Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The original question being asked was how to get a vehicle from cold start to operating temperature with the least amount of wear. The theory presented was that a cold engine suffers more wear than a warm one so you want to get it warm as quickly as possible; the idea is driving gently at 1200-1800 RPM is supposed to provide the optimal trade-off between wear and time to operating temperature. They claim idling does very little to warm an engine and so damages it. Not my theory but I'm clarifying for those that may not have read the original articles.
Fact of the matter is there is NO way to trace engine failure 10 years down the road to cold start driving when new. This is like someone say would my engine fail if I use 10w-30 instead of 30w? No one knows for sure.
I've never warmed up car. In fact I clean off the windshield before I get in and start the the car to save myself smelling like exhaust. I was working up in Northern Wisconsin one winter and it was around 10-20 below every morning for about a month. If my 2001 Impala turned over I pulled out right on the road and drove off. I managed to get 240,000 miles out of that car and I still own it.
When I lived in th mountains I had a 1958 chevy truck, and being old It used 40 weight oil which in cold weather made it hard to start, however after it was well warmed up normal operating temperatures lent to the usual characters of its weaknesses.
During the winter months, I used a section of boat shrink wrap tarp and covered the hood and cab all the way to the ground. I also put a 100-watt rough service light in a clamp lamp inside the engine area and pugged in at night. this worked far better than the dipstick heater,, and at a glance, I knew it was working.
In the morning all I had to do is lift the plastic from the door lock and open the dry lock and open the door freeing the plastic. Then I started the truck and slid over an unlocked the passinger door to free the plastic on that side. Then I stepped outside and slid the plastic off with all the snow that had accumulated during the night and I had frost-free windows. I shook off the plastic and folded it up and stowed it behind the driver seat got in and drove to work. when I got to work I recovered the cab locking the plastic in the door jambs again and did not need to worry about snoopy skiers looking for something to steal.
When it came to leaving from work I was driving my clean cab and clear windows, while every one else was still scrapping of their windshields or still trying to get their key in the door.
Though I have shared this for many years, almost no one is got it together enough to do it as well.
Jason explains it with more details. The point is with any fuel injection car it is pointless to warm the car longer than 1 min.
More knowledge, more cogently explained, less opinion, less eccentricity and less drama than Scotty Kilmer. Far prefer EngineeringExplained, even if in this case, the final conclusion is similar.
Never heard of him, but agree with him. I get in, start the truck up, extend the mirrors, fasten the seat belt and back out. If below zero, I open the garage door, start it up, put on my coat then do the start up, mirrors and belt and back out. I do tend to hold off flooring the truck for a half mile if possible.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
