hmm

my porsche 944 owner's manual gave similar advice to not let the car sit and "warm up"

you're supposed to start it, drive off and not push the car (rapid accel, deccel etc)

even they said it would cause "engine damage" hmm weird.

I always start it and wait for the revs to drop (from ~2k to ~1.5k) then i drive off slowly staying in low(er) revs

i think its better not to idle for 5-10 mins...
my instantaneous mileage when idling in the cold is like 2.0l/hr!!! holy shit!

My theory behind an automotive manufacturer putting such a warning in the owners manual is that your typical car owner (not an enthusiast or someone who is mechanically inclined) will likely assume that if the engine temperature shows that it's warm after idling for a few minutes, the car is good to be driven in a normal manner. I'd like to think that most of us on this site knows that's not true (as has been previously stated, transmission and rear diff fluids are still cold, tires not warm, etc), but a lot of people don't think of it that way.

I imagine that a high gear:low rpm ratio may likely have a slower wear and tear pattern than simply zooming off at high speeds while trying to deal with thick transmission oil. This is likely where the warning comes into play. Yes, they'll both likely cause failure at some point down the road, but the latter may cause issues while the car is still under warranty, while the former wont. Just manufacturers trying to cover their own ass, perhaps?

letting a car warm up on idle in excess of minutes has the same effect of leaving a car idle for a long period of time.

the oil pressure during this whole time will be less than optimal, causing mechanical wear to valve adjustment components on some engines which require oil pressure to operate.

that's really all there is to it.

thats your fuel consumption, not mileage.

HAHAHAHAHAHHA try living anywhere else then Vancouver and this thread might have some relevance. Outside the window of my office right now I can see over 45 trucks and car idling so people will not freeze to death on there drive home from work. yey for minus 45degrees with the wind chill. I agree it might not be optimal for a high performance engine, but for the majority of the vehicles it doesn't even effect them. If it is so bad for a engine to warm up by idling why do they all come with remote start as OEM in everything from Lexus, Mercedes, on down to Chevy's?

Point taken, but regardless of temperature, even in spring/summer/fall I know people who still idle their engine to temperature before driving.

-45 C ? tats gonna tear up ur entire face just for walking on the street lol


remote start FTW
:thumbsup:

I think he meant it feels like -45 with the wind, maybe the ambient temperature is -35? :haha:

For my MS3, when it's cold the computer will idle it at ~1500rpm and then slowly drop. I will let it idle until the it drops down to about 1000rpm or until my windows defog.

For the Mustang, well it's carbureted and chokeless. Even in the summer I have to idle it for a good 5-10 minutes before it's remotely driveable.

get a block heater and plug in your car overnight.

my bad :)

Actually it warmed up today, it hit a high of -27C. Kinda nice out since its a dry cold. lol

:haha:

I don't miss my carbureted volvo one bit

winter sucked big time...manual choke all the way out and the thing still wouldn't hold an idle without me pressing on the gas

Diesels don't run worth shit when they're cold. They need to be well warmed to run efficiently. They also don't use much fuel when warming up.

When you see a diesel blowing clouds of black smoke it's usually 1 of 3 things:

-not at operating temperature
-tuned for performance = more fuel
-out of tune = dumping fuel

My Mk3 Golf TD gets 2 glowplug cycles, start and high idle for 10 minutes, low idle and drive gently til it's at operating temp. It would run like a bag of shit if I only warmed it up for 2 minutes in the winter.

why not, I've been warming cars in winter since i got my license

in light of what's been said in previous posts, it seems that idling a few minutes + light driving until all components warm up is the best combination. unless we get that explanation from your source OP :p

I've revved a turbo car to redline as it started in negative temperatures... Just remembering the sound that thing made makes me shudder.

LOL GAB WHY?

hahaha, wasn't my car:p I was like 15 and my parents told me to go start and warm up their xc70. I felt really bad after

hm... I'm certain my Acura manual said that warming up is not necessary as the engine will automatically upshift (auto tranny) at a higher rev when it is cold. All it said was not to exceed 4.5k rpm when it was cold or something.

I will check and scan the page if I can find it

really? I don't recall reading that from my Acura manual.

I don't have a manual. My car's gonna take what I throw at it or its going to the junkyard.

I vaguely remember it, I think it was in the maintainence section or something... maybe I read it from somewhere else, but I'm too lazy/cold to walk to the garage right now and get the manual - maybe tomorrow :D