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Morning commute, cold engine & speed

4K views 44 replies 28 participants last post by  albanz35 
#1 · (Edited)
Winter, morning commute, cold engine & speed

Hi,

I'm in Toronto & average temp @ -10C

What speed should I go when driving a brand new Civic 2008 dx-a early in the morning, considering that the engine is Cold.

I turn on the engine, wait a few seconds, then begin driving. I try to go slow, not more than 40Km/h. I even avoid the highway.

The problem is that my work office is only 10km away. I'm afraid of warming the engine a bit and after approx. 20 minutes shut it down. It'll be turned on again only 8 hours later.

Isn't that bad for an engine?
 
#3 ·
so the secret is not accelerate too much... take it easy and you can reach 100Km/s if you accelerate very very slowly.

what about the fact that the engine didn't warm up completely and it's shut down after 15 minutes of driving?
 
#6 ·
Hi,

I'm in Toronto & average temp @ -10C

What speed should I go when driving a brand new Civic 2008 dx-a early in the morning, considering that the engine is Cold.

I turn on the engine, wait a few seconds, then begin driving. I try to go slow, not more than 40Km/h. I even avoid the highway.

The problem is that my work office is only 10km away. I'm afraid of warming the engine a bit and after approx. 20 minutes shut it down. It'll be turned on again only 8 hours later.

Isn't that bad for an engine?
Take it from a fellow Torontonian....

Start the car in the morning, give it 30seconds to 1minute to idle. Put it in gear and drive easy....you can even drive on the highway, just accelerate to 100-120km/h moderately. When you get to work, don't worry about it not getting fully to temperature...its not a big issue.

Its actually a waste to let your car sit and idle for 5+ minutes in the mornings, not only you risk your car getting stolen, but you're wasting fuel and emitting excess pollution.

Just think to your self in the mornings: Start car and drive easy.....its good for the car, and good for fuel efficiency :wavey:
 
#7 ·
Nice reply....... That's what I was thinking.

My father has an old diesel Volkswagen Kombi... He would always say: if you're gonna drive for a few minutes just to go a place nearby, then just leave the Kombi where it is. It's not good for its engine to warm up just a little bit and then shut it down. :police:
 
#10 ·
As far as the short trips where the engine doesn't get very hot, it is best to at least occasionally (once a week or so) take the car on a longer trip to get the engine up to operating temp.

The reason is that on these short trips the engine warms and then cools causing condensation inside the engine. Also when the engine is cold you get increased blow-by (unburnt fuel and combustion gasses leaking past the rings). This blow-by and condensation get into the oil and can cause increased wear and corrosion if they are allowed to build up. It isn't a huge problem, but it is good to occasionally get the engine hot to evaporate this out of the oil so the PCV system can draw it out of the system.

Getting the engine good and hot perodically can also help prevent the build up of carbon in the engine. However, with better fuels and cleaner burning engines this isn't much of an issue anymore (it still is with diesels).
 
#21 ·
a little heads up.........

Cars don't need to warm up, only you do

Engine designs and materials have changed over time and motor oil has improved in quality, so there's no longer a need to "warm up" cars in the winter.

"Idling gets you no where," said Mayhew at the CAA. "The car itself really does not need much of a warm up at all. By the time you start the car, put on your seatbelt and check the mirrors, you're ready to go.

"It's totally wasteful of fuel."

Instead of warming up the car to provide heat for an elderly person or a child, make sure they are dressed appropriately for the weather conditions when they get into the car. That way, they'll be comfortable until the vehicle warms up, and they can discard hats and unzip coats to match the cabin temperature as the heater kicks in. There's a safety-related reason for this approach, too. If a car is in an accident or breaks down you'll likely lose the engine as a source of heat, so it's wise to dress for the weather.
CBC News In Depth: Consumers: Winterizing your car

But what about those frosty winter mornings? Isn't warming up your car a good idea?

According to Mr. Chiotti, it's in fact bad for your car if you let it warm up for too long, because it allows fuel residue to condense on cylinder walls and damages the engine.

"This is just a force of habit," he says. "And it's a habit that needs to be broken."

The best way to warm up a car is to get in and get going. Mr. Chiotti says other parts of a car, such as wheel bearings, suspension, transmission and tires, also need warming up -- and the best way to do that is to drive.
What does it cost to idle your car?
 
#22 ·
My mom used to have a 1987 Accord (traded it in in 2000) and drove to work which was only 5 miles away. If mufflers today are anything like mufflers of 1987, you're probably going to go through a few of them. I think she went through 4 in 13 years, but other than that she had 0 problems with the car!
 
#24 ·
Living in Winnipeg, with many, many -30 C mornings so far this year, I like to be very careful in observing start-up procedures in the morning.

I'm not sure what the ECU on the r18 does on a cold start, but on my k20, the engine likes to idle at 2000rpms for about 40 seconds before dropping to 1500 rpms until I reach my first temp bar. When I start the car, I always wait until my idle speed drops to 1500 rpms, then I consider it safe to drive off.

So that's not too different from what's already been said. But I usually take an extra precaution:

When I DO drive off, I'll usually drive in a lower gear than normal. For example, if I usually drive in fourth at a certain speed, when the engine's cold, I'll be driving in third. Note that I never allow rpms to cross 3000 until the engine is halfway to its operating temp. This does two things: by driving in a lower gear, I'm reducing the load on the engine; and it also helps it to warm up slightly faster. Higher rpms means more ignition strokes, and that is what heats up the engine. Just keep in the mind that there's only about a 500rpm drop from one gear to the next (at least with the six speed, anyway).

Following this procedure, I expect to maximize the life of my engine.
 
#25 ·
I have a remote start, so I warm up my car 10-15 minutes before leaving in the morning. My commute is only 5 miles, so if I don't start the car a little beforehand, then the engine doesn't get a chance to warm up...plus i have the fan on high and the heat all the way up so the front windshield defrosts fully.
 
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