How important is it to first warm up the car? winter

Has it really been proven that not warming up the car in the winter, will damage your engine in the long run? And if it is in fact required, how long should you let it idle before driving off? Any links on this topic?

Reply to
lbbs
Loading thread data ...

The viscosity of cold oil prevents to lubricate your engine properly. So, worm it up before giving a working load.

Ideally, you shold idle it until the temp gauge reach the "Norm". Otherwise you can listen for the sound of working engine. If you're sure you hear that oil started to run about (engine calms down), it's time to go.

Reply to
Michael

I'd say give it 2-3 minutes, so that the oil gets a chance to circulate and any knocks and slaps quiet down. My LT1 is noisy as hell because the pistons shrink, so I wait until the noise disappears and then go. I keep the engine below 2000rpm until the temp gauge reaches normal, just to be on the safe side.

Reply to
Matt Keefer

Michael,Michael, Michael where did you get this idea !!! What you are suggesting is terribly wrong.

An engine warm up a lot quicker under a light load. You burn fuel more efficiently, and the lubrification of the engine is more effective.

If you can afford it and if you live in a very cold area I suggest you to use Synth. oil or a good dino 5w30.

Let the engine running for about a minute and drive with an egg under the accelerator for the first few miles, THAT is the best thing to do for cold start.

Reply to
Richard Garneau

You should follow your owners manual first.

But this is what I got for instructions for my smaller engine car. Viscosities have dropped over the last few decades(i use 5w30), and because of this, oil flows easier compared to the days when you had to warm up your car. Also, since high fuel economy cars burn so little gas when idling, they don't warm up fast(I tested this, 15mins on a cold day, and still not in the normal range), and are designed that way. So, I read on cold days start car let car sit for one minute, and then drive away, without driving at high speeds till car has a few more minutes to warm up.

hth,

tom

***************** Our Sites *****************
formatting link
formatting link
formatting link
formatting link
formatting link
formatting link
- Adults Only!
formatting link
(coming soon)***************************************************
Reply to
junkmail01

I let mine sit for a few minutes before I start driving. Anyone ever feel their car lurch forward when cranking? Nice cold thick trans fluid sticking to transmission parts. The transmissions also jerky right off the bat. (thunk, oh i didnt wait for fluilds to finish flowing in my transmission) Its best to wait till those fluids to start flowing and fill in all the surfaces before their loaded. Cold starts are where most engine wear occurs.

Reply to
Bon·ne·ville

Reply to
Bon·ne·ville

Not true anymore now that the engines work in closed-loop. As a matter of fact, driving the car will warm it up more quickly because the ECU can use a leaner charge, which heats up the engine and the catalytic converter faster.

However, the recommendation to avoid WOT until the engine has reached normal a temperature still applies.

Reply to
Neo

Personally, I think warming up your car in winter is a waste of time and gas. As long as you drive gently for the first couple of miles you'll be OK. If you happen to have a carbeurated car (unlikely) then you might need to warm it up.

Reply to
Childfree Scott

My car, 1997 Buick LeSabre, never gets cold in winter, even up here in the land of snow, Canada, since I plug in the block heater, and it purrs evenly after the coldest night. Mind you, it takes a while for the heater to do its stuff, but with cloth seats it's not that much of a problem, not as it was with my leather-seated '93 Olds Delta, yuck.

Alan

Reply to
Alan Illeman

"lbbs" wrote

What you should do is get in your vehicle, start the engine, and if it's cold out, get out and scrape the windows. Jump back in the car and go. There is no need to sit and idle the car for any amount of time. Jump in it and go. That's what is best for the vehicle.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_Kai

Depends on what your definition of "cold" is, and what kind of oil you use.

Cold starting an engine that has synthetic oil at 0F isn't good for it. Cold starting an engine with non-synthetic oil at 0F is just plain stupid. At any temperature colder than that, at the least the engine needs to be heated. Ideally, the engine block, the battery, the oil pan, the transmission, and the interior

*all* have heaters at temperatures lower than 0F.

