I have a 23 year old bugeye impreza with 150k miles on the clock, if anyone knows how to keep an old, delicate engine alive its me 😂. Its simple really, start the car leave it idle just for a minute to 2 minutes tops, then start driving, softly, dont go into boost, change gear early, and baby it. Once you've done a few miles and the temp is at normal operating temps youre good to go
Literally it, just drive it slower and more gentle till the temperature is up to operating temperature, that is pretty much all you have to be aware of.my car has remote start so I pretty much always turn it on from the house right as I'm starting to get out, by the time I'm in the car and my seat belt is on, the car engine is already running for 2 minutes or so and that's about it.
@@fs5866 this is the correct answer idling with regards a petrol means the car takes longer to warm up so the choke is open and the engine runs richer which degrades the oil. Start it drive it gently which will warm it quicker without straining the engine
This is exactly how I start up my GT86 (Subaru FA20 motor). Driving gently after getting underway is a more critical than the warmup period and often severely overlooked.
When it's very cold I put a brick on the throttle and start the engine. When I am driving around 70 MPH (especially on the highway) I shift into Reverse. This keeps my car healthy.
For the last 42 years I have been working with several car museums in Australia. We look after 1930’s era Rolls Royce cars among others. I also work with aeroplane piston engines. Please listen to everything he says. This man is 100% correct on every single point he has made. Well done, an excellent video. The best I have seen on the subject.
As a Canadian, in winter, I try to remote start the truck to start the warming process. By the time I had the windows scraped the vehicle was warm enough to start driving at a moderate pace. With my old diesel, the only difference was to keep it plugged in. That kept the oil warm enough to drive as it would never warm enough just at idle. Thanks for the video.
I am Canadian as well and saw your comment about plugging in your block heater. The one item that was completely missed in this video was talking about cold starting aids as per warming the engine before its started. And indeed with most automatic transmissions, they have cooler lines routed to the engines radiator so as the engine warms up that also in turn warms the transmission to some degree and takes the chill off of it as the transmission oil pump does flow/circulate oil even though the transmission is in neutral.
Back in the 80s when I (Brit) visited Canada, I was initially curious why so many cars had weird plugs hanging out at the front. Then someone told me what they were for, and it made so much sense. We just don't need them here.
@@davewilson4493 Back then in the 80's and before it was common for a block heater not to be a factory option but instead the dealership was expected to install them. That has changed a lot as its often a factory order now although even in Canada dealerships in the southern British Columbia area, Vancouver and Vancouver island often get dealer order vehicles in that they don't option in the block heater. But on the other hand lets say a GM Duramax diesel automatically comes with the block heater from the factory.
Another issue to consider, are the gaskets, if the engine block is cold and you drive the car away, theres a very good chance the the heads and the block have not expanded and created a much more tighter joint instead of just relying on the gasket itself to hold back the pressure created by the cylinder pressures, alot of exhaust gasket leaks are from the flame blowing thru the header gasket due to the differences of cast iron and aluminum, and dont run the heater until there is sufficient engine heat, other wise you are cooling off the coolant before it can retain a warmer temperature
That’s not correct. That only happens if you floor it or drive above 3k rpm if you drive it off when cold. You should let your car cold start for 50 seconds then drive away slowly and not exceeding 3k rpm. This will warm up the car faster and you will waste less gas while not harming the engine. By driving the car slowly you don’t cause uneven expansion of the bearings, rods, pistons, cylinders, heads and the block.
Heater is not really a problem cause most modern engines are programmed to idle at a little bit higher RPMs when cold-started. Toyota f.e. even went further and some models have "Power heat" button which raises RPM by like 300 (from around 900 to 1200) so the heating can happen faster. When engine is warmed up the idle speed will drop down to its normal value. Also at least my car also raises RPM a bit when a heater is activated, but it feels like its only 100 rpm or so, don't feel the difference that much in terms of how much heat gets produced. Anyways I park my car in a non heated garage so I don't worry about having to full blast heater to get windows unfogged or unfrozen even without heating. I'd assume you shouldn't full blast it when on cold engine anyways, better drive for a bit with modest visibility and then turn it on when coolant has heated up a bit
An old lady who parks next to my driveway , starts the car stone cold and immediatly slams on the throttle pedal , for around 5-10min. at idle reving the engine till the limiter kicks in ! Persobally , i have habbit since i started driving like you mentioned - start up , fasten seat belt and check over instruments and mirrors then drive off moderately avoiding high revs and engine lugging in too high gear . Having oil pressure and oil temperature gauge on the instruments helps quite a bit . Oil especially needs good lenght of driving in order to warm up to ideal temperature .
@@MrJolly-lb9je coworker in the early 80s did that. Would start his stone cold Chevy Nova and go to full rpm before redline. Physics degree guy. He Said running the engine fast helped with lubrication in cold starts. So after work on a cold day in a plant of 2000 folks his Reving engine was easy to spot since weird.
@@edombre4637 Few years old pretty much new , current model of Renault Twingo . I do not speak with her much , but i told her few times she'll severely damage the engine if continue to do so . Car she had prior to this one had the same "treatmant" !
An elderly chap who lives opposite me lets his small van (diesel engine) idle for up to twenty minutes before driving away. He also lets it idle for the same amount of time after getting home. I think someone told him that a turbocharger must be allowed to cool down before switching off. I wasn’t surprised during the COVID scare to see him wearing a face mask when driving even though there was only himself in the vehicle.
@wheater5 - That guy's warm up and cool down routines are extremely excessive, but the idea of letting the turbo cool down is actually legit, except it's not really about cooling the turbo itself. It's more for trying to prevent the hot oil from coking up by baking in the bearing housing. Just a 2-3 minute rest at idle before shutoff is plenty if the turbo wasn't worked too hard, 5 or so mins if it was. Not that u didn't already know that, just wanted 2 clear up turbo cool down 4 people who may not know. Lmfao your neighbor is waaay over the top tho, if that's what he's doing.
@ Yes, i understand why a short cooling period can help, I let our turbo diesel idle for a minute or so if it’s been driven hard. Yet, If I start my petrol engine and let it warm up at idle for more than a minute he comes out with a hand held air horn and gives it a long blast as if he’s calling full time!
@@wheater5 Yeah, I figured u knew all that already by u talking about that in the 1st place, just added my 2 cents on it, especially since my daily is turboed so I do the cool down multiple times a day! But hahaha gotta love the "my shit don't stink" mentality of that man. Classic.
I let it idle to about 48C oil temp, then drive mildly until at op temperature, then drive how ever l want. I've been doing this for decades with good results. This method for cold winters and hot summers in Canada.
A good and useful video, something you didn't mention is bore washing when the engine's cold. For those who don't know, when the engine's cold the ECU has to inject much more fuel to start it and keep it running as some of the fuel condenses out before it gets burnt. Some of this fuel condenses out onto the cylinder bores and washes off some of the oil, this causes increased cylinder bore, piston and piston ring wear and diluted the oil slightly (although it will evaporate off with engine fully warmed up). This is another reason not to let your engine sit idling for ages, idle it for 30s max (at least above ~ 5C, perhaps a little longer for temps down to -10C, below that, fast idle it for a bit as per the video), then just drive it gently until warmed up.
Completely agree! Waiting in idle or going full throttle are both bad ideas. What I do is take my normal idle (750 RPM) first to 1000, then to 1200, then close to 1500, all while standing in place. Once you notice the sound of the engine is much more smooth (no more clunking) and you start getting some hot air inside of the cabin (assuming your ventilation is turned On and set to Hot), then it's safe to start driving slowly with 2000 RPM and gradually increase from there.
Oil takes much longer to reach operating temperature than the coolant. The problem is not cold flow viscosity because modern oils flow well at lower temperatures, the problem is getting to the temperature required to evaporate the moisture. If this happens repeatedly over time you end up with oxidised, glutinous sludge.
Rubbish, coolant only removes about 25% of the heat and is a method of fine tuning the temperature when running via the thermostat. The oil removes far more heat from the engine and warms up much more quickly. He even explains this at 12.00m.
@@user-xu5vl5th9n both of you here are either right or wrong after doing this for 55 years every time I drop a pin on a motor or car that has sat you will see rust above the oil level because of humidity they'll be rushed surface rust over the rods the Caps the block casting sometimes the crank? But they're usually splashed with oil you'll find it in the lifter valley you'll find it in the rocker valley and when you take off the valve covers you'll find it on the inside of the valve covers anywhere there's 10 you'll find spot rust from humidity but it takes quite a while of driving around to evaporate all the moisture in the engine and you can do it I've done it where there has been water kind of in the oil and after a nice long hot drive it's back to oil again it doesn't turn into a sludge it'll evaporate and turn into a clear oil I've done it too many times even when transmissions when the fluid looks a little pink if you drive it around and get the thing very hot it evaporates and turns back into tranny fluid I've done this too many times and even inside the transmission you'll find rust
Modern synthetic oil is actually very good at providing near instant protection. Obviously, don't be a moron by revving first thing but the oil has got your back
My Volvo V60 is fitted with a Webasto heater from the factory. I always use it when the temperature is around 12 degrees and below. It's both comfortable and good for the long term reliability of the engine and it is safe too because you always have snow free windows.
@@jra55417 i am not sure but maybe you are mistaken by the trailer cabin heaters (maybe webasto make those too) the ones that thomasrpoulsen is referring to take fuel from your fuel tank and burn it inside an enclosed chamber through which's walls circulates your engine coolant thus heating the whole engine block. It also can be wired in such a way that it turns on the fans in your dashboard and it blows the warmth from the small coolant loop into the car.
One thing I have noticed with modern cars is the tendency to not have coolant and/or oil temperature gauges. I have a 2010 Jaguar XFS with neither of them. Instead I have to guess. I do wait about 10-20 seconds before starting off and drive gently for the first 5-10 minutes of a drive. The car has a preheater on the climate control which is a great feature but not a good way judge what's going on under the bonnet. The other thing to note is petrol engines tend to warm up faster than diesel.
Ridiculous not fitting these gauges.How can you possibly educate peeps if there us no feedback from the dash😂.Manufacturers are quite pleased for you to buy a new engine/car I guess.😅
on new bmws theres a sports display u can bring up that has turbo psi, horsepower, torque, and oil temp. i just make it a shortcut on one of the buttons so i can have it up while i start the car
_temperature gauges_ -My car (petrol engine) does have them both, but it has no use/meaning for the cold start process, as it takes at least a 1,5 mile or 5 minutes ride before the gauge shows any change (1 mile in summer temperatures).
I know I'm probably damaging my engine doing short journeys every day, so I avoid thermal shock by not doing spirited driving between journeys. Its all about gentle driving getting up to the required speed and then coming down to town speeds. I change gear before it hits 2000 revs, I always wait a minute after parking up for the temperatures to level its self. Whilst driving I try to keep at the gear which keeps the engine between 1500-2000 revs, you're always tempted to try to use all the gears ending up in 6 th gear but that's not the case. I'm normally in 4th driving around town by maintaining the revs at a reasonable level to avoid putting slow speed high gear strain on the engine. I never use start stop and I use quality oils and change every 3000 miles at home. During winter I never have the heating on and have the windows down, I've always done that because I like fresh air and it tends to bring the engine up to temperatures a lot quicker than having the heating on.
_coming down to town speeds_ -It’s probably the 4th gear (60-70 km/h) that has best torque and fuel economy ratios, hence best for the environment too. But in the Netherlands the town speed limit is 50 km/h and you are fined when caught above 54 km/h, so the government actually acts against the environment. We are having perhaps the best maintained roads globally but may not optimize the speed for fuel economy and environmental protection.
Thank you very much for this extensive explanation of everything happening during engine warm up ! For the first 5 minutes I drive gently : 2000 rpm max. When coolant temp start approaching 90 degrees Celcius, I can start pushing it more. I'm living in the Netherlands, so there is no need for my car to go for a climb or descent in the first few miles from where I live. My 'daily driver' is 13 years old now, and has been running fine without major issues.
@bakkerem1967 I assume it's a diesel? No way I can keep it under 2000 rpm on my 1.4 TSI - driving carefully in the "warm up"-phase I can't get it under 2600-2800 at risk of lugging.
@@NilausI Mine is an 8V 1.2 TSI (engine codename CBZB) coupled to an MQ200 6 speed manual transmission. The car weighs 1280kg. On almost any level road within the 130K kms, 1550+ rpm range was used since peak torque is provided at 1550rpm. For a couple of months I had used it down to 1300rpm at 3rd gear, covering some considerable distance over some mild speed humps. It returned surprisingly good fuel economy but also surprising problems too, such as a lambda sensor and the turbo actuator acting up, which were healed by driving at 2000-2500rpm range and not using 6th gear. Now I use 1700+ rpm range. AC is always on. Your question was for @bakkerem1967 but I wanted to answer anyway since you also use a TSI engine. Which version of the 1.4 TSI do you use?
My uncle worked in the arctic and he used Marvel Mystery Oil in the big machines for start up. Before that they used fire torches to start engines. I have used Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas tank 4 ounces at fill up and marvel in the oil 30 % at oil change, and 40 % for winter start ups.
It’s so wild how some things just come intuitively every morning I get in my car wait about 20 seconds and then I put my foot ever so gently on the gas til about 1,500 rpm’s I do that for maybe a minute and then check to see if the rpm’s have dipped below 1,000 on the idle and then I throw it into gear I’ve been doing this without anyone ever saying anything to me or reading about it I just figured it would be a good thing to do.
