I found this on Yahoo and thought it would be good to discuss with you guys so here it goes:

Eight Facts About Warming Up Your Car In the Winter

Old habits die hard, and one of the oldest — still rigorously enforced by many drivers — is that "warming up" the car for a few minutes is necessary to avoid some kind of unspecified damage.

But idling is totally unnecessary, which is why many communities have enacted ordinances against the practice.

Don't take my word about idling being ineffective, but do listen to my mechanic, Rob Maier, who runs Maier's Garage in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

He says, "You don't really need to idle your car, because of the efficiency of modern fuel injection, which eliminated carburetors and chokes. The only reason to let the car idle at all is to get the oil circulating, but after 30 seconds that's a done deal. My truck has 150,000 miles on it, and I just throw it into gear and go."


According to the Hinkle Charitable Foundation's Anti-Idling Primer, idling forces an engine "to operate in a very inefficient and gasoline-rich mode that, over time, can degrade the engine's performance and reduce mileage."

The Campaign for an Idle-Free New York City points out that idling causes carbon residues to build up inside the engine, which reduces its efficiency.


"After about 10 seconds, you waste more money running the engine than restarting it, said Andy Darrell, deputy director of the EDF Energy Program. "Switch the car off at the curb, and you'll be leaving money in your wallet and protecting the air in your community."
_____________________________________________


So What do you guys think? Discuss

 

Internal combustion engines (and their parts) are designed to run under a load at a certain temperature or temperature range. Getting to this temp is what is supposed to prevent premature wear. Diesels warm up best under a load, but not until you either reach your minimum oil temp or coolant temp (which on my ships has always been 140degF). I look at it this way: my family had a 73 Suburban for the business as a work truck, lugging around a minimum of 1500lbs in gear and 2-4 people M-F. That 350 had over 300,000 miles on it when the body finally rotted out around it. Regular fluid changes and good (not excessive) warm up first thing in the morning were standard.

 

HERE: http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/auto...car-in-winter/

This is the original link to the article in case anyone is interested.

So HemiLonestar, you obviously disagree with the article. I am with you on that, and I think it is an attempt to keep people from producing "unnecessary emissions" at the expense of comfort and or longevity of the engine/transmission.

 

Only time I let mine idle is with the remote start if it is super cold outside. Other than that I crank it and as soon as the RPMs come down to normal (within 2 secs normally) I put it in gear and go.

 

I agree with the article to a point. Back in the day of carbs and chokes, you always let the vehicle idle for a bit and come up to temp before driving off.

You can't compare a '73 engine to a modern engine. It's not Apples to Oranges, it's more like Apples to Orangutans.

NOW you have fuel injectors and a computer that talks to sensors for fuel trim and such. This is a big reason why there is "open loop" and "closed loop" operation. The mix changes as your vehicle comes up to temp.

I let my vehicles idle long enough for the oil to come up full into the engine components and the temp needle start to move and then I'm on my way.

 

Well, the article you picked out specifically stated COLD WINTER STARTING.

When it's warm outside, I just start and go. If the temperature is at or below freezing I can assure you it is NOT better for your car to start and go after the oil pressure has built up.
Warming your engine warms up every fluid in the engine compartment including powersteering fluid, the oil that lubricates the engine that is otherwise syrup when first started. Both of these lack flow when cold and racing the rpm's to get moving and loading the engine with cold oil is not good.
Also, warming the engine warms up the transmission fluid which allows easier engagement of gears rather than harsh initial engagement when cold.

If I start my Explorer and drive off instantly, my engine moans like crazy, the pulley bearings on the engine are stone cold and causing lots of friction due to them being hard to spin, plus my powersteering does NOT want to move easy. if I let it run for just 10-15minutes, it's a breeze to drive and turn, plus the transmission shifts much smoother after that time as well.
PLUS, a gasoline engine warms up faster at idle than while it's in motion so it'll spend less time in open loop so that throws out their theory of running rich longer.

It's purely a marketing scam. yeah sure, you may run slightly rich at idle compared to when in motion only because of varying throttle, BUT you are in it for less time at idle so it offsets things! Not to mention, as long as you don't drive like Ms. Daisie you got nothing to wory about as far as carbon build-up goes.

 

dirtydog,

I agree with what you are saying. Yes it does specifically state "Cold Winter Starting" but it also talks about some cities are cracking down against people allowing their vehicles to idle. I would assume that this means year-round, not only in the winter months.

I mainly use my remote start (which is a factory option I should add) when my windshield is frozen and I turn on the defroster in order to allow me to drive to work. Sure I could get out there and use an ice scraper on the windshield, but in the early morning walking out into the freezing cold and scraping my windshield is the last thing that I want to do while I am enjoying a nice warm cup of coffee in the kitchen.

A marketing scam, okay. I guess I can agree with that. I don't know much about the writer of this article, but I can make a few good assumptions as I am sure you could as well (tree hugger)... I think we all need to be aware of the effects of exhaust/pollution, but these vehicles run/burn so clean nowadays that a few minutes idling in my driveway isn't going to hurt.

 

I let my ram warm up for 10-15min also(same with the diesel). Not only do i let them warm up to be easier on parts, I do it to be easier on my body when its minus 30 out!!

 

I agree with you 100%. Here in Canada, it can get close to -40C with the windchill!!! If I don't let it warm up, it's like driving an ice cube on wheels!!

 

Windchill doesnt affect vehicles though!! Although I do warm my truck up for like 10 minutes... If i drive it like 30 seconds after startup on a day where its freezing I can literally watch my fuel gauge drop, and I freeze my *** off!! Also I dont know if its normal but when its cold like below zero my truck takes a while to engage overdrive, not sure if its cause the tranny has to come up to temp?