Pre-heating Car.....

[BoomhaueR]

But 60°c is nothing, surely it reaches that in moments? Just rubbing your hands together for a couple of seconds probably generates 25°c. So a cold engine starting at 1000-1100RPM I can't imagine would take long to get to 60°c.

Suppose someone with a more accurate aux temp gauge could confirm this

Not the case I'm afraid, or we could all boot it from the off.

In the winter it takes about 5 to 8mins for the coolant alone to heat up, and further 5 to 8 mins on top of that for the oil to reach optimum 90degs.

My oil isnt at optimum temp until I get to work...so the commute is very boring drive indeed in the winter.

 

[Steely]

Not the case I'm afraid, or we could all boot it from the off.

In the winter it takes about 5 to 8mins for the coolant alone to heat up, and further 5 to 8 mins on top of that for the oil to reach optimum 90degs.

My oil isnt at optimum temp until I get to work...so the commute is very boring drive indeed in the winter.

i'll second that, Liquid gauge showed it took a good 10-15mins of driving to get the Oil temp about 80 degrees, even the dash coolant temp gauge isnt accurate, its more a guide, a new sensor fitted and as soon as it hit 90 degrees the coolant temp was actually only 68 degrees,

15mins or 5 miles, thats the way i always look at it,

 

[Phillc]

There was a good thread a while back regarding oil temp and how long it took to reach optimum temp, it takes longer than the water, this is only realy noticed when an oil temp gauge is fitted.

 

[beezertart]

oh dear, you want to start on me do you

I may apply make up, but at least I dont use a trowel to put mine on

of course,tis in my membership t&c that i have to abuse you

as for trowel application,this is true but its a buggerwaiting for the cement mixer to get going in this weather

 

[AntneeUK]

...regarding oil temp and how long it took to reach optimum temp, it takes longer than the water...

Which is one reason why oil is used for cooling in a lot of high-temperature applications, rather than water

 

[LEE69]

There was a good thread a while back regarding oil temp and how long it took to reach optimum temp, it takes longer than the water, this is only realy noticed when an oil temp gauge is fitted.

Yeah i watched it on my liquid gauge once, car was at 90 deg well before the the oil got anywhere near 90 deg.

 

[AntneeUK]

edit - I missed this whole second page. Tit.

 

[oldman]

Is that for real? What a stupid law!

yes it is law.
remember a news article last year on this.
blokes car was behind a locked gate and a walking past copper nicked for an unattended running vehicle.
could go in to gear and on to street and cause issues.

 

[AntneeUK]

Indeed, I mean, how many times do we have to see gears that magically engage and hand brakes that magically disengage before someone realises that THE CAR WOULD STALL!

 

[DJ-LIAMC]

I have been led to believe that you should start driving when the revs idle below 1000 rpm ( bout 50 secs for mine).

 

[Andrewcupra TDI]

reading this , isnt the law illegal when its on a public highway , if its on your drive /garage then thats private property ???

id put a wheel clamp on and argue the toss ,

i used to do this in my old car , and use the disklock on the sterring wheel ( the disk just spins around so cant steer the car ) , my car was also delocked and windows up , i used the fob to lock /unlock car with no probs


also whats the difference between a coppers car where the keys arent there his engines runnig and if any pedal is pressed the engine cuts out

this is the exact same system that the likes of clifford offer they cut out , so whats the problem , one rule fore them and different for others ???

 

[LEE69]

Mate as it on his van (works for Autoglass) allows him to use the engine to keep his lights on and other tools he need, the van won't drive unless the key is re-inserted.

 

[Jii]

Get a real engine heater like www.defa.com/ and good interior heater.

 

[matt_s]

Without going off-topic... isn't that a myth? It's a secondary water pump that pumps coolant around the engine, it's doesn't do anything for the oil that can potentially coke in the turbo bearings/journals itself does it? I know I always take the last couple of miles of any journey easy/off-boost anyway!

I thought the bearings had a water jacket so the coolant pump stops the heat in the exhaust section tranfering to the bearings and coking the oil.

 

[leon cupra r]

With regards to the argument that you should not warm the engine up whilst idling, I think some of the sources of this argument may be the environmentalists who dont want to increase carbon emissions etc.

I know whenever I have read the manuals that come with cars (occasionally have way too much time on my hands! haha) they always have the environmental picture next to the bit that says to drive off as soon as the engine is started.

I always try and let the engine idle a bit before I set off, if nothing else, to get the oil pumped round - even if it is not up to temperature, surely its best to have SOME oil rather than no oil?

Also, yes, the engine may heat up quicker while driving, but everyone knows its while idling that engines overheat as there is no air movement, so surely this will also help the engine heat up?

I've always thought this was a one sided argument - less wear and tear while idling = better for engine, but this thread has shed an interesting light on it for me...

 

[AntneeUK]

I don't think it's environmentalists to be honest; the information I read has been from well known engineers who design and maintain engines, or experts in the field, rather than tree hugging hippies.

Yes, some oil is better than no oil, but it doesn't take long to get some oil in to place.

I challenge you (or anyone) in this current weather to get their engine up to temperature at idle. It'll either take hours, or it won't happen before you run out of fuel.

It's actually more wear and tear while idling because the oil just isn't doing it's job.

Of course, as already mentioned, you'd make it much worse if you drove off and hammered it immediately. Just drive off steady

 

[leon cupra r]

Yeah I agree with you about the taking ages to warm up at idle, I usually sit with half foot on throttle holding the revs about 1500rpm to wam her up steadily if its really really cold.....

Is oil really that rubbish when it's cold then? surely it's still going to be protective, just not as viscous so harder for the pump to get round the engine?

Not trying to have a go or say I don't believe you or anything here, just genuinly curious!

 

[AntneeUK]

As I say in almost anything that I post on subjects like this, I'm no expert, I just read and remember these kinds of things, and no matter how hard it seems to be to believe, when enough reputable people tell you the same thing I tend to just accept it as how it is unless I can see proof otherwise.

Anyway, as I say, oil has an operating temperature, and I have always been told that 60°c is the minimum that most are designed to work, and even then it's only because of additives. A pure oil (don't ask, I don't know) apparently requires an even higher temperature.

Why it doesn't work at these lower temperatures I don't know, but I'm far too under-qualified to argue with the experts

 

[leon cupra r]

Fair enough then mate! if this is true then its going to save me hours sitting there waiting for her to warm up then!

 

[AntneeUK]

TBH, you can boot it from cold, just expect to have to replace lots of parts a lot quicker