You can warm up most automatic transmissions while you warm the motor too by putting it in neutral, because It gets the fluid pump circulating and making what ever heat it's going to make as well as lubricating all the parts that need lubrication that need it to function properly and to minimize wear on the rest, and this is only as far as I know, and only applies to most automatic transmissions not cvt I can't speak on those. Another thing that can be done for the bitter cold half of the year is to take some; tinfoil, a piece of cardboard, and some zip ties and make a grill cover, that will speed things up by probably 5-10min easy as well as figuring out we're there vehicles block heater chord is and if there vehicle has one because if it was originally purchased in a northern cold place it should generally have had one from brand new. My winter vehicle even when I forget to plug it in on an average day only takes about 10-20min (will of course be more on an abnormally cold day) and when plugged in no more than 10. But then I do have a insulated grill cover.
I've got a 2004 Honda Accord 2.4 K24A with the 5sp manual trans. It has 270k miles and runs as good as the day it was purchased from the dealer. It still reads 190#+ psi. I start it up let the idle drop and drive it moderately till it fully warms up. I wouldn't be surprised if this car gets 500k miles or more.
Lost a ball joint on mine at that milage. Didn't wreck but cost a small fortune, had to replaced everything on both sides. Mine rusted away at 310k. Fun car I would buy another.
@@toothpicdinosaur3777 I had a tie rod come undone on mine. Fortunately I was at a stop sign and a couple blocks from my house. Had it fixed for $0 in minutes. Sorry to hear about the rust issue, never lost a rig for that reason. We don't use salt on the roads. I'm assuming that's what happened to yours, my apologize if I'm wrong. I have another one with the same set up in the LX trim w/260k miles. Picked it up for $600, kid rear ended someone but it didn't even touch the subframe. It was perfect and an easy fix. You can find 'em cheap like that just look to see if that sub frame is bent. If not scoop it up, don't know how to fix? Someone on this platform x100 made an easy to follow video making you an expert, LOL. Oh, one more thing, I almost forgot. Was that an upper ball joint that went out? I've had lowers go out and still drove home on the freeway, just curious.
Here in central British Columbia, Canada, the winters can get down to minus 40C (about minus 40F too) and driving is a challenge. My Ford Ranger pickup came with a somewhat undersized factory block heater (450W), and I've added an oil pan heater. Together they work reasonably well down to about minus 15C, if plugged in two hours before leaving. Below that they are not enough. The engine cranks noticeably slower, although it always starts just fine. New battery, good clamps and cables, 0W40 synthetic motor oil. I have a brand new 1000W coolant heater meant for a stationary diesel engine but it's so crowded under the hood I can't fit it in. I also have the radiator completely blocked with cardboard panels for quicker warmup. In these temperatures I idle the engine for perhaps ten minutes while I shovel snow, scrape the windshield, defog the glass etc. The one thing that would help more than anything is an enclosed garage, which is on my to-do list.
I’ve always just started my car buckled in then put it in gear and set off gently for about ten minutes or so. My ten year old Ford has over 180k miles and has never failed me once.
My 05 Silverado has 251,000 miles and I ALWAYS baby it on startup. I have remote start so I use it and depending on the outside temp, I'll let it warm up from 2 minutes to 8 or so (below freezing I usually don't drive it but if I have to, I'll let it idle 10 minutes before moving). When I finally take off, I'll put it in drive and just idle out of the driveway amd barely touch the gas (only get up to about 20mph) until i reach the first stop sign about 1/4 mile away. Then I still go as slow as possible until it gets over 200°.
Over 200 degrees? I know you're probably" if it isn't broke don't fix it" kinda guy and nothing wrong with that. But honestly, a low temp thermostat like 160 or 170 degrees would only add longevity to the motor. Engines never run "cool", just less "hot" with a better thermostat and even adding a product like Royal Purple Purple Ice, and Redline's Water Wetter (which is used in racing applications because race cars cannot use ant-freeze. Only distilled water in the radiator) will also help lower engine temps. I take the premise if it's good enough for NASCAR it is good enough for my car. And they use 160 degree thermostats. And a thermostat doesn't fully open until 10 degrees hotter than its listed temp. That's why I also use oil catch cans because NASCAR uses them. This stops any kind of carbon buildup on the valves and intake that reduces performance, and can lead to engine failure if not watched because of the PCV valves used today. And no it doesn't hurt the environment doing either of these. It is only 2 things I know that NASCAR uses that can be applied to everyday vehicles, and work for better and longer lasting engines.(Lexus are considered and have been awarded for having the longest lasting cars on the road for many years having their cars go 400,000 and 500,000 miles. And the Lexus brand uses 160 degree thermostats.) The EPA "claims" hotter engines pollute less. So engine tempuratures keep rising with some cars having thermostats 200, 210 and even 220 degrees with special high pressure radiators. If governments were truly concerned about the environment or "climate change" they would release the known tech for cars where no longer "liquid" fuel is squited into engines. Which liquid fuel does not burn, only the "fumes" (which is hydrogen gas). This leads to high pollution and low MPG. As pollution is simply "unburnt" fuel, which is about 2/3 of the gasoline your buy. Straight out the tailpipe as pollution (and also because it is laden with carbon, which doesn't like to burn). If instead, you were to convert gasoline into a gas (which it readily does at most ambient tempuratures) and introduce these "fumes" into the combustion chamber (hydrogen gas) you would effectively reduce pollution of cars by better 50% while doubling MPG for all vehicles across the board. This is what jet engines do, and why they are so efficient. Imagine getting 40+ MPG out of your truck, and 60 MPG+ out of your car, while feeling good you are polluting less. Because now you are burning 2/3 of the available fuel (gas tank), and only 1/3 of the fuel would be pollution out of the tailpipe. With today's cars and trucks you only get to use about 1/3 of the available energy in a tank of gas, the other 2/3 is wasted out the tailpipe. This is "the only" evolution for combustion engines. The tech is cheap and this idea not "new" but known for some time now, and no more dangerous than what you are doing today, because you would still start off with liquid gasoline. (just as jet fuel is a liquid, usually "kerosene"). Did you know oil is "Not" a renewable resource, and oil wells refill? You live in Texas, you probably already know that. Take care friend and I hope your friend takes you many more hassle free miles. Nobody wants to buy a vehicle in this current environment unless they have too. Today we don't get the best car and trucks. That occurred for all manufacturers 1996-2008 or maybe 2010 depending on the model. Since then it's been useless touch screens, smaller engines, crappy CVT transmission and "Bling" driving up the price of trucks and cars today. Along with EV's that nobody wants, or if they do, cannot afford. EV's are simply a way for the rich to limit freedom and opportunity for the poor folk because we would all end up with scooters instead of EV cars. (Plus, DEI Failure also driving up car prices because of hiring people without any skill or talent or common sense. It's destroying American and British businesses. It permeates education creating failure in schools at all levels. Putin couldn't have come up with a better plan to ruin western businesses and culture. And i'm not sure he is the genius behind the Woke/DEI movement.) Peace.
Good advice. I've had cars since my '58 Ford 60 years ago and never lost and engine. I plug our car engine heater for 15 min at 0 C, and transition up to 2.5 hours at - 40 C but no more than 3 hours of warming here in Northen Ontario. Clear any ice and snow before starting it and no more that 1 min of idling . Very, very slow driving for the first few minutes. Once she warm I open her up.
I was told if you put an automatic transmission in neutral while the car is idling it starts warming it up along with the engine but obviously make sure the parking brake is engaged first.
@@adamgallahan6747 , Au contraire... I haven't used the parking brake on Anything since '72 and have been rewarded with No parking brake problems. The parking brake is a solution looking for a problem, for ignorant drivers. ☆
There are also other parts of the car that need to warm up, not just the engine. Gear box, shock absorbers, tires etc. If you just warm up the engine, your other parts get a shock if you go full in. Living in a climate with temperatures down to -30 °C the engine warms a bit after cold start while cleaning snow and ice from the windows before driving. Then I take it easy for a few km before driving normally. Especially shock absorbers are "rock hatd" before they warm up, and going hard on the first bump with cold oil easily leads to leakage. Same goes for the rubber parts in the chassis, they are rather stiff at cold temperatures before they move a warm up a bit.
I use Clear Flood Mode to circulate oil without turning on, if my truck has been sitting. Turn on and let rpm drop below 1k to avoid hard cold shift into drive. I then let the rpm carry the momentum without giving it gas for a block, and drive gently until my transmission oil and engine oil are at operating temperature. A truck displays all temperatures, and idle hours. The truck changes fuel pattern on the injectors when cold
The heater uses the coolant temperature to heat the car, so if the car is cold, turning on the heat is useless until the engine warms up. Electric cars are of course different. When I lived up north, I always laughed to myself when I got in a friend's car and they immediately turned on the heat and frigid cold air came through the vents until the car came to temperature. They also seemed to think turning it up to high would made a difference. It does, it makes it colder. Turning on the heat when the car is cold is like turning on the A/C. Turning it up to high only blows out more cold air. Funny thing is, they keep doing it.
@@andreiserde9441 Down here we have stupid people too. They park in our 97 degree heat with their windows sealed shut (we have 11 months of summer). Then, when they get back in their roasting dish on wheels, they turn on the convection oven known as A/C. Of course, if your car isn't fit to boil a lobster, you wouldn't have all that heat in there in the first place and your vents would cool down quickly. My friends say it's a habit. A habit that burns your ass up every time you get in the car? No, smoking his a habit and cracking your damn windows down is simple logic, after you've toasted your butt 4 times a day since you were old enough to drive. But, that's just me. And then they say: "But it might rain"! Yeah, in 4 days because the forecast shows dry frigging ultra-high heat till next week. No one said to do it in a thunderstorm or roll them down 9 inches. Not a cloud in the sky and you could roast a chicken and bake potatoes, scones and hot tea in the passenger seat while you're in the mall. Might as well slap a rib rack and a few ears of corn in the back seat while you're at it. Hell, why not, throw that apple pie in there too and cook everything at once. I mean, you'd think they'd learn by now. You just have to tell people everything, I swear.
@@floridaredneck i did not know some cars have heater inside vents... diesels (VW, Skoda, opel etc) in EU and US/CN they come with a 1kW electric heater that can blow warm air almost instant when you turn on your car...
@@rvilla4257 I use to live beside someone that would run their engine idle for 20-30 minutes before driving off. It was ridiculous and it’s clear they were given bad advice.
I've really learned to appreciate my Subaru when it comes to this. I used to get annoyed that it was so loud after starting, but it serves a purpose. It rockets to 1700 rpm, but you start getting heat in like 2 minutes, and it's up to operating temp in 5ish minutes. My Toyota Highlander is far quieter, but it takes forever in comparison to get heat and warm up. I'd guess 3x as long. My Outback is a turbo, so maybe that helps too. I let it run for at least 15 seconds even in the summer to make sure oil is circulating properly before driving off and then let the turbo cool down by letting it idle 30 seconds to a minute after parking. I also use Shell 89/93 as they contain friction reducers that reduce engine wear. Bet that is extra helpful when cold since that is when you'll get the most blowby.
Great explanation! I start and crawl a few metres to open and shut gate. Slowly go 1/2 mile to highway. Temp is rising fast by the time I am up to 55mph. 15 miles to town. Then back home it crawl back to park. Prity good for my engine!
I like my Toyota Highlander Hybrid because it gives the engine a chance to warm up from a cold start. For the first 20-30 seconds, as long as I'm cruising at a slow speed, the electric motors do all the work while the combustion engine idles. I can hear the engine going from closed loop to open loop as it warms up. And finally, once it's ready, the combustion motor starts to take up the work. It's really quite intelligent, as well as necessary, because hybrid engines are much more sensitive to failures caused by cold temperatures because they turn on and off all the time.
@@CaveyMoth The same does my wife's Honda CR-V Hybrid. You can hear just the electric motors and the engine is allowed to warm up before it really has to kick in. And even then, it's gently.
This is such a breath of fresh air. There's so much woo-woo magic and misinformation on this subject, and your verry factual and to the point. These are the exact same recommendations the EPA has for the most efficient way to warm up an engine, which also happens to be the best for engine wear as well.
Mechanical sympathy is important, I always let my van warm up for 5mins before driving and putting load on my piston rings that are just warming up and expanding as the engine warms up.
Great points! Another thing to consider is block heaters, oil pan heaters, etc. Any type of preheating is going to be beneficial to the engine's longevity and fuel efficiency. You'll get heat quicker too since the engine will be starting from a warmer temperature👍
Great video, believe it or not there are a hell of a lot of people who wouldn’t know any of this. I have always started the car and drove gently until it was warm, especially with my performance cars. If the car is icy, it can’t be helped and you have to leave it sitting. Apart from that, keep it out of sport mode until it’s warm and you’re good.
Where I am in Canada, winter isn't as severe as other parts, but it does get cold. I have an electric heater that sticks to the oil pan. When it's -10° C, I set a timer to start a few hours before I leave in the morning. When I pull out the the dipstick, the oil on the end is slightly warm to the touch. The engine cranks much easier.
This video is especially useful for car dealership employees/customers as well as rental car company employees/customers so that they know and understand the proper warm-up process.
Car dealership employees and rental dealership employees don't give a crap about warming up a car. They know that these cars will be dumped onto new owners long long before any problems show up.
