What if you have the car not running for a long time, for example if you garage the car during winter? Should you let it idle for a couple of minutes?
I think the best thing is run your engine with no fuel/spark to let the oil flow (just few seconds). And then reconnect everything (fuel and plugs/coil) start the engine and it’s good to go
And what about two stroke air cooled engines? Should you give it half a minute to warm it up a bit? I’m talking about the small 50cc two stroke scooters. Since the oil is mixed with the petrol it can’t warm up, and there is no oil pressure to build up, also there is no cold water circulating in the engine causing temperature shock (if that’s the correct term for it).
Usually what I do is start it up on the stand, and while I pick up the helmet and the gloves I let it run a bit. But other than that from the moment I start riding I floor it, because of the low power output.
With scooters its no problem at all. I have a four stroke 50 cc and when I start it from cold sometimes I let it idle if I still have to lock the backyard door or so then it starts running a bit smoother after a few seconds. But if I start it and floor it immediatly it drives exactly the same.
You should let it warm up, they brake pretty easily if not
Many factors play in like how worn a cylinder is, a fresh cylinder with a new piston got tight tolerance so it needs to warm up before using lots of throttle or the piston can expand so quickly it gets locked in the cylinder and it can ruin cylinder walls and piston. If the cylinder is worn the tolerance is higher and warm up is less needed since the piston got more room to expand.
From personal experience from low performance 50cc to medium performance 50cc to high performance 66c and both cast iron and aluminium cylinders is…the engine doesnt need to warm up but dont push the engine the first minute or so and your fine, i drive like this and have no issues despite driving all year round including when its -25 celsius.
Even 1hp 50cc engines can seize if to much throttle is used right from the start.
Whenever I had my 2 stroke Vespa , I’d always let it tick over for awhile and then drive it easy for 5 or 10 minutes before opening er up 👍
it also depends on what type of metal your car’s engine block is made off. if your car has a high-revving aluminium-block, it usually means the engine is designed to perform better at higher temps because of expansion-rate. aluminium is a soft metallic alloy which will crack when a sudden dramatic rise in temperature occurs, kinda like taking a empty glass that you froze and putting it in the microwave to thaw-out. when you’ve got an expensive car like a Ferrari, leave it idling for about 3-4 minutes depending on how cold it is, before gently driving off.
Yes, but that adds another problem for chain driven engines which may not get proper lubrication at idle.
This is fine, maybe down to -20°. When it’s -40°, I’m going to be using a block heater, oil pan heater and letting it idle for 2-5 minutes because I don’t like putting any load on my engine with my oil thicker than syrup. City driving in warmer weather, go for it :)
At -40° you should own a sled instead of a car.
Using 0w30 or 0w20 oil helps a lot too.
I usually wait about 20-40s before I start driving. Sometimes it can be a little more, like 1-2min, for example when I choose a playlist on Spotify.
The owner’s manual says you should wait at least 30s.
Same idea for FI turbo diesel engines?
I think it’s recommended for turbocharged car to wait a little longer until the turbo is greased up. Those things are finicky. My Mazda cx-7 runs like poop when it’s cold.
I’m still learning how to drive, but my dad told me that I made a mistake when I pulled out of the driveway before letting the engine get warmed up, and I could tell that the engine wasn’t happy because for the entire 5-minute or so drive the engine was making a high-pitched whining noise that didn’t seem normal. I will always let the engine run a bit before driving from now on… just to be safe.
That sounds like a loose accessories belt (serpentine belt). You should maybe check it and tighten it with your alternator or replace it. Or the alternator could slow it down and make it slip. In that case your alternator bearings could be bad.
Yup Martin pretty much hits the most likely culprits. The belt could be slipping due to frost, oil leakage, temperature, or whatever, or any one of the bearings on your accessory system (sometimes alternator, sometimes something else like power steering or water pump) could be unhappy. And if the noise was extremely loud, it could be the starter motor not completely disengaging. But if that was the case you’d probably have found out by now haha
He literally just went over why it causes more wear to do so. Does your dad have a mechanical engineering degree?
Like Martin Kozlik said, look for common causes of noise. Healthy cars don’t make noise like this no matter if you take off right away or wait to drive off.
I always do. From my experience, people that don’t tend to have premature catalytic converter and manifold (intake and/or exhaust) failures. Id rather not have to replace those parts since they’re either expensive or a pain to do on most cars.
I agree with this video but only up to a certain point..being a heavy equipment mechanic ive worked on engines that are operating at -40 celcius outside and it can take anywhere from 7 seconds upwards of 2 minutes for oil to reach the top of the head. An engine is supposed to be ran at a constant and even operating temprature and on a cold start at -40 that combustion chamber heats up much faster than the block and oil do…saying that you dony need to warm your engine up on cold mornings isnt true maybe for -15 celcius and above but at -40 in canadian climates its not the same…engine tolerances when the internals are that cold are less than they would be if they were warm and increasing rpm on a cold engine with farther tolerances is not a good thing…i dont agree il keep lettinh my engine warm for a few minutes when its cold and upwards of 10 minutes on -40 lol
+1 on this.
but don’t people on this conditions use external heaters?
Damn.. There is 20 degres during the winter sometimes xd Rust on my BMW is not happy because of global warming 😂
Comments
What if you have the car not running for a long time, for example if you garage the car during winter? Should you let it idle for a couple of minutes?
