with the gas prices rising and rising, I've decided when I start my car when the engine is cold. I'm not going to warm up the engine 30 seconds like I have been doing. It's just wasting gas. Since it's 70 degrees and warmer now, I'm going to just start up my cars and drive. no WOT of course. anyone else changing their driving habits?
changing my "warm up" procedure on cold start up..
- Thread starter Cutehumor
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I usually wait until I hear the fan clutch disengage in my truck when cold - usually 10-15 seconds and then drive easy. My drive is about 5 miles each way to work and home, and usually takes me about 10 minutes if I hit greens all the way. Sometimes it takes me longer.. 15 min max.
I start and wait for the high idle to come down. Coast backwards out the driveway and then slowly head up the road.
That's what i do Coy. Then I drive a half mile in a circle around my subdivision at around 20 mph to get the oil circulating before I hit the main highway.
I wait a few seconds for the rpms to come down then I switch the ac on which lowers the rpms even more so when I put it in reverse to back out of the driveway it does not kick in gear hard and accelerate fast. Easier on the engine and clutch that way. Then once on the road I turn the ac off to save gas unless the ac is needed.
I have not tried the AC trick. I'll give that shot tomorrow morning!
I hate when it kind of clunks into gear because of the high idle.
I'm somewhat "lucky" in that I have to drive a couple miles through a 25mph zone to get to the highway. I let the car idle for about 30 seconds and then drive very easy through the neighborhood, not wasting much gas since my "warmup" is driving through the neighborhood. By the time I hit the highway, the water is up to temp. Wish I could say the same with the oil. I'm not going to let gas prices affect how I warm up the motor. If I didn't have the slow drive through the neighborhood, I would spend more time idling or even slight powerbraking in gear.
I hear ya. I am not going to skip the proper warmup of the vehicle because of a small amount of wasted fuel. Not worth the wear and tear of starting it up and acting like Lead Foot Larry 10 seconds later.
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
I hear ya. I am not going to skip the proper warmup of the vehicle because of a small amount of wasted fuel. Not worth the wear and tear of starting it up and acting like Lead Foot Larry 10 seconds later.
Is there really a "proper" warmup protocol??
I hear ya. I am not going to skip the proper warmup of the vehicle because of a small amount of wasted fuel. Not worth the wear and tear of starting it up and acting like Lead Foot Larry 10 seconds later.
Is there really a "proper" warmup protocol??
Originally Posted By: Bambam
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
I hear ya. I am not going to skip the proper warmup of the vehicle because of a small amount of wasted fuel. Not worth the wear and tear of starting it up and acting like Lead Foot Larry 10 seconds later.
Is there really a "proper" warmup protocol??
No. Warming up is bad for the car. The most important thing is don't drive it hard until oil gets up to temperature.
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
I hear ya. I am not going to skip the proper warmup of the vehicle because of a small amount of wasted fuel. Not worth the wear and tear of starting it up and acting like Lead Foot Larry 10 seconds later.
Is there really a "proper" warmup protocol??
No. Warming up is bad for the car. The most important thing is don't drive it hard until oil gets up to temperature.
30 seconds?
You gotta at least wait the obligatory 30-45 seconds to get that idle down a bit or you'll have that clunk when you go from P to D. I think the people that idle for 5,10,15 minutes are crazy for doing so. My father in law lets his F-150 sit there every morning for 20 minutes in the winter to warm it up. (its a 2008) CRAZY!
get em a block heater or heated seats
I think backing-in is better, esp in winter and esp with manuals that are hard to get into gear when cold. There, under extreme cold, I leave it in 2nd gear overnight and pull out to drive as far as possible w/o shifting. In an auto, I prefer not to go through the back-up shift into R.
Also, I made a rule for warming in winter...
1 second at idle for every degree below freezing F. So, +22f means 10 sec at idle, 0f means 32 seconds.
Also, I made a rule for warming in winter...
1 second at idle for every degree below freezing F. So, +22f means 10 sec at idle, 0f means 32 seconds.
When it gets real cold here, like close to freezing and I'm at work where as soon as I pull out of the parking lot I'm going to have to get on it nearly 1/2 throttle, I will sit for a couple minutes and powerbrake in gear at ~1,200rpm. It brings the engine and trans up to temp much faster than sitting at an idle.
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