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CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County

1 edit

CylonRed to Elohim

MVM

to Elohim

Re: Do You Warm-Up Your Car In Cold Weather? Don't Do It!

It is not dangerous to not warm a Car before driving it... PERIOD.

EDITED.
18172841 (banned)
join:2001-10-06
Lagrangeville, NY

18172841 (banned) to Elohim

Member

to Elohim
said by Elohim :

LOL electronics work better when they're cold. Your engine doesn't really need to warm up either regardless of whether you think it does.
You are joking right? When in history have you seen a camcorder or calculator work better in the cold than in room temp? The bloody thing runs slow and the battery lasts only about 30% of it's usual life.
Please stop giving people stupid and dangerous advice of not warming their cars in cold weather.
The colder you make something electronic the better it runs, to a point, and we don't reach that point anywhere. Heat = resistance.

A battery undergoes chemical processes to make electric, yes super cold is not good for them.

Their is no electronic in a car that has to warm up. You are posting miss information. My car is not a camcorder.

RR Conductor
Ridin' the rails
Premium Member
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
ARRIS SB6183
Netgear R7000

RR Conductor to CylonRed

Premium Member

to CylonRed
said by CylonRed:

It is not dangerous to not warm a var before driving it... PERIOD.
No, I always try to warm up my var J/K

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

AVD to 18172841

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to 18172841
said by 18172841:
said by Elohim :
LOL electronics work better when they're cold. Your engine doesn't really need to warm up either regardless of whether you think it does.
You are joking right? When in history have you seen a camcorder or calculator work better in the cold than in room temp? The bloody thing runs slow and the battery lasts only about 30% of it's usual life.
Please stop giving people stupid and dangerous advice of not warming their cars in cold weather.
The colder you make something electronic the better it runs, to a point, and we don't reach that point anywhere. Heat = resistance.

A battery undergoes chemical processes to make electric, yes super cold is not good for them.

Their is no electronic in a car that has to warm up. You are posting miss information. My car is not a camcorder.
Camcorder has mechanical parts, extreme cold is probably not good for them.

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix to shaner

Premium Member

to shaner
said by shaner:

PATS system. It's a Passive Anti-Theft System. In fact it's so passive, I have no idea what it does or how it prevents a stolen car.
sorry to go OT but
Theres a chip in the key so even if someone cut a key that looked the same it wouldn't be able to start the car

if you want another key you have to ether have 2 working keys and to the programing procedure orif you have only one (or don't want to do the procedure) then a dealer has to program the key
often times they'll program the key at the same time as pairing a keyfob for the car
Sniper3142
Slapsho3142
join:2002-01-25
Tustin, CA

Sniper3142 to Xstar_Lumini

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Engines AND electronics need to warm up to "normal" or "Proper" operating temperatures.

I guess no one here is a pilot. Aircraft have required operating temperatures and pressures for several systems (avionics, pumps, engines, etc). Learning how to properly operate an aircraft includes knowing these temperature and pressure values. Vehicles like cars and trucks are no different.

I remember many years ago, starting my car in Denver after a bad snow storm. The car wouldn't start for several attempts and when it did, saying the engine ran "rough" would be the mother of all understatements. The engine died several times at first and I had to wait for over 10 minutes for the engine to even begin to sound like it was operating correctly.

Once it had WARMED UP enough to operate correctly, I was able to start driving and continue my trek east.

Now this was an extreme situation but the basics still hold true. Engines run better once they have reached their proper operating temperature.



And batteries do not operate better in cold conditions. I know of a company that was under this false assumption and it cost them several hundreds of thousands to replace these batteries (since the cold had degraded their performance below our requirements).
Keiro
join:2005-10-25
Birmingham, AL

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I have to warm my 1984 GMC Vandura 2500 van up. Otherwise it gives a hard clonk when driving off. Seems to not like being ice cold when starting. (I'm in Nebraska. Minatare to be exact.) This is from a cold start and no idle time.

Giving it a minute or two seems to be the sweet spot for my van, as it has no issues after starting it up cold.
18172841 (banned)
join:2001-10-06
Lagrangeville, NY

18172841 (banned) to Sniper3142

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to Sniper3142
said by Sniper3142:

Engines AND electronics need to warm up to "normal" or "Proper" operating temperatures.

