Cold weather start

[drewman75]

Hey All,
Quick question and seeking opinions. In cold weather, what is the rule of thumb? I read some places that allowing warm up isn't necessary, others say the opposite. Didn't see anything mentioned in the manual. What rule of thumb does everyone here typically subscribe to? It would take forever in the morning to wait for the engine to completely warm before pulling away. But is a little bit of warm up time recommended?

 

[aesopian]

Warm or cold weather I wait at a minimum until the idle decreases to less than 1,000 RPM. Cold weather I let it sit a little longer than normal before I start driving.

 

[overblown]

Not needed. The days of warming up a car a long gone yet the practice continues to cling to life much like the 3000mile oil change. Modern engines don't need either. The oil companies and service centers will never tell you that though. Guess why? The only thing warming your truck is doing is wasting gas at idle. The heater will work quickly once driving. Our trucks have reverse flow cooling, and a oil to water heat exchanger which help the heater work even faster than normal.

 

[lexman34]

Overblown is 100% correct. Start the vehicle...wait 60 seconds and pull away. Key thing is to not go past 20-30 mph for the first 5-10 minutes and it will be fine everytime. Today's engines do NOT need to warm up. The only thing, it sucks driving a cold car when it is really cold out there. However the seats and steering wheel warms up pretty quickly and i also think the engine warms up pretty fast as well. Within 15 minutes the vehicle is blowing out hot air through the vents.

 

[overblown]

Thank you lexman, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on a few things. It only takes a few seconds to stabilize oil pressure and as soon as that happens you are good to move. 60 secs is far too long to wait and offers no advantage. Start it and by the time you've check to make sure you are clear to pull out, the engine is ready.

Also, no need to set a speed limit for 5-10 min. The most important factor isn't speed, but rpm. While the engine is cold, you don't want to rev the engine up high. Speeds of over 20-30 can easily be achieved in this well geared torque monster without seeing high engine rpm. In other words, don't stomp on it until it's warm! Other than that, just drive normal.

I do agree with the seat and wheel warmers, they are great! My truck blows out hot within just minutes. No more than five. The design of these motors truly are amazing and the features designed to improve emissions also have the side benefit of producing heat faster. That's something very much appreciated up here in Wisconsin!

 

[gfcronus]

Overblown is 100% correct. Start the vehicle...wait 60 seconds and pull away. Key thing is to not go past 20-30 mph for the first 5-10 minutes and it will be fine everytime. Today's engines do NOT need to warm up. The only thing, it sucks driving a cold car when it is really cold out there. However the seats and steering wheel warms up pretty quickly and i also think the engine warms up pretty fast as well. Within 15 minutes the vehicle is blowing out hot air through the vents.

10 minutes of driving under 30mph before all ok? 15 minutes until hot air is blowing thru the vents? I can't believe either of those statements is correct.

 

[lexman34]

You are right..i should not have said MPH..it was meant to mean RPM. I stand corrected on that 100%. When i say 15 minutes for hot air..i was meaning hot air. Sure it can get warm in 5-8 minutes but to each his own on the temperature level of satisfaction. Thank you for the tip of only taking seconds to being able to pull off. I said 60 seconds because there is a certain sound i hear in my engine that i hear after i start it which lets me know it is time to go. It is a sound as if the engine just "sat down" or something like that. The sound just just relaxes and it usually is within a 60 second span but in hindsight it is probably more like 30 seconds. Regardless it is alot better than that 1976 Plymouth Fury which took about 20 minutes. In the end we are helping and confirming with each other tricks of this beast.

 

[lexman34]

What do you believe is correct gfcronus or do i dare ask? I hear you have quite the reputation of disagreement on this forum. Everyone have their right to their opinion. I never fault anyone.

 

[overblown]

You are right..i should not have said MPH..it was meant to mean RPM. I stand corrected on that 100%. When i say 15 minutes for hot air..i was meaning hot air. Sure it can get warm in 5-8 minutes but to each his own on the temperature level of satisfaction. Thank you for the tip of only taking seconds to being able to pull off. I said 60 seconds because there is a certain sound i hear in my engine that i hear after i start it which lets me know it is time to go. It is a sound as if the engine just "sat down" or something like that. The sound just just relaxes and it usually is within a 60 second span but in hindsight it is probably more like 30 seconds. Regardless it is alot better than that 1976 Plymouth Fury which took about 20 minutes. In the end we are helping and confirming with each other tricks of this beast.

Wow, those Furys where really monsters! Cool car, any pictures? That sound of the engine "sitting down" is when it transitions from cold start high idle back down to normal idle speed. High idle is typically used for emissions purposes such as helping "light" the catalytic converters faster. Many of the old carbureted cars often had problems with their high idle circuit which was vacuum operated and often leaked or just got stuck and it sounds like yours did too! It's true what you said, we're all here to help each other out

 

[gfcronus]

What do you believe is correct gfcronus or do i dare ask? I hear you have quite the reputation of disagreement on this forum. Everyone have their right to their opinion. I never fault anyone.

All I said was that I didn't think either of those two statements of yours that I paraphrased was correct. Why the hurt feelings? This seems to be a board whose members are disproportionately sensitive to disagreement than the general population out there. I am not sure why this is. Could be a prima Donna syndrome of some sort.