How long do you idle the engine after start during cold months?

>How long do you idle the engine after start during cold months?
Until enough of the oil is moving instead of being thick. If the temp gauge stays low, then the oil is probably still pretty cool so I wait. I don't rev the engine because I don't want it working any harder than necessary if the oil isn't flowing as well as it should to the bearings.

The heater and defroster are on of course. I am outside the car clearing any snow or ice blocking windows. I check the wipers and scrape windshield perfectly clear of ice. I don't use wiper fluid to clear the ice off. That's because rough ice on the windshield scratches the wiper blades and makes them streak in normal rain use. So I always get rid of any ice on the front windshield.

By the time I am done clearing off the car, checking the tires, making sure the grille is not blocked, and checking the driveway for obstacles (never know if a plow pushed an ice boulder over), the car's oil is warmed up enough to be driveable.

I won't drive the car unless the oil is good enough. That's my rule for engine longevity.

During winter i usually turn the car on and turn the heat on get out and wipe the snow off and when i get in i just start driving, easily ofc.

A minute at least. especially turbo cars.

If the engine heater has been on; let it sit for a few seconds to make sure no lamps come on and that the idle is smooth
If its cold; I'll let it sit for atleast five minutes if I can, but I'll often just drive off if I need to. I've got proper 5w40 so it shouldn't usually be a problem outside of the coldest days

Wouldn't surprise me if modern theft systems require it for remote start.

However long it takes to put on my socks and shoes

>putting on socks and shoes is the last process of getting ready in the morning
>for maximum efficiency I warm my car up while getting ready
>walk in the cold barefoot just to start my car and walk back inside

until oil temp hits 100F
>drive a twin-scroll tarbo meme that wants to boost if you breathe on the throttle

After idling out of the garage I have to close the garage doors which in my mind is enough time for the engine to warm up to regular driving.

however long is takes me to brush snow and scrape ice off the windows/mirrors.

each door needs a relay installed for the system to work

however long it takes to drop from 1000rpm to about 700rpm which is usually a few minutes, It's not like I'm an idiot who is always in a rush due to poor time management

until its at or nearly at operating temp

bout 10 minutes

Protip for any car noobs: turning your temp knob/readout to heat without AC uses air from the engine bay directly. In the summer, run it on full blast with your windows down to cool down your temp gauge/readout if it's running hot. Running it like that in the winter will cause your temp gauge/readout to take longer to hit middle.

About 5 mins or however long it takes to get the snow off my car. My car doesn't get very hot on idle in any weather. Plus 0W-20 doesn't have much problem

If I have time then I'll usually go out and start my car about 5 minutes before I leave and turn on the heater and defrosters going. It makes it much easier to get the snow off and makes it a more comfortable temperature right away.
If I'm in a hurry then just long enough to clear the snow off my windows.

>just a waste of gas and pollution and shit
totally worth it to me. It's just a couple pennies in gas

But then you're left freezing like a cuck.

Lol I give my carbd engine like one minute before I go

>But then you're left freezing like a cuck
My car has no heater so, not a problem

Can you not stand 5 minutes of outside temps? Be a man.

ITT: people that think idling an engine is "warming it up"

run synthetic
don't idle

it is, just leaving your car running for like 10 minutes is usually enough

>wake up
>let my shower idle
>grab drink and remote start car
>shower
>jump in to warm car

much comfy.

The time it takes do disengage the handbrake.

About 10 seconds, then I just drive it gently until it's warm.

10 sec. don't pass 2500 rpm before its warmed up. It will warm up faster if you drive it.

>I won't drive the car unless the oil is good enough. That's my rule for engine longevity.

Fur those interested in the difference between dinosaur and full synthetic oils, here's an example of the flow rate of oils cooled down to -35 (minus thirty five) degrees fahrenheit. The point of the picture is not to show that oils are sluggish, but to compare the loss of viscosity protection additives from the beginning (new oil) to the end (time for an oil change). Fur synthetic oil continues to have good flow rate at the end of its service life. Conventional oil is hugely different at the end of its service life.

So, for cars that are always warm like the bottom half of the 48 USA states, conventional and fur synthetic have enough viscosity in winter. But in the coldest states, conventional oil has been too worn out by the end of its service life to have much circulation viscosity when the engine is super cold.