I do exactly what the video recommends. I live in Eastern Ontario and we have a cold, miserable winter. Like really cold. My 2007 Chevrolet Malibu had 330,000 km's and ran like new until rust killed it. My 2009 Mercury Grand Marquis has 260,000 km's on the clock and still runs like new. A careful start leads to a long life. I also agree about the oil temperature sensor. My new Tiguan has one and I love it.
I can often go without using my car for over a week. After starting I leave it idling for 5-10 secs before putting it in gear (DCT gearbox) and move off. I always shift before 2500rpm (max rpm when hot is 8400rpm), and usually before 2250rpm, until I've done at least a few miles. No full throttle and no labouring the engine. I'd rather use a few more revs than needing more throttle at lower rpm when cold (eg up a slight hill). I won't use full throttle until the oil is up to temp (I have an oil temp gauge). I do use the AC though which will heat the cabin once some temp is in the coolant. I don't tend to use this car when it's particularly cold (rarely below 5 degrees celcius) - is it actually worthwhile to turn the AC off until the oil is up to temp? I doubt more than a handful of people do this?! Maybe I should leave it idling for a bit longer with a bit of throttle (30secs, as you suggest)?
You can have the AC on as such; but set at cold; until engine's at or near OT; it does make a difference, especially for diesels. Very cold coolant takes a lot of energy to heat up - why would you compete with what the engine needs to reach OT, by heating the cabin (when the coolants already cold)?
@@rossfripp4503it's the heater matrix / core that has the cooling effect on the coolant, and so in turn the engine to some extent, as it tries to heat the cabin (unless car only uses auxiliary air heater at this stage); which would likely be the case if diesel precisely because it takes so long for them to warm up! (my A3 1.9tdi 8P1 auxiliary heater is broken and I'm not fixing it; way too big a job for something that's not absolutely needed!?); the AC evaporator core isn't relevant or may be more likely to help not hinder (uses refrigerant, not coolant!)...?
If you stayed on 2000rpm you would be just putting more strain on the engine your better or changing at 2.5rpm or 3000rpm and that would be about right to not lug the engine. Well unless your in diesel lol
@@BulletGuards it depends wear you are if your on 30mph road sure change at 2000rpm if you live anywear witrh higher road limits 50mph to national limit shifting all the way to 60mph or 50mph at 2000rpm would lug your engine in direct i jection engines would increase the risk of lspi low speed pre ignition
It's more nuanced than idle a bit vs drive from start. Depending on the ambient temperature. Depending on the nature of the first 5 to 10 min of your journey (load on engine/driveline). This all plays a part. With a torque converter transmission, you can stationary idle it in drive to get some heat into the transmission oil. You will feel the smoother shifting starting off on a cold start.
I don’t Idle. I just very gently until it warms up. No use spraying the cylinder walls down with a rich air fuel mixture to keep the engine running rather drive.
2nd owner of a boat - 06 3.5 highoutput charger - 2nd owner bought it 10 years ago 4k (120km) . I service it with my hands and I let it warm up real good before driving. 260k till now and going strong (19 year old boat ) - Canada
I have a manual VW (GTI) and I just drive straight away after starting. I'm fortunate that when leaving my garage, I have a downhill slope, then a gentle uphill, which I think is perfect for the warmup process. The temp gauge reaches normal very quickly, but when checking my oil temp via the cluster, it takes about 5 more minutes to reach about 130F (minimum reading after the dashes). Depending on my comfort level, I'll leave the cabin heat off temporarily to get faster warmup on very cold mornings. My garage stays somewhat warm, so the retained heat in the car is enough.
Great advise. I usually just wait for the rpm's to start dropping, then drive relatively gently (2000rpm) until operating temperature. Also, full synthetic flows better than conventional at low temps. My 2006 Toyota Matrix has over 226,000 miles (363,000 kilometers) and runs perfect (5k mile OCI and OEM filter).
2minutes ideal and 10minutes soft drive is sufficent for attending minimum OT . Not pressurising throttle for half an hour also helps in transmission and tyre heating up little to ge that supplness and flex .
Here in Scandinavia, when it gets as cold as -30 degrees in the winter, we electrically heat the car for an hour or two, depending on the degree of frost, before starting the car engine. But Old Volvo Never Die.🏁
My Subaru has Lineartronic transmission, on start up I have a blue warning light on the dash, they recommend driving gently until the light go out, then drive normally, the g/box oil is heated initially by the engine cooling system, so the engine warms the g/box oil then maintains cooling thereafter, so It's startup ,idle for 30 seconds, then drive gently, it works well, got the FA 20, 2.0 turbo engine 241 BHP, and timing chains, no nylon belts, fantastic car to own and drive.
Years ago, some guy told me that is good to have Aircon on during the warm up. It gives some load and rises rpm little bit. I remember my dad driving cold car in cold winter( up to -20 C), start up engine, wait up to minute and then drive it bit slower and dont shift the gears so often for the first 10-15mins and rather keep the engine in lower 2000s rpm. His cars with regular servicing always had golden oil and no traces of wear and humid inside engine.
That's strange. The idea is to lower the RPMs so you don't clank it into gear. Turning on the heat when it cold only blows cold air until the coolant temperature rises. It doesn't make sense to overload the engine before it warms up; that's counterproductive. Not shifting gears often for 10 minutes makes no sense. That guy was incorrect and any mechanic will you that. You can start and wait till the RPMs go DOWN to about 1500-2000 (25 seconds, more in very cold areas),, but the last thing you want to do is start turning things on to compete with that objective. Once your RPMs are lower, shift as usual. That was some bizarre activity that guy told you.
I see that most handbooks tell you not to idle the car and drive away immediately.....More emissions crap! I always warm the engine for 1 min before I leave the drive, if it's super cold I sometimes up it to 3 or 4 mins. After that I never labour the engine or go above 2500rpm until it reaches 90c
@@Master1906 As I said, the manufacturers advice is based on reducing cold start emissions, not protecting the engine. It's not a case of knowing better, it's a case of different priorities. Sorry if that hurts your fefes.
@@Master1906 How many boosters have you had? My guess is all of them haha. You do realise that it's not in the manufacturers interests for your car to last too long?
Idling takes much longer and generates way less heat, while modern oils safely handle low rpm ranges while driving till the engine is warm. Idling till its warm is not favorable. As he also states in his video above, idling causes more problems.
Something I try to avoid is starting the engine for just a few minutes and not getting it up to temperature. That puts condensation into the exhaust which can stay there until the next time you use the vehicle. My 2008 Chevrolet Spark still has its original exhaust system.
Usually start from cold and let engine idle for a couple of minutes before driving off. Then just steady driving until engine temp gauge shows engine warm. As you say, engine oil takes longer to warm. Luckily, my Octavia Scout has an oil temp gauge so I'm able to hold bag big throttle until I can see oil is up to temp. As per your other video, l always give engine a couple of minutes of turbo run down time to let this slow down and engine temperature to equalise before turning off.
I have a Toyota FJ cruiser. I recently did a oil change on it. normally I start my engines and let them warm up for 5 to 10 minutes at least, before doing a change. The oil, when it runs over my gloved hand is noticeably warm. not burning, but very warm. This time I only started it to move it to the garage. Like 3 minutes, then pulled the plug. I was suprised by how cool the oil temp was to the touch.
I have read various people saying that it isn't the same these days, and that the formulation is different, and I'd be totally willing to accept that that may be true, but back in the 80s/90s, Slick 50 made a *huge* difference to how well engines in my vehicles started. My CB125 went from being a stiff old pig to start to causing multiple shin injuries because it put up virtually no resistance to a kick start - it was like someone had stolen the engine, and it took a lot of getting used to. If I didn't make a point of *instantly* backing off the throttle when starting from cold, my VF400 rev counter would fly from zero to its 12.5k redline in a small fraction of a second rather than taking multiple seconds to wake up and start hovering around tickover. The cars that followed were the same - even with a way-beyond-aged battery, they started like a dream. Certainly, thermal/expansion issues are a meaningful thing, but in terms of lubrication when cold, oils/engines back then left a *lot* to be desired.
Meanwhile I turn off AC and letting engine get all that heat build up as fast as possible while i’m freezing my ass around -20 celsius, so that should tell how much care I take of my car, also warming engine with block heater for 4 hours before, still I let my iron cow to gather and build that heat for itself before I let myself to get warm :D
@@BLCKVD That’s strange, I’ve noticed that running the AC helps raise the engine temp quicker at the expense of freezing inside even more due to the compressor taking heat from the evaporator inside the cabin and pushing it into the condenser right infront of the engine radiator. I once tried to put an electric heater inside the car with the car just started up cold with the AC on LO setting and my theory was confirmed, within 1 minute of idling I already saw my temp gauge move. I couldn’t wait longer than 2-3 mins but by then it was already halfway to operating temp on the coolant. When I turned off the electric heater and stored it into my garage to drive off, I turned down the Ac to its lowest fan setting and it was still relatively comfortable inside and I was at operating temp according to the gauge before even leaving my neighborhood. This wasn’t on a very cold day though, it was only 0c/32F but oh well.
@@surena9451 Apparently, that AC does heat up front of the car where that AC radiator is and car engine coolant radiator, usually they exactly sandwiched together so that warmed up AC coolant radiates that heat to engine coolant radiator, but definetly don’t help the colder it gets and only works if you put ac to turn air to cold which doesn’t make no sense when outside is already freezing cold, but you can heat up engine coolant that way like you did at those temps, also turning ac on makes engine struggle more which causes more heat build up faster tho these all can be very minimal and marginal
Most modern car’s AC systems don’t turn on below a certain temp or if humidity is low. The light on the dashboard will turn on, but the AC system itself will not cycle.
@@tosil Well with me running an electric heater inside the cabin, the evaporator - which is inside the cabin behind the dashboard cannot freeze over thus the AC keeps on pumping as if it is summer. Even under normal circumstances, when you run the heat from the engine (when at operating temp) the AC still works during winter as a dehumidifier and doesn't freeze over the evaporator making it useless during winter dehumidifying. The condenser couldn't care less about summer/winter as it would be the hot/high pressure side of the system.
@@BLCKVD this is the way, I had a car with heated seats awhile ago and would do this, and I just bought a new car and once again have heated seat. Set the seats on high and keep that coolant circulating through the motor and radiator instead of the heater core 👍👍👍
Very good points. I typically start the engine, wait about 20 to 30s, put the auto transmission in drive and wait a few more seconds, then drive "gently" until at operating temperature, not that I drive spirited anyway. At Perkins Engines (UK) in the early 80s, my Alternative Fuels Development boss, Dave Bacon, said that when he worked at Lotus, they had bore-glazing issues in the US. People would leave the car idling while eating breakfast to warm it up! The excess fuel from the choke being activated washed the oil off the bores. Less of n issue today, but still occurs as a cold engine needs a richer mixture and cold cylinder walls condense the fuel. I'm not a fan of Gas Direct Injection due to the fuel dilution that occurs in the oil and the carbon buildup. PI + DI is a better configuration to avoid carbon buildup.
My buddy jumped in his Toyota and took off right away in -30 below ! It sputtered horrible as you could probably imagine.....he pulled over even as it spit & sputtered . It was never the same after that !!
My car, a 2019 Nissan 370z, has a closed-loop fuel injection system with electric heaters on the O2 sensors. On a cold start, the engine operates open-loop for only about 10 seconds before the heaters get the O2 sensors working and the engine goes into its programmed closed-loop mode. I then idle the engine until the coolant gets up to temp, about 5 min, and then drive off gently and keep the revs not over 2k rpm until the oil gets to 180⁰F. My car has 66k miles; uses no oil between its 3k mile oil change interval, exhaust tips show virtually no soot residue on the inside and two used oil analyses reports showed good viscosity with hardly any water or gas contamination and very low wear rates of metals like iron, copper and lead. An oil pressure check with a mechanical gauge showed 30 psi of oil pressure at idle and 60 psi at 2k rpm, both at 180⁰F oil temperature and with the recommended 5W-30 oil. The Nissan spec for this engine,VQ37VHR, is 14 psi at idle and 42 psi at 2k rpm, with 5W-30 oil at 180⁰F. I think the quick driveaway was probably a good thing for older engines with carburetors or unheated O2 sensors that wouldn't control the air fuel ratios as precisely as the newer cars, maybe causing excessively rich running condiyions on cold idling.
My racing buddy puts a pre oil flow/ pressure pump on his trucks. Fuel pump and oil electric pump buzz to extacy before starter engages. Instant quiet start every time!
i live in florida so it rarely gets below 70F. i usually let it idle untill the oil temp registers then i drive it gently till the engine temp gets there. (BMW M440)
There’s also a fourth option which you didn’t mention in the introduction. Get in, start it up, start to drive immediately, but drive slowly (as you would in slower suburban streets), warning up the catalytic converter, the engine oil, the transmission (gear box) oil, and the differential oil at the same time. By the time you reach main roads or freeways (after a minimum of four to five minutes), every oil in your car has warned to operating temp. That’s what I do.
The best you can install an engine heater for a quicker warming up. There are electric ones and ones using the cars fuel like a Webasto or Ebersprächer..Electric ones use to warm up the oil and the fuel driven ones the coolant. Even better is a combination of both. The fuel driven ones do also warm up the inside of your car and using electric ones there can also be an output in the car installed for an heating fan to warm the inside to quit scraping windows, Mention that the engine and gearbox still won't be on optimal temperature but the warming up process is going way faster and will increase the lifetime of your engine. In the north of Scandinavia more than 90% of all cars have engine heaters.
