Jalopnik on warming up cars

[AZjeff]

Saw the link on MSN page and took a look. Seemed reasonable until this: "Even on a brand new car, you’d still likely want to wait 30 seconds or so for that cold, molasses-thick oil to work itself up from the oil pan, but, generally, it’s true you can start up and drive off, and that the car will warm up quicker when driving." Considering most brand new cars spec 0W or 5W oil just how cold does he think it is? https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/ownershi...Q6Hf?li=BBnbfcL

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Hyperbole, nothing more.

 

[Nick1994]

Yeah I saw that article too, I just rolled my eyes. I let my car idle for about 10-15 seconds to let the idle drop, but just for the warm fuzzy feeling, not because I think if I just drove off the molasses in my engine is going to hurt it.

 

[dishdude]

Jalopnik is mostly an entertainment site.

 

[BobsArmory]

The bad thing about driving off in a stone cold car? Sometimes the windshield can fog up very quickly and then freeze in very short order bringing visibility down to zero in just a few seconds.

 

[Silk]

By the time I've got my seat belt on, drivers window down, sunglasses on and checked my mirrors, 30 seconds is up and I'm down the drive.

 

[Garak]

It's not totally out to lunch, in that there are some OEMs that say that. Nissan/Infiniti, at least in recent years, still said to let a vehicle idle for 30 seconds before pulling away. Of course, it's probably something they've printed in their manuals forever and never thought much about in the interim.

 

[Shannow]

Cold, Mollasses thick oil...he's been listening to four or five BITOG members who like to use that for shock value when pushing "thin oil, flow, instant protection"...

 

[andrewp1998]

yah I read that tonight. what a joke.!!! I let it idle for 2 mins or so in very cold weather , maybe 30 sec in warm waether then take is easy for 5 to 10 mins

 

[Ducked]

Sounds like good stuff for my summer fill. Probably can't get it here though, and anyway I don't know the Mandarin for "molasses-thick oil"

 

[JC1]

If you live where it's really cold, you'll hear the drivetrain struggle under load for a minute or two if you drive off right away on a cold morning. These days even with the block heater plugged in for 2 hours before I start it up, I let it run for 2-3 mins first. I do that since I tend to keep cars for 10+ years. If it was a rental or someone else's car then who cares lol.

 

[rshaw125]

It depends. Was the car parked outside? Did it snow? If they're talking about warming up a car then I assume they're talking about winter weather. I let it run while I clean the windows off.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: rshaw125

It depends. Was the car parked outside? Did it snow? If they're talking about warming up a car then I assume they're talking about winter weather. I let it run while I clean the windows off.

Have a read of the article. the thermometer with oils "gaining viscosity" at temperatures is priceless, plus some of the resons for your and the environment's safety. Statements without any backing.

 

[Sayjac]

Overall I think the article is decent with some common sense suggestions and conclusions. It is interesting 'for me' to read the comments on the article noting the associated display locations. 30 seconds warm up in freezing temps or well below doesn't seem excessive or out on line to me. Beyond that, not important enough for me to nitpick the entire article.

 

[eyeofthetiger]

I live on top if a hill, so in the morning I only idle long enough to put my seatbelt on and twiddle my thumbs three times. Then I start rolling. But when I'm leaving work, I have to pull straight onto a highway with a blind hill, so I let it idle for a full minute. I roll down my window to listen for traffic because I don't want to hammer it to 55 MPH as soon as I pull out. But sometimes traffic is too quiet. Loud pipes save cold engines. That's for my car For the old truck with TBI and molasses thick oil, it needs to idle almost as long as something with a carburetor.

 

[FermeLaPorte]

You gotta know your engine. Mine seems to work better with 30-40 senconds depending on weather. I usually wait for the needle to drop from 1.5k rpm to 1.3k RPM or 1k. I feel the car is smoother and so far has worked.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Sayjac

30 seconds warm up in freezing temps or well below doesn't seem excessive or out on line to me.

Originally Posted By: Jalopnik

I’m not talking about idling for an hour here, just five or ten minutes or so at the most. Get up a touch earlier, and make your commute safer and less miserable.

 

[Sayjac]

From article "Even on a brand new car, you’d still likely want to wait 30 seconds or so for that cold, molasses-thick oil to work itself up from the oil pan, but, generally, it’s true you can start up and drive off, and that the car will warm up quicker when driving. I agree that this is accurate, and I also think it’s still a bad idea, and you should let the car idle for at least a couple of minutes, maybe five or so." So in his opinion ~five minutes especially in freezing temps to well below, depending on how and where stored still doesn't seem out of line 'to me'. That said, clearly from your posts in this thread you have other issues with the article beyond the specific warm up time frame, that I couldn't care less about.

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: dishdude

Jalopnik is mostly an entertainment site.

Yep.

 

[thunderfog]

So is there a verdict on this?:

Quote:

Their other big argument against warming up a fuel injected car revolves around that the fuel mixture is more rich when cold, and gas is a solvent that washes away oil, which is true, but ignores the fact that when driving, you’re injecting even more gasoline into the cylinders as you accelerate.

Question -- isn't the argument more about efficiency of the combustion at idle when cold as opposed to it running rich? I was under the impression that driving under light load when cold is a bit more efficient in terms of the combustion of the gasoline, and therefore less impactful in terms of fuel contamination of the oil than letting it idle. Is this wrong?