[Billthedrill]

Today, warming-up is a counterproductive exercise that wastes fuel, harms the environment and damages your car.

Well, of COURSE it damages the environment! This is what warming up cars on a cold morning will do:

I hope you people are satisfied.

[publius911]

The myth about warming up your car on a cold day

I was not aware that the oil sump in internal combustion engines had been moved to the top of the engine.

I reject the premise that "warming up" was the result of "fuel mixture issues."

There is no way to drive away at idling speeds; anything above idling speed increases wear on the entire engine, before oil distribution throughout the engine takes place.

[lostboy61]

Lets see! Cold oil in cold pan, pumping to the top of cold engine with cold valves. Valve sucks going through piston sending connecting rod through side of block or down through pan. Save ten minutes or buy 3K to 5K engine. U.S. Military says warm up the tank-truck-Humvee-or?- before you jump on the pedal. Keep your car in a warm garage or use a block heater.

[ctdonath2]

I warm up my car before driving it. Even have a timer set, the computer will figure about how long it will take (around 10 minutes on a cold day) to do so prior to planned departure time.

Then I unplug it. Nice to have it warm _and_ the battery fully charged before getting in. I like my Leaf.

[The Great RJ]

While a long warm up is not needed except for driver comfort. However, I wait a few minutes after starting your car in very cold weather to allow cold oil to get to the top of the engine and not do a jack rabbit start until the engine warms. My overhead valve engine uses 5W-20 oil, but at below zero temperatures there is a little valve noise when starting until the oil gets to the valves. I have experienced -26 temps and believe me you need a couple of minutes to get that oil flowing

[snarkybob]

I’m not going to read this article.
However I drive an old high mileage 4 cylinder and I warm it up so the oil can warm up and thin out a bit and go ahead and lubricate all the moving parts down in the engine.
It rattles like hell when I start it on a cold morning. Letting it idle itself warm get’s rid of all those little rattles.
I guess I could crank it and drive away 10 seconds later like the article suggests, but I think I’ll keep giving it 20 minutes or so to get well lubed before I make it work very hard.

[IronJack]

It's a good idea to let the car at least approach operating temperature, since extreme cold thickens the oil and prevents proper lubrication. (I know, I know ... it's a setup line ...)

I have a late-model BMW that I keep garaged, and I still let it warm up for a few seconds before I throw it into gear and take off.

[joe fonebone]

it is averaging 10 below zero in the mornings here..

i warm up my car so that when i get in it, IT IS WARM..

[snooter55]

I allow my 1985 full size Ford Bronco approx. 45 seconds of warm-up - before I drive her down the driveway and then on to a job that pays well enough to put gas in her massive tank. Temp. and time of year matters very little.

Snoot ;o)

[bunkerhill7]

Yes you did. I still remember the routine.

1. Shovel path to car; shovel driveway to road [might take 2 hours]
2. Plug the cord into the socket in the wall.
3. Grab handful of frost plugs and a hammer
4. Run outside with metal detector to find car in snow
4a. shovel off car
5. raise hood
6. plug cord into engine block
7. check for frost plugs and tap into place
8. go get breakfast for one hour
9. return to car
10. pull out cord from block
11. check frost plugs
12. go back to house
13. get 2 buckets hot water
14. run out to car
15 pour out water under wheels
16. throw one hot bucket into snow
17. get into car
18. put other hot bucket on seat and sit on it
19, put key in ignition and start car
20. if car does not start, get out of car
21. go to barn
22. get the stallion
23. hook stallion to cutter
24. go to town

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

We don't warm up the car for the engine. We warm up the car so we don't freeze.

ok?

[DesertRhino]

Of course piston engines don’t need a warm up. That’s why people start airplane engines and immediately add power and break into a takeoff roll./

A warm engine is a happy engine. And the engine matters to me more than a British view of the environment.

[eyedigress]

and damages your car

Complete Bullshit. Let me guess again that 2.20 gas per gallon also damages my car.

[donna]

I went to Fry’s Food yesterday and I had to kick the AC on high to cool off.

(Phoenix AZ)

[Raycpa]

I thought oil is very thick at subzero temp

[Intolerant in NJ]

Yeah well,that’s all very nice, but around these parts the latest craze, especially during this twenty degrees below average cold spell, is remote start for your car - which allows people to start their cars from within the house and let them run and warm up for several minutes so that they can go hop in and drive away in comfort - behavior can be multi-determined....

[VRWCarea51]

I warm up my American Made V-8 fossile fuel guzzling Beast to fight this Globull Cooling we are in the midst of.

For Gods Sake man, think of the women and children that are affected the most.

If it gets any worse I am going to start my lawnmowers and weed wackers too!

[Alberta's Child]

I always knew that the whole "warm up the car" thing was something of a myth, but the owner's manuals for my first vehicle with a fuel-injected engine had a recommendation that I've followed to this day. When I start a vehicle and it idles at about 1500 RPMs, I let it run until the idle drops below 1000 RPMs before driving it. In the summer this can take 15-20 seconds, while on very cold winter days this can take 4-5 minutes.

Does anyone out there know if this has any effect whatsoever on the operation of a vehicle?

[TigersEye]

I have a fuel injected Subaru wagon that runs like crap unless it warms up for 10+ minutes. On real cold days of course not in general.

[MV=PY]

It really is a good idea to allow the oil to reach a reasonable viscosity and the cylinders to get round before you rev the engine hard. (Not so much for the synthetics, which are great.)

OTOH, seat heaters get me into the car a lot faster. ;-)