Warm Up That Engine!

Image taken from the web

 

Hello there and welcome! So the winter season is fast approaching. What does this matter? Well things are going to be getting colder and that means warm ups. I am of course stating this for your automobile. I thought it the appropriate time for a refresher on it.

 

Now Now pump your brakes folks.  The Digital Garage is well aware of the myths of car maintenance and warming up your engine is one of them. There are indeed a few different so called "best" methods out there for warming your car up. In the end it comes down to two simple factors:

 

1. A cold engine under high revs will wear greater then a properly warmed up engine

 

2. An engine in use will warm up faster then one at idle.

 

Now what does it matter anyway? Well the engine is a machine with moving parts and lubrication. As such it has a optimal temperature range where everything is interacting nicely with each other. Too cold and the engine under stress will wear out because the liquids in it have an operating temperature where the protective qualities work best and that temperature has not been met. Too hot is also bad as we all should know as well.

 

So what does that mean for us really? It is simple you DO NOT want to get in your car, start it, and drive off right away as if everything is good to go. Likewise you should not let the car sit for 10 minutes to warm up.

 

So what should you do? Well you should start your car and let the engine warm up a little. Some sites claim around a minute. Now that may be ok but here at the Digital Garage I let car sit at idle on a cold day for 3-5 minutes. I do this for 2 reasons. One when my engine is real cold I can tell by the noise the car makes and it just sounds like excess wear and tear. Secondly I take parkways to work and I jump on them relatively quickly. This means I may need to undergo pretty rapid acceleration which puts extra strain on a cold motor which you want to avoid until your engine is up to temperature. So ideally an engine should be left to warm up for 2-4 minutes on average. Then wen you do drive it the vehicle do not beat on it. Keep the RPM's down on the engine as best you can. This use of the engine will actually warm it up to optimal temperatures faster then if you let it sit at idle. This means it depends on where YOU live and what YOU will be doing with the vehicle. If you will be on side streets and back roads or roads without much traffic then you can get to driving after 1-2 minutes. If you will be jumping on a highway right away it may pay off to let it sit for around 5 minutes so you can safely navigate the highway without straining your motor.

 

So at minimum let the engine sit for a minute before you drive on those cold days and try not to beat on the vehicle when you do drive. You may not care now but extra wear and tear on a machine WILL equal more money spent and sooner then you would like. Stay safe out there and I will see you on the road.