Forum Discussion
- It is illegal in this state to leave an idling vehicle unattended.
You can start it and let it idle as long as you want, but you have to sit in it! - This is fine if you live in Texas. Living in SD for many years, there were times when it took 10-15 minutes to chip the thick ice off just to be able to drive. Yes, engine was certainly running during that time.
Block heaters?? Great if you live in a house with ready access to electricity - not so great if you live in a college dorm or apartment. wrgrs50s wrote:
Whoever wrote this story don't know squat !!!
Well, look at it this way. If they wrote a bunch of cr^p, they must know squat... or else where did the cr^p come from? ;) LOL
This thread reminds me of my dear old dad, long gone now, but back in the '70s and '80s he absolutely insisted that a diesel needed to be idled for both warmup and cooldown. It was something he'd learned from the drivers at the truck stops. I had to idle the John Deere for a full 10 minutes (and time it!) before and after. He did the same to the White Freightliner he sometimes drove (seasonal work delivering shelled corn). And his diesel cars were idled a minimum of 3 minutes before he began to move them... but slow and easy even then.
Maybe it really mattered back then or maybe it didn't, I don't know. But I have the impression that most diesels of today definitely do not need that sort of kid-gloves idling.- Key fob comes with a remote start button.
The_real_wild1 wrote:
Lots of people around here don't warm up their vehicles. They jump in a drive. You can spot them easily as they are driving 40km/h on the highway and cant see sh!t out their window but hey its some much better then idling or warming up their vehicle.
Lol, they musta read that article.
I do that, but mine defrosts by the time I get out the subdivision.
(Good thing the houses aren't near the road and the trees are cut back. Usually drive by feel for the first few min!)
If the frost is really thick, I'll just toss a glass of water on the windshield and let er rip.
(Rarely gets below +30 here)gbopp wrote:
Do people in hot climates idle their cars to let the A/C cool it down?
D@mn skippy! At least I did when we lived in AZ....
Sometimes, just like warming them up. Yes there are extremes where warmup really is necessary. Otherwise it's a convienence mostly. Just like not warming up is.
When I take off for work, I want to get there, not go out an wait for the truck to warm up. That's 10min longer that I can sleep.- Do people in hot climates idle their cars to let the A/C cool it down?
- I just jump in and go. My butt can take it, and I hate wasting gas/money.
- Lots of people around here don't warm up their vehicles. They jump in a drive. You can spot them easily as they are driving 40km/h on the highway and cant see sh!t out their window but hey its some much better then idling or warming up their vehicle.
- If you wish to warm the engine use an electric block heater. They generally take about 3 hours to reach steady state with the ambient, so get a timer, too!
