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Warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine (2016)

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Re: Warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine (2016)

#71

Post by bombcar »

MadScott wrote: post #70
Brian_K_White wrote: post #47

I'm sure the cited expert really is an expert, but this article fails miserably at conveying any cohesive understanding from them to you. It's full of conclusions that don't follow from their leading statements. My understanding about warming up an engine before putting load on it had nothing to do with fuel or power steering fluid, it was about thermal expansion of all the machined parts that suffer wear if they are…

Oil pressure seems to be left out of the conversation - oil-starved journal bearings can be bad news if loaded immediately. SOP in piston-engine aircraft is to get the oil temperature and pressure "in the green" before doing run-ups. There's a pretty good description here: https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/779/journal-bearin...

Some vehicles have oil heaters to get the oil to operating temperature before even cranking.

These engines are often large enough to park a car inside, however.

Re: Warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine (2016)

#72

Post by pshirshov »

You won't be able to drive at all without warming up in Siberia at -42.

In fact it's very hard to start the engine from cold state.

So everyone who was able to afford a pre-start heater were installing them. And those who were not were hooking up auto start timers (usualy paired with a crappy aftermarket alarm) so the cars were constantly starting in low temperatures (-30 and lower).

Re: Warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine (2016)

#73

Post by bombcar »

cactusplant7374 wrote: post #60
ajross wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to be That Guy[1], but an EV can run the climate control, warm the car and defrost the windows with absolutely no maintenance worries at all. Teslas can do it remotely while you sip your coffee or pack up your ski gear. [1] I totally want to be That Guy

I am the guy that preheats his Honda to perfection. I will fly like a bat out of hell out of my front door in my boxers to start the car and run back inside to get ready for another 30 minutes. Yes, I am a total badass. I’m not worried about maintenance because that is a fact of life. For Tesla’s too (mostly defects). If your car breaks down shortly after you start driving it and the cabin is ice cold you’re in troub…

This is a real important point - many drivers in the cold aren’t dressed for it at all and though even many rural roads will have someone pass by relatively soon a warm car is going to be nicer.

Of course anyone driving in freezing areas should have winter survival gear but who actually does?

Re: Warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine (2016)

#74

Post by willis936 »

bombcar wrote: post #71
MadScott wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oil pressure seems to be left out of the conversation - oil-starved journal bearings can be bad news if loaded immediately. SOP in piston-engine aircraft is to get the oil temperature and pressure "in the green" before doing run-ups. There's a pretty good description here: https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/779/journal-bearin...

Some vehicles have oil heaters to get the oil to operating temperature before even cranking. These engines are often large enough to park a car inside, however.

My 2018 car (gasoline, turbocharged, direct injection) has coolant and oil temp readouts. The increase in coolant temp from a cold start leads the oil temp by a few minutes (exact time is dependent on ambient temperature and load profile).

Once the oil temp starts to get above 150F it very quickly gets to the operating temp (220F), so I view that as the point that it's okay to go above 3000 RPM.

If there are oil heaters then they must be far away from the oil reservoir temperature sensor and only have a local effect. As you say, that sounds like a feature for very large engines. It's probably a good practice to be gentle to car engines with cold oil.

Re: Warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine (2016)

#76

Post by Turing_Machine »

godelski wrote: post #42
psychphysic wrote: post #9

For me the benefits far outweigh the increased wear on the engine. I don't really need my engine to last 400k miles like it can in perfect circumstances. I need fog free windows, be comfortable driving the car without gloves on making the steering slip. To be able to focus on getting around and not shivering. I don't drive these days but back when I did those were all issues I had for my 5am start getting to work. An…

> I need fog free windows Personally I can't drive with ice on my windows. Can't really see outside and I'm pretty confident that's illegal. Like 80%, but I'm not a lawyer.

You will definitely get a ticket here if a cop sees you driving with windows iced or fogged up (which you should... it's a serious hazard to you, other drivers, and pedestrians).

Re: Warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine (2016)

#77

Post by Turing_Machine »

pshirshov wrote: post #72

You won't be able to drive at all without warming up in Siberia at -42. In fact it's very hard to start the engine from cold state. So everyone who was able to afford a pre-start heater were installing them. And those who were not were hooking up auto start timers (usualy paired with a crappy aftermarket alarm) so the cars were constantly starting in low temperatures (-30 and lower).

In the North Slope oil fields in Alaska, they just keep the trucks running 24/7 in the winter time.

Re: Warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine (2016)

#78

Post by cactusplant7374 »

bombcar wrote: post #73
cactusplant7374 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am the guy that preheats his Honda to perfection. I will fly like a bat out of hell out of my front door in my boxers to start the car and run back inside to get ready for another 30 minutes. Yes, I am a total badass. I’m not worried about maintenance because that is a fact of life. For Tesla’s too (mostly defects). If your car breaks down shortly after you start driving it and the cabin is ice cold you’re in troub…

This is a real important point - many drivers in the cold aren’t dressed for it at all and though even many rural roads will have someone pass by relatively soon a warm car is going to be nicer. Of course anyone driving in freezing areas should have winter survival gear but who actually does?

Also, wearing heavy jackets in a car is just damn uncomfortable.

Re: Warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine (2016)

#79

Post by Turing_Machine »

rolph wrote: post #5

here in alaska we use block heaters as a must have. Cold oil doesnt recirculate very well, of course a chronicaly cold engine, with cold oil, is going to display excessive wear. so, why "warmup" a vehicle? two parts... 1] old model vehicles dont have digital engine control its electromechanical. cold carburetors run out of tune, unless you have auto choke and idle tuning. so the block needs to be warm for efficiency…

Yep. And as noted before, up on the Slope they just run the vehicles 24/7 in the winter time.

Re: Warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine (2016)

#80

Post by sammalloy »

cactusplant7374 wrote: post #60
ajross wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to be That Guy[1], but an EV can run the climate control, warm the car and defrost the windows with absolutely no maintenance worries at all. Teslas can do it remotely while you sip your coffee or pack up your ski gear. [1] I totally want to be That Guy

I am the guy that preheats his Honda to perfection. I will fly like a bat out of hell out of my front door in my boxers to start the car and run back inside to get ready for another 30 minutes. Yes, I am a total badass. I’m not worried about maintenance because that is a fact of life. For Tesla’s too (mostly defects). If your car breaks down shortly after you start driving it and the cabin is ice cold you’re in troub…

> I will fly like a bat out of hell out of my front door in my boxers to start the car and run back inside to get ready for another 30 minutes.

You might want to look into a remote starter accessory. I had it in my last vehicle to start the AC (I live in a warm climate).

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