This is exactly what I do! When the engine ticks down I put my foot on the gas pedal for another 3 to 5 minutes on a slight load until the oil temperature gets to 100 Fahrenheit, then I start driving. I have a turbo so I don't push it too hard until it gets to about 180 Fahrenheit.
Always drive gently after initial start up, and don't ask anything extra out of the drive-line until engine reaches operating temp. I store two classics and run nothing but Amsoil synthetic, no failures and always get up to temp and then push hard to "clear its lungs", so far I have had no issues and one gets driven rarely, and I have winter stored it since 1985.
My dad used to move my CRX from the driveway to the street every morning before work, and the exhaust rusted out extremely quickly. Great video, thanks!! Got a Subaru EJ25 being fully built right now and have been wondering about the best ways to warm it up over winter here in St Louis, Missouri, USA.
I have only driven cars over 200,000 miles and the "newest" vehicle I've ever owned is now 24 years old, my daily is an 89 bmw 525i. I've blown up everything except an engine. The best thing to do is start it, let it sit a few seconds, and then DRIVE IT, but keep it under 3000 RPM. No heavy launches, lightly feather the throttle and gently ease gears until the temps hit about the 1/3 mark. Then gently play with higher RPMs until it's up to operating temp, then the next thing to do is make sure you redline your car from time to time. It does not hurt your engine, it's actually really good to do so you clear your engine and exhausts out. Your engines and exhausts will gunk up over time if you don't put a load on your engine, especially diesels. I worked at a shop and it was a frequent thing to see diesel mall crawlers come in with plugged cats. Some vehicles even come up with warning messages that say to see a technician or drive at freeway speeds for 20 minutes. A lot of the issues that he mentions regarding plugged exhausts from letting your car idle too long can be mitigated by just driving the car and hitting those high RPMs.
I use Slick 50 in my engines in the winter (coldest months) and summer (hottest months) twice a year. Slick 50 has great film properties so the critical engines parts don't have a "cold/dry start" but lubrication already at startup. Teflon is a great product for your car and engine. In engines, Slick 50 provides 4 times more lubrication and 2-3 MPG better mileage so it actually pays for itself. For suspension and other parts Teflon is great because it is "self-lubricating". Since I don't have heated seats, usually I give my car a few minutes warm up in the driveway, and try to keep my speed 35 and under till the engine warms up. Even with an additive. Try Slick 50 in the winter months, you'll notice the improvement. (no affiliation, just a long time customer).
Yes I take it really easy when my ute is cold but I never lug it hard in a high gear either. I always put it a few hundred revs over idle. Once it's warmed up I will get into it a little more.
The diesel engine can work itself up to temp, but not force it hard or rew high. Petrol engine can idle to temp, or with ligt work in the beginning. Its also a good routine to let the engine, specially the turbo work itself colder after hard work before stopping it to awoid cold score.
I tell people. No matter what the weather. Let the engine run until the engine drops below 1,000 rpm. At minimum. But if you live where it can be -40° to -50°C or colder. Or even a bit warmer. That on days with snow or ice on the car. Start the car then clear it off. If you don’t have anything to clear off wait until there is enough heat to keep the windows clear from fog so you can see the road. Looking through that sliver at the bottom of the windshield is dangerous and with air bags especially dangerous. If you live somewhere with really high humidity like along with coast wear snow is rare but you can still get below freezing if can be a challenge to get your windows to stay clear of fog on the inside until you get some heat in the engine to clear the windows. That is also dangerous to drive before you can keep the windows clear. Where I live now we don’t have moose like where I used to live. But we have Roosevelt elk which are nearly as big. You don’t want to hit one ever. But especially because you couldn’t wait a minute or two so you could see them. I keep a sock filled with clumping kitty litter in one front door pocket and one in the rear door pocket on the opposite side and if you have a hatchback then one in the trunk. It helps significantly to keep the humidity levels down so that fog on the inside of your windows is significantly less and takes significantly less time to clear the windows. Low tech. But highly effective. Just remember to use a thin sock with a fairly tight weave so you don’t have kitty litter leak out. Cheap dress socks work well. Just fill and tie a knot in the open end after filling. Also unscented litter is preferable. As long as the sock doesn’t go moldy. Which is incredibly rare. Each sock should be good for at least a few years. I have 4 or 5 full years on my current ones so far. They tend to dry out in the summer. Between the heat and the A/C. I pull them out a few times a year when I do a major interior cleaning, to check for leaks or signs of mold and mix the litter up a bit by kneading them just to keep them in the best condition possible. I do quick interior cleaning more often. But the major deep cleaning where I pull everything out and let my O.C.D. loose on it only a few times a year. Because the major deep cleans take me about 4-6 hours, and I have other things to do besides always cleaning my car. But I do keep it reasonably clean always. If I give a friend a ride. I don’t want them to dread setting foot in my car. It’s a point of pride to keep a presentable car for me.
Wonder if I could just buy one of those moisture grabbers XL from home depot and leave it in the truck cab. When it hits -30 or -40 -50c the truck needs to warm the cab up for almost 15-20 mins before driving or else any sharp breeze will fog the windshield up. Had that happen one time on a two lane road and I couldn't see a thing. Sucked so much.
@thomas5890 yeah that's it, it's probably 20 bucks for one of those big moisture grabbers from home depot and I'd probably want two for a crew cab truck, worth a shot either way, the RAM 1500 in -40 temps takes forever to bring up to temperature just to say leave work, maybe it will help with the fogging up
My main trick to warm up the engine is just start it, turn it up to full heat to get the water flowing through the heater, but leave the fan off, turn on lights and rear window heat to put a little load on the engine. Then remove ice and snow while its idling, and by the time you're done with that, the coolant in the "short" loop will usually be up to 30-40C. then, either turn the fans on, and drive off if the windows aren't fogged up, or turn the fans on but on the lowest setting and wait for visibility to improve.. by then putting a bit of pressure on the accelerator to get the RPM up a bit should be fine to make it go a bit quicker, and keep the coolant temp up. I found that works well for my car so far... (had it for 15 yrs now)
I've owned my 2001 Tundra ever since it had 110,000 miles on now it has 270k and I do change the oil and the rest of the fluids religiously, plus repace worn out parts on it (original drive train). I just start my pickup every morning and not even a second later I hit the was and haul butt 😂 it's a V8 so ai love reving it and constantly go 80 miles an hour down Texas highways 😊 and the truck runs like new 👍
Simple in my world: Since I live right off/close to the highway, I give my ‘17 Subaru 30-45 sec (summer) or 3-6 min (winter) til the cold coolant light (no gauge 👎) shuts off and the 17-1900 open loop RPMs drop to normal 750-800. Gently from there to the highway and then increasingly spirited. I think it’s a perfect balance, plus much better for the longevity and clutches in transmission to not slam into load at high idle or full cold. Idemitsu GF-6 5w-30 strictly every 5k mostly smooth highway of 16-19k miles/yr. 93k, tailpipe has almost zero black on full finger rub, and not a drop of consumption (port injected).
_for the longevity and clutches_ -Here in the NL (mild climate) we are advised by the national automobile association (ANWB) to let go of the clutch very slowly and gradually when cold start in winter temperatures.
My zf8 uses engine coolant to heat transmission up, warms up quick idling in -30c. I idle 5 mins cold and drive easy. My ggas truck also read outside temp and keeps idle like 1200rpm. A good synthetic 5w or 0w oil works great. My truck has oil temp gauge.
It's simple, like you first said, the engine is in its bedding in state only when everything is fully thermally expanded. Also the additive package in the oil, which is business the part of the oil, in many cases are heat activated so isn't fully protecting the engine until it's at full operating temp
I have been using fully synthetic 0w-40 oils in my Rover with a M47r BMW diesel engine all year round for some years. Once the over night temperature drops difference in the way it pours even compared to a 10w-4 0 or 5w30 is significant Always use the glow plugs on a diesel for a cold start and use enough revs to circulate the oil and warm coolant. Unlike gasoline engines diesels reject very little heat into the coolant at low loads and RPM so keep the RPM up and don't use the heater immediately on cold start. On a diesel if you have a Webasto diesel burning heater or plug-in electric pre-warmer use it.
Reminds me of me granddad, he used to start up his sierra give it full beans and turn round to me and say, "you got to burn the damp out of it son" engine screaming away me going further down into my seat as I hear people outside saying"Fooookin HELL!!" lol bless him explains why my granddad's cars sounded like crap and never lasted too long, he was the best granddad ever but sadly no good with cars. Me personally my Japanese diesel van has just over 500k miles on, I bought it new, I let it warm up for about 1 minute,then drive gently until up to full operating temp, I keep the heaters off, i don't look at the coolant temp gauge I look at the oil temp as it takes a lot longer to get up to normal operation once the oil is in the the right zone I just drive me van as normal heaters on et, engine for its mileage sounds great even on a cold start in frosty weather.
been doing cold starts properly for years and have done 50-60k miles on every bike ive owned. never had a single engine fault. recently sold a bike with 58k miles to a friend and it sounds and runs like a brand new bike. all the bikes where 125cc and would spend most of there life at 6-8k rpm so yeah the engines are at there limit 24/7. proper cold starts and regular oil changes, using quality oil youll be surprised how long engines last.
In young days I had E30 325i and as all young petrol heads I was pure savage with that car. Start it in morning for college there was no shifting before red line. Car was sold with over million kilometers and compression as new one had. Probb today is that all cars (as all rest) is made not to be good for a long time
I still have my ‘98 pickup with a Cummins diesel in it. When I first bought it back in ‘98 I drive it like I stole it and when it was cold I would jump in it and hammer down the pedal. The black smoke would pour out and it would sputter until it warmed up. At 200k miles I had a new turbo installed and they pulled the head to take a look at the cylinders and pistons. They said there was very little blow by and the cylinder walls looked fantastic. I just keep fresh high quality oil in it.
When I visited my relatives in Alaska in November, most cars had engine block heaters, and the 10-minute idle warm-up regimen was mandatory. When it's -18Celsius, you must treat your vehicles differently.... By the way, in Alaskan environment, manual transmissions perform MUCH better than automatics.
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I have a 23 year old bugeye impreza with 150k miles on the clock, if anyone knows how to keep an old, delicate engine alive its me 😂. Its simple really, start the car leave it idle just for a minute to 2 minutes tops, then start driving, softly, dont go into boost, change gear early, and baby it. Once you've done a few miles and the temp is at normal operating temps youre good to go
Literally it, just drive it slower and more gentle till the temperature is up to operating temperature, that is pretty much all you have to be aware of.my car has remote start so I pretty much always turn it on from the house right as I'm starting to get out, by the time I'm in the car and my seat belt is on, the car engine is already running for 2 minutes or so and that's about it.
My two Subbies won't allow sport mode until a certain temp... 1st 90s on start is the most critical wear period.
@@battfinkz man I feel you on this, I have a ‘14 Hatch and I drive it the EXACT same way.
@@fs5866 this is the correct answer idling with regards a petrol means the car takes longer to warm up so the choke is open and the engine runs richer which degrades the oil. Start it drive it gently which will warm it quicker without straining the engine
This is exactly how I start up my GT86 (Subaru FA20 motor). Driving gently after getting underway is a more critical than the warmup period and often severely overlooked.
When it's very cold I put a brick on the throttle and start the engine. When I am driving around 70 MPH (especially on the highway) I shift into Reverse. This keeps my car healthy.
Top tip 👍
Golden advice.
And if it’s a diesel, don’t forget to top off at least 30% of the tank with premium petrol. It burns hotter so it should warm up your engine quicker.
@@EasternUNO 😂
Its the quickest and safest way to warm up the engine. 👍
For the last 42 years I have been working with several car museums in Australia. We look after 1930’s era Rolls Royce cars among others. I also work with aeroplane piston engines. Please listen to everything he says. This man is 100% correct on every single point he has made.
Well done, an excellent video. The best I have seen on the subject.
Please TELL ... what WAS he suggesting is BEST????
@@neverBragg good question
@@neverBragg EVERY SINGLE THING!
@@drn1850 no it's a dumb question! As he said, EVERYTHING he says!!!!!!!!
@@18_rabbit EVERYTHING is the Best?? The dude must've confused many more folks than just me! 😆
As a Canadian, in winter, I try to remote start the truck to start the warming process. By the time I had the windows scraped the vehicle was warm enough to start driving at a moderate pace. With my old diesel, the only difference was to keep it plugged in. That kept the oil warm enough to drive as it would never warm enough just at idle. Thanks for the video.
I am Canadian as well and saw your comment about plugging in your block heater. The one item that was completely missed in this video was talking about cold starting aids as per warming the engine before its started. And indeed with most automatic transmissions, they have cooler lines routed to the engines radiator so as the engine warms up that also in turn warms the transmission to some degree and takes the chill off of it as the transmission oil pump does flow/circulate oil even though the transmission is in neutral.
Ram 1500 warms up after 15 or 20 minutes, it sucks, takes forever in negative double digits
Back in the 80s when I (Brit) visited Canada, I was initially curious why so many cars had weird plugs hanging out at the front.
Then someone told me what they were for, and it made so much sense. We just don't need them here.
