Do I need to warm up my car during the winter months? If so, what are the advantages to doing so? Currently I do not warm up my car. I have a 4-cylander Chevy, and don't feel it necessary, as the cars coolant temperature rises fairly quickly.
2006-12-22 01:41:33 · 14 answers · asked by Schmoopie 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
Its always good to let a car warm up in any weather! Reason: The oil in your cars engine falls to the bottom when the car is off, thereby leaving your pistons with no lubrication on them, which can damage your cars engine if you "just start and drive". Its best to let the car warm up for at least a minute before driving, allowing time for the oil to circulate in the engine.
2006-12-22 01:59:25 · answer #1 · answered by Mike E 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The law of physics would tell you that warming your car during the Winter should extend the life of your engine.
The reasoning is this.
Most modern car engines are made of space age, light weight materials. This is great for fuel economy and weight control but one adverse result is that light weight materials expand and contract more with temperature than heavier materials.
Cold metal contracts, this would mean that the colder the engine is, the tighter all components are and more wear will occur. You can not eliminate the wear but you can reduce the load on the engine and reduce the wear while it is warming to operating temp by letting it idle until it is warm and the oil is flowing throughout the engine.
2006-12-22 10:08:15 · answer #2 · answered by shifty67 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Allow the engine to idle for 1-2 minutes before driving off if it is cold, say below 40 degrees. Any more than that is usually unnecessary. The coolant temperature isn't the issue, it's the engine oil that is your concern. You want to make sure it's had a chance to warm a little and circulate through the engine some before driving off.
2006-12-22 09:46:36 · answer #3 · answered by Ryan 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, warm the car up. Have you ever seen cold oil? It gets thicker than syrup. You gotta let it have some time to warm the oil, and get pumped through all the oil passages in the block. Or don't warm it up, and have a car that smokes like hell at 50,000 miles.
And after the engine has had sufficent warm up time (1-3 mins), don't just stand on the gas. The oil in the transmission and differental needs to warm itself too.
2006-12-22 20:00:32 · answer #4 · answered by kelsosmith1989 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The car is not going to die if you don't warm it up. It's just good to let the car run a little bit before shifting/driving. It will help the car run better and last longer.
2006-12-22 09:58:08 · answer #5 · answered by missashley929 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, you should warm up your car during the winter because if you just got in the car and started the engine might be frozen so you could mess up the engine and anything else that is frozen.
2006-12-22 09:51:26 · answer #6 · answered by lil l 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is really no need to warm a car up but if you are in snow country and worried you can alwayse throw a droplight underneath at night.
2006-12-22 10:22:49 · answer #7 · answered by JAMI E 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, all vehicles should be warmed up. After starting your car; wait unti it drops to 1RPM before putting in gear. This takes only a minute or two.
2006-12-22 09:50:38 · answer #8 · answered by Biker Babe 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
its not gonna hurt it to do so, turn on the heat so that it will be nice an warm on the inside, advantage no.1 also it will help to warm the motor and prevent pipe and other things inside the motor from bursting
2006-12-22 09:50:06 · answer #9 · answered by bshelby2121 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I only warm up the car if there is frost on the windshield.
2006-12-22 09:52:25 · answer #10 · answered by Chic 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