Do you have to warm up your car in cold weather?

[MiscDaddy]

Lol, not down here. It never gets that cold.

I used to drive a chitty old 6.2L chevy and I had to plug it in if it was below 50 F. Couldn't believe it haha...

[Burgerbuger]

I would say it depends on how you define acceptable engine wear, practicability and how cold it is outside.

The whole point of warming up your engine in the cold is to reduce wear. There are different types of wear; cold start up wear, operation wear, contaminated or poor oil quality wear etc.

Your engine is made up of dissimilar metals. Metals will expand in the heat and shrink slightly in the cold. The rate of of thermal expansion varies between metals, thickness and positioning.For example, the engine block/cylinder in relation to the piston rings might have excess clearance in the cold and will expand to the designed tolerance once warmed up.

The other thing is getting the oil and it's protective additives circulated through your engine to reduce metal on metal wear.

So when you startup your engine, wear happens no matter what. The goal of waiting for your car to warm up to operating temperature in the cold is to reduce the amount of wear that does occur. It's hard to say how much time would be needed under X temperature to be optimal. But I think it's safe to say that when it's nearing 0 degrees you should wait a few more minutes.

Also, engine wear is something that is not always easy to measure and
people will do things because they assume it works For example; John has been using Walmart oil in his car for the last decade and he has gotten well over 200k on his car. John now swears by Walmart oil.

I personally couldn't tell you how long you should wait because I don't know and there isn't a simple answer for it. For me, I usually wait until the heater is blowing warm air. And yes, I am assuming things like everyone,

[LS1Z28]

But who was thick syrup like oil?


Yes op, you gotta let your car warm up.

I'm from Oklahoma. I've changed oil in subfreezing temps before. You can tell it's a little thicker when it's cold, but it's never been so thick I've worried about my oil pumps ability to push it through my engine. If I lived in an artic area where temps were -30 or colder in the mornings, I would use a block heater overnight. Whether an engines idling or driving under load, a lot of damage can be done if the oil isn't adequately lubricating the valvetrain & rotating assembly. An engine really shouldn't be running if it's oil is as thick as syrup.

[antidogma]

I'm from Oklahoma. I've changed oil in subfreezing temps before. You can tell it's a little thicker when it's cold, but it's never been so thick I've worried about my oil pumps ability to push it through my engine. If I lived in an artic area where temps were -30 or colder in the mornings, I would use a block heater overnight. Whether an engines idling or driving under load, a lot of damage can be done if the oil isn't adequately lubricating the valvetrain & rotating assembly. An engine really shouldn't be running if it's oil is as thick as syrup.

its not just about engine oil though
for instance, if your car uses 0w20 synthetic, it will still be thin liquid at any temperature but your transmission oil (75w90) might be thick as molasses

even if the engine is running fine, I can feel how much the transmission is struggling when cold. the clutch pedal doesn't spring back as quickly and isn't as responsive, the shifts are much slower and jerky, the shifter is notchy as fuk

just warm the engine for 30s to 2 mins, then drive off slowly to warm up the transmission

[MiscDaddy]

just warm the engine for 30s to 2 mins, then drive off slowly to warm up the transmission

And the bearings, the differential, transfer case, possibly shocks? Everything needs to limber up.

[PervedOut]

[lsiberian]

I always warm up my vehicle because I have to redline to get on the road I live on some mornings.

[beelzebub420]

i drive the A45 straight from entering, but i keep her in comfort and dont boot her till i'm given the all white-alright

[LieutenantGains]

My car (335i) specifically states in the owner's manual to just start up and drive, never let the car idle cold long. Best to get everything up to working temperature at once.

[NotoriousKal]

Whenever i dont warm my car for atleast 7-10 minutes in the cold, it suffers performance

[HamMach1]

I don't know if it's good or bad but when it was -20 a couple of weeks ago, you got damn best beleedat I am not sitting in that car when the heater isn't cooking.

[FreedomPenguin]

My car (335i) specifically states in the owner's manual to just start up and drive, never let the car idle cold long. Best to get everything up to working temperature at once.

all the haters in this thread calling my statements stupid

[UberKachok]

Better question.. are you using proper grade oil? And from what I know, it's fine as long as you don't go above 4k rpm for a while till it warms up.. In my car I have an oil gauge and I know when I can step on it.

[Armando777]

1 st time turning the car on for the day...Anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute. When its really cold, maybe just a little longer. Get all the fluids circulated before putting the stress on the car.

Once it's been started for the day and it's somewhat warm anywhere from 5 seconds and maybe a bit more (about the same time to check your mirrors... Look behind if your backing out).

[PervedOut]

I don't know if it's good or bad but when it was -20 a couple of weeks ago, you got damn best beleedat I am not sitting in that car when the heater isn't cooking.

Elephant in the room. Driving a car for 15 minutes that hasn't budged on the temp gauge up here isnt really an option.