@@davewilson4493, who knows, with climate change maybe we won't need them here soon. 😂
@@davewilson4493 Back then in the 80's and before it was common for a block heater not to be a factory option but instead the dealership was expected to install them. That has changed a lot as its often a factory order now although even in Canada dealerships in the southern British Columbia area, Vancouver and Vancouver island often get dealer order vehicles in that they don't option in the block heater. But on the other hand lets say a GM Duramax diesel automatically comes with the block heater from the factory.
Another issue to consider, are the gaskets, if the engine block is cold and you drive the car away, theres a very good chance the the heads and the block have not expanded and created a much more tighter joint instead of just relying on the gasket itself to hold back the pressure created by the cylinder pressures, alot of exhaust gasket leaks are from the flame blowing thru the header gasket due to the differences of cast iron and aluminum, and dont run the heater until there is sufficient engine heat, other wise you are cooling off the coolant before it can retain a warmer temperature
Good point my friend.
Such a load of nonsense, manufacturer manuals literally tell you to drive away straight away and to not idle at cold…
@@Master1906
They also want to sell you aftermarket parts, so I know what advice I will follow.
That’s not correct. That only happens if you floor it or drive above 3k rpm if you drive it off when cold. You should let your car cold start for 50 seconds then drive away slowly and not exceeding 3k rpm. This will warm up the car faster and you will waste less gas while not harming the engine. By driving the car slowly you don’t cause uneven expansion of the bearings, rods, pistons, cylinders, heads and the block.
Heater is not really a problem cause most modern engines are programmed to idle at a little bit higher RPMs when cold-started. Toyota f.e. even went further and some models have "Power heat" button which raises RPM by like 300 (from around 900 to 1200) so the heating can happen faster. When engine is warmed up the idle speed will drop down to its normal value. Also at least my car also raises RPM a bit when a heater is activated, but it feels like its only 100 rpm or so, don't feel the difference that much in terms of how much heat gets produced.
Anyways I park my car in a non heated garage so I don't worry about having to full blast heater to get windows unfogged or unfrozen even without heating. I'd assume you shouldn't full blast it when on cold engine anyways, better drive for a bit with modest visibility and then turn it on when coolant has heated up a bit
An old lady who parks next to my driveway , starts the car stone cold and immediatly slams on the throttle pedal , for around 5-10min. at idle reving the engine till the limiter kicks in !
Persobally , i have habbit since i started driving like you mentioned - start up , fasten seat belt and check over instruments and mirrors then drive off moderately avoiding high revs and engine lugging in too high gear .
Having oil pressure and oil temperature gauge on the instruments helps quite a bit .
Oil especially needs good lenght of driving in order to warm up to ideal temperature .
@@MrJolly-lb9je Don't buy her car!!!
@@MrJolly-lb9je coworker in the early 80s did that. Would start his stone cold Chevy Nova and go to full rpm before redline.
Physics degree guy. He Said running the engine fast helped with lubrication in cold starts.
So after work on a cold day in a plant of 2000 folks his Reving engine was easy to spot since weird.
The Stupid Ignorance out there is simply amazing.
@@MrJolly-lb9je how old is the old lady’s car?
@@edombre4637 Few years old pretty much new , current model of Renault Twingo .
I do not speak with her much , but i told her few times she'll severely damage the engine if continue to do so .
Car she had prior to this one had the same "treatmant" !
An elderly chap who lives opposite me lets his small van (diesel engine) idle for up to twenty minutes before driving away. He also lets it idle for the same amount of time after getting home. I think someone told him that a turbocharger must be allowed to cool down before switching off. I wasn’t surprised during the COVID scare to see him wearing a face mask when driving even though there was only himself in the vehicle.
@wheater5 - That guy's warm up and cool down routines are extremely excessive, but the idea of letting the turbo cool down is actually legit, except it's not really about cooling the turbo itself. It's more for trying to prevent the hot oil from coking up by baking in the bearing housing. Just a 2-3 minute rest at idle before shutoff is plenty if the turbo wasn't worked too hard, 5 or so mins if it was. Not that u didn't already know that, just wanted 2 clear up turbo cool down 4 people who may not know. Lmfao your neighbor is waaay over the top tho, if that's what he's doing.
@ Yes, i understand why a short cooling period can help, I let our turbo diesel idle for a minute or so if it’s been driven hard. Yet, If I start my petrol engine and let it warm up at idle for more than a minute he comes out with a hand held air horn and gives it a long blast as if he’s calling full time!
@@wheater5 Yeah, I figured u knew all that already by u talking about that in the 1st place, just added my 2 cents on it, especially since my daily is turboed so I do the cool down multiple times a day! But hahaha gotta love the "my shit don't stink" mentality of that man. Classic.
I let it idle to about 48C oil temp, then drive mildly until at op temperature, then drive how ever l want. I've been doing this for decades with good results. This method for cold winters and hot summers in Canada.
A good and useful video, something you didn't mention is bore washing when the engine's cold.
For those who don't know, when the engine's cold the ECU has to inject much more fuel to start it and keep it running as some of the fuel condenses out before it gets burnt. Some of this fuel condenses out onto the cylinder bores and washes off some of the oil, this causes increased cylinder bore, piston and piston ring wear and diluted the oil slightly (although it will evaporate off with engine fully warmed up). This is another reason not to let your engine sit idling for ages, idle it for 30s max (at least above ~ 5C, perhaps a little longer for temps down to -10C, below that, fast idle it for a bit as per the video), then just drive it gently until warmed up.
Completely agree! Waiting in idle or going full throttle are both bad ideas. What I do is take my normal idle (750 RPM) first to 1000, then to 1200, then close to 1500, all while standing in place. Once you notice the sound of the engine is much more smooth (no more clunking) and you start getting some hot air inside of the cabin (assuming your ventilation is turned On and set to Hot), then it's safe to start driving slowly with 2000 RPM and gradually increase from there.
Oil takes much longer to reach operating temperature than the coolant. The problem is not cold flow viscosity because modern oils flow well at lower temperatures, the problem is getting to the temperature required to evaporate the moisture. If this happens repeatedly over time you end up with oxidised, glutinous sludge.
Rubbish, coolant only removes about 25% of the heat and is a method of fine tuning the temperature when running via the thermostat. The oil removes far more heat from the engine and warms up much more quickly. He even explains this at 12.00m.
@@user-xu5vl5th9n both of you here are either right or wrong after doing this for 55 years every time I drop a pin on a motor or car that has sat you will see rust above the oil level because of humidity they'll be rushed surface rust over the rods the Caps the block casting sometimes the crank? But they're usually splashed with oil you'll find it in the lifter valley you'll find it in the rocker valley and when you take off the valve covers you'll find it on the inside of the valve covers anywhere there's 10 you'll find spot rust from humidity but it takes quite a while of driving around to evaporate all the moisture in the engine and you can do it I've done it where there has been water kind of in the oil and after a nice long hot drive it's back to oil again it doesn't turn into a sludge it'll evaporate and turn into a clear oil I've done it too many times even when transmissions when the fluid looks a little pink if you drive it around and get the thing very hot it evaporates and turns back into tranny fluid I've done this too many times and even inside the transmission you'll find rust
The brown stuff, very nice. I drove 2 x 15 minutes a day, it never really warms up
Modern synthetic oil is actually very good at providing near instant protection. Obviously, don't be a moron by revving first thing but the oil has got your back
@@pete9501 Try draining your coolant out and see how far you get.
My Volvo V60 is fitted with a Webasto heater from the factory. I always use it when the temperature is around 12 degrees and below. It's both comfortable and good for the long term reliability of the engine and it is safe too because you always have snow free windows.
man i had a car with a webasto heater, that thing was doing such a good job at warming things up i miss it so much right now
Isn’t that just a cabin heater though? Pretty sure they don’t warm the engine or coolant
@@jra55417 i am not sure but maybe you are mistaken by the trailer cabin heaters (maybe webasto make those too) the ones that thomasrpoulsen is referring to take fuel from your fuel tank and burn it inside an enclosed chamber through which's walls circulates your engine coolant thus heating the whole engine block. It also can be wired in such a way that it turns on the fans in your dashboard and it blows the warmth from the small coolant loop into the car.
That heats the cabin. Does absolutely nothing for the engine.
One thing I have noticed with modern cars is the tendency to not have coolant and/or oil temperature gauges. I have a 2010 Jaguar XFS with neither of them. Instead I have to guess. I do wait about 10-20 seconds before starting off and drive gently for the first 5-10 minutes of a drive. The car has a preheater on the climate control which is a great feature but not a good way judge what's going on under the bonnet.
The other thing to note is petrol engines tend to warm up faster than diesel.
@@tboneisgaming Yeah, BS isn't it? Although temp gauges are heavily buffered
Ridiculous not fitting these gauges.How can you possibly educate peeps if there us no feedback from the dash😂.Manufacturers are quite pleased for you to buy a new engine/car I guess.😅
on new bmws theres a sports display u can bring up that has turbo psi, horsepower, torque, and oil temp. i just make it a shortcut on one of the buttons so i can have it up while i start the car
@@kingonthemoon7044 that's useful
_temperature gauges_ -My car (petrol engine) does have them both, but it has no use/meaning for the cold start process, as it takes at least a 1,5 mile or 5 minutes ride before the gauge shows any change (1 mile in summer temperatures).
I know I'm probably damaging my engine doing short journeys every day, so I avoid thermal shock by not doing spirited driving between journeys. Its all about gentle driving getting up to the required speed and then coming down to town speeds. I change gear before it hits 2000 revs, I always wait a minute after parking up for the temperatures to level its self. Whilst driving I try to keep at the gear which keeps the engine between 1500-2000 revs, you're always tempted to try to use all the gears ending up in 6 th gear but that's not the case. I'm normally in 4th driving around town by maintaining the revs at a reasonable level to avoid putting slow speed high gear strain on the engine. I never use start stop and I use quality oils and change every 3000 miles at home. During winter I never have the heating on and have the windows down, I've always done that because I like fresh air and it tends to bring the engine up to temperatures a lot quicker than having the heating on.
@@WeAreTheUnhappyMajority Labouring the engine in too higher gear is also very damaging, especially when the engine's warming up.
@@Markking1678 Not really when the computer on board doesn't prompt you to change to a higher gear.
_coming down to town speeds_ -It’s probably the 4th gear (60-70 km/h) that has best torque and fuel economy ratios, hence best for the environment too. But in the Netherlands the town speed limit is 50 km/h and you are fined when caught above 54 km/h, so the government actually acts against the environment. We are having perhaps the best maintained roads globally but may not optimize the speed for fuel economy and environmental protection.
Thank you very much for this extensive explanation of everything happening during engine warm up ! For the first 5 minutes I drive gently : 2000 rpm max. When coolant temp start approaching 90 degrees Celcius, I can start pushing it more. I'm living in the Netherlands, so there is no need for my car to go for a climb or descent in the first few miles from where I live. My 'daily driver' is 13 years old now, and has been running fine without major issues.
Same driving style here. 13 year old car, no major issues.
@bakkerem1967 I assume it's a diesel? No way I can keep it under 2000 rpm on my 1.4 TSI - driving carefully in the "warm up"-phase I can't get it under 2600-2800 at risk of lugging.
@@NilausI Mine is an 8V 1.2 TSI (engine codename CBZB) coupled to an MQ200 6 speed manual transmission. The car weighs 1280kg. On almost any level road within the 130K kms, 1550+ rpm range was used since peak torque is provided at 1550rpm. For a couple of months I had used it down to 1300rpm at 3rd gear, covering some considerable distance over some mild speed humps. It returned surprisingly good fuel economy but also surprising problems too, such as a lambda sensor and the turbo actuator acting up, which were healed by driving at 2000-2500rpm range and not using 6th gear. Now I use 1700+ rpm range. AC is always on. Your question was for @bakkerem1967 but I wanted to answer anyway since you also use a TSI engine. Which version of the 1.4 TSI do you use?
Coolant temp isn’t what you should watch; instead you should watch oil temp. Coolant will shoot up quickly.
oil will reach 90c in about 10 min of driving,in my case around 6-7 in city then on Autobahn in max 4 min it's at 90c
My uncle worked in the arctic and he used Marvel Mystery Oil in the big machines for start up. Before that they used fire torches to start engines. I have used Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas tank 4 ounces at fill up and marvel in the oil 30 % at oil change, and 40 % for winter start ups.
It’s so wild how some things just come intuitively every morning I get in my car wait about 20 seconds and then I put my foot ever so gently on the gas til about 1,500 rpm’s I do that for maybe a minute and then check to see if the rpm’s have dipped below 1,000 on the idle and then I throw it into gear I’ve been doing this without anyone ever saying anything to me or reading about it I just figured it would be a good thing to do.
@@ncik33195 Most cars have been doing that for a long time, they rev themselves
Your videos are so detailed and interesting.. subbed and liked :)
Cheers buddy, thanks for the support. I do put a lot of hard work into them so I'm glad someone is finding them useful.
You can warm up most automatic transmissions while you warm the motor too by putting it in neutral, because It gets the fluid pump circulating and making what ever heat it's going to make as well as lubricating all the parts that need lubrication that need it to function properly and to minimize wear on the rest, and this is only as far as I know, and only applies to most automatic transmissions not cvt I can't speak on those. Another thing that can be done for the bitter cold half of the year is to take some; tinfoil, a piece of cardboard, and some zip ties and make a grill cover, that will speed things up by probably 5-10min easy as well as figuring out we're there vehicles block heater chord is and if there vehicle has one because if it was originally purchased in a northern cold place it should generally have had one from brand new. My winter vehicle even when I forget to plug it in on an average day only takes about 10-20min (will of course be more on an abnormally cold day) and when plugged in no more than 10. But then I do have a insulated grill cover.
