Idle on a cold day

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I start my truck let it warm up a little and go . I also start my truck and just go , these freakin cars are just tools and some people are over thinking this motor car ownership business. It is a car that is all it will ever be . They build them everyday , all day long .
 
Originally Posted By: FastLane
-32C here this morning. I let Chevy 4.8 idle for 2 minutes then drove off. I just drive slow and gentle until the engine and transmission warm up.


Gotta give you the Brass Monkey Award for that one. That is unbelievably cold but I understand that is quite common in your neck of the woods. Here, near Toronto, we're lucky to have no more than a few -20+C days'. Anything over -15C I'm warming up my car for 5 to 15 minutes while I wait inside.
 
With the car in my unheated garage, of 20-30f, I start my car and let it idle for 20-30 seconds for an overnight cold start. When the car is outside and depending how much snow has accumulated on it, I may let it idle for 10-20 minutes when it's below 15f. I have remote start and wouldn't have a car without it in the winter time. Summer, I can afford to sweat a little and I don't use the remote start with A/C half as much. Nice thing about remote start is the key isn't in the ignition, and all the doors must be locked for the car to start. The law regarding a ticket for a car left unattended doesn't sound right. Although, many states require that the car be in sight at all times while running.
 
It was -4F this morning and I just got in and drove off in my 335i.

The freeway is about 5 blocks away and I tried to take it easy. Tried, anyway. It definitely took WAY longer to get heat at a constant 60 mph.

The most important thing is to remember that I'm a moron for buying a solcal car without heated seats/steering wheel.
 
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This topic has been discussed ad nauseum with the same responses every time.

Some people in cold climates who don't warm up and those that do. Some people in warm climates that don't and some that do. Nobody learns anything or changes.

And 90% of most climates, it doesn't matter whether they do or dont.
 
Originally Posted By: jayg
This topic has been discussed ad nauseum with the same responses every time.

Some people in cold climates who don't warm up and those that do. Some people in warm climates that don't and some that do. Nobody learns anything or changes.

And 90% of most climates, it doesn't matter whether they do or dont.


I just went through all 5 pages and you summed it up perfectly. Gained no new knowledge from this thread
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It is true that this has been discussed a trillion times, my personal experience is that my cars warm up way slower idling than driving, and that is why i never warm up, and when i'm in my hometown in Finland in winter i don't warm the engine up any longer than what it takes me to scrape the ice off the windows.
 
Driving it warms it up quicker, reducing the time that you engine is in the corrosive, and funny shaped areas, and reducing overall fuel consumption.

Letting it idle wastes fuel, delays warmup, but gives you a warm tush, ultimately "wasting money", which some on here are quite critical of...

Both are facts, but those who value their time, tools (cars are tools), and money/comfort differently make different choices.

Who's trying to change some-one else's behaviour in a thread that is asking "what do YOU do ?"
 
Originally Posted By: edyvw
90 or -45, I always wait to put belt, turn music on and that is it.
On other hand I do not go over 1700rpms first 7-8 miles.

You breathe into a rebreather apparatus for the first few minutes, too?
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I always wind up with a bit of frost inside the vehicle, so it gets to warm up some. Now, if I didn't have to breathe, I wouldn't care. Or, if the block heater were insane, it wouldn't be so much of an issue. The F-150 can manage keeping the windows clear at some pretty low temperatures immediately after starting if plugged in, but there are limitations.

supton: Yes, I'd sit in the car while it warmed up, if necessary. Or, if I could, I'd go somewhere more sensible for a few minutes. It's not just about my comfort, although sometimes it could be, nor is it me wanting the engine to be at operating temperature or something similar before I start driving. If I can't see because the windows frost up if I try to breathe, there's not a lot of point in driving yet.

Our vehicles are here to serve us, not the other way around. If someone wants his windshield to remain clear, or, alternatively, wants his vehicle as hot as a sauna before he drives off, or puts it into gear two seconds after he starts it, that's up to him. My main concern is ensuring the winshield clears and stays that way. It's not like the vehicles take an oppressive amount of time to warm up once driving.
 
My daughter met a guy while away at school, nice guy in fact after several years of graduation they are still together. Anytime they visit and if its below a predetermined temp he has to go outside and start their car every six hours. The first few times I asked where they were going, the reply was nowhere just starting the car and warming it up. I tried to convince him it was a complete waste to do what he was doing, but he had been instructed by his parents this exercise was necessary and they do it while they're home also.