>I've got proper 5w40
Fur synthetic oil keeps its viscosity better than conventional oil.

This is the only correct answer.

The difference in viscosity between the used and new fur synthetic oil is small.

However, the difference in viscosity between the used and new conventional oil is very large.

So, at the end of the oil drain interval when you do your oil/filter change, the amount of protection the conventional oil gives you is less than from the fur synthetic oil.

Who knew furries could be so infurmative

It isn't. It's just a myth that gets spread around by misinformed people. Idling an engine doesn't do shit. You need to drive the car to warm it up properly.

Have you ever lived somewhere with a winter?

Admittedly, if it's -20 out, idling the car won't warm it up all the way. It'll sit at like 1/4-1/2 operating temp until you start driving it.

Down to about 0-10 degrees, idling the car warms the engine up quite a lot. I generally depend on the heat generated from idling the car to clear the windshield of any lingering ice before I start driving.

I am quite confident that the engine does in fact warm up from just idling. I have the strangest feeling that if it didn't, I wouldn't be able to use the heat generated from idling the car to defrost the windshield.

That's just me though. Maybe I'm retarded and the friction generated by circulating the air through the blower motor is actually what's heating the air up, and the thermostat gauge on my car is just completely wrong 100% of the time.

I start the engine with the pedal to the floor

Normal days 1min warm up time and I'm good

I baby the car though

Very cold and practically ice everywhere, I give the car 2-3 min of warm up time and turn on the heater start driving and be mindful to not jump on it until I have the dummy gauge reading where I want

For the people using the oil press gauge as a test, doesn't that not actually work as expected? Those oil gauge from the factory are pretty much dummy gauges and don't give you an accurate reading

If 0 to -15 just as long it takes to remove snow and ice from windows and hood.

-20-30 about 20 minutes because holy shit it is painful to listen automatic gearbox try to switch gears at 3500rpm

>-40 outside
fuck that jazz

As long as it takes for my heated seats to warm up.

I have an old car with just the coolant-driven heater core and it's incapable of defrosting my windshield prior to the engine reaching operating temp. New cars have a small electric heating coil that turns on before the engine is warm enough for the heater core to kick in.

This

You aren't understanding me correctly. I am not saying that idling an engine doesn't literally warm it up. I am saying that figuratively "warming up" an engine involves much more than just letting it idle and become warmer. Engines need to be under load to get warmed up properly and there is absolutely zero harm to putting a cold engine under light load and has the benefit of actually becoming warmer faster. Letting your engine just idle will subject it to ultra low oil pressure which will be even worse if you're using petroleum oil versus synthetic. This isn't even mentioning that idling an engine creates localized hot spots which is one of the downsides of a mass of metal being bolted together. Heads aren't lubricated well as it is and the atomization of gasoline is shit when the engine is cold so you are literally hosing down your cylinders with gas and washing away the little lubrication it had.

So trust me on this one, idling is not the right way to warm up any engine.

What about semi-synthetic? Never see those mentioned here.

>atomization of gasoline is shit when the engine is cold so you are literally hosing down your cylinders with gas and washing away the little lubrication it had.

This does not apply to diesels though.

>What about semi-synthetic? Never see those mentioned here.

That's a remnant from the previous century when a quart of full synthetic oil was three times the price of the conventional oil. There's no need to mix full synth with conventional just to save a tiny bit of money. The price difference now is small enough now. And as long as there is conventional oil in there, it will oxidize and turn black far faster than the full synth. Because of that, one can also loosely think of the full synth being contaminated earlier by the impurities and sludge from the conventional oil.

Synthetic versus Conventional Oil Thread:
archive.4plebs.org/o/thread/14985876/#q14985876

Synthetic oil brands
archive.4plebs.org/o/thread/15515997/castrol-vs-mobil-vs-quaker-state

>coolant-driven heater core

I have that too. Still defrosts my windshield. It doesn't need to hit 195 degree operating temp to melt ice, it just has to make air warmer than freezing.

>Engines need to be under load to get warmed up properly and there is absolutely zero harm to putting a cold engine under light load and has the benefit of actually becoming warmer faster.

