Winter driving/Warm up times!

[Jester4736w]

I was reading the Auto section of a local newspaper today at work, and I stumbled onto an article about warming cars and trucks up in the cold weather.

It actually said that (with a fuel injected vehicle) you are suppose to start the car/truck let it run for 30 seconds and then take off, driving easy until temp gauge raises and you feel warmth from the heater. (Carbed cars should be warmed up a couple minutes). Fuel injected cars it is actually bad for them to sit and run warming up. I asume it is true it's in a news paper, am i right? Because ive always let my truck warm up.

 

Also, what other tips do you guys use with your trucks (gas) for cold weather?

[Wingnut]

I'm no expert, but I know better than to believe more than 12.483% of what I read in the paper...8.564% of the truthful stuff is in the crossword clues, and the rest is in the comics. Everything else is pretty much bunk.

 

Not that the internet, or books are any better.

 

My truck usually doesn't move until it's blowing hot air, or at least until my seat heaters are warm. But I'm a wimp, so I'm probably not the best person to ask about this.

 

I really don't think it hurts anything by letting it idle until warm, carburated or injected.

[1911HD]

My truck doesn't leave the driveway at least until the needle has moved off the 160 degree mark. Even then i believe there is never anything wrong with letting the engine fully warm up before driving.

[Trouttrooper]

I've always had a chuckle about who's definition of "cold" weather they are using.

 

Cold for Florida? sure, just start up and go.

 

Cold where I'm at (Idaho) can easily be -20F at times during the winter. You wouldn't get 200 feet down the road before the windshield starts fogging up and with no hot air from the defrost vent you wouldn't be able to see doo dah. Takes at least 30 minutes in those conditions before even thinking of moving.

[Wingnut]

Cold where I'm at (Idaho) can easily be -20F at times during the winter.  You wouldn't get 200 feet down the road before the windshield starts fogging up and with no hot air from the defrost vent you wouldn't be able to see doo dah.  Takes at least 30 minutes in those conditions before even thinking of moving.

 

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200 feet down the road? Sheeeeeit... At -20F, I won't be making it out the door of the house.

[N900WM]

I'm no expert either. But I think that the cold idleing auto outputs more nasty exhaust that kills the ozone than a vehicle thats reached operating temperature.

 

I know here in cold upstate NY (snow this morning) there has been a big push on to keep people from leaving their cars running and not to go out in the driveway and start them up to warm in the mornings.

[Jester4736w]

Ok... Thanks for the info guys. I, like many of you, don't put the truck in gear until the needle has at least moved. I was just wondering if i should stop doing that. I'll just stick to letting it warm up.

 

N900, where in upstate? I'm In the helderberg mountains, about 30 minutes west of albany.

[dewfpo]

I live up in the mountains at 7,200 ft. and I have two trucks. One is a 1985 Ford and has a carb, the other is a 2005 Chevy with FI. I treat them differntly because they are different.

 

~32F and Up :

 

FI : I start the engine, wait about 30 seconds and drive off going easy on the pedal till the needle passes 180F

 

Carb : I start the engine, kick the choke down after about 20-30 seconds, if it will idle smoothly at that point I drive off going easy on it till the gauge comes up.

 

below ~32F :

 

I may let either one run for a minute or two until things smooth out but never more than 1-2 minutes.

 

If it gets in the teens or below, I plug in their block heaters (if I know I going to be driving it) and they start like it's an 80F day outside, I drive off after about 20 seconds or so.

 

I RARELY just start my struck and let it run to warm it up. It wastes expensive fuel and pollutes significantly more. The engines will warm up much faster if you drive them.

 

I have cheap windshield covers for them so that frost won't form on them in the morning. When it's really cold (with the block heaters plugged in) the heat/defrost works almost immediately.

 

If theres snow on the truck, I start them, clear the snow and drive off.

 

This practive works great under my conditions.....your conditions will no doubt vary.

 

(I've never understood starting your engine and letting it run for 20 or more minutes until the gauge came up unless it was 3F outside and the frost on the windshield was so thick that you needed a hammer and chisel to get it off. Other than that, if you think your doing yourself or your engine a favor, your not.)

 

This is just my 2 cents, it's not worth anymore than that to someone else.

 

DEWFPO

[6Burgh]

I usually wait a few seconds and drive it easy till it is warmed up.

 

I work with a guy that lives about a block from work and lets his truck warm up 20 or so minutes at home, drives to work then sits there and lets it idle for a few more minutes till he comes in once he is at work. I seriously dont understand why he does it and he gets mad when you point it out to him. LOL He says he sometimes has things to do after work.

[GMCStepSide]

Tonight we'll be seeing -15 so I've got my truck plugged into a timer so that at 2:00 a.m. the AC comes on that is plugged into the block heater. When it gets below zero, I'll plug it in and set the timer so that it is on for 4 hours before I'm ready to start it. Then I'll go out in the morning, start it up, let it run for two or three minutes at the most, and then drive at moderate speeds for the first few miles.

 

I have synthetic in the tranny, diffs, xfer case and, of course, Mobil 1 in the engine. All that ads up to a smooth start in the morning at subzero temps.

[N900WM]

Ok...  Thanks for the info guys.  I, like many of you, don't put the truck in gear until the needle has at least moved.  I was just wondering if i should stop doing that.  I'll just stick to letting it warm up.

 

N900, where in upstate?  I'm In the helderberg mountains, about 30 minutes west of albany.

 

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Penn Yan, in the heart of the Finger Lakes. Near Watkins Glen, about 45 miles south east of Rochester.

[tthomass]

my brother and i just finished installing a Viper alarm on my '02 2500hd...........push the button and it starts up, gotta love it!!!

 

i always let whatever run a good 20seconds at least before driving, let things get circulating

 

my '99 Honda SI reves to 8300rpm, i don't take it over 3000 until fully warm.......and then the fun begins ........truck is an auto though so i just take it real easy til warm

[BlackSilver]

10 or 15 seconds to get the lube oil circulating properly is all the "warmup" you need for a modern fuel-injected engine. Beyond that you're wasting fuel.

[slemmer]

Does the block heater actually add any significant benefit to the warm up cycle? I always wondered if the block heater ran two hours before my normal leave for work time it would actually be past the 160 degree mark.

[JimsZR2]

Does the block heater actually add any significant benefit to the warm up cycle? I always wondered if the block heater ran two hours before my normal leave for work time it would actually be past the 160 degree mark.

 

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I seem to think it does help a little bit. I plug my truck in when it hits 0 or below. On 2 different nights at the same temps I plugged it in one night and ther other i didnt. I noticed a huge difference in idle and how long it took to warm up vs a low idle and quick warmup when its plugged in.

 

generally 32F and higher about a minute warmup, 15-32F -3 minutes, usually around 0 or colder I let it run for 5 minutes.