Stang-aholic

auto-start via alarm system! i let it idle for about 5mins before i go outside lmao!!

jz78817

the real bad part about sitting at idle is oil dilution. in a cold engine, not all of the fuel vaporizes so they intentionally run rich (which is why carburetors have chokes.) The excess unburned fuel gets past the rings into the crankcase. you really really really want the engine to warm up as quickly as possible to minimize that, and once it is warmed up make sure you drive it at operating temp for a while.

like Nuke said, start the car, and by the time you've got your belt on and are ready to move, oil is flowing throughout the engine. Ignore the people who try to claim that it takes "5 minutes" or more for oil to get where it needs to be.

67fire

As Norm mentioned earlier, everything else besides just the oil is cold when you first start the car.
I have several recommendations that I do to all of my cars/trucks/motorcycles.
Replace ALL lubricating fluids with synthetic fluids.
Wheel bearing grease, suspension grease, transmission fluid, rear differential and engine oil.
Not only will all of those components last longer and rolling resistance reduced, the cold flow properties are amazing!
In some severe cases, a radiator and/or oil/block heater are a good investment as well.

Eric

Norm Peterson

I learned a long time ago to never set a P-brake during freezing conditions if it was at all possible to avoid doing so . . . for precisely this reason.

Whether the main influence for that was used cars and 1960s winters in Massachusetts, or observing the smartest most practical-minded man I'll likely ever meet from somewhat further back in time, or because there were more automatics than stick-shift cars in the driveway by the time I started driving I can't say any more.


As it ultimately turned out, I rarely use the P-brake anyway. Living in the flat land has a few benefits, I guess.


Norm