Womens' Cars and the "Magic Heat Pedal"

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Had to go out to the pharmacy the other night at around 9:00. It was right around the time this strip mall was closing. When I got out of my car, there's a 20-25 year old woman who obviously was warming up her frosty car after an 8 hour shift.

The temperature was just below freezing, and I noticed her because she was sitting in her car reading a book rev'ing the engine at what had to be redline.

So I wait about 10 minutes for my prescription to be filled and I come back out. She's still revin'g the engine at redline. I watch this for about a minute, and consider going over and telling her how bad this is for her car....but she'd probably think I was some kind of freak approaching her in the parking lot late at night.

Anyhow, at this point she realizes the engine must be warm enough, and she let's her foot off the gas pedal, the car drops to normal idle, she checks her mirrors and carefully drives away.

This has got to be her standard practice....makes you really wonder about that used car ad.

"Used car for sale..nice condition..lady driven"

Right.
 
i wonder if a UOA on her oil would show any engine wear
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Back when we lived in town we had a neighbor lady that would do the same thing. She'd start the car around 6:00 AM on a sub-zero morning and sit there with the throttle wide open for a while before driving off. She didn't like to scrape the frost from her windows so she'd wait until there was enough heat to clear them before leaving.

That's one more thing I like about living in the country-I don't have to hear people torturing their cars like that.
 
I don't think it would stall if she put it in drive. The car appeared to be 1-2 years old max with efi. Probably a lease.

zombie - I'd ask her about the oil...you know, that stuff she adds within a week or so after the red oil light thingie starts to flicker.
 
This is why Honda used Americans to test their bikes. If it survives in the USA, it'll last forever:)
 
Yet another reason why women shouldn't be allowed to drive (or vote, but that's another rant entirely). . . .

-- Paul W.
 
Kestas, I understand why it would be illegal...but in the U.S. many cars are tuned to run to 2,000RPM immediately on start-up to facilitate cat light up.

Most other places they don't do that.
 
I try not to run over 2,000 rpms until my engine reaches operating temperature in winter. Maybe I'm a little paranoid but I figure warm oil flows better than cold oil.
 
Little off topic, I consider myself lucky that my wife respects my vehicle concerns and our SUV on vehicle care.

In my experience, dont lecture your wife on how to warm up a cold vehicle or drive cold, like a teenager she will probably rebell, I learned that one the hard way. Most people will not comply if they don't understand why a task is to be performed properly. Most people are not robots who just do what they are told if they dont understand why?

I Explain simple basic engine lubrication and importance of having an engine warm before a hard load, (details will lose them and disinterest quickly) simply explain how startup and cold operation is most crucial point of engine/drivetrain life. Then tell them about all the money saved in not having to buy another "new automotive baby" prematurely and savings in garage bills, that gets their attention real quick. I am proud of my wife in the way she operates our vehicles, women do have patience, what better place to excercise that patience than caring for a vehicle.

We live on acreage 250 yards off the #1 trans Canada Daul laned Highway with 70 mph traffic which we access at times in -40F from a cold start. This is why I consider myself fortunate in getting my wife to understand a few basics in the importance of engine warm up/gentle drive off. Imagine her hammering down on the throttle cold in -40F to get highway speeds immediately to work?
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many women and men do.

If she didn't understand.
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Cyprs
 
Cant find my post in this topic, this topic on forum home page list says my post is in here, not on my page. ,
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guess I will find out when I log on again later. See if this one shows up.

Cyprs

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Third try, both showed up this time, really sorry about this guys, not trying to be a pain.

Cyprs
 
I've seen a few people pump the gas on a fuel injected car AFTER it was running, apparently as part of their normal startup procedure. These were people with their first cars, so this must be a trait taught by parents I guess.
 
A guy I knew in highschool used to do that to his slant 6 Dodge Dart. One -40 day he tried it and bent most of the pushrods...lol!

I also see alot of seniors rev the heck out of their engines after startup. I figure it's because their half deaf and can't tell if the engine is running.
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I should have been more clear. It's not so much the revving that's illegal in Germany, but idling a car in a parking lot just to stay warm is a no-no.... probably because it's considered a waste of natural resources and pollutes the air.

In America one would say that they paid for the gas and can do what they want with it. This type of thinking just doesn't fly in Germany.
 
Kanling,
It probably stales if she puts it in drive on a cold engine. But why have your cold idle/choke look at when you can catch up on your reading
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quote:

In all fairness, I've seen men do this too. One more reason I no longer buy used cars.

Yes, it certainly isn't just women. A buddy of mine used to do this, and I tried to convince him to just idle for 30 seconds and then drive with a light foot instead to warm everything up. He didn't seem to agree and I don't know if he still does it, but I haven't seen him do it since.
 
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