Do you warm your car up in Winter? Poll..

[MustangCRZY302]

Best way to warm a car up, is to drive it. It will warm up faster, the carbon wont build up on the valves/pistons, and you'll be on time for work. lol

[mtadd162]

i warm it up in the winter and summer lol as wierd as that is...
kinda like an ocd, i need to have the needle at least be past that first lil block on the oil temp gauge before i can start driving...
not to mention on cold starts in the winter my car doesnt like to idle too much lol

[WiscoGTI]

I try to, but I'm always too lazy to go out, start the car, come back in, take my shoes off, etc. so I usually just start it up and let it sit for a minute, then I baby shift until she's hot and ready.

So, my answer is generall no.

[dirtbrown]

i warm her up in the summer LOL....just feels real nice when the cars already idled down and I jump in and take off...my SVT feels really rice if i just start her up and take off.....drives way smoother warmed up

[BLÜE_BÄLZ]

I warm her up before i start going. lol I usually let it run till the idle calms

[connorheidy01]

I warm my car up for about 5 minutes usually. Just enough to get the engine temp and oil temp to start going up.

Also id rather not get in a freezing cold car in the morning so its nice to have the heat nice and toasty by the time i get in. Thats just a bonus though.

[mmmoose]

Never. Newer cars don't require long warmup periods. Of course that doesn't mean you should pound on the car with high revs from a cold start. Any sort of drastic changes in temperature combined with violent vibration can't be good for the engine, especially when parts are mated with different materials. Just take it easy and let it warm up naturally. I've been doing this for many years and not once has a car died out on me.

Also it seems like some newer model cars rev gently during a cold start for about a minute or two before reaching complete idle. This helps warm engine components, catalytic converter, and helps circulate oil for proper lubrication (that's what she said). Bottom line, I don't think it's anything to get paranoid about.

[Djzx3]

I always let the car warm up a little, it gets the oil flowing better and is just overall better for the car.

[whynotthinkwhynot]

Originally Posted by mmmoose

Never. Newer cars don't require long warmup periods.

Yes but babies still get cold. In the summer, babies can get hot, so I do things I don't do for myself.

[karguy427]

Never worried about it down in Southern California, but up here in Oregon it's a different thing. The wagon's kept in a garage, but the garage still gets cold.

I was in Carson City, Nevada a few days ago with my HHR (replaced the Focus....) Was left outside at the hotel in below freezing weather. It started up OK, but the transmission / torque converter didn't like the cold. Felt like there was molasses in there for a couple minutes.......