I guess no one here is a pilot. Aircraft have required operating temperatures and pressures for several systems (avionics, pumps, engines, etc).
My car is not an airplane flying at 20k feet either, Nor does it have a turbine motor.(Though they said it would be flying by now =( )

I don't have to let my digital camera warm up after I start it, I mean if everyone wants to compare a car to things that are in no way similar...

My damn car manual states, after 1min in below freezing temps you are ready to drive (10secs warm). I am 99% sure if she needed to get to operating temp (btw my car wont even do that below 0 if she idles with heat on) it would say that in the manual! O ya and that's a 91, I'd be willing to bet newer cars are ready even sooner with 0w-20 oils etc.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

1 edit

1 recommendation

CylonRed to Sniper3142

MVM

to Sniper3142
When cars start being airplanes then we can worry about warming the cars up fully.

Point being of the thread- to GET the car to normal operating temps - drive it right away - otherwise the car is running less than optimally for a far longer time.

If a modern car (like last 10-15 years) does not run well at all in cold temps - something is wrong with the car.

louie
@comcast.net

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all cars are different!! i owned an older camero and would never start in colder weather , now i own a newer saturn and starts no matter what the temp is ,, i dont care about pollution I WANT MY CAR TO START,, Cold weather is not good for any car, i suggest u should warm it At least for 15 minutes ,,
severach
join:2002-09-12
Jackson, MI

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Electronics work better when cold but that's irrelevant to automotive applications. Automotive electronics are designed to work properly over their entire temperature range, and then some. Most modules are not in an area that is warmed or cooled so run at outside temps for the entire trip.

If the airplanes and cars had to be warmed up to run then they would be warmed up by something else before running. The fact that they run the engines to warm them up shows they can be run cold. It's a good idea to not run them too hard until warm. Taxi out to the runway is plenty of time to warm the systems. If not then it's time to visit the mechanic.

A driven or idled engine will take the same amount of fuel to get up to operating temps causing the same amount of waste and contamination. All that changes when you drive vs idle is that the necessary amount of fuel is consumed in less time. The passengers like this but the engine doesn't care.

Your older Camaro was designed to start in any weather. You just didn't service it right. So long as the parts are available I can get cars of any age to start properly in cold weather. They run properly too so I don't need to waste my and the car's time idling for 15 minutes just to get it to stay running. Cold weather isn't good for any car but idling isn't the solution. Move to where it isn't cold.

Cho Baka
MVM
join:2000-11-23
there

1 edit

Cho Baka

MVM

said by severach:

A driven or idled engine will take the same amount of fuel to get up to operating temps causing the same amount of waste and contamination. All that changes when you drive vs idle is that the necessary amount of fuel is consumed in less time.
This isn't true.
»Re: Do You Warm-Up Your Car In Cold Weather? Don't Do It!

Edit:
On the other points mentioned Sevrach is bang on.

Also, to clarify, I am not saying that idling/warming up is evil, terrible, or should never be done. It has its place.

For example, if it is (approximately) zero degrees C or colder, and you need to start your car to move it a few feet (say to shovel a driveway), then you need to let it run a couple of minutes before you shut it off. Failure to do so may result in subsequent restarting not being possible (due to flooding).
Nissan owner's manuals recommend this IIRC.

duc_grrl
@cgocable.net

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Ok this is purely a question. I am a long-haul truck driver, my truck uses Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 oil. Last winter in -50C temperatures in Brooks AB my engine blow-by tube froze over and my engine spewed about 20L of oil out the dipstick. After hacksawing off the blow-by tube above the ice, I set about replacing the lost oil. When I accessed the oil that I carry with me in a utility box on the OUTSIDE of my truck the NEW oil in the unopened 4L plastic container was actually SOLID and I had to go into the truck stop to buy oil that had been stored in the store. Needless to say, I don't ever shut my truck down at these temperatures but I wondered about peoples cars at those temperatures because 5W-40 is the same weight I use in my pick-up so wouldn't the same thing happen to the oil?

Cho Baka
MVM
join:2000-11-23
there

Cho Baka

MVM

Shell only specs that oil down to -35 degrees C.
-50 degrees C is well below that.

