"Warming Up" Your Car in the Cold Just Harms the Engine

[Haasman]

Warming Up Your Car in the Cold Just Harms the Engine

(I agree with this)

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In the thick of winter, the common wisdom is that when you are gearing up to take your truck out in the cold and snow, you should step outside, start up your engine, and let it idle to warm up. But contrary to popular belief, this does not prolong the life of your engine; in fact, it decreases it by stripping oil away from the engine's cylinders and pistons.


In a nutshell, an internal combustion engine works by using pistons to compress a mixture of air and vaporized fuel within a cylinder. The compressed mixture is then ignited to create a combustion event—a little controlled explosion that powers the engine.


When your engine is cold, the gasoline is less likely to evaporate and create the correct ratio of air and vaporized fuel for combustion. Engines with electronic fuel injection have sensors that compensate for the cold by pumping more gasoline into the mixture. The engine continues to run rich in this way until it heats up to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.


"That's a problem because you're actually putting extra fuel into the combustion chamber to make it burn and some of it can get onto the cylinder walls," Stephen Ciatti, a mechanical engineer who specializes in combustion engines at the Argonne National Laboratory, told Business Insider. "Gasoline is an outstanding solvent and it can actually wash oil off the walls if you run it in those cold idle conditions for an extended period of time."


The life of components like piston rings and cylinder liners can be significantly reduced by gasoline washing away the lubricating oil, not to mention the extra fuel that is used while the engine runs rich. Driving your car is the fastest way to warm the engine up to 40 degrees so it switches back to a normal fuel to air ratio. Even though warm air generated by the radiator will flow into the cabin after a few minutes, idling does surprisingly little to warm the actual engine. The best thing to do is start the car, take a minute to knock the ice off your windows, and get going.


Of course, hopping into your car and gunning it straightaway will put unnecessary strain on your engine. It takes 5 to 15 minutes for your engine to warm up, so take it nice and easy for the first part of your drive.


Warming up your car before driving is a leftover practice from a time when carbureted engines dominated the roads. Carburetors mix gasoline and air to make vaporized fuel to run an engine, but they don't have sensors that tweak the amount of gasoline when it's cold out. As a result, you have to let older cars warm up before driving or they will stall out. But it's been about 30 years since carbureted engines were common in cars.
So unless you're rolling in a 1970s Chevelle—which we assume isn't your daily driver—bundle up, get into that cold car, and get it moving.


Source: Business Insider

[edmayo]

Jeff,,,,I agree with your statement,,,,but I confess,,,,if my vehicle was that snow covered it would running and getting the defrost going while I was cleaning off those windows! But assuming just cold and dry, then yes, start it and drive.

[pu911rsr]

Try getting your car and driving it with out letting it warm up when it's -25 sometime.
Phil

[merbesfield]

I have had remote start on my Toyota Tundra truck for 12 years and will never own another one without it. Now my Porsche's I basically start and go, but they are garaged.

[WP935]

IMHO; An opinion piece at best ..............
Try running your diesel truck engine without warming it up. It doesn't matter Dodge, Chevy, or Ford.
The question that is relevant to this forum; would you climb on your 911 motor that has been sitting in 30 degree weather, without seeing the oil temp gauge come up into the operating temp range ?
Maybe OK if you live in SoCal, but for the rest of us; I say, no way !

[Ralfy]

Try getting your car and driving it with out letting it warm up when it's -25 sometime.
Phil

Agreed 100%.

Lets see... Windows dont roll down. Cant see out any window. Heater is blasting ice crystals.
Maybe this applies somewhere warm like 20 degrees and above.

[Haasman]

I agree .... and when its been cold (really cold) out I do warm the engine. I think the article could of differentiated that a bit.

With old #302580 I used to take it skiing in Colorado a lot, which by the way 911s are great cars in the snow and inclement weather, but I would start it, turn on the gas heater and let it run just a few short minutes. Well working gas heaters are great.

[CPRSteve]

I'd like to see the data on that claim- not disagreeing but would like to see how he got to that conclusion. I'd also like to see whether or not the worry about fuel wash was compared to the potential negatives of excessive oil viscosity. I'd expect hard data from a Certified Government Science Guy (who works at the ANL) rather than the word "can." "Can" indicates potential, and potential is uncertain and uncertainty has no place in science! Frankly, I'm a little offended he (the CGSG) and I share a first name, same spelling and all.

From some not-so-vigorous searching, I've only found hard data about diesel engines (and that's mainly because they spend a lot of time idling and use high-pressure-oil-pumps [up to 3600 psi!] to inject diesel).

The EPA and other alphabet agencies, in addition to state agencies, are pushing a minimal-idle agenda (for obvious reason, and if my car is warmed up and I know I'll be sitting a while I, I turn it off)- I wonder if the ANL's stance is dictated by toeing the "party line."

In other words, gimme numbers and I'll change my pollutin' ways. Until then, I'll still feel all warm and fuzzy when I get in my already-running car and head off to CPR.

[Will 1967]

Webasto (or similar) will save your engine in the long run plus it makes cold mornings bit easier. Remote or mobile phone control makes it convenient as well. Its very cold here often and even with modern oils, you really should pre-heat engine before starting it up.

[62S-R-S]

Think of someone writing an article recommending longer startups and idling, for the purpose of helping a car's overall longevity in harsh conditions..

If he tried to suggest that, his editor would consider it contrarian and wasteful. It just wouldn't fly. (( millions of cars burning fuel to go get stickers all day everyday, that's all well and good. ))

These are the exact quotes you could read at a grocery store line picking up 'TV Guide' in 1978 with the addition of claiming "washed out cylinders". The meat and potatoes of the article it alerts us to prevent the "destruction of an engine by virtue of washed clean cylinders + low oil pressure = the engine is toast."