Topic: Cold Engine Stress

[Weels]

Curious to know what others opinions are on this:

When you start a cold engine, do you let it warm up a bit, or turn the key & throw it in D or 1st and blast off?

Me, for a cold engine, I start it and let the idle settle down, say 5 seconds, a little longer if its really cold out,  and then drive gently for the first minute or two until the temp gauge moves off C. 

I know of a couple of people that hop in, turn the key and instantly take off, usually pretty hard.  Even if it's -20 out, doesn't matter. I've always thought that absolutely is the quickest way to kill an engine, short of never doing an oil change... I knew a guy that had an old Suburban where I used to work - he would hop in it in the dead of winter turn the key and instantly drive off... he must have had one hand twisting the key and the other on the shift lever, dropping it into D almost before it finished cranking...that thing was an old beast, so I dunno, maybe it liked the abuse...

[Mike]

For me it depends on the car.  My alero, camaro and cobalt I just fired it up and drove away.  The alero had a sweet squaking clutch pedal at anything below -18 or so.

With the RX-8 you HAVE to let it warm up a bit.  When it is really cold out it won't rev above 3000rpm without stuttering....badly.  It also likes to rev up and down (like 2500rpm up and down) when you first fired it up on a very cold day.  this revving could go on for several minutes.  Railton, Top Gun and wing know what I am talking about.

The WRX needs a few seconds on very cold start up as well as the belt squeaks a bit and the turbo makes a brief god awful noise for a second or two.

[rrocket]

Most vehicles have safeties in place to prevent destruction.  The tranny shifts differently, the timing maps differently, choke circuit is engaged, thermostat behaves differently, etc....

Even so..with 0W20 oil, I still let my cars idle for a few minutes in the driveway prior to leaving...

[EV Dan]

I'm old school. Even tho the temp. is around 0 where my car is parked I still let the engine idle for at least a minute and until the rpms drop to 1000 if I'm not in rush. I do it coz I know this will not hurt the engine while not warming it up will surely not make it last longer. I understand there's been improvement in engine oils but I suspect one of the reasons the rpms are held high at first in any car today is to shorten the time it takes for the engine to warm up before the car is driven.

[Mike]

Most vehicles have safeties in place to prevent destruction.  The tranny shifts differently, the timing maps differently, choke circuit is engaged, thermostat behaves differently, etc....

Even so..with 0W20 oil, I still let my cars idle for a few minutes in the driveway prior to leaving...

The SX4 drives like it has thrown an anchor if you don't let it warm up......and it is already slow to begin with.

[dr_spock]

I turn it on, scrape off ice/snow (if any) and drive off.  Seems to be ok for the last 12 winters in the VW.    We'll see what happens in 13.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Start car, scrape windows, drive off.

If the windows are clear, idle for a minute or so, then go.

The manual Toyotas I had needed to be shifted slowly until up to temp or they'd get a bit "crunchy", especially the 2-3 shift. I haven't really noticed it with the Subaru.

One of the nice things about Regina is that most parking lots downtown have receptacles for block heaters. I keep a short cord in the car just for that reason.

[vdk]

I let it reach a normal idle speed usually a minute or 2. After that I drive off.

I refuse to drive hard until the temp is @ 90C.

[Schmengie]

I start it, let it idle for 10 seconds or so and then I drive the car gently until it warms up. If it's really cold, say -20 or worse, that can take 10 or 15 minutes if I've forgotten to plug in the block heater. Normally the Versa's up to operating temp within 5 or 6 blocks if it's been plugged in overnight.

[Gamefreak]

At what temperature do you guys plug in your block heater?  I used to plug it in if it would be -30 overnight, but now I plug it in at -15.
I'm also another person who just starts their car, scrapes the glass, and drives off in the morning: supposedly engines in modern cars don't need to run more than 30 seconds before you can start driving, with the engine warming up more as the vehicle moves.  Even so, that doesn't stop half the people in our office from starting their car with a remote starter, 15 minutes before the end of the day.

[tenpenny]

If I can I let my Outback warm up for a few minutes when it's really cold (-15 and below).

The transmission doesn't like being cold - it hates to shift the first time or two.

[Erik]

I think I drove the 300c once right off a cold start, and it wasn't bothered by it. Usually, I just use the remote start to get it warmed up for a few minutes and then just hop in and go.

[overtakeyouintheleftlane]

When car is parked overnight in the garage, I use the block heater when it's 0 or below (plugged in on a timer for 4 hours) which gets the engine warm. I start it, let it run for 10-15 seconds and drive gently until car is fully warm.

When it's at the TTC and there is nothing to clean off, I start it, let it idle for 30 seconds and then drive gently until car is fully warm. If there is snow/ice, I clear it first than idle for 30 seconds and then I start driving.

No faster way to warm up a car. Driving it is the only way to warm it up properly.

[5 Wheel Drive]

When it's really cold I always let it run for a minute or 2.  Even in the summer, I'll give it about 30 seconds to get the oil circulating before I drive off.  I don't like driving thinking that the oil might not have reached all the vital areas yet.

[CSH]

I wait till the car it at its normal idle rpm.
It takes about 45seconds for the BMW to get there even when it is -20 outside
It takes the Camry (4cyl) about 2 minutes to get there
Less than half a KM after i get out is a 80Kmph road with traffic so for the Camry i have to step on it till it reaches 80 and then i am gentle
BMW you cannot NOT drive hard.

[tortoise]

If it's really cold (like -25) I'll let it idle for 5 minutes before heading off.  But that's not for the engine, lately the transmission has been ridiculously stiff unless you give it a few minutes to warm up.   If it's warmer than -15 I'll just give it a few seconds and then drive off.

As for the engine, I try to keep it below 3000 rpm until the temperature gauge starts to rise.

[Ontariodriver]

Most vehicles have safeties in place to prevent destruction.  The tranny shifts differently, the timing maps differently, choke circuit is engaged, thermostat behaves differently, etc....

The Echo's normally silky smooth tranny is weird on start off. Seems to hold 3rd for a very long time before doing a notchy change. I don't like driving Echo cold at all. I just wait until the blue light turns off....Then you can't even tell if it's changing up all down almost like a CVT...It's so so buttery smooth..

[safristi]

..Best thing for it....a decent Synthetic oil to reach the fiddly bits thru the galleries quickly...Go wif the FLO.............

  and by the way next week,generally the winter's Coldest!!! Brrr is "Take your Engine TO BED WEEK"....
  can't wait to plug into Regina inna morning...................

   

[Gardiner Westbound]

Most wear occurs at cold-start and during the first few minutes of operation. After starting I let the car idle for 30 seconds prior to driving off so the motor oil warms, circulates and lubricates the engine before it is stressed. Driving gently for the first five to ten minutes until the engine reaches operating temperature will add thousands of kilometers to the powertrain's lifespan.

I also adhere to the 80-percent rule: Machinery operated within 80-percent of its capacity will last indefinitely.

[bridgecity]

When car is parked overnight in the garage, I use the block heater when it's 0 or below

Wow.  My guideline is -15-20, then my truck gets plugged in.  The SUV is parked in the garage which hovers around the 0 mark when its really cold, its never plugged in.