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Can someone define "cold" for me please? When we lived in Wi the definition was different than it seems to be here in TX so I am a little confused by all this debate over idling an engine when it is "cold".
Article says idling your car before you drive is a waste of energy
I always (year 'round) let my vehicle settle down from high idle to normal idle rpm (about 15 seconds or so) after starting before I put it in gear and drive. I like to let the lubricant get distributed before putting the engine under load.
Always makes me wonder about folks who start up their car and immediately begin racing the engine.
my 2000 grand am is 15 years old with 165K miles and has been started in temperatures as low as -30F for many years... usually it has to get below -15F before I will think about warming it up much more than 60 seconds before driving off. The power steering fluid does cavitate more than a typical vehicle when it gets below about -5F but it never harms anything.
I use 0W30 Mobil 1 oil.
People who think "cold" is anything above zero, much less 15-20 degrees above zero.. now I find that funny! Let it idle for 30 seconds and drive off, unless you just want to be warm when you get in the car, then get an auto starter.
Can someone define "cold" for me please? When we lived in Wi the definition was different than it seems to be here in TX so I am a little confused by all this debate over idling an engine when it is "cold".
Quote:
Originally Posted by stockwiz
People who think "cold" is anything above zero, much less 15-20 degrees above zero.. now I find that funny
Cold is a term relative to where you are, nothing funny about it. In Florida cold could be 50 degrees, here in NH I call cold mid 30's or below.
I don't know what kind of car you drive but I've never had one that blew anything close to room temp air on a cold morning after running for only 30 seconds.
My current vehicle is an SUV with a 6.0L V8. That huge block blows room temp in 30 seconds. My previous daily driver was a sedan with a 2.5L I4 and it did the same.
My current vehicle is an SUV with a 6.0L V8. That huge block blows room temp in 30 seconds. My previous daily driver was a sedan with a 2.5L I4 and it did the same.
The big engine should take significantly longer than the small I4 to blow warm air...
30 seconds IS pretty darn fast.
You're aware that your engine coolant/antifreeze has to get hot for your vehicle to blow hot air, right? Coolant doesn't get that hot within 30 seconds... Unless you rev up the engine like crazy.
The big engine should take significantly longer than the small I4 to blow warm air...
30 seconds IS pretty darn fast.
You're aware that your engine coolant/antifreeze has to get hot for your vehicle to blow hot air, right? Coolant doesn't get that hot within 30 seconds... Unless you rev up the engine like crazy.
No, 68 degrees F to 77 degrees F (don't know why "C" is being used) is not exactly hot.
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Article says idling your car before you drive is a waste of energy
Let it idle for 30 seconds and drive off, unless you just want to be warm when you get in the car, then get an auto starter.