Warm up faster, yes. No harm in putting it under load within 10 seconds of running, that's a load of shit. In below freezing weather, even the best synthetic is sluggish as shit when you turn the engine over. Putting the engine under load immediately will cause cavitation in the oil pump, aerate your oil, and do more damage than just letting it idle would ever accomplish.

>Letting your engine just idle will subject it to ultra low oil pressure which will be even worse if you're using petroleum oil versus synthetic.

Another load of shit. At cold temperatures, oil flows slowly. This results in extremely high oil pressure at idle in low temperatures, which decreases as the engine warms up. Putting the engine under load with extremely cold oil will put excessive strain on the pump and seals, and again cavitate in the pump and aerate the oil. Literally any car, new or old, will make plenty of oil pressure at idle to protect every rotating component, especially at low temperatures. I've seen 100,000 mile small blocks make 60 lbs at idle on a 40 degree day, and my own old rusty shitheap will make 40 lbs at idle on an 80 degree day.

>This isn't even mentioning that idling an engine creates localized hot spots which is one of the downsides of a mass of metal being bolted together.

Happens anyway, whether you put it under load 10 seconds after starting it or 10 minutes after starting it. Rarely matters, as with either a carburated car or anything FI, the map/fueling for low temps/no O2 sensor reading is rich as sin, so you'll never detonate anyway. Uneven heating as far as bolt tightness and sealing is taken care of by having, you know, torque specs that take those factors into account.

>Heads aren't lubricated well as it is

See above, as to oil pressure at idle. Heads are lubricated just fine and dandy if the oiling design is anything halfway decent. Starvation will be a problem with an inherently bad design at any RPM and load, idling doesn't change that.

>the atomization of gasoline is shit when the engine is cold so you are literally hosing down your cylinders with gas and washing away the little lubrication it had.

So it's better to run a higher RPM under load while the cylinders have no lubrication as compared to letting the thing idle for 10 minutes and allowing the gas to start atomizing properly before driving it? Makes perfect sense.

Someone has been watching a little too much engineering explained....

t. busriders

Indeed it does - and the Castrol Magnatec I poured into it a few days ago is fully synthetic

>At cold temperatures, oil flows slowly. This results in extremely high oil pressure at idle in low temperatures, which decreases as the engine warms up. Putting the engine under load with extremely cold oil will put excessive strain on the pump and seals, and again cavitate in the pump and aerate the oil.

That would ALSO mean the high pressure appears across the oil filter. If it is a cheaper filter such as Purolator or WIX, the filter can have a little hole torn in the material despite the pressure relief valve opening.

I live on a dead-end road at the bottom of a hill. Because I can't leave my road without working the engine, I let it warm up for a good 5-10 minutes.

I doubt the oil will start breaking appart way before the next oil change interval even if it isnt the latest, greatest synthetic oil.

In the morning my car is in an insulated 45F garage, so about 20 seconds.

After work the car is buried under 3" of snow and ice, so I hit the remote start from my cubicle and finish my coffee.

>How long do you idle the engine after start during cold months?
▓ I use 0W20 full synthetic oil during the winter months. Inside my heated garage, it doesn't matter. But outdoors, or at the work parking lot I do the following:
►30 seconds idle time at 40 degrees fahrenheit outdoor temp which is long enough to buckle my seatbelt, adjust my jacket, and sip the water/coffee. Oil temp doesn't matter at this temp.

►2 minutes at 30 degrees which is long enough to scrape ice or squeegee water from the side and rear windows and check tires. The inside defoggers will be starting to work by then too.
►3 minutes at 20 degrees fahrenheit. The 0W20 full synth oil doesn't need that long, but at that temp, I have to wait longer to defrost and defog windows.
►4 minutes at 10 degrees fahrenheit due to windows and defog/defrost.
►5 minutes at 0 degrees fahrenheit.

Any colder and it is too rare. With 0W20 full synthetic oil, I don't worry even at -10 degrees fahrenheit. It's always the rest of the car. If it was conventional oil, then I'd worry.

