lifer]

for the car, not the environment.
warming up the car in the morning for 5 minutes.

 

[BillGates]

no

 

[Ynog]

I'm not a car expert, but if its very cold out, I would guess that it would be better to
warm the engine up before trying the car, espeically if you are hard on the engine.

But I could be wrong.

 

I usually try to warm up my car in the mornings for 1-2 minutes. At the very least, it gives me time to choose my music for the drive to school.

 

[PowerMacG5]

I was always told that idling isn't good for any engine.

 

[conjur]

I think anything beyond 30 secs is just a waste.

I read somewhere recently, on this subject, that oil doesn't circulate as well when just idling and it could potentially cause damage.

<shrug>

 

[gistech1978]

no, its probably better for it on cold mornings.
im no expert either
but i know of one kid on my tennis team in HS drove like a bat out of hell on a particularly cold morning from the getgo and threw a rod? in his engine.
ended up cracking the engine block, i believe.

 

Originally posted by: KraziKid
I was always told that idling isn't good for any engine.

But it's also not good to start 'er up and drive away in 20F weather in the morning after the car's been sitting all night.

I think of it (in my total car newbness) as giving the oil time to warm up and coat all parts of the engine.

 

[ajpa123]

Isn't that a neccesity for older cars, something about how the engine is built... can't do much about the environment in that case.

Newer cars don't need as much warming up as we do.

Either way, mother nature has her built in mechanisms for relaying her thoughts to us.. Think natural disasters.. You gotta know the mother is in charge of those.. You californians better be good.. or she's gonna knock you into the water.. lol

Is that Off Topic enuff for ya ? hehe

 

[Whisper]

For a car, I've heard that you could leave the thing idling all day and it wouldn't really matter. Dunno if I'd ever actually try that, but I wouldn't imagine that a few minutes in the morning is bad for your engine.

A motorcycle, on the other hand, is a different story. Leave the thing sitting for too long and it'll overheat. Then again, not too many people will start a bike and be able to resist riding it long enough to test this.

 

[gistech1978]

Originally posted by: conjur
I think anything beyond 30 secs is just a waste.

I read somewhere recently, on this subject, that oil doesn't circulate as well when just idling and it could potentially cause damage.

<shrug>

well what about sitting in the car and giving it gas
get the rpms up a little and keep it there for a while.
that why the car isnt idling?

 

[DougK62]

It does not hurt the engine to let it idle. The only exception is idling (sp?) when the engine is very cold. The reason being is that it's hard on an engine to be very cold, so you want to warm it up as quickly as possible while still being easy on it. The best way to do this is just drive it nicely until it warms up and NOT let it idle to warm up.

 

[DurocShark]

You overheat the cat when you're running it without moving.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: gistech1978

Originally posted by: conjur
I think anything beyond 30 secs is just a waste.

I read somewhere recently, on this subject, that oil doesn't circulate as well when just idling and it could potentially cause damage.

<shrug>

well what about sitting in the car and giving it gas
get the rpms up a little and keep it there for a while.
that why the car isnt idling?

When you first start it?

Sure, if you want to eventually throw a rod.

That's one of the reasons I moved out of my old apt. Guy across the parking lot would start his truck and FLOOR the throttle. Would wake me up every morning. I kept waiting for him to throw a rod.

My car, when I start it, automatically goes to about 1500rpm and then slowly goes down to normal idle over several seconds. That's when I put it in gear and take off.

 

[gistech1978]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: gistech1978

Originally posted by: conjur
I think anything beyond 30 secs is just a waste.

I read somewhere recently, on this subject, that oil doesn't circulate as well when just idling and it could potentially cause damage.

<shrug>

well what about sitting in the car and giving it gas
get the rpms up a little and keep it there for a while.
that why the car isnt idling?

When you first start it?

Sure, if you want to eventually throw a rod.

That's one of the reasons I moved out of my old apt. Guy across the parking lot would start his truck and FLOOR the throttle. Would wake me up every morning. I kept waiting for him to throw a rod.

My car, when I start it, automatically goes to about 1500rpm and then slowly goes down to normal idle over several seconds. That's when I put it in gear and take off.

well im not talking redlining it or anything
i mean just getting it up to around 2000 rpms slowly
my car idles at about 1000 rpms, it might not even be enough to matter.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: gistech1978


well im not talking redlining it or anything
i mean just getting it up to around 2000 rpms slowly
my car idles at about 1000 rpms, it might not even be enough to matter.

Just let it idle for about 30 secs and then take off and try not to get it above, say, 3000rpm for the first couple of minutes. At least that's what I do.

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: DurocShark
You overheat the cat when you're running it without moving.

Please tell me you're joking.

 

[Quixfire]

Originally posted by: BillGates
no

 

[iamwiz82]

I let my cars idle for about 5 minutes each in this cold weather. Usually I wait until the RPM settle down.

 

[Argo]

I warm up my car for 5-6 minutes. And even then it doesn't feel "smooth" until I've been driving for a couple of minutes.

 

[Confused]

If it's icy/snowy, and the windows need clearing, then I'll turn the engine on and let the heater heat up while I defrost the windows That also allows the carputer to boot and start playing music


Confused

 

[Syringer]

Best way to warm up the engine, as been said, is to drive it easy..

 

[Scarpozzi]

Cops always leave their cars running....even when they're just eating donuts or reading the paper. I guess aside from gas consumption, it doesn't hurt. I installed a remote car starter in my jeep recently for the very reason of warming it up(or cooling it down in the summer)so I won't have to brave the elements. It was a fun project.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: KraziKid
I was always told that idling isn't good for any engine.

idling in 100F temps with the ac blasting, maybe.

 

[CraigRT]

I let my car idle for 15 mins every morning to get it warm inside.. (then again I am in Canada where it's like -20C) and without it idling for at least 15 mins it would still be below 0 in the car!!