How's your car behave in the cold?
- Thread starter Brogy
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Mine's headlights tend stay on.
Oh, you mean my CAR...
Oh, you mean my CAR...
Brogy, did you use the GL-4 manual trans specific Amsoil gear lube in your Corolla? That is one I have not tried and am thinking about giving it a test. Do you know what was in your transaxle before the Amsoil?
I know this isn't proof of anything, but I really like how my Mustang (4.6l) responds with 5W-20 in the cold. It's been below 10F every morning here for the last few weeks. My car is garaged, but I also have it outside in very cold temps almost every day. The car jumps to life, and the oil pressure needle springs up like a good little soldier every time I crank it. There is no moaning and groaning in the cold, and the engine warms up quickly, more quickly than my other vehicles without 5W-20 (although I realize that data point alone doesn't really prove anything)... I really like 5W-20 for this reason.
I've noticed on my Accord it starts a lot better when it is cold if I turn the key to on and wait for the fuel gage to register (about 5-10 seconds). I believe this allows time for the fuel pump to fully pressurize the fuel lines thus allowing better fuel delivery and fuel atomization resulting in better cold starting.
My car behaves fine in the cold, as cold as it gets here along the Gulf Coast. Night and morning temps are routinely in the 40s, with occasional dips into the 30s, and occasional warmer spells. In any event, I just punch the POWER button, and the system turns on. Just under ten seconds later, the gas engine comes on, and will run until things warm up. Gas engine running is just like it is with any other car. A little more noise on acceleration reflecting most likely that the oil has not yet reached operating temp and thinned down to normal hot vis.
The one dramatic area of cold impact is gas mileage. Cold temps impose a greater hit on a hybrid than they do a conventional car, because the ECU runs the gas engine more frequently to keep temps up. In hot weather, on my normal 10 mile big city (New Orleans) commute, I can get over 50 mpg if I play it carefully (high 40s if I just drive and don’t worry about it). This winter, I’ve only been able to keep it around 42 mpg for the same commute.
Until I did this yesterday:
At the outset (in my own defense), I have not yet done the cosmetic work, and the flash makes the color contrast look worse than it really is. That’s black, half-inch, AC pipe insulation, cut in half length-wise, and folded over on itself. It tucks neatly and snugly into the cooling openings.
Preliminary result: cold problem solved, I got 49 mpg on the way to work this morning, per the computer, outside temps in the high 40s. We’ll see how it goes longer-term.
For those who are alarmed, this is already an overcooled car. A bunch of members at Priuschat have the “CAN View” system, which reads ECU data onto the dashboard MFD, and below 70 def F ambient, no one has seen any sign of overheating, even with all cooling slits blocked. But yes, I will be watching it carefully.
The one dramatic area of cold impact is gas mileage. Cold temps impose a greater hit on a hybrid than they do a conventional car, because the ECU runs the gas engine more frequently to keep temps up. In hot weather, on my normal 10 mile big city (New Orleans) commute, I can get over 50 mpg if I play it carefully (high 40s if I just drive and don’t worry about it). This winter, I’ve only been able to keep it around 42 mpg for the same commute.
Until I did this yesterday:
At the outset (in my own defense), I have not yet done the cosmetic work, and the flash makes the color contrast look worse than it really is. That’s black, half-inch, AC pipe insulation, cut in half length-wise, and folded over on itself. It tucks neatly and snugly into the cooling openings.
Preliminary result: cold problem solved, I got 49 mpg on the way to work this morning, per the computer, outside temps in the high 40s. We’ll see how it goes longer-term.
For those who are alarmed, this is already an overcooled car. A bunch of members at Priuschat have the “CAN View” system, which reads ECU data onto the dashboard MFD, and below 70 def F ambient, no one has seen any sign of overheating, even with all cooling slits blocked. But yes, I will be watching it carefully.
My 89 accord hates starting when the temp is 10 or below. I took the choke plate off due to it running overly rich on startup, and causing fuel dilution. Now, I have to pump the gas several times and pump it whilst cranking till it fires and the high idle takes hold. Then the issue is shifting into gear with it running at high idle of 2500 rpm (this is the factory spec) when shifting into a forward gear, it isn't too bad, but shifting into reverse feels horrible (btw, auto transmission). Runs great after that.
To the OP on the Corolla. That buzzing is probably the washer bottle, if the mounting tab has broken, it vibrates against the mounting pin at fast idle speeds. It gets better once the vehicle warms up because the engine is idling at say 700 instead of 1500+ RPMs.
Another common issue is a cracked exhaust manifold. It would be noisy when cold, and as the manifold warmed up, the crack sealed. I replaced mine at 160K miles, and 30K after that had the flex joint in the exhaust system replaced. The remainder of the factory exhaust is still on the car at almost 202K as of today.
There are other minor rattles inside when is cold that I never get when it is warm, so that's pretty minor.
The car runs great, and doesn't hesitate, even with the 202K miles on it. It consumes a quart of oil every 2500 to 3000 miles.
So you might check out the washer bottle to see if that is the source of your cold start rattle. It was mine.
Another common issue is a cracked exhaust manifold. It would be noisy when cold, and as the manifold warmed up, the crack sealed. I replaced mine at 160K miles, and 30K after that had the flex joint in the exhaust system replaced. The remainder of the factory exhaust is still on the car at almost 202K as of today.
There are other minor rattles inside when is cold that I never get when it is warm, so that's pretty minor.
The car runs great, and doesn't hesitate, even with the 202K miles on it. It consumes a quart of oil every 2500 to 3000 miles.
So you might check out the washer bottle to see if that is the source of your cold start rattle. It was mine.
i hear a whirring noise from the left front of of the truck no matter how gently I try to creep. Once its warm its as right as rain. I think its my power steering...
Yes, I used the GL4 stuff, since i heard the GL5 was bad for the syncros. Previously I used mobil 1 GL5, and since switching it's like night and day. I used to think there was a problem with my syncros, because the gears grinded so often, but now they feel like brand new, I can even slip it into first gear going 40mph with no drama.
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