I hit the remote starter, put on my shoes, get my jackets on, and 5 minutes later I have a warm car and I slowly drive away.
Super video dude! I knew alll of it already but im suprised my logical knowledge about cars is correct.
Glad to hear it! Please share the video with your less informed friends, they will thank you.
I've got a 2004 Honda Accord 2.4 K24A with the 5sp manual trans. It has 270k miles and runs as good as the day it was purchased from the dealer. It still reads 190#+ psi. I start it up let the idle drop and drive it moderately till it fully warms up. I wouldn't be surprised if this car gets 500k miles or more.
Pretty much what I do with mine as it ticks over a bit higher from cold start. 2005 ep3 type r
Lost a ball joint on mine at that milage. Didn't wreck but cost a small fortune, had to replaced everything on both sides. Mine rusted away at 310k. Fun car I would buy another.
@@toothpicdinosaur3777 I had a tie rod come undone on mine. Fortunately I was at a stop sign and a couple blocks from my house. Had it fixed for $0 in minutes. Sorry to hear about the rust issue, never lost a rig for that reason. We don't use salt on the roads. I'm assuming that's what happened to yours, my apologize if I'm wrong. I have another one with the same set up in the LX trim w/260k miles. Picked it up for $600, kid rear ended someone but it didn't even touch the subframe. It was perfect and an easy fix. You can find 'em cheap like that just look to see if that sub frame is bent. If not scoop it up, don't know how to fix? Someone on this platform x100 made an easy to follow video making you an expert, LOL.
Oh, one more thing, I almost forgot. Was that an upper ball joint that went out? I've had lowers go out and still drove home on the freeway, just curious.
Here in central British Columbia, Canada, the winters can get down to minus 40C (about minus 40F too) and driving is a challenge. My Ford Ranger pickup came with a somewhat undersized factory block heater (450W), and I've added an oil pan heater. Together they work reasonably well down to about minus 15C, if plugged in two hours before leaving. Below that they are not enough. The engine cranks noticeably slower, although it always starts just fine. New battery, good clamps and cables, 0W40 synthetic motor oil. I have a brand new 1000W coolant heater meant for a stationary diesel engine but it's so crowded under the hood I can't fit it in. I also have the radiator completely blocked with cardboard panels for quicker warmup.
In these temperatures I idle the engine for perhaps ten minutes while I shovel snow, scrape the windshield, defog the glass etc. The one thing that would help more than anything is an enclosed garage, which is on my to-do list.
I’ve always just started my car buckled in then put it in gear and set off gently for about ten minutes or so. My ten year old Ford has over 180k miles and has never failed me once.
My 05 Silverado has 251,000 miles and I ALWAYS baby it on startup. I have remote start so I use it and depending on the outside temp, I'll let it warm up from 2 minutes to 8 or so (below freezing I usually don't drive it but if I have to, I'll let it idle 10 minutes before moving). When I finally take off, I'll put it in drive and just idle out of the driveway amd barely touch the gas (only get up to about 20mph) until i reach the first stop sign about 1/4 mile away. Then I still go as slow as possible until it gets over 200°.
Over 200 degrees? I know you're probably" if it isn't broke don't fix it" kinda guy and nothing wrong with that. But honestly, a low temp thermostat like 160 or 170 degrees would only add longevity to the motor. Engines never run "cool", just less "hot" with a better thermostat and even adding a product like Royal Purple Purple Ice, and Redline's Water Wetter (which is used in racing applications because race cars cannot use ant-freeze. Only distilled water in the radiator) will also help lower engine temps. I take the premise if it's good enough for NASCAR it is good enough for my car. And they use 160 degree thermostats. And a thermostat doesn't fully open until 10 degrees hotter than its listed temp. That's why I also use oil catch cans because NASCAR uses them. This stops any kind of carbon buildup on the valves and intake that reduces performance, and can lead to engine failure if not watched because of the PCV valves used today. And no it doesn't hurt the environment doing either of these. It is only 2 things I know that NASCAR uses that can be applied to everyday vehicles, and work for better and longer lasting engines.(Lexus are considered and have been awarded for having the longest lasting cars on the road for many years having their cars go 400,000 and 500,000 miles. And the Lexus brand uses 160 degree thermostats.) The EPA "claims" hotter engines pollute less. So engine tempuratures keep rising with some cars having thermostats 200, 210 and even 220 degrees with special high pressure radiators. If governments were truly concerned about the environment or "climate change" they would release the known tech for cars where no longer "liquid" fuel is squited into engines. Which liquid fuel does not burn, only the "fumes" (which is hydrogen gas). This leads to high pollution and low MPG. As pollution is simply "unburnt" fuel, which is about 2/3 of the gasoline your buy. Straight out the tailpipe as pollution (and also because it is laden with carbon, which doesn't like to burn). If instead, you were to convert gasoline into a gas (which it readily does at most ambient tempuratures) and introduce these "fumes" into the combustion chamber (hydrogen gas) you would effectively reduce pollution of cars by better 50% while doubling MPG for all vehicles across the board. This is what jet engines do, and why they are so efficient. Imagine getting 40+ MPG out of your truck, and 60 MPG+ out of your car, while feeling good you are polluting less. Because now you are burning 2/3 of the available fuel (gas tank), and only 1/3 of the fuel would be pollution out of the tailpipe. With today's cars and trucks you only get to use about 1/3 of the available energy in a tank of gas, the other 2/3 is wasted out the tailpipe. This is "the only" evolution for combustion engines. The tech is cheap and this idea not "new" but known for some time now, and no more dangerous than what you are doing today, because you would still start off with liquid gasoline. (just as jet fuel is a liquid, usually "kerosene"). Did you know oil is "Not" a renewable resource, and oil wells refill? You live in Texas, you probably already know that. Take care friend and I hope your friend takes you many more hassle free miles. Nobody wants to buy a vehicle in this current environment unless they have too. Today we don't get the best car and trucks. That occurred for all manufacturers 1996-2008 or maybe 2010 depending on the model. Since then it's been useless touch screens, smaller engines, crappy CVT transmission and "Bling" driving up the price of trucks and cars today. Along with EV's that nobody wants, or if they do, cannot afford. EV's are simply a way for the rich to limit freedom and opportunity for the poor folk because we would all end up with scooters instead of EV cars. (Plus, DEI Failure also driving up car prices because of hiring people without any skill or talent or common sense. It's destroying American and British businesses. It permeates education creating failure in schools at all levels. Putin couldn't have come up with a better plan to ruin western businesses and culture. And i'm not sure he is the genius behind the Woke/DEI movement.) Peace.
@@johannjohann6523paragraph much?
Mine has 300k and i dont baby it at all.
Good advice. I've had cars since my '58 Ford 60 years ago and never lost and engine. I plug our car engine heater for 15 min at 0 C, and transition up to 2.5 hours at - 40 C but no more than 3 hours of warming here in Northen Ontario. Clear any ice and snow before starting it and no more that 1 min of idling . Very, very slow driving for the first few minutes. Once she warm I open her up.
I was told if you put an automatic transmission in neutral while the car is idling it starts warming it up along with the engine but obviously make sure the parking brake is engaged first.
@@adamgallahan6747 ,
Au contraire...
I haven't used the parking brake on Anything since '72 and have been rewarded with No parking brake problems. The parking brake is a solution looking for a problem, for ignorant drivers. ☆
There are also other parts of the car that need to warm up, not just the engine. Gear box, shock absorbers, tires etc. If you just warm up the engine, your other parts get a shock if you go full in.
Living in a climate with temperatures down to -30 °C the engine warms a bit after cold start while cleaning snow and ice from the windows before driving. Then I take it easy for a few km before driving normally. Especially shock absorbers are "rock hatd" before they warm up, and going hard on the first bump with cold oil easily leads to leakage. Same goes for the rubber parts in the chassis, they are rather stiff at cold temperatures before they move a warm up a bit.
I use Clear Flood Mode to circulate oil without turning on, if my truck has been sitting. Turn on and let rpm drop below 1k to avoid hard cold shift into drive. I then let the rpm carry the momentum without giving it gas for a block, and drive gently until my transmission oil and engine oil are at operating temperature. A truck displays all temperatures, and idle hours. The truck changes fuel pattern on the injectors when cold
Just drive off gently, try to avoid using the heater until it's warmed up
The heater uses the coolant temperature to heat the car, so if the car is cold, turning on the heat is useless until the engine warms up. Electric cars are of course different. When I lived up north, I always laughed to myself when I got in a friend's car and they immediately turned on the heat and frigid cold air came through the vents until the car came to temperature. They also seemed to think turning it up to high would made a difference. It does, it makes it colder. Turning on the heat when the car is cold is like turning on the A/C. Turning it up to high only blows out more cold air. Funny thing is, they keep doing it.
The airco works differently, though
@@floridaredneck
It's ok, they are warming up the blower blades, lol.
@@andreiserde9441 Down here we have stupid people too. They park in our 97 degree heat with their windows sealed shut (we have 11 months of summer). Then, when they get back in their roasting dish on wheels, they turn on the convection oven known as A/C. Of course, if your car isn't fit to boil a lobster, you wouldn't have all that heat in there in the first place and your vents would cool down quickly. My friends say it's a habit. A habit that burns your ass up every time you get in the car? No, smoking his a habit and cracking your damn windows down is simple logic, after you've toasted your butt 4 times a day since you were old enough to drive. But, that's just me. And then they say:
"But it might rain"! Yeah, in 4 days because the forecast shows dry frigging ultra-high heat till next week. No one said to do it in a thunderstorm or roll them down 9 inches. Not a cloud in the sky and you could roast a chicken and bake potatoes, scones and hot tea in the passenger seat while you're in the mall. Might as well slap a rib rack and a few ears of corn in the back seat while you're at it. Hell, why not, throw that apple pie in there too and cook everything at once. I mean, you'd think they'd learn by now. You just have to tell people everything, I swear.
@@floridaredneck i did not know some cars have heater inside vents... diesels (VW, Skoda, opel etc) in EU and US/CN they come with a 1kW electric heater that can blow warm air almost instant when you turn on your car...
It's funny that there is many so called "mechanics" who says "it is not necessary to warm up your engine". It cringes me when I hear that.
they mean don't let it idle to warm up. Drive under light load with less than 3K RPM until temps are up and you're good.
@@mak23997 exactly, you want the engine to warm up as quickly as possible with limited wear driving under low load low rpm is much better than idle.
@@rvilla4257 what the above 2 guys said. (From a mechanic, what they mean is to not sit idling to warm it up).
@@rvilla4257 I use to live beside someone that would run their engine idle for 20-30 minutes before driving off. It was ridiculous and it’s clear they were given bad advice.
I just start it and drive off carefully.
I've really learned to appreciate my Subaru when it comes to this. I used to get annoyed that it was so loud after starting, but it serves a purpose. It rockets to 1700 rpm, but you start getting heat in like 2 minutes, and it's up to operating temp in 5ish minutes. My Toyota Highlander is far quieter, but it takes forever in comparison to get heat and warm up. I'd guess 3x as long. My Outback is a turbo, so maybe that helps too. I let it run for at least 15 seconds even in the summer to make sure oil is circulating properly before driving off and then let the turbo cool down by letting it idle 30 seconds to a minute after parking. I also use Shell 89/93 as they contain friction reducers that reduce engine wear. Bet that is extra helpful when cold since that is when you'll get the most blowby.
Im not a car guy but appreciated this educational take ❤
Great explanation! I start and crawl a few metres to open and shut gate. Slowly go 1/2 mile to highway. Temp is rising fast by the time I am up to 55mph. 15 miles to town. Then back home it crawl back to park. Prity good for my engine!
I like my Toyota Highlander Hybrid because it gives the engine a chance to warm up from a cold start. For the first 20-30 seconds, as long as I'm cruising at a slow speed, the electric motors do all the work while the combustion engine idles. I can hear the engine going from closed loop to open loop as it warms up. And finally, once it's ready, the combustion motor starts to take up the work. It's really quite intelligent, as well as necessary, because hybrid engines are much more sensitive to failures caused by cold temperatures because they turn on and off all the time.
You mean open to closed loop 🙂
@@gregordiseth6651 Oops, that's right. I got confused by the way he talked about it.
@@CaveyMoth The same does my wife's Honda CR-V Hybrid. You can hear just the electric motors and the engine is allowed to warm up before it really has to kick in. And even then, it's gently.
Same as my 22 Escape hybrid AWD & 24 Nautilus hybrid AWD. 💯
This is such a breath of fresh air. There's so much woo-woo magic and misinformation on this subject, and your verry factual and to the point. These are the exact same recommendations the EPA has for the most efficient way to warm up an engine, which also happens to be the best for engine wear as well.
Mechanical sympathy is important, I always let my van warm up for 5mins before driving and putting load on my piston rings that are just warming up and expanding as the engine warms up.
I use Motor Kote it’s a friction reducer and works great at reducing friction!!THANKS for another awesome video!!!
Motor Kote as a trucker I saw it tested at a truck stop in Indiana and I’m sold on it I use it!!!!!
Great points! Another thing to consider is block heaters, oil pan heaters, etc. Any type of preheating is going to be beneficial to the engine's longevity and fuel efficiency. You'll get heat quicker too since the engine will be starting from a warmer temperature👍
Yep, very good information if you really want your car to last, have less repair bills and sell for a higher price.
