Warming up your car in -40C

Just had a question regarding warming your car up in -40C weather before
hitting the highway. I heard that the car heats up faster by going at a slow
speed and just letting the oil warm up for about a minute before taking off
but what if you're hitting the highway and the engine doesn't have time to
warm up? Is it possible to crack the engine block or cause any other damage
by going 100 km an hour on a cold engine? I'm also talking over the long
run.

Is it good to let your car warm up for 10 minutes? I know it's a waste of
gas but what about the engine? Does it get used to it? What about in the
summer? I usually let the car warm up for about 30 seconds before leaving
but many folks just get in, start up and go. I have a 97 civic by the way so
what would be the proper thing to do? I haven't even picked up a car starter
because I always thought this was a bad thing to get used to and not just
for the environment. Thanks in advance!

 

I personally do not warm up my car unless my car sits outside the garage and
I use my remote start on it. I only do this so that the heat will be
available when I get in. Even then it is only for a couple minutes.

Otherwise if I am pulling out of the garage or leaving work or something I
just get in and take off freeway or not.

If I had a car that was exposed to such extreme low temperature though I
would be sure to warm it up for several minutes before taking off at highway
speeds. I wouldn't allow it to run until the operating temperature was
attained though. That is just overkill.

Say what you want about the environment but if my testicles won't drop
because the car is so damn cold I am using the remote starter and screw the
spotted owls. I have a low emission vehicle.



CaptainKrunch

 

well in the summer time and winter in the plus temperatures i would
suggest starting and going, but go nicely. dont over rev it. but 30
seconds is no big deal. the reason for this is that an engine run with
no load will wear out the beaings more quickly and over time it makes a
differance. that said i recently moved to saskatchewan for school and
although we have not reached -40 in my time here it has gotten to about
-20c, i have a block heater but it is not on the oil pan, it is on the
front of the block, when i start it up i let it warm for a little bit
at idle but not for very long, to get it warmed up to go on the highway
i go for a cruse around the neighborhood untill i am confident that the
oil has made its way to all the bearings. maybe 5 minutes or so. in -40
weather it is good to let it warm and if you want to let it warm for 10
minutes i see no problem with that, it has to be done in weather like
that. the point of letting it warm is so that the oil has a chance to
warm up so it can make its wat through all the channels to the bearings
and so a block heater on the oil pan helps speed that up. without it
your oil is like honey ot thicker. the risk of ctacking the block is
not that big of a deal in my mind unless you rev it to 5 or 6k
consistantly. if i lives in a perfect world i would have 2 block
heaters, one on the front of the engine and one on the oil pan, it
would overkill but i would be happy.

Andrew

 

I almost forgot. I really would only use full synthetic oil in such low
temps. I use it all the time but most importantly in those temps.

CaptainKrunch

 

The 30 seconds you give it is good for cold weather. Cruise around the
block or take city streets to the next onramp if it's not safe to get on
the highway without racing the engine hard.

 

It has been -30C here recently.
It is pointless to just seat there and wait for it to warm up completely as
it will take forever at idle.
As result, it will run longer cold. Leave it at idle for 30 sec or a minute.
Then, take it for a slow 5 minutes drive around the block. When your temp
gauge starts to raise, you can hit the highway.

 

=============

When it's -40, you should be plugging in the block heater. Even for an
hour or so, it will make a tremendous difference in the way it starts
(and sounds). The oil should be 5w-30 or synthetic too.

If you don't want to install a Honda block heater, the in-line type are
really easy because they go into the heater hose, giving the added
benefit of slightly warm air in the heater.

The suggestion of going 'around the block' is a great one. I have the
perfect setup for warm-up: 300 foot driveway to the crescent (at
crawling speed), half-mile to the secondary road (at 25 mph), three
miles to the highway (at 50 mph) and then 25 minutes into the city,
which helps dry out any condensation in the crankcase. I try not to idle
it more that about 90 seconds. What my wife does with it when she's
running late? Heaven knows. :-(

'Curly'
==============

 

Thanks everyone for the pointers. Driving slowly for 5 minutes before
hitting the highway is what I was basically doing. I was just wondering if
hitting the highway with the needle on cold would damage the engine in the
long run. I had heard it could crack the engine block. I guess I'll keep
driving on the small streets before hitting the highway. The weather here in
Montreal has been getting a little better so it won't take as long for the
engine to warm up. I have been using a block heater and 5w30 oil (not
synthetic). Thanks again.

 

I got 155,000km on my 98 Civic. The highway ramp is just a couple of blocks
from house, so I often hit the highway when the needle hasn't shown any life.
Your 1 minute idle and 5 minutes of city seems like a sufficient prelude to the
highway driving. The main thing to remember, is not to do any aggressive driving
until the engine completely warms up.

Note: My car still has yet to exhibit any of the dreaded piston slap that appear
to be common to the Civic. However, I've been using Mobel-1 on my car since I
bought it back in 1998.

Pars

 

Note: My car still has yet to exhibit any of the dreaded piston slap that
appear

What's "the dreaded piston slap"? Haven't heard anything about this.

 

Only problem I've ever had with a cold engine is the rev limiter kicking in
while accelerating onto a highway.

The coolant won't circulate in the radiator until the engine is sufficiently
hot. You should be able to cruise on the highway with a cold engine. But
just stick to low engine RPMs (lesson learned in my case).

George Elkins

 

There is another issue, the windshield.
Until the car warms up, you cannot clean it because the winshield washer
will freeze as soon as the alcohol evaporates.
That means that if you get onto the highway with the cold car and your
windshield gets dirty because of a passing truck or something, you are
basically blind f#$%&d. This is not a very good idea at 100 km/h.
You have to consider the sun too. In my case, I have to turn left and wait
at a traffic light where the sun hits me straight in the face.
On a sunny morning, there is nothing I can do, I have to wait until my
windshield is completely clear before taking off.

 

That is a good point for having a garage, or cleaning out the garage and
actually parking one's car in it. I am amazed how many people don't
actually park in their garage.

CaptainKrunch

 

Piston slap occurs during startup when the engine is cold. Basically, the car
sounds like a deasil engine with a metalic clinking sound which goes away once
the engine has warmed up. The noise is probably caused by worn piston rings. The
reason for the worn ring is not known. My guess is that it's caused by wear and
tear induced by those individual who do not allow their engine to warm up
properly before aggressive driving (or something to do with very little engine
oil lubricating the rings on intial startup)... The good thing about the mobel-1
oil (or other synthetic) is that it leaves a protective coating which helps with
wear and tear during cold start-up and flows better in the extreme cold (which
is important since the engine does not have any protection until the oil starts
flowing...).

Pars
98 Hatch