Even a heated engine with non-synthetic oil shouldn't be started at -20F or colder if the oil pan doesn't have a heater. At that temperature the oil has consistency of grape jelly, and lubricates just as well too.

Of course, if the bearing grease and the differential lube aren't the right kind, it makes no difference if you can get the engine to start at -50F or not, because the vehicle won't move anyway.

-- Floyd L. Davidson Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) snipped-for-privacy@barrow.com

Reply to
Floyd Davidson

I agree. I get in the car, let it idle for about one minute and slowly take off driving. I DO have a carbureted car too. People that let their cars idle for long periods are actually doing more harm, at least with a carburetor type engine. They start the car and go in the house and le it idle for 15 minutes or more. Well, because no one is stepping on the gas, the engine is isling with the choke closed most of the way. So, until someone steps on the gas to open the choke, the engine is sucking in huge amounts of gas, and that gas is washing all the oil off the cylinder walls and pistons. Worse yet, that gas is getting into the crankcase, diluting the oil, and doing more damage.

Get in the car, start the engine, let it rev for a minute, accellerate a few times, and start driving. If it's severely cold, you might take another minute, but no more. Also, when it's severely cold, I shift into neutral for a part of a minute. That gets the auto-trans fluid moving.

Reply to
me

"Floyd Davidson" wrote

Really, I guess I must have been doing things wrong up here in the frozen north for the past 27 years. We just had a nice little cold snap, down to -36C overnight. The old k-car started up quite nicely...didn't even have to plug her in. No synthetic either. Oh sure...things howl and whine a bit as you drive off, but I've never experienced any engine failures on any of the cars that I've owned since living here in Canada.

Wow....all of Canada is doing it wrong. I don't see very many vehicles with oil pan heaters...if any at all. Block heaters work fine...if you really need them.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_Kai

Nope. Start it and drive...just don't dog it for the 1st few miles. Been doing that for over 30 years and haven't had any engine problems yet.

Reply to
James C. Reeves

In Washington, D.C. you can get a $50 fine for leaving your car idling unattended. If the engine is running someone MUST be in the driver's seat. They're starting a crack-down campaign this week on that, as a matter of fact.

Reply to
James C. Reeves

Ever live where it gets cold?

So you are telling us you started your car at -36C (-33F)...

cold, and with dino oil in it? (Mind if I call you an idiot?)

Did it occur to you just what it is doing to make it whine as you drive off? That's the sound of metal being shaved off of cylinders, bearings, etc... because there is no oil.

And at -36C your dino oil isn't going to be slick or even liquid for 10-15 minutes. Try that at -50C... I don't think the car would last one winter.

You aren't going to get any 200,000 miles on 'em either.

When you sell them, do you tell the sucker^H^H^H^H^H^H buyer how you've mistreated the vehicle?

If you don't know better than to start cars cold at -36C, you are not well enough informed or capable of representing, or even describing, what "all of Canada is doing".

The next time you have a cold snap, go buy a quart each of synthetic and non-synthetic oil; let them sit outside for 3-4 hours to get them cold and then open up and try pouring the oil out of the container while it's cold. Come back and tell us how long it took to get the dino oil out!

-- Floyd L. Davidson Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) snipped-for-privacy@barrow.com

Reply to
Floyd Davidson

Who's in the driver's seat of the police car while the officer is writing up a $50 ticket?

-- Floyd L. Davidson Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) snipped-for-privacy@barrow.com

Reply to
Floyd Davidson

You live where it doesn't often get cold either...

Do that every day for 3 or 4 months and your car won't last long. Just cold starting once in awhile might only be the difference between an engine that runs for 200,000 miles instead of 250,000 miles. If you only drive 20k miles a year and trade it in every 3-4 years on a new one, *you* don't have any engine problems, but the sucker that buys it does.

Just because it doesn't fall apart the third time you do it doesn't mean you aren't causing excessive wear.

-- Floyd L. Davidson Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) snipped-for-privacy@barrow.com

Reply to
Floyd Davidson

How many miles of road are there in Barrow? Bob

Reply to
Bob

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.