As for oil temp, I am confident at zero degrees fahrenheit because I opened the hood on the ice cold engine after working the day and pulled the dipstick. The 0w20 full synth oil was super cold but still flowed very nicely. I didn't use a thermometer gun to verify the actual temp of the dipstick when I pulled it. So there might be residual engine heat even after 8.7 hours and it is dark already. Snow tires for the win. Otherwise getting home is annoying. The roads near my home are not salted, so I have my bag from work. Inside is the little gallon pump spray bottle. The water is room temp since it was taken in to work with me and I took it back out. I rinse off the bottom of the car just before I get home until the gallon is gone. That way all the water that freezes is not in my driveway. My car has the usual patina of rust expected of all cars even in arizona. But there is "no" salt rust.

>There's no need to mix full synth with conventional just to save a tiny bit of money.

that applies to newer cars
with older (or high mileage ones) you want half syntetic

i once tried full synthetic on my MR2
ate oil worse than a fucking civic

for about as long as it takes me to plug in aux and load pandora

takes a while for windows to defrost though, so ill probably start giving my bbg a few minutes to warm up to me before i pop her delicate clutch

Depends really,

We've had mild winters here and the last time it was
>pic related
bad, was 3 years ago and I usually start the car and clean my car off of snow and ice so big chunks don't fall off my roof and kill somebody.

If the car gets warm in the process, I am happy. But if I am in a hurry I wait 1-2 minutes just to not have huge temperature differences between the different components and also the oil.

4chins ate my picture.

>Wat...a lock actuator isn't a requirement for remote start.
The problem is the model of car and how clever its immobilizer computer is. That's why it's bettter to buy the remote start as part of the original options package in those specific cars. While it is cheap to add it for many cars, some cars need some additional tricks to avoid triggering the immobilizer. But $1000 total does seem too high priced.

>Engines need to be under load to get warmed up properly
The engine only needs enough warming without load to get its fluids warm enough to move properly. Putting a load on the engine without proper oil circulation is absurd. That's why idling to warm up the oil is better than putting a load on the engine to warm up the oil.

5-15 minutes depending on how cold.it is outside. I use the extra time to scrape off the car and finish getting ready inside.

>tfw car won't lock with a key in the ignition and there's been a rash of car thefts lately in my otherwise safe neighborhood

What will i do this year lads?

>run synthetic 5w-30 pennzoil platinum
>turn over car, get out, brush snow/scrape frost
>get in, drive easy till warmup. Don't touch heater until needle moves.
or on cold days (no snow) I just give it a minute for everything to circulate. It can get to -40c here on rare chance though typically see -20c. No block warmer. Park outside. 3rd gen Outback. Gonna try Pennzoil Ultra this winter.

i used full synth in my honda prelude IV h22a
ate oil
just like regular prelude h22a

>run synthetic 5w-30 pennzoil platinum
You could try 0W30 instead due to the cold starting temp?

>had a remote start installed simply so I dont have to sit on cold leather

sounds comfy but check your fucking privilege cis scum

Haha scraping the windshield...buy the deicing washer fluid by the gallon and either splash it on or put it in a spray bottle

Usually about 30 seconds, about as long it takes for me to set my coffee down, put some chew in and disengage my parking brake

If my windows are all frozen, then a couple minutes as I scape the ice off

>0w-30
I've looked into that too. Castrol makes a good 0w-30 formula.

pretty sure thats a meme

>fire up my Camaro with remote start from inside my house while drinking hot cocoa
>wait 30 seconds and the ac is already blowing hot air
>wait another minute just so she has a good wake up and I want her to be comfy
>open door and let out a large portion of the hot air so I don't get smothered
>hop in to a perfect temperature in my one and only love
>take her to do some hectic snow skidding in an empty parking lot before work

Takes her about 30 seconds senpai but I like to give her time.