»www.mackenzieoil.com/pdf ··· %20E.pdf

I don't claim to know about use in a truck such as what you drive, but it isn't uncommon to see 0W-## motor oils spec'd for winter use on automotive applications.

Differences can be seen in the following PDF:
»www-static.shell.com/sta ··· auto.pdf

From here:
»www.shell.ca/home/conten ··· andbook/
duc_grrl
join:2010-01-02
Georgetown, ON

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Sorry I should clarify my question. It was really in response to matt5's comment that oil does not turn gelatinous and what I should have asked was doesn't the same thing happen to the oil sitting in a car parked outside as what happened to the oil I carried in the utility box on truck? Thanks guys!
duc_grrl

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Thanks 3SGTE, yes that's why we leave our trucks running ... at least until we run out of fuel because the diesel pumps were also frozen at that temperature LOL!

I clarified my question above, so I guess people that actually live in such forsaken places probably buy the 0W oil. I have to say it was quite the experience.
18172841 (banned)
join:2001-10-06
Lagrangeville, NY

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Wow what is with people and just going to stupid extremes, other threads we are comparing cars to air planes, this one we are talking about -50c (cause you know 90% of the world sees that)

As 3sgte said, you were using the wrong oil for the temp. Ya if you use the wrong oil, sure she is gona screw up, and if you put gas in that thing it aint gona run... so whats your point?

Would it make you feel better if I said, if you use the CORRECT oil weight for the conditions at hand it will not gel?

Diesel is 100% different than gas, that damn thing more than likely wont start under 0F with out being plugged in. While still bad to idle it, general rule of thumb is you don't shut off a diesel cause she wont start again with out being plugged in (and at -50C, I wont comment on the restarting being for sure plugged in).

Sure oil will gel up if it is not speced for the temp at hand, you are 100% correct, but all things being correct, the oil will not gel.

ironwalker
World Renowned
MVM
join:2001-08-31
Keansburg, NJ

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I can care less what it does to the car, I pre-heat the car so I can take my jacket off once inside and be comfortable.
Got the remote starter as well for very same reason.

Zac
Premium Member
join:2001-09-12
Calgary, AB

Zac to shaner

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to shaner
said by shaner:

Ummm..yeah okay. I heard a 'car expert' on tv complaining about remote car starters the other day for the very same reason. My reply? You can't drive away in -30C weather (like we had last week) because you can't see out the damn windshield yet! And no, there's no ice on the inside, but the presence of my warm body exhaling warm air inside a frigid car means that the windshield is unusable until the inside of it is at least up to a reasonable temperature. That means I have to idle my car to warm it up so that it's safely drivable.

A block heater doesn't do jack for my windshield.

So there.
LOL, shaner See Profile, I'm completely with you. I'm about 2 hours from Calgary and we've had a high of -18c all week. Usually at 6:35am when I have to start the car, its -30c or even colder with the wind chill, and I let my car warm up for 15 minutes before I leave for work.

With some of this cold weather the frost is so thick on the outside of the window, that scraping does nothing at all, Gotta warm it up from the inside out a bit to be able to clear the windows, and keep it clear from fogging up.

My mom has a 1998 Jeep Wrangler, and she has to let it warm up 20 + minutes because since its manual, the shifter is practically frozen in neutral, and until the inside is warmed, it won't shift.

To the poster and everyone who lives in 10f+ weather, Sure the ENGINE may not need more than 30 seconds, but its more of a hazard to be driving around with the window fogging up on the inside from your breath meeting temperatures below -30f.

jabarnut
Light Years Away
Premium Member
join:2005-01-22
Galaxy M31

jabarnut to ironwalker

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to ironwalker
said by ironwalker:

I can care less what it does to the car...
You can? How much less can you care?

lol...j/k
duc_grrl
join:2010-01-02
Georgetown, ON

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Wow, thanks for being so welcoming to a new user. As I said it got me wondering how it was for the CARS and if you read my post I said that I also used that weight oil in my PICK-UP which is a GAS engine. Once again thanks to 3SGTE I followed the links and learned some stuff.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

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in my S10 since it had oil pressure as one of the gauges i used to start it and let that stabilize a bit. had no tach so played revs by ear or feel of the stick.
Expand your moderator at work