Why you don't need to warm up your engine in winter

Is it necessary to warm up the car engine in winter and summer?

For many years now, it has been an exciting question for all motorists whether to warm up or not to warm up the engine.
The debate on this sensitive topic will continue as long as there are cars with internal combustion engines on earth. There are two diametrically opposed camps defending their rightness until they are hoarse. We will try to consider the arguments of each side and bring our reasoning to a common denominator.

Why do you need to warm up your car engine?

First of all, you need to find the starting point from which it all began.
No, we will not look for the truth in the days of the first internal combustion engines. Let's go back literally 30 - 35 years ago. Times of progressive ideas and designs in the automotive industry. And although the innovative distributed injection system has already been actively implemented by major car manufacturers. Nevertheless, the predominant number of cars of those years were equipped with a carburetor power system, especially in the territory of the former USSR. Probably not many will remember, but many will appreciate these wonderful devices with mechanical air damper adjustment. A poorly adjusted carburetor caused a lot of trouble for the car owner, especially during winter operation. It is from those times that there has been a strong opinion, to this day supported by many craftsmen and car enthusiasts, that warming up the engine is necessary.
Because the cable-regulated air damper directly affected the number of engine revolutions, and in winter, on such cars, until the speed drops to stable operating values, which means the engine warms up, it is not advisable to start driving. The load on the engine and gearbox of the car will be too great. And now a reasonable question arises: “It was like this a long time ago, but what now, in our time, what has changed?”
A change of generations has occurred, new electronic injection systems have been successfully implemented and implemented, which, without human intervention, independently regulate the flow of the fuel-air mixture into the cylinders. Thus, reaching stable engine operating speeds occurs much faster and is less painful for the engine as a whole. This means that the start of movement can occur much earlier. Moreover, almost all manufacturers of modern cars in their vehicle operating instructions strongly do not recommend warming up the engine. Focusing on such indicators as an increase in toxicity during warm-up, as well as an increase in fuel consumption.

Warming up the car engine in winter.

One could agree and completely trust car manufacturers if they did not take into account the fact that our cars are operated not only at positive air temperatures outside the window. The winter period of operation is additional time to prepare the car for movement. While the snowdrifts after the grader are being dug out and the snow is being swept away from the body, the engine is threshing at idle - this is winter warming up. After all the work is completed, we sit down in the relatively warm interior and observe the coolant temperature arrow almost at its rightful workplace, we can move. But what happens inside the engine during this period, what does the engine experience when warming up without moving, i.e. without load. From the very first moment of startup, the engine control system raises the speed, enriching the mixture well (you probably noticed that the exhaust smells strongly of fuel at this moment), naturally, part of the fuel, without having time to burn, flows down the cylinder walls into the sump where it mixes with the engine oil Along the way, the fuel, flowing into the sump, washes away the oil film from the cylinder walls, resulting in dry friction in the cylinders. Naturally, wear and tear increases sharply. A rich mixture will also put increased stress on the catalyst and create ideal conditions for the formation of carbon deposits on injector nozzles and intake valves. Thus, closer to spring we will get a well-formed layer of soot, which will greatly change the behavior of the engine.

To finally understand the scale of this event, let’s break everything down into pros and cons.

Pros of warming up the engine:

⦁ During the warm-up period, the car interior manages to warm up slightly.
⦁ The car windows are partially defrosted.

Disadvantages of warming up the engine:

⦁ The engine operates with increased load on the catalyst.
⦁ A rich mixture at idle speed without load contributes to increased formation of carbon deposits on valves, injectors, and the bottom of the piston.
⦁ The resulting deposits will affect dynamics and power over time.
⦁ An increase in carbon deposits over time impairs mixture formation.
⦁ Unburned fuel, flowing down the cylinder walls, reduces the lubricity of the engine oil, which causes increased wear.
⦁ Unburned fuel entering the pan oxidizes the engine oil, which leads to its degradation.

The bottom line is that there is no practical need for warming up, it just wastes additional fuel. Warming up the car on the spot is harmful to the engine and the environment; the automakers' instructions provide the correct information. It is necessary to warm up the engine while driving. It is quite natural that warming up while driving occurs much faster than when the car is stationary. Therefore, the total wear is less. Much less harmful substances are released into the atmosphere. Hot oil begins to perform its functions faster and in full.

Warming up the diesel engine.

The situation with warming up a diesel car is slightly different. And the main difference is that when starting at idle speed the engine does not heat up at all. To warm up, a diesel engine needs a load that can only be obtained by driving. Prolonged warm-up will not add heat to the interior or increase the operating temperature of the engine. But it will increase the load on the particulate filter due to increased soot formation. The engine oil will also suffer due to more fuel entering the sump.

Proper engine care.

Even taking into account everything written above, it is not possible to completely eliminate warming up of the car. And the heavy operating conditions of the metropolis and traffic jams will only add to the load on the fuel system and the exhaust gas neutralization system. In this mode, neither the engine nor the fuel system will be able to recover on their own. How can you help your car not to accumulate problems like an avalanche, but to maintain its declared characteristics? Liqui Moly has answers to such questions.

Liqui Moly has extensive research and practical experience in the use of additives.
Technical experts recommend not to bring the car to a deplorable state, but to use preventive measures: For cars with a gasoline engine, periodic use of additives that clean the fuel system is recommended. Effective injector cleaner Injection Reiniger Effectiv art. 7555 will gently remove contaminants from the injectors and combustion chamber under severe operating conditions and initial symptoms of fuel system contamination. Removes carbon deposits, resins and reduces emissions of harmful substances

To reduce the load on the catalyst of a gasoline engine, technical experts recommend the Catalytic-System Clean catalyst cleaner art. 7110. This is a special product for cleaning the catalyst system of a gasoline engine. Cleans the catalyst, injection system and combustion chamber. Allows you to quickly and effectively remove carbon deposits, resins and deposits. Reduces fuel consumption and emissions of harmful substances.

To clean the intake valves of distributed injection systems, we recommend using the Ventil Sauber Valve Cleaner