Long enough for my transmission to start warming up which is usually 5 min

>First car
>1986 Tercel
>Teeny little twin barrel carbeurator
>Won't idle cold
>No parking brake
>Run 5w-40 because otherwise the oil disappears from the engine 3fast5me
>Literally any -15'F or worse day
>Get the wheel chocks out
>Plug in block heater
>Oh wait, I didn't get a good parking spot for that.
>Get the cinderblocks
>Turn the car on
>Leave cinderblocks on the accelerator
>Just enough throttle to keep it idle
>Walk away for 15 minutes
>Come back
>Scrape windshield off because the clogged heater core sucks
>Remove bricks
>Idle is ruff but it's idling
>Get my wheel chocks back
>Go to work

>>fire up my Camaro with remote start from inside my house while drinking hot cocoa
>wait 30 seconds and the ac is already blowing hot air

You have one of the new GM cars/camaro then with electric heating.
My old car takes a long time to get hot air as it only uses fluid.

kek

>Haha scraping the windshield...buy the deicing washer fluid by the gallon and either splash it on or put it in a spray bottle

It's way easier to scrape the windshield than to try to spray my way out of the snow and ice on the windshield. Since I already had to brush the snow off, it's not much more trouble to scrape the ice off.

It's also free. Using deicing fluid by the gallon each day becomes expensive.

>Not giving the car 60 sec to allow oil to circulate

Since I have to wait for the car to warm up in the first place, scraping ice off the windshield costs me no time loss. I bet you don't even take your own teenager style advice of splashing a gallon of deicer fluid each time you use the car.

I run mine 1min 30 sec until I hear the warm air pump stopping pumping warm air into the engine intake manifold, and this is not a winter only thing because the engine runs better once the pump stops.

kill yourself, hobbit

>How long do you idle the engine after start during cold months?
The first thing I do is tap the side of the car in case there is a feral cat/rat/furry under the hood. Don't want to grind up a cat since cleaning that is pretty nasty.

Then start the engine and have the hot air blowing. I then brush any snow off the car roof, windows, and lights. I scrape ice as needed because that is common sense. I make sure there isn't snow or ice packed under the wipers. The grille should be clear of ice and snow. I always look at the tires to verify the tires are inflated in case I hit some debris in the slush coming back home the previous evening.

By the time I'm done with all the usual checks needed before going out into the frozen world, the car is starting to get warm inside. The time used to do the checks and exterior maintenance is what sets my idle time.

Do you ever use anti-fog chemicals like Rain-X Anti Fog on your windows? I looked over the company's website and it doesn't recommend that product for tinted windows. If you know of any products in europe that are anti-fog on tinted windows, please let us know. It will be time to import some to the usa.

2016 Camaro 2SS. Traded in my 2015 SS when I saw the new Camaro interior.

Yeah, GM made a lot of significant changes in multiple car model interiors in moving from 2015 to the 2016 platforms. The 2016 Malibu has a much improved interior over the 2015. Because the 2016 Malibu Limited actually uses the 2015 interior, it is the exception for the 2016 maliboos. I'm glad GM is trying to be more quick with their changes across car lines.

Until it's at operating temp, or near to.
Say 2 minutes?

Nah, I don't. It doesn't really fog here during the winter as its too cold when the car is sitting, and the engine heats up quickly enough (especially with the heater) that the glass doesn't fog up when I get into it

I've tried applying "Water repellent glass cleaner" it to the side windows of my bed-top, but it didn't do shit

On my Alfa Romeo 2000, I wait ten minutes because thats what Alfa people say me to do.

Oil pressure takes a lot of time to rise, not sure why.

The viscosity of the oil will only change once it reaches optimal operating temperature.
Too much revs and the lubricant can't keep up - which causes friction, then heat yadda yadda.
It's not like the oil magically comes out 60 seconds post ignition - the oil from the last drive is still there.

For dummies: Low temperature, low viscosity, no lubrication.
Optimal temperature, optimal viscosity, optimal lubrication.
Longer the engine runs on high viscosity lubrication, longer it's gonna create friction, harder it's gonna eat away that cylinder wall and faster the engine will wear.

Essentially, driving normal is good. Suggest block heaters.

30 seconds. Simply to let the oil flow. FI engines don't need to warm up and idling won't do anything for you or your car.

F1 engines are pumped with heated oil before starting, when cold the tolerances are so tight it's effectively seized.

F1 engines are heated up before igniting. The compression is too high - the chamber is literally too tight for the piston to move in because it hasn't stretched out because of the heat if you try to cold start it. You'll just flood it and well F1 engines ain't made to be durable.