We knew idling was bad, but here is the science

Start moving folks in this cold winter.

https://youtu.be/wEUMzSuEPBA?si=Hqa86UsZi2gVlhb4

 

So, they just idled it, without driving it at all? How is this anything like real use?


Edit: FWIW, I don't "warm up" my vehicles, unless it's really cold (single digits, or negative). Even then, once the temperature gauge starts moving, I go. Usually I give it about 10-15 seconds for oil to start flowing and take it easy until it reaches normal operating temperature.

 

Some folks remotely start the car in cold weather and let it idle with the heat on. I see it in my neighborhood lol. Most newer cars have this remote start BS these days. They discuss that in the video and Dave suggested they should place a portable heater in the car instead of idling the car for heat. A cold idling car doesn't produce much heat but people still do it. Better than nothing I guess.

 

I wouldn't blame those who do it. We are having a pretty disgusting winter here, of course according to PNW standards.

 

Yes, but then they drive it. These guys just started it, idled it, and shut it off.

Lol, portable heater.

 

You are right about that.
And I don't have much hope from this lol

 

Did you watch the entire video???

They did a TEST, they idled it 3 times from cold for 10 minutes, then took an oil sample, changed the oil, THEN they drove it 3 times from cold for 10 minutes, then took another oil sample, then sent the 2 oil samples and a sample of fresh oil in for testing to get the result of the 3 samples.

 

Dave's heater worked great though, 75 degrees I love that.

 

Bassguy means that they did not drive the truck after idling it for 10 minutes, so that's not a realistic scenario, nobody does that. If you idle the truck for 20 minutes and then drive it on the highway for 2 straight hours than I don't see why it could mess up the oil. Two hours is plenty to get rid of fuel and water in the oil. No?

 

And I wouldn't blame you. Just change your oil frequently.

 

Keep idling. Get one of those sucking machines from Harbor Freight like I did and change the oil twice in the winter lol. Leave the filter on. We work hard, our comfort is way more important than the life of a machine.

 

I do the same thing even with built (forged pistons) engines

Edit: What I mean by this statement is typically a block that has been honed to accept a forged piston will have more piston to cylinder clearance. This means on cold start you may get some piston slap, piston skirt wear, and excessive blow by. Once that forged piston grows these issue goes away. With modern cast hypereutectic pistons (in most production cars) you can run tighter clearances.

Point being, even with extreme situations (high clearances/ cold temps) the amount of extra wear you’ll have between 1000 rpm at cold idle vs 2500 rpm cruising is pretty minimal. Moreover, heating up that piston faster (under low engine load) may actually benefit you… As those pistons and rings expand, they’ll suffer less blow by; Minimizing oil contamination and excessive piston wear.

 

I don't think driving it after idling it would rid much of the fuel in the oil, the fuel is way too diluted by the oil to be affected that much, in the end there's still less fuel in the oil by just driving it.

I do agree that a more through test would be to idle for 10 minutes followed by driving it for another 10 minutes for the first sample and then simply driving for 20 minutes for the second sample.

 

You are carrying 42% more fuel in the oil if you idle it for 10 minutes, that's what their test showed. Now if you do that 5 times a week to drive 5 miles to work then God help you lol.

 

Don't forget this test was done in 28 degree Utah weather. It could get a lot worse at 20 below zero they said.

 

How am I suppose to drive if my breath freezes on the inside of my windshield the moment I get in? I'll turn on my car and scrape ice, that's never enough time to warm the engine up too. The AC doesn't clear the windshield of ice fast enough for me to not idle it.

When the temperature is that low there is no way to start an engine without doing something wrong. Carbureted engines will sometimes run poorly when they aren't warmed up, which is why it was recommended a long time ago.

 

There is a little-known Canadian (Not sure if available in other colder regions) option known as Toyota Comfort+

Available in three tiers (it seems), two of those include a resistive cabin heater that runs off of external power and is designed for a vehicle.

Too bad folks couldn't be nice and the thread here got deleted.

https://www.taylortoyota.ca/toyota-comfort-plus/

 

I’ll let mine idle to warm up, but with me inside because I have no remote start.

While we’re on this topic, I have a question. My 2019 will start melting ice on the windshield within a minute or two of starting. The air coming out is probably 50-60F. Temp gauge still buried on the cold side. Fastest of any vehicle I’ve owned. Years ago on another forum, there was discussion where people said there is an electric heating element somewhere that provides assistance when you set the control to defrost and fan to high. Anybody else heard of this?

 

I keep the Prestone de-icer in glovebox, works faster than anything. You can get it for 4 bucks from Walmart.

 

As @Yotaholic mentioned, nobody idles the car for 10 minutes and then doesn't drive it. The test doesn't reflect normal conditions, so I'm not convinced that it really proves anything.

 

It's in here somewhere. In some models you have an electric heater. If the engine is below 150 F and the exterior temp is below 40F I think, you turn the HVAC to high fan high hot and it'll kick on.... I think.

 

Keeps the Tuube machine moving on and on.

 

Mine doesn't run very often and the other day it had been ~2x weeks since I even started it. I fired the remote start, let it idle for 15 minutes and it automagically turned off. I didn't watch the video but if a vehicle can't handle that once in a while I am not sure I want it. Aren't these trucks know for their reliability and essentially indestructible motors?

 

Add a block/oil heater if your that concerned or in colder temps.
Im still warming mine up for a bit,. in Utah, and not gonna lose my mind about it.

A space heater in your rig LOLOLOL. Fuck that lol.

Dudes sit at McDonalds in the morning waiting for their coffee, but they did or didnt let it idle for 3 minutes prior and feel warm and cozy cuz dave said.

Relax, and drive your rig lol god.

 

I haven’t had time to watch the whole video so I might be missing some information but from reading the posts above, @Thatbassguy is right when he says that no one just idles their car every morning for 10 min then proceeds by not driving it.

They do say 42% more fuel in the oil, but without the values it doesn’t really help. (i.e. 1% of 89 is a lot higher than 42% of nothing). So I took a screenshot when they’re showing the values and it shows that fuel dilution for idling+no driving is 0.77% and idling+driving is 0.45% (see below).
Now what does that mean? What percentage of fuel dilution starts being concerning? 0.6%? 5%? Does anyone know (or did they mention it in the video?)

also, nice that they tested the fresh oil to show that there was no fuel in the oil to begin with but I wish they did an additional treatment no idling+driving. Would that number be around 0.45% or a lot closer to 0? Essentially what is the baseline with no idling so we can compare to how much fuel goes into the oil when driving the car no matter what.

thanks for sharing @Yotaholic, definitely an interesting video!

 

I posted the whole podcast on the other thread,,,,

 

There's a switch on the lower left side of the steering wheel that turns on the defrosters, one of which is on the bottom of the front windshield where the wipers rest.

 

Who cares. Without insight on how it affects life of engine… and without factoring in how long you keep the vehicle, why give up convenience to over optimize for longevity you may never enjoy? Why sacrifice convenience for the benefit of vehicle’s future owners?

 

The benefits in idling before taking off far outweigh what these guys are saying, and not for the engine. I swear by my remote start and the 300k miles on cars with remote start vs without.

But they are driving/testing a FORD, so...