In summer i start and drive hard. Once set thr tires to spin on take off to avoid on coming traffic.
Great video, believe it or not there are a hell of a lot of people who wouldn’t know any of this. I have always started the car and drove gently until it was warm, especially with my performance cars. If the car is icy, it can’t be helped and you have to leave it sitting. Apart from that, keep it out of sport mode until it’s warm and you’re good.
Where I am in Canada, winter isn't as severe as other parts, but it does get cold. I have an electric heater that sticks to the oil pan. When it's -10° C, I set a timer to start a few hours before I leave in the morning. When I pull out the the dipstick, the oil on the end is slightly warm to the touch. The engine cranks much easier.
This video is especially useful for car dealership employees/customers as well as rental car company employees/customers so that they know and understand the proper warm-up process.
Car dealership employees and rental dealership employees don't give a crap about warming up a car. They know that these cars will be dumped onto new owners long long before any problems show up.
@@ed909 That's what I was thinking. lol
I do exactly what the video recommends. I live in Eastern Ontario and we have a cold, miserable winter. Like really cold. My 2007 Chevrolet Malibu had 330,000 km's and ran like new until rust killed it. My 2009 Mercury Grand Marquis has 260,000 km's on the clock and still runs like new. A careful start leads to a long life. I also agree about the oil temperature sensor. My new Tiguan has one and I love it.
Awesome video thanks for sharing buddy. Was very informative and interesting information which I'm sure will help everyone watching it. Cheers!👍😃
Glad you enjoyed it
Good video, already knew most of the info, but very well explained, HI from Romania
I can often go without using my car for over a week. After starting I leave it idling for 5-10 secs before putting it in gear (DCT gearbox) and move off. I always shift before 2500rpm (max rpm when hot is 8400rpm), and usually before 2250rpm, until I've done at least a few miles. No full throttle and no labouring the engine. I'd rather use a few more revs than needing more throttle at lower rpm when cold (eg up a slight hill). I won't use full throttle until the oil is up to temp (I have an oil temp gauge). I do use the AC though which will heat the cabin once some temp is in the coolant. I don't tend to use this car when it's particularly cold (rarely below 5 degrees celcius) - is it actually worthwhile to turn the AC off until the oil is up to temp? I doubt more than a handful of people do this?! Maybe I should leave it idling for a bit longer with a bit of throttle (30secs, as you suggest)?
You can have the AC on as such; but set at cold; until engine's at or near OT; it does make a difference, especially for diesels. Very cold coolant takes a lot of energy to heat up - why would you compete with what the engine needs to reach OT, by heating the cabin (when the coolants already cold)?
@@Richard_L_Y I didn't think the AC would try drawing much heat when the coolant is still cold?
@@rossfripp4503it's the heater matrix / core that has the cooling effect on the coolant, and so in turn the engine to some extent, as it tries to heat the cabin (unless car only uses auxiliary air heater at this stage); which would likely be the case if diesel precisely because it takes so long for them to warm up! (my A3 1.9tdi 8P1 auxiliary heater is broken and I'm not fixing it; way too big a job for something that's not absolutely needed!?); the AC evaporator core isn't relevant or may be more likely to help not hinder (uses refrigerant, not coolant!)...?
keep your engine oil clean .dont rev the engine above 2000rpm till its warm up to temp
If you stayed on 2000rpm you would be just putting more strain on the engine your better or changing at 2.5rpm or 3000rpm and that would be about right to not lug the engine. Well unless your in diesel lol
@@dndkillaztreble5317 yes diesel
Lugging is bad even when engine is warmed up so I imagine it's also still bad or presumably worse for the engine lugging whilst it's cold
@@BulletGuards it depends wear you are if your on 30mph road sure change at 2000rpm if you live anywear witrh higher road limits 50mph to national limit shifting all the way to 60mph or 50mph at 2000rpm would lug your engine in direct i jection engines would increase the risk of lspi low speed pre ignition
My car only shows a green thermoter for the coolant which goes of when it’s up to temp. How do I know the engine is up to temp?
Great info , I have a tuned car so use the very best oil and change every 5k miles, till now never had a problem with my cars…
It's more nuanced than idle a bit vs drive from start.
Depending on the ambient temperature.
Depending on the nature of the first 5 to 10 min of your journey (load on engine/driveline).
This all plays a part.
With a torque converter transmission, you can stationary idle it in drive to get some heat into the transmission oil.
You will feel the smoother shifting starting off on a cold start.
I don’t Idle. I just very gently until it warms up. No use spraying the cylinder walls down with a rich air fuel mixture to keep the engine running rather drive.
Very impressive and informative !!!!!!
2nd owner of a boat - 06 3.5 highoutput charger - 2nd owner bought it 10 years ago 4k (120km) . I service it with my hands and I let it warm up real good before driving. 260k till now and going strong (19 year old boat ) - Canada
I have a manual VW (GTI) and I just drive straight away after starting. I'm fortunate that when leaving my garage, I have a downhill slope, then a gentle uphill, which I think is perfect for the warmup process. The temp gauge reaches normal very quickly, but when checking my oil temp via the cluster, it takes about 5 more minutes to reach about 130F (minimum reading after the dashes). Depending on my comfort level, I'll leave the cabin heat off temporarily to get faster warmup on very cold mornings. My garage stays somewhat warm, so the retained heat in the car is enough.
Great advise. I usually just wait for the rpm's to start dropping, then drive relatively gently (2000rpm) until operating temperature. Also, full synthetic flows better than conventional at low temps. My 2006 Toyota Matrix has over 226,000 miles (363,000 kilometers) and runs perfect (5k mile OCI and OEM filter).
2minutes ideal and 10minutes soft drive is sufficent for attending minimum OT . Not pressurising throttle for half an hour also helps in transmission and tyre heating up little to ge that supplness and flex .
Here in Scandinavia, when it gets as cold as -30 degrees in the winter, we electrically heat the car for an hour or two, depending on the degree of frost, before starting the car engine. But Old Volvo Never Die.🏁
My Subaru has Lineartronic transmission, on start up I have a blue warning light on the dash, they recommend driving gently until the light go out, then drive normally, the g/box oil is heated initially by the engine cooling system, so the engine warms the g/box oil then maintains cooling thereafter, so It's startup ,idle for 30 seconds, then drive gently, it works well, got the FA 20, 2.0 turbo engine 241 BHP, and timing chains, no nylon belts, fantastic car to own and drive.
Always in search of knowledge, thanks.
Years ago, some guy told me that is good to have Aircon on during the warm up. It gives some load and rises rpm little bit. I remember my dad driving cold car in cold winter( up to -20 C), start up engine, wait up to minute and then drive it bit slower and dont shift the gears so often for the first 10-15mins and rather keep the engine in lower 2000s rpm. His cars with regular servicing always had golden oil and no traces of wear and humid inside engine.
Great tip!
That's strange. The idea is to lower the RPMs so you don't clank it into gear. Turning on the heat when it cold only blows cold air until the coolant temperature rises. It doesn't make sense to overload the engine before it warms up; that's counterproductive. Not shifting gears often for 10 minutes makes no sense. That guy was incorrect and any mechanic will you that. You can start and wait till the RPMs go DOWN to about 1500-2000 (25 seconds, more in very cold areas),, but the last thing you want to do is start turning things on to compete with that objective. Once your RPMs are lower, shift as usual. That was some bizarre activity that guy told you.
_His cars with regular servicing always had golden oil_ -I do the same, and my oil doesn’t stay golden for long…
I see that most handbooks tell you not to idle the car and drive away immediately.....More emissions crap!
I always warm the engine for 1 min before I leave the drive, if it's super cold I sometimes up it to 3 or 4 mins. After that I never labour the engine or go above 2500rpm until it reaches 90c
I guess you know more than the manufacturers, enjoy paying for more petrol as punishment for believing in myths 😂
@@Master1906 As I said, the manufacturers advice is based on reducing cold start emissions, not protecting the engine. It's not a case of knowing better, it's a case of different priorities. Sorry if that hurts your fefes.
@@Master1906 And using 2p more petrol is more than ofset by the savings of not having to buy a new engine @70,000 miles.
@@Master1906 How many boosters have you had? My guess is all of them haha. You do realise that it's not in the manufacturers interests for your car to last too long?
Idling takes much longer and generates way less heat, while modern oils safely handle low rpm ranges while driving till the engine is warm.
Idling till its warm is not favorable.
As he also states in his video above, idling causes more problems.
Something I try to avoid is starting the engine for just a few minutes and not getting it up to temperature. That puts condensation into the exhaust which can stay there until the next time you use the vehicle. My 2008 Chevrolet Spark still has its original exhaust system.
Usually start from cold and let engine idle for a couple of minutes before driving off. Then just steady driving until engine temp gauge shows engine warm. As you say, engine oil takes longer to warm. Luckily, my Octavia Scout has an oil temp gauge so I'm able to hold bag big throttle until I can see oil is up to temp.
As per your other video, l always give engine a couple of minutes of turbo run down time to let this slow down and engine temperature to equalise before turning off.
I have a Toyota FJ cruiser. I recently did a oil change on it. normally I start my engines and let them warm up for 5 to 10 minutes at least, before doing a change. The oil, when it runs over my gloved hand is noticeably warm. not burning, but very warm. This time I only started it to move it to the garage. Like 3 minutes, then pulled the plug. I was suprised by how cool the oil temp was to the touch.
It is a shame that more cars don't come with an engine block heater as a factory installed option.
I have read various people saying that it isn't the same these days, and that the formulation is different, and I'd be totally willing to accept that that may be true, but back in the 80s/90s, Slick 50 made a *huge* difference to how well engines in my vehicles started.
My CB125 went from being a stiff old pig to start to causing multiple shin injuries because it put up virtually no resistance to a kick start - it was like someone had stolen the engine, and it took a lot of getting used to.
If I didn't make a point of *instantly* backing off the throttle when starting from cold, my VF400 rev counter would fly from zero to its 12.5k redline in a small fraction of a second rather than taking multiple seconds to wake up and start hovering around tickover.
The cars that followed were the same - even with a way-beyond-aged battery, they started like a dream.
Certainly, thermal/expansion issues are a meaningful thing, but in terms of lubrication when cold, oils/engines back then left a *lot* to be desired.
Good video.. Makes me laugh when people leave their cars idling before driving it.
As soon as you have oil pressure, you’re ready to drive.
Meanwhile I turn off AC and letting engine get all that heat build up as fast as possible while i’m freezing my ass around -20 celsius, so that should tell how much care I take of my car, also warming engine with block heater for 4 hours before, still I let my iron cow to gather and build that heat for itself before I let myself to get warm :D
@@BLCKVD That’s strange, I’ve noticed that running the AC helps raise the engine temp quicker at the expense of freezing inside even more due to the compressor taking heat from the evaporator inside the cabin and pushing it into the condenser right infront of the engine radiator. I once tried to put an electric heater inside the car with the car just started up cold with the AC on LO setting and my theory was confirmed, within 1 minute of idling I already saw my temp gauge move. I couldn’t wait longer than 2-3 mins but by then it was already halfway to operating temp on the coolant. When I turned off the electric heater and stored it into my garage to drive off, I turned down the Ac to its lowest fan setting and it was still relatively comfortable inside and I was at operating temp according to the gauge before even leaving my neighborhood. This wasn’t on a very cold day though, it was only 0c/32F but oh well.
@@surena9451 Apparently, that AC does heat up front of the car where that AC radiator is and car engine coolant radiator, usually they exactly sandwiched together so that warmed up AC coolant radiates that heat to engine coolant radiator, but definetly don’t help the colder it gets and only works if you put ac to turn air to cold which doesn’t make no sense when outside is already freezing cold, but you can heat up engine coolant that way like you did at those temps, also turning ac on makes engine struggle more which causes more heat build up faster tho these all can be very minimal and marginal
Most modern car’s AC systems don’t turn on below a certain temp or if humidity is low. The light on the dashboard will turn on, but the AC system itself will not cycle.
@@tosil Well with me running an electric heater inside the cabin, the evaporator - which is inside the cabin behind the dashboard cannot freeze over thus the AC keeps on pumping as if it is summer. Even under normal circumstances, when you run the heat from the engine (when at operating temp) the AC still works during winter as a dehumidifier and doesn't freeze over the evaporator making it useless during winter dehumidifying. The condenser couldn't care less about summer/winter as it would be the hot/high pressure side of the system.
@@BLCKVD this is the way, I had a car with heated seats awhile ago and would do this, and I just bought a new car and once again have heated seat. Set the seats on high and keep that coolant circulating through the motor and radiator instead of the heater core 👍👍👍
Very good points.
I typically start the engine, wait about 20 to 30s, put the auto transmission in drive and wait a few more seconds, then drive "gently" until at operating temperature, not that I drive spirited anyway.
At Perkins Engines (UK) in the early 80s, my Alternative Fuels Development boss, Dave Bacon, said that when he worked at Lotus, they had bore-glazing issues in the US. People would leave the car idling while eating breakfast to warm it up! The excess fuel from the choke being activated washed the oil off the bores. Less of n issue today, but still occurs as a cold engine needs a richer mixture and cold cylinder walls condense the fuel. I'm not a fan of Gas Direct Injection due to the fuel dilution that occurs in the oil and the carbon buildup. PI + DI is a better configuration to avoid carbon buildup.
