I tried searching and found some information that says in summer your supposed to start driving the car pretty much as soon as you start it. What about when it's 10 degrees out? Some people start their cars and let them idle for a long time but this seems really bad for the motor seeing as it takes about 20 minutes of cold idling for the motor to get warmed up. Would it be better to run out there and start it up wiat a minute and then drive it taking it really easy, so the motor doesn't have to idle so cold so long?

 

anybody know?

It seems like idling while cold is bad, but it also seems like driving while cold is bad too.

 

IMO and this is my O with 17yrs of automotive training/schools/practical exp (Acura) You only need to run the engine long enough to circulate the oil throughout the engine one good time. 60 seconds and then drive it (gently until the temp gauge starts to move), however, as we all know the colder it is the greater the differences in expanded and unexpanded metals as we heat things up, so a few minutes longer in colder weather is a good rule of thumb. Idling for extended periods of time should not hurt an engine, but it will use fuel and not get you where you're wanting to be by starting the car in the first place.

My habit in warm weather is jump in the car start it up, put on seat belt, turn on the tunes and look around for the neighbors stupid kids (and mine too) then drive. In colder weather I do the same with the added time of taking a few sips of coffee. If the windows are frosted over I start the car first (duh) and by the time I'm done...

 

So in winter you think it's about equal wear and tear on the the motor weather you warm it up or not?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by red91sit &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So in winter you think it's about equal wear and tear on the the motor weather you warm it up or not?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, just like summer only the oil is thicker and so a few extra seconds (120) is all you need as an added help (and it helps heat the inside up too!!!)

 

i agree w/ chicken. it's a matter of preference, tho. i like to start my car up and go back inside for like 5 mins in the morning... so i'm not freezing my ***** off when i'm driving to work.

in REALLY cold temps, a block heater makes a hell of a difference too.

 

I usually let my car warm up for 5min if i can go back inside, if not i give it a minute or so.

-Eric

 

My car takes 5 minutes to warm up w/o a fitv. As soon as the needle begins to rise i drive away and take it easy for another 5 min. Then I enjoy VTEC.