I have a hard time believing people in the 21st century thinking an automobile will "remember" that its owner come out into the cold to start it every 6 hours.
 
When I wake in the morning I run out and start my truck. Let it warm up wile I get ready for work. By the time I am done with my morning routine its nice and toasty and any ice is gone off the windows.
 
Most of the time I just idle for 30 seconds and drive away slowly, but I have noticed a significant improvement in driveability if I let it idle for a few minutes when I run back into the house.

This is with a small, basic, FWD, manual transmission vehicle.

It seems like with many new cars (the drivers are so insulated from the driving experience) that it doesn't even matter.

Our Prius will feel the exact same at 0 degrees F as it does at 110F
 
Two of my rigs are carbureted so they need a minute to accelerate well, but with the '13 Cruze I always let it come off high idle (1,500 down to about 1,050) before moving, and over and above my constant rule of no 3,000+ RPM before warm if it's below 30 or so I take it as easy as possible until the temp gauge is at least halfway to hot. I know they test engines under cirsumstances more extreme than it's even possible for us to put them in, but the less stress on cold internals the better.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
supton: Yes, I'd sit in the car while it warmed up, if necessary. Or, if I could, I'd go somewhere more sensible for a few minutes. It's not just about my comfort, although sometimes it could be, nor is it me wanting the engine to be at operating temperature or something similar before I start driving. If I can't see because the windows frost up if I try to breathe, there's not a lot of point in driving yet.


Why not open a window? I used to do that on my Jetta, as it would take 10 miles of driving to get any sort of heat.

I agree with the rest of your thought; cars serve us. No skin off my back. I'm just not going to sit and idle at my workplace, after walking 100 yards out to my car, before driving 50-60 minutes home.
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Originally Posted By: Ihatetochangeoil
At this moment, it is 18 degrees outside and my car is warming up while I have a cup of coffee. I WANT to do whatever is necessary to maintain the car, but the car was designed, engineered and purchased for MY convenience, not the other way around.

I don't particularly care if I'm wasting 15 cents or whatever small amount of gasoline. I don't live in a cold house and don't like getting in a cold car.


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Same here!
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Had I known there would be so much interest in a video--I would have created a warm-up vid with my Z06--it had digital oil temp, digital oil pressure,& digital coolant temp gauges---we could have had lots of fun with that one. Anyway to sum up my experience over the years with the car: no matter the season (season only influenced how fast the coolant temp reached 150), the oil temp was consistently half of the coolant temp until the coolant temp reached 150 F. After 150 F, the oil temp started to catch up a little quicker until they were about the same temp after coolant was at 195 F for 20 minutes or so --thermostat was 192 degrees. Obviously, after 195, the oil temp exceeded the coolant temp by 10 degrees or so.
Steve
 
Originally Posted By: roadrunner1
My daughter met a guy while away at school, nice guy in fact after several years of graduation they are still together. Anytime they visit and if its below a predetermined temp he has to go outside and start their car every six hours. The first few times I asked where they were going, the reply was nowhere just starting the car and warming it up. I tried to convince him it was a complete waste to do what he was doing, but he had been instructed by his parents this exercise was necessary and they do it while they're home also.

I have a hard time believing people in the 21st century thinking an automobile will "remember" that its owner come out into the cold to start it every 6 hours.


Homeboy sounds like he has some really bad ocd.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: roadrunner1
My daughter met a guy while away at school, nice guy in fact after several years of graduation they are still together. Anytime they visit and if its below a predetermined temp he has to go outside and start their car every six hours. The first few times I asked where they were going, the reply was nowhere just starting the car and warming it up. I tried to convince him it was a complete waste to do what he was doing, but he had been instructed by his parents this exercise was necessary and they do it while they're home also.

I have a hard time believing people in the 21st century thinking an automobile will "remember" that its owner come out into the cold to start it every 6 hours.


Homeboy sounds like he has some really bad ocd.


Could be that his parents had a string of beaters that might actually not start (or would be very hard to start) if left unattended. Low compression carb motors, perhaps.

Old habits die hard for some folk.
 
*Raises hand* And no, vehicles don't have sentience and many people go to unnecessary lengths for what can only be proven as peace of mind, but to unduly mistreat my ride is to obligate myself to spending more of the money on said ride, hence forcing me to spend more of my life making money to support that mindset, which ultimately comes back around to the time I could have saved, because I saved money by switching to Gei... err, by adopting more thrifty habits.
 
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