I saw this article on yahoo and thought it was a little ridiculous. I'm pretty sure that most of us were taught at some time or another that your vehicle performs best at a certain temperature. This morning when I woke up it was 7 degrees out, so am I supposed to just hop in and drive off? What do you guys think?

Here's the article:http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/auto...car-in-winter/

 

i think most of that is over exaggerated BS, tree-hugging hippie crap.
don't get me wrong im all for saving a few trees here and there but i like my car.

if you drop an ice cube in warm water, it immediately cracks. i know thats not the best example but somehow i find it hard to believe that opening up your car on the freeway with out any time of warming up is healthy for your car.

ur motor gets hot fast while driving. when i wake most morning, like you said, its very much BELOW freezing.

i always allow my car to warm up for at least 10minutes. i can tell how my car sounds that driving off right away isn't healthy. yes maybe if im running to the corner store 3 blocks away, driving 30 or under prolly isn't bad for my motor but doing 65down I94 30seconds after starting it, that just doesn't sound ok..

/end rant

 

I generally let my car idle for a minute or two, then drive to work. I have about 2 or 3 miles till I'm on the highway, so it gives the car enough time to warm up. Never had any problems.

 

yeah i never really let my car idle. i get in sit for a mintue or so while i fiddle with the radio, driving gloves, seat belt, etc and then take off. i really dont see a point in idleing.

 

If i can, i will let it idle 3-5min.

I also wonder if our transmission gets more of a beating when driving off from a cold start in extreme cold weather conditions.

 

I typically let mine idle for less than a minute after I start it, then just keep the revs under 3000 for a couple of minutes. My other car has an oil pressure gauge, so I keep the revs low until the oil pressure drops at idle (below 4 on a gauge that reads from 1 to 5), but in the Audi I just wing it.

 

Cars need to be warmed up first. ESPECIALLY TURBO CARS!
If you use a heavy weight oil and you just jump in and drive on a below freezing day, you can damage your engine and turbo. The oil will be too thick to move around so you are just driving it without oil bassically.

Transmission is the same way. race cars and some street cars have a automatic setting that keeps it from shifting to a higher gear until the tranny is warm. on cold days, always let your car warm up, there is a reason it idles high when you first turn it on.

that article does have one true point, engine block heaters. But you'll have to plug in your car so the battery doesn't die.

the truck i use at work, diesel, has an engine block heater, keeps the oil warm and keeps it moving through out the engine, this uses power, and needs to be pluged in if not being used for more than 20 hours.

 

thanks Zero, i knew i wasnt crazy.

yes 10mins maybe overkill, but hey i live in Minnesota!

 

ahh. i notice that when i drive off from a cold start my auto tranny tends to stay on the 2nd gear longer and until it reaches passes 3000rpm it will shift to the next gear.

i would just go on tip mode and shift it to the next gear when im at 2000rpm.

 

OMG [off topic] VGO what rims are those??
I've been looking for rims that style for ages!

edit: wow, it says right underneath the picture. got over excited