My buddy jumped in his Toyota and took off right away in -30 below ! It sputtered horrible as you could probably imagine.....he pulled over even as it spit & sputtered . It was never the same after that !!
Probably transmission damage.
My car, a 2019 Nissan 370z, has a closed-loop fuel injection system with electric heaters on the O2 sensors. On a cold start, the engine operates open-loop for only about 10 seconds before the heaters get the O2 sensors working and the engine goes into its programmed closed-loop mode. I then idle the engine until the coolant gets up to temp, about 5 min, and then drive off gently and keep the revs not over 2k rpm until the oil gets to 180⁰F.
My car has 66k miles; uses no oil between its 3k mile oil change interval, exhaust tips show virtually no soot residue on the inside and two used oil analyses reports showed good viscosity with hardly any water or gas contamination and very low wear rates of metals like iron, copper and lead. An oil pressure check with a mechanical gauge showed 30 psi of oil pressure at idle and 60 psi at 2k rpm, both at 180⁰F oil temperature and with the recommended 5W-30 oil. The Nissan spec for this engine,VQ37VHR, is 14 psi at idle and 42 psi at 2k rpm, with 5W-30 oil at 180⁰F.
I think the quick driveaway was probably a good thing for older engines with carburetors or unheated O2 sensors that wouldn't control the air fuel ratios as precisely as the newer cars, maybe causing excessively rich running condiyions on cold idling.
My racing buddy puts a pre oil flow/ pressure pump on his trucks. Fuel pump and oil electric pump buzz to extacy before starter engages. Instant quiet start every time!
Brilliant! That's going to prevent most of the start-up wear.
A really good video. What do you think of auto stop start systems?
i live in florida so it rarely gets below 70F. i usually let it idle untill the oil temp registers then i drive it gently till the engine temp gets there. (BMW M440)
There’s also a fourth option which you didn’t mention in the introduction.
Get in, start it up, start to drive immediately, but drive slowly (as you would in slower suburban streets), warning up the catalytic converter, the engine oil, the transmission (gear box) oil, and the differential oil at the same time. By the time you reach main roads or freeways (after a minimum of four to five minutes), every oil in your car has warned to operating temp. That’s what I do.
Thanks, for the tips. Please give my regards to Mr. Bigglesworth 🐈
The best you can install an engine heater for a quicker warming up. There are electric ones and ones using the cars fuel like a Webasto or Ebersprächer..Electric ones use to warm up the oil and the fuel driven ones the coolant. Even better is a combination of both. The fuel driven ones do also warm up the inside of your car and using electric ones there can also be an output in the car installed for an heating fan to warm the inside to quit scraping windows, Mention that the engine and gearbox still won't be on optimal temperature but the warming up process is going way faster and will increase the lifetime of your engine. In the north of Scandinavia more than 90% of all cars have engine heaters.
This is exactly what I do! When the engine ticks down I put my foot on the gas pedal for another 3 to 5 minutes on a slight load until the oil temperature gets to 100 Fahrenheit, then I start driving. I have a turbo so I don't push it too hard until it gets to about 180 Fahrenheit.
Always drive gently after initial start up, and don't ask anything extra out of the drive-line until engine reaches operating temp. I store two classics and run nothing but Amsoil synthetic, no failures and always get up to temp and then push hard to "clear its lungs", so far I have had no issues and one gets driven rarely, and I have winter stored it since 1985.
Thank you for this info
Could you do a vid on wet belts i heard it's unburnt fuel that causes the pitting not the oil?
My dad used to move my CRX from the driveway to the street every morning before work, and the exhaust rusted out extremely quickly. Great video, thanks!! Got a Subaru EJ25 being fully built right now and have been wondering about the best ways to warm it up over winter here in St Louis, Missouri, USA.
I have only driven cars over 200,000 miles and the "newest" vehicle I've ever owned is now 24 years old, my daily is an 89 bmw 525i. I've blown up everything except an engine. The best thing to do is start it, let it sit a few seconds, and then DRIVE IT, but keep it under 3000 RPM. No heavy launches, lightly feather the throttle and gently ease gears until the temps hit about the 1/3 mark. Then gently play with higher RPMs until it's up to operating temp, then the next thing to do is make sure you redline your car from time to time. It does not hurt your engine, it's actually really good to do so you clear your engine and exhausts out. Your engines and exhausts will gunk up over time if you don't put a load on your engine, especially diesels. I worked at a shop and it was a frequent thing to see diesel mall crawlers come in with plugged cats. Some vehicles even come up with warning messages that say to see a technician or drive at freeway speeds for 20 minutes. A lot of the issues that he mentions regarding plugged exhausts from letting your car idle too long can be mitigated by just driving the car and hitting those high RPMs.
I use Slick 50 in my engines in the winter (coldest months) and summer (hottest months) twice a year. Slick 50 has great film properties so the critical engines parts don't have a "cold/dry start" but lubrication already at startup. Teflon is a great product for your car and engine. In engines, Slick 50 provides 4 times more lubrication and 2-3 MPG better mileage so it actually pays for itself. For suspension and other parts Teflon is great because it is "self-lubricating". Since I don't have heated seats, usually I give my car a few minutes warm up in the driveway, and try to keep my speed 35 and under till the engine warms up. Even with an additive. Try Slick 50 in the winter months, you'll notice the improvement. (no affiliation, just a long time customer).
Yes I take it really easy when my ute is cold but I never lug it hard in a high gear either. I always put it a few hundred revs over idle. Once it's warmed up I will get into it a little more.
The diesel engine can work itself up to temp, but not force it hard or rew high.
Petrol engine can idle to temp, or with ligt work in the beginning.
Its also a good routine to let the engine, specially the turbo work itself colder after hard work before stopping it to awoid cold score.
I tell people. No matter what the weather. Let the engine run until the engine drops below 1,000 rpm. At minimum. But if you live where it can be -40° to -50°C or colder. Or even a bit warmer. That on days with snow or ice on the car. Start the car then clear it off. If you don’t have anything to clear off wait until there is enough heat to keep the windows clear from fog so you can see the road. Looking through that sliver at the bottom of the windshield is dangerous and with air bags especially dangerous. If you live somewhere with really high humidity like along with coast wear snow is rare but you can still get below freezing if can be a challenge to get your windows to stay clear of fog on the inside until you get some heat in the engine to clear the windows. That is also dangerous to drive before you can keep the windows clear. Where I live now we don’t have moose like where I used to live. But we have Roosevelt elk which are nearly as big. You don’t want to hit one ever. But especially because you couldn’t wait a minute or two so you could see them. I keep a sock filled with clumping kitty litter in one front door pocket and one in the rear door pocket on the opposite side and if you have a hatchback then one in the trunk. It helps significantly to keep the humidity levels down so that fog on the inside of your windows is significantly less and takes significantly less time to clear the windows. Low tech. But highly effective. Just remember to use a thin sock with a fairly tight weave so you don’t have kitty litter leak out. Cheap dress socks work well. Just fill and tie a knot in the open end after filling. Also unscented litter is preferable. As long as the sock doesn’t go moldy. Which is incredibly rare. Each sock should be good for at least a few years. I have 4 or 5 full years on my current ones so far. They tend to dry out in the summer. Between the heat and the A/C. I pull them out a few times a year when I do a major interior cleaning, to check for leaks or signs of mold and mix the litter up a bit by kneading them just to keep them in the best condition possible. I do quick interior cleaning more often. But the major deep cleaning where I pull everything out and let my O.C.D. loose on it only a few times a year. Because the major deep cleans take me about 4-6 hours, and I have other things to do besides always cleaning my car. But I do keep it reasonably clean always. If I give a friend a ride. I don’t want them to dread setting foot in my car. It’s a point of pride to keep a presentable car for me.
Wonder if I could just buy one of those moisture grabbers XL from home depot and leave it in the truck cab. When it hits -30 or -40 -50c the truck needs to warm the cab up for almost 15-20 mins before driving or else any sharp breeze will fog the windshield up. Had that happen one time on a two lane road and I couldn't see a thing. Sucked so much.
@ you can do that. I used to use them. The way I described is just much cheaper. That part appeals to my Scottish heritage. 😄
@thomas5890 yeah that's it, it's probably 20 bucks for one of those big moisture grabbers from home depot and I'd probably want two for a crew cab truck, worth a shot either way, the RAM 1500 in -40 temps takes forever to bring up to temperature just to say leave work, maybe it will help with the fogging up
@ they do help. It won’t be instant clear. But will shave minutes of the time needed.
My main trick to warm up the engine is just start it, turn it up to full heat to get the water flowing through the heater, but leave the fan off, turn on lights and rear window heat to put a little load on the engine. Then remove ice and snow while its idling, and by the time you're done with that, the coolant in the "short" loop will usually be up to 30-40C. then, either turn the fans on, and drive off if the windows aren't fogged up, or turn the fans on but on the lowest setting and wait for visibility to improve.. by then putting a bit of pressure on the accelerator to get the RPM up a bit should be fine to make it go a bit quicker, and keep the coolant temp up.
I found that works well for my car so far... (had it for 15 yrs now)
I've owned my 2001 Tundra ever since it had 110,000 miles on now it has 270k and I do change the oil and the rest of the fluids religiously, plus repace worn out parts on it (original drive train). I just start my pickup every morning and not even a second later I hit the was and haul butt 😂 it's a V8 so ai love reving it and constantly go 80 miles an hour down Texas highways 😊 and the truck runs like new 👍
Simple in my world: Since I live right off/close to the highway, I give my ‘17 Subaru 30-45 sec (summer) or 3-6 min (winter) til the cold coolant light (no gauge 👎) shuts off and the 17-1900 open loop RPMs drop to normal 750-800. Gently from there to the highway and then increasingly spirited. I think it’s a perfect balance, plus much better for the longevity and clutches in transmission to not slam into load at high idle or full cold. Idemitsu GF-6 5w-30 strictly every 5k mostly smooth highway of 16-19k miles/yr. 93k, tailpipe has almost zero black on full finger rub, and not a drop of consumption (port injected).
_for the longevity and clutches_ -Here in the NL (mild climate) we are advised by the national automobile association (ANWB) to let go of the clutch very slowly and gradually when cold start in winter temperatures.
My zf8 uses engine coolant to heat transmission up, warms up quick idling in -30c. I idle 5 mins cold and drive easy. My ggas truck also read outside temp and keeps idle like 1200rpm. A good synthetic 5w or 0w oil works great. My truck has oil temp gauge.
It's simple, like you first said, the engine is in its bedding in state only when everything is fully thermally expanded.
Also the additive package in the oil, which is business the part of the oil, in many cases are heat activated so isn't fully protecting the engine until it's at full operating temp
I have been using fully synthetic 0w-40 oils in my Rover with a M47r BMW diesel engine all year round for some years.
Once the over night temperature drops difference in the way it pours even compared to a 10w-4 0 or 5w30 is significant
Always use the glow plugs on a diesel for a cold start and use enough revs to circulate the oil and warm coolant. Unlike gasoline engines diesels reject very little heat into the coolant at low loads and RPM so keep the RPM up and don't use the heater immediately on cold start. On a diesel if you have a Webasto diesel burning heater or plug-in electric pre-warmer use it.
Reminds me of me granddad, he used to start up his sierra give it full beans and turn round to me and say, "you got to burn the damp out of it son" engine screaming away me going further down into my seat as I hear people outside saying"Fooookin HELL!!" lol bless him explains why my granddad's cars sounded like crap and never lasted too long, he was the best granddad ever but sadly no good with cars.
Me personally my Japanese diesel van has just over 500k miles on, I bought it new, I let it warm up for about 1 minute,then drive gently until up to full operating temp, I keep the heaters off, i don't look at the coolant temp gauge I look at the oil temp as it takes a lot longer to get up to normal operation once the oil is in the the right zone I just drive me van as normal heaters on et, engine for its mileage sounds great even on a cold start in frosty weather.
sir how to avoid continental peizo diesel injector failures in renault cars please suggest me some preventive maintainance tips
Use good quality fuel and diesel additive now and again . Don’t be afraid to use the engine rev it out and get the injectors working
Congratulations got some well deserved views
Always been glad for having an oil temp gauge in my car
been doing cold starts properly for years and have done 50-60k miles on every bike ive owned. never had a single engine fault. recently sold a bike with 58k miles to a friend and it sounds and runs like a brand new bike. all the bikes where 125cc and would spend most of there life at 6-8k rpm so yeah the engines are at there limit 24/7. proper cold starts and regular oil changes, using quality oil youll be surprised how long engines last.
In young days I had E30 325i and as all young petrol heads I was pure savage with that car. Start it in morning for college there was no shifting before red line. Car was sold with over million kilometers and compression as new one had. Probb today is that all cars (as all rest) is made not to be good for a long time
I still have my ‘98 pickup with a Cummins diesel in it. When I first bought it back in ‘98 I drive it like I stole it and when it was cold I would jump in it and hammer down the pedal. The black smoke would pour out and it would sputter until it warmed up. At 200k miles I had a new turbo installed and they pulled the head to take a look at the cylinders and pistons. They said there was very little blow by and the cylinder walls looked fantastic. I just keep fresh high quality oil in it.
When I visited my relatives in Alaska in November, most cars had engine block heaters, and the 10-minute idle warm-up regimen was mandatory. When it's -18Celsius, you must treat your vehicles differently....
By the way, in Alaskan environment, manual transmissions perform MUCH better than automatics.