Dunno about anyone else, but in the dead of winter, it might be 10F when I go to leave work. Not often but it does occur. If the car isn't iced over I'm taking off once it starts. I'm not sitting in the parking lot in a freezing cold car any longer than I need to!
Do you warm up your car before taking off?
- Thread starter M104
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Maybe it would be best to scrape the ice and snow off first then start the car and GO?
Just think of all that wasted fuel idling while you are outside doing the scraping.
It might say it can be used at -15 but is it optimal? I was running 5w30 in the 90’s. Only old cars needed the thick stuff.
You posted this at a website where people change synthetic oil every 3000 miles while insisting people get their oil analyzed and find out it can go 8000 miles. Or people that replace their car battery every 3 years on a schedule. Talking about "waste" here can't carry much weight !Just think of all that wasted fuel idling while you are outside doing the scraping.
You posted this at a website where people change synthetic oil every 3000 miles while insisting people get their oil analyzed and find out it can go 8000 miles. Or people that replace their car battery every 3 years on a schedule. Talking about "waste" here can't carry much weight !
Thanks for reminding me. My battery is a little over three years old now.
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hmmm … got a 2017, hold on - let me count fingersI leave the Focus in reverse so I don't have to waste time shifting before I back into our turn around... When we have our rare actually cold day of -30C then I might give it a minute but it's usually got 5 or 0W20 in it so it might as well warm up as I'm going somewhere. The Outback I'm more careful with for the CVT, as it needs to drop the viscosity of the fluid a bit so the pulleys and chain grip up without straining things. The Outback actually will keep the rpms higher until things warm up if its much below freezing.
I have seen a couple tuned up 2 stroke atv's cold seize and scuff a piston when the piston heated up to fast and expanded before the cylinder, but our cars are no where near built to those tolerances.
I have seen a couple tuned up 2 stroke atv's cold seize and scuff a piston when the piston heated up to fast and expanded before the cylinder, but our cars are no where near built to those tolerances.
If the engine piston slaps when cold, I let it warm up until it can go over 2K rpm without making a racket. I've owned two vehicles like this that preferred warming up until the temp needle hit the lowest mark on the gauge. It also depends on where the car is parked. If at home, it means pulling out onto a highway close to my home and going up a big hill. Cold piston slappers hate that. If the road where it is parked is flat and not high speed, then being light on the throttle for 1/4 mile is enough to get the piston slap out of there.
Well it seems like i'm doing the right thing but not as critical as i thought it was. Waiting until it comes off high idle or 10/15 sec when weather's not too cold then driving with a light right foot for a few km until it reaches 80c (no more than a few minutes with my gasser). The rare times i had to drive right after starting it in cold weather it was very jerky because i'm running E85. I also used to let my cars warm up longer because shift points were a lot higher when cold on the automatics i had and it made me cringe everytime.
I usually wait 30 seconds for my car to warm up, 1 minute for really cold days since the idle takes a little longer before dropping. I know for a fact I can hear more engine noise in the morning for a cold start on my pilot and after a few seconds it quites down.
edyvw
$50 site donor 2026
Sit in, tun on car, put seatbelt, seat warmer, steering wheel warmer, find right song on stereo, and hit the road, but never cross 2000-2,500rpms until oil temperature gets to at least 170-180f.
Both my GMC and Lucerne have remote start and sit outside so ya I let them run for a few minutes this time of year. The 5.7 in the GMC takes a while before it blows warm air, to many times I've taken off and had the windows fog over and cold air isn't going to remove it very fast so it can be dangerous. The Lucerne's remote start shuts off at the 10 minute mark unless I run the commands again before it ends then it adds another 10 minutes but very seldom that has to be done.
All my vehicles are garaged and we rarely see temps below 30F. After "cold" nights I will idle the engine up to 1 minute before driving off gently. During the summer I only wait until the fast idle comes down (about 20 seconds) before driving off gently... and then the temp gauge reaches normal within 2 miles. If I lived in a place where temps in the teens F are common, I would idle for several minutes while chiseling ice off the glass.
edyvw
$50 site donor 2026
I always keep HVAC on cold first few miles.
On SIenna I have block heater as engine in Toyota is absolutely abysmal when it come sto warm up. It is our last choice to drive in winter.
edyvw
$50 site donor 2026
Scandal? It is dumb from every aspect!Imagine the scandal of automakers that have remote start options of up to 20 minutes (along with the ability to extend that) ?
My 305 Chevy in the Caprice was a bit laggy with the heat also, and no AC compressor so defrost was on the weak side. My 2005 Silverado is much better in that regard but I still give it at least a minute before I take off in sub freezing temps. It's got 203k miles and I want it to go another 200k.
People don't seem to be aware that some vehicles defrost isn't going to keep windows safely clear the first few minutes.
I'd love to see them come up here to the north and try to start up and drive away less than 30 seconds later when it's minus 20.
When I see people from Florida and similar climates respond - no offense - I have to roll my eyes at this notion of vehicles parked outside in sub-zero temperatures not being warmed up. Maybe this explains the drivers I see with a peephole through the snow on their windshield driving down the roads or those vehicles with frosted windows, on the inside, driving.
I turn the key, buckle up and go regardless of temperature. If it is extremely cold, l am gentle on the accelerator until the cold temperature light disappears. The only time l don't take off immediately is if the windows have frost.
I used to warm up the carburetor equipped cars from the 70's until the choke closed. What a pain that was. The cars would often stall back then if driven too early after start-up. I'm often amazed at how far engine technology has progressed.
I used to warm up the carburetor equipped cars from the 70's until the choke closed. What a pain that was. The cars would often stall back then if driven too early after start-up. I'm often amazed at how far engine technology has progressed.
Up until this year I spent the last 21 years (I'm 37 started driving at 16) driving a carbureted car all winter. The last one was an 83 Caprice for over 10 years. I can tell you from experience when the choke is adjusted properly they can drive away seconds after starting without stalling.
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