Don't warmup up your car-R&T

[agesilaus]

R&T

At least not your gasser, don't know if it applies to diesels.

[wrgrs50s]

I don't guess the author of this story has ever did any research on "cold seizing a piston in the cylinder by not allowing enough time for proper warmup" The piston will heat first and expand at a rate faster than the cylinder wall. It doesn't mean it will happen in all cases but the potential is there under certain conditions.

[Cummins12V98]

rrev wrote:
I don't buy it. All engine builders I know recommend getting some temp in the motor before putting it under load.

I agree it would not be a good idea to have RV attached sitting 100 feet from onramp start engine and take off. BUT starting and rolling right after start driving thru the campground and streets leading up to where you have to accelerate will not hurt a darn thing.

[rrev]

I don't buy it. All engine builders I know recommend getting some temp in the motor before putting it under load.

[Sport45]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

wing_zealot wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
...
While working I mostly kept my rigs in a shop. But there were sometimes that I needed to remove snow and de ice. That only took seconds to do as I would have a gallon pail full of very warm water to throw across the window and had a push broom to quickly remove the snow.

I would suggest you not try throwing warm water on your -10 degree windshield.

Everyone always told me not to do that, never had a problem down to single digits. Now I can't say -10 would be fine since I have not tried that!

It's my method of choice too. But I haven't tried it at anything less than -5°F. The water doesn't have to be hot. 80° water will melt ice just fine. In my experience it hasn't even increased the lengths of cracks or starbursts already in the windshield. I'll use the wipers to dry the glass after the water has melted the ice.

But keep in mind I'm a native Texan and it gets cold in East Texas but not as cold as up North.

[PaulJ2]

Best car i have for cold weather is the 2001 Prius. Blows heat in 30 seconds after start up. Electric ceramic heater boost until engine warms up and takes over.

[Cummins12V98]

wing_zealot wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
...
While working I mostly kept my rigs in a shop. But there were sometimes that I needed to remove snow and de ice. That only took seconds to do as I would have a gallon pail full of very warm water to throw across the window and had a push broom to quickly remove the snow.

I would suggest you not try throwing warm water on your -10 degree windshield.

Everyone always told me not to do that, never had a problem down to single digits. Now I can't say -10 would be fine since I have not tried that!

[wing_zealot]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
...
While working I mostly kept my rigs in a shop. But there were sometimes that I needed to remove snow and de ice. That only took seconds to do as I would have a gallon pail full of very warm water to throw across the window and had a push broom to quickly remove the snow.

I would suggest you not try throwing warm water on your -10 degree windshield.

[colliehauler]

Fast Mopar wrote:

Lessmore wrote:
You need to warm your vehicle up when it's 35 to 40 below. We get this weather every so often and I get a bit of a yuk, when I hear this kind of advice from individuals in warmer climes.

Les, you are absolutely correct. I lived many years in climates where -30 to -40 temperatures were part of the normal winter. It's a different way of life, and if you have never lived through it, you should not just tell others how to live through it. At those temps, a car acts in a very different way even after it is somewhat warmed up. Reminds me of the phrase "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand." There is a big difference between -10 and -40.

Keep in mind as well this (article) was written by a person from Florida where +40 is bitter cold to them. LOL

[Fast_Mopar]

Lessmore wrote:
You need to warm your vehicle up when it's 35 to 40 below. We get this weather every so often and I get a bit of a yuk, when I hear this kind of advice from individuals in warmer climes.

Les, you are absolutely correct. I lived many years in climates where -30 to -40 temperatures were part of the normal winter. It's a different way of life, and if you have never lived through it, you should not just tell others how to live through it. At those temps, a car acts in a very different way even after it is somewhat warmed up. Reminds me of the phrase "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand." There is a big difference between -10 and -40.

[Cummins12V98]

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"If you have a motor built in the last 30-40 years or so, it is better to turn on, take off slowly, this will warm up the motor faster and better."

I completely agree! I have NEVER let my rigs warm up. I get high miles out of my rigs with no issues. Start engine, place in gear and drive moderately to start.

So do you clear your truck of snow then start it and take off? Or do you start then clear and drive off?

While working I mostly kept my rigs in a shop. But there were sometimes that I needed to remove snow and de ice. That only took seconds to do as I would have a gallon pail full of very warm water to throw across the window and had a push broom to quickly remove the snow.

Here is a oil report with 15K on the oil that I start and go with. Understand the Universal averages are from engines that drained the oil at MUCH lower mileage with the same engine.

[spoon059]

I drove a marked police car for 13 years of my career. For the majority of those years, the cars ran the entire 10 hours of my shift, 4 shifts per week, 52 weeks per year. My last car was a 2007 Crown Vic that had 140K miles on it. That thing idled all day, was driven HARD and never had any engine issues.

The electronic demands of that vehicle overwhelmed the batteries, requiring them to be on all the time or risk it not starting when we needed it.

I'm not sure I believe these horror stories about engine failures. Now... do the engines NEED this? Probably not. In my diesel I tend to start the truck, then help the kiddos buckle their car seats, then get in and drive. If its cold, I'll start the truck a minute or two before we head out the door. With the exhaust brake and high idle feature, I can get heat within a couple of minutes.

[brulaz]

One of the best things I did for my 2005 Passat TDI was invest in a coolant heater. Not a block heater, but a coolant heater. It'll eventually heat the engine oil as well but it's main advantage is that when you start the car the defrost works well almost immediately, and the interior warms up a lot faster.

Before the coolant heater, the block heater would get me going, but half way down the street, the condensation in the defrost vents would warm up and evaporate, then blast onto the windshield and immediately re-freeze. A real pain ...

[Huntindog]

A lot of this depends on just how cold a temp one is talking about... And the focus of most on this thread seems to be on the motor... But, if it is cold enough, many other things are affected in a negative way. From the diff fluid, tranny, transfer case, ball joints etc.. If it moves, it is affected. The only partial solution would be a heated garage. Partial because once you drive to wherever you are going, the car will get cold there.
Severe cold is just flat out hard on automobiles.

[Bumpyroad]

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:
years back in that tropical paradise they called Iowa I had to call aaa from the motel to start my car, drove to a restaurant, ate breakfast, called AAA again to start car. 😉
bumpy

And you only did that 5 times for starts and 3 times for tows a year before it cost you.

no tows, and since it was a govt.car, it cost you, not me. 🙂
bumpy