Winterizing...
Most of the time, when you get "factory" remote start, all that means is that the dealer dropped the car off at the local alarm/stereo/tint shop and had an off the shelf remote start system installed.
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
From: mississauga
i had a remote starter on my jetta...all it did was burn gas and give me a nice warm interior. pay the $106 or whatever and get your car undercoated. i go to Krown. sure it smells like crap for a few days, but it'll keep my resale value way up.
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: BC
Actually, that is the correct way to warm your vehicle.
The best thing you can do is start it, wait for the RPMs to come down to normal (less than a min) and drive off. Keep it under 3K RPMs until you're up to normal operating temp.
By letting you car sit and idle, you are getting the engine warm, but the rest of your drivetrain is still cold. By driving gently until the temp is normal, everything comes up to temp at the same time, thus reducing wear.
The best thing you can do is start it, wait for the RPMs to come down to normal (less than a min) and drive off. Keep it under 3K RPMs until you're up to normal operating temp.
By letting you car sit and idle, you are getting the engine warm, but the rest of your drivetrain is still cold. By driving gently until the temp is normal, everything comes up to temp at the same time, thus reducing wear.
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
From: Ontario, Canada
Actually, that is the correct way to warm your vehicle.
The best thing you can do is start it, wait for the RPMs to come down to normal (less than a min) and drive off. Keep it under 3K RPMs until you're up to normal operating temp.
By letting you car sit and idle, you are getting the engine warm, but the rest of your drivetrain is still cold. By driving gently until the temp is normal, everything comes up to temp at the same time, thus reducing wear.
The best thing you can do is start it, wait for the RPMs to come down to normal (less than a min) and drive off. Keep it under 3K RPMs until you're up to normal operating temp.
By letting you car sit and idle, you are getting the engine warm, but the rest of your drivetrain is still cold. By driving gently until the temp is normal, everything comes up to temp at the same time, thus reducing wear.
I sort of disagree with this. there are two ways theories i have for dealing with those cold mornings (or nights in my case). I like to let the car idle up and get warm for two reasons. its gets the engine warm before you do any driving on it. yes, i agree this doesnt mean that the drivetrain is warm, just the engine so it doesnt give you free rain to hop in and stand on the gas, however it might, just might give you a little longer engine life because its only ever idling cold and there is little load on it(by comparison) when it is so cold. also, when its warm, scraping off the windows is much easier and you less likely to give up and practice your tank driving (looking through a small hole you made in the iced up windshield). However, if i dont have the chance to warm it up first i will go very easy on the engine, but i hold the gears longer. i dont shift later, but its like, say im doing 60km/h. id normally have just shifted into 4th, i'll stay in 3rd. just keep the revs there with just a little bit of throttle so as not to accelerate or decelerate. this gets the engine warm quicker, and in fact alot of automatic cars with smart trannies (Mercedes for example) do this automatically. mine is standard, so the shift points are up to me. like i said, i dont wind it out alot, i just hold it in a lower gear instead of shifting to the next gear once i've reached the speed i wanna be going.
I still cling to the idle warm up because my old suzuki was undrivable in the winter until it was warm anyways, and you know what they say about old habbits.
As for prepping the car for winter, i just had mine rustproofed at the toyota dealership i work at. we use some really nice stuff. smells really good too. haha. two birds with one stone. and winter tires are a must in my opinion. not just for snow and ice, but for the cold weather itself. allseason turn into hockey pucks under 7 degrees.
Greg
Evolving Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 145
Likes: 0
From: CT
From www.cartalk.com:
I have a 2002 VW Passat. I live in the Chicago suburbs. I park it outside in a public lot all day while I'm at work. How long should I let the car warm up before driving it home at the end of the day?
Keep in mind, while it is getting warm, I am very cold. My late husband was obsessive about this, but I've been told that new cars and oils don't need to warm up. I don't have time to read the manual. Please help.
Carolee
RAY: You don't have time to read the manual? What about all that time you spend shivering while waiting for the car to warm up!
TOM: Actually, what you've been told is correct, Carolee. Modern cars don't need to be warmed up at all. Nor do older cars.
RAY: If your car starts and doesn't stall when you put it in gear, it's ready to go. In fact, the best way to warm it up is by driving it.
TOM: It's best to drive it gently for the first three to five minutes, to allow the oil to fully warm up and thin out. So you don't want to pull out of the parking lot and immediately floor it on a highway ramp. But driving it gently is an ideal way to warm it up.
RAY: The only exception is when the temperature is inhumanely, butt-freezingly frigid (like below 10 degrees Fahrenheit). Then it's not a bad idea to let the car idle for 30 seconds or a minute before heading out.
TOM: But generally speaking, you don't need to warm it up at all. Turn the key and drive, Carolee. And now that we've saved you all this warm-up time, use some of it to read the manual.
I have a 2002 VW Passat. I live in the Chicago suburbs. I park it outside in a public lot all day while I'm at work. How long should I let the car warm up before driving it home at the end of the day?
Keep in mind, while it is getting warm, I am very cold. My late husband was obsessive about this, but I've been told that new cars and oils don't need to warm up. I don't have time to read the manual. Please help.
Carolee
RAY: You don't have time to read the manual? What about all that time you spend shivering while waiting for the car to warm up!
TOM: Actually, what you've been told is correct, Carolee. Modern cars don't need to be warmed up at all. Nor do older cars.
RAY: If your car starts and doesn't stall when you put it in gear, it's ready to go. In fact, the best way to warm it up is by driving it.
TOM: It's best to drive it gently for the first three to five minutes, to allow the oil to fully warm up and thin out. So you don't want to pull out of the parking lot and immediately floor it on a highway ramp. But driving it gently is an ideal way to warm it up.
RAY: The only exception is when the temperature is inhumanely, butt-freezingly frigid (like below 10 degrees Fahrenheit). Then it's not a bad idea to let the car idle for 30 seconds or a minute before heading out.
TOM: But generally speaking, you don't need to warm it up at all. Turn the key and drive, Carolee. And now that we've saved you all this warm-up time, use some of it to read the manual.
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