Let the truck warm up?

[Duffyjr]

I let it warm up for me, I bought the vehicle to service me and I hate getting in a cold car when it's below freezing. When I shut the car off for the last time of the day I turn the fan on high and set it to defrost, in the morning I remote start it. If it's really cold I can extend the run time once so it might run for 18 minutes.

 

[Kira]

Gotta love the neighbors with their remote starters idling their vehicles for 10 minutes in the morning.
What softies we've become.

The cold weather warning I grew up hearing regarded the tires' flat spots. "You can feel the flat spots thumping as they go 'round so just drive easy".

 

[GaryPoe]

I live on top of a very large hill not quite considered a mountain but the tempratures can differ from ground level significantly. Throughout all 4 seasons its common to have condensation on the entire truck. Ice, frost, snow, water or combinatios. The other is fog on the inside windows which is very hard to get rid of by simply wiping off especiallywhen its turned to ice. Ive tried several rainx products and i can tell you nothing helps. Its impossible to drive safely when you cant see out of your windshield. Point is, there is safety factors that go into this as well. I have learned to drive as soon as possible, but sometimes to get to that point, it takes some time and some heat from the heater.

 

[ka9mnx]

As mentioned before, oil is not getting warm while idling. When high idle comes down, drive off conservatively until the water temp starts to rise.

 

[Rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Elkins45
I've never let a vehicle warm up any longer than it took me to scrape the frost, assuming there was frost. If there wasn't then I was rolling within 10 seconds of turning the key. I've been doing that for 40 years now and have never had an engine problem of any sort.


Agree, if it's one of those days that the frost instantly reforms I just dump a gallon of hot tap water on the windshield and drive gingerly a bit

 

[buster]

I always give a car a good 30 seconds to at most 1 to 2 minutes, then I drive off slowly. You want to get the car moving but in a gentle manner until the engine reaches operating temperature.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I always wait for the temp needle to begin moving before I drive off.

 

[donnyj08]

I usually let my vehicles idle 30-60 seconds. Sometimes a tad longer if the windows needs cleaned off.

Modern Vehicles with quality "thinner" oils have no trouble starting in my area of the country where 0F might come a few nights a year at best.

An engine in good condition will pump the oil to critical parts very quickly even @ 0F. The oils additives work better when the oil is warm, so starting it and driving gently will provide less wear as it will warm the oil quicker.


I always wait at least 5 miles after the coolant temp comes up to normal before I drive spirited. By then the oil should be pretty much up too temp.

 

[FCD]

Warming up a fuel injected Gasoline engine that has an adequate viscosity oil for the climate, is totally unnecessary and in no way beneficial in any condition except extreme cold where the oil might actually take a little longer to reach every part of the engine.

The key is to drive gently until the engine begins warming up on its own, this warms the engine up faster than just letting it idle, what this means is , Faster warmup = less cold running time = less wear.

Now i live in a Mediterranean climate, it only gets below freezing here maybe a week every winter and only at night.

In the winter i wait 30 seconds before driving off and in the summer 15.

 

[FCD]

Originally Posted by ka9mnx
As mentioned before, oil is not getting warm while idling. When high idle comes down, drive off conservatively until the water temp starts to rise.

+1

 

[supton]

Pretty much start and go. Well, I get in, start, then buckle up, so I guess it's 10 seconds before it's moving.

Once in a while, if we get an ice storm, it may be wise to start and let it idle for 10 minutes, so as to soften the ice. But that's pretty rare, and I've only had to do that a handful of times over the years. In winter I'll start it and then clean any snow and ice off, if there is none then I'm off and driving.

If it's too cold for me to sit comfortably in the vehicle, then I failed to dress appropriately. One never knows if they will have to do some hiking after the vehicle breaks down. Or will be on the side of the road helping out a broken down motorist. Or simply has a change of plans and winds up outside for a bit (for something completely unrelated to automobiles--maybe your aunt calls and needs you to shovel their driveway or something).

 

[pcoxe]

An engine will warm up quicker under a little bit of load due to the combustion staying in the cylinder longer. Light throttle until the gauges move up.

 

[NormanBuntz]

You can accomplish the same thing by letting it idle for 30 seconds, then keeping the rpm's below 1500-2000 for the next 3-4 minutes of driving. Then again my low temps never get below 20 degrees F. Besides that, multi-vis oils are made to do the job in cold weather.

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by Dragon44
I've always thought on cold mornings 32 and below let your gas truck warm up for 10 or 15 minutes before driving. Some people tell me it's not good to idle that long but some people tell me it is good for your truck. Good to let the oil warm up a bit before driving or no?


1) Warm oil isn't as important as circulating oil and unless it's -30F or -40F, oil should be circulating within the the first 5 or 10 seconds after starting as shown on the oir pressure gauge or the light going out.
2) Today's aluminum block and head engines dissipate heat so much that on cold days they could take a very long time to warm up just idling.

 

[Rat407]

Get in, start it up put in gear and go. Drive like any other day, no matter what season. Everyone worries to much. Most don't keep them long enough, ie past 200k to worry about it.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Nope. I idle long enough to get the frost off and then move out.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Nope. I idle long enough to get the frost off and then move out.

Isn't that like 5 to 10 minutes?

Oh wait, you're in the south, you guys get frost?

 

[jeepman3071]

Driving it gently the first few miles is the quickest way to warm it up.

 

[LeoStrop]

I don't see any harm in letting it warm up for a couple of minutes (2~5 min).

If you are driving the car cold, it is running rich anyway so the fuel dilution will also be present, and with load, won't the fuel amount that is injected be bigger compared to the car at idle?

If the engine is running, it is heating up the oil and water, but of course, not as quick as if you are driving it. So i think the ideal thing to do is let it warm up a bit and then drive gently before it reaches temperature.

 

[Danimal1q2w3]

Originally Posted by GeorgeKaplan
I never have cared and never will care about what might be best or better for any component of a vehicle. I'll let it idle for hours if need be for my comfort and convenience which is why it was purchased to begin with.



Indeed. My 2012 lacrosse with the 3.6 gets at least 20 min of idling per day in the winter. UOA came back good and the OLM accounts for it by reducing my OCI by 2-3k miles. Gets lots of long trips so I'm not really worried about fuel dilution. Heated seats nice and toasty, heated mirrors cleaned off, windows cleared. Brush the snow off the lights and hood and roof and off I go. It's not cool to be "manly" and suffer the cold. Also, a warm car keeps the wife happy. Also bumped it up to a 0w40 to combat any fuel dilution that might occur while its idling. I even remote start in the summer to blast the ac. What did I spend $20k for?