I think the best thing is run your engine with no fuel/spark to let the oil flow (just few seconds). And then reconnect everything (fuel and plugs/coil) start the engine and it’s good to go
And what about two stroke air cooled engines? Should you give it half a minute to warm it up a bit? I’m talking about the small 50cc two stroke scooters. Since the oil is mixed with the petrol it can’t warm up, and there is no oil pressure to build up, also there is no cold water circulating in the engine causing temperature shock (if that’s the correct term for it).
Usually what I do is start it up on the stand, and while I pick up the helmet and the gloves I let it run a bit. But other than that from the moment I start riding I floor it, because of the low power output.
With scooters its no problem at all. I have a four stroke 50 cc and when I start it from cold sometimes I let it idle if I still have to lock the backyard door or so then it starts running a bit smoother after a few seconds. But if I start it and floor it immediatly it drives exactly the same.
You should let it warm up, they brake pretty easily if not
Many factors play in like how worn a cylinder is, a fresh cylinder with a new piston got tight tolerance so it needs to warm up before using lots of throttle or the piston can expand so quickly it gets locked in the cylinder and it can ruin cylinder walls and piston.
If the cylinder is worn the tolerance is higher and warm up is less needed since the piston got more room to expand.
From personal experience from low performance 50cc to medium performance 50cc to high performance 66c and both cast iron and aluminium cylinders is…the engine doesnt need to warm up but dont push the engine the first minute or so and your fine, i drive like this and have no issues despite driving all year round including when its -25 celsius.
Even 1hp 50cc engines can seize if to much throttle is used right from the start.
Whenever I had my 2 stroke Vespa , I’d always let it tick over for awhile and then drive it easy for 5 or 10 minutes before opening er up 👍
it also depends on what type of metal your car’s engine block is made off. if your car has a high-revving aluminium-block, it usually means the engine is designed to perform better at higher temps because of expansion-rate. aluminium is a soft metallic alloy which will crack when a sudden dramatic rise in temperature occurs, kinda like taking a empty glass that you froze and putting it in the microwave to thaw-out. when you’ve got an expensive car like a Ferrari, leave it idling for about 3-4 minutes depending on how cold it is, before gently driving off.
Yes, but that adds another problem for chain driven engines which may not get proper lubrication at idle.
This is fine, maybe down to -20°. When it’s -40°, I’m going to be using a block heater, oil pan heater and letting it idle for 2-5 minutes because I don’t like putting any load on my engine with my oil thicker than syrup. City driving in warmer weather, go for it :)
At -40° you should own a sled instead of a car.
Using 0w30 or 0w20 oil helps a lot too.
I usually wait about 20-40s before I start driving. Sometimes it can be a little more, like 1-2min, for example when I choose a playlist on Spotify.
The owner’s manual says you should wait at least 30s.
Same idea for FI turbo diesel engines?
I think it’s recommended for turbocharged car to wait a little longer until the turbo is greased up. Those things are finicky. My Mazda cx-7 runs like poop when it’s cold.
I’m still learning how to drive, but my dad told me that I made a mistake when I pulled out of the driveway before letting the engine get warmed up, and I could tell that the engine wasn’t happy because for the entire 5-minute or so drive the engine was making a high-pitched whining noise that didn’t seem normal. I will always let the engine run a bit before driving from now on… just to be safe.
That sounds like a loose accessories belt (serpentine belt). You should maybe check it and tighten it with your alternator or replace it. Or the alternator could slow it down and make it slip. In that case your alternator bearings could be bad.
Yup Martin pretty much hits the most likely culprits. The belt could be slipping due to frost, oil leakage, temperature, or whatever, or any one of the bearings on your accessory system (sometimes alternator, sometimes something else like power steering or water pump) could be unhappy. And if the noise was extremely loud, it could be the starter motor not completely disengaging. But if that was the case you’d probably have found out by now haha
He literally just went over why it causes more wear to do so. Does your dad have a mechanical engineering degree?
Like Martin Kozlik said, look for common causes of noise. Healthy cars don’t make noise like this no matter if you take off right away or wait to drive off.
I always do. From my experience, people that don’t tend to have premature catalytic converter and manifold (intake and/or exhaust) failures. Id rather not have to replace those parts since they’re either expensive or a pain to do on most cars.
I agree with this video but only up to a certain point..being a heavy equipment mechanic ive worked on engines that are operating at -40 celcius outside and it can take anywhere from 7 seconds upwards of 2 minutes for oil to reach the top of the head. An engine is supposed to be ran at a constant and even operating temprature and on a cold start at -40 that combustion chamber heats up much faster than the block and oil do…saying that you dony need to warm your engine up on cold mornings isnt true maybe for -15 celcius and above but at -40 in canadian climates its not the same…engine tolerances when the internals are that cold are less than they would be if they were warm and increasing rpm on a cold engine with farther tolerances is not a good thing…i dont agree il keep lettinh my engine warm for a few minutes when its cold and upwards of 10 minutes on -40 lol
+1 on this.
but don’t people on this conditions use external heaters?
Damn.. There is 20 degres during the winter sometimes xd Rust on my BMW is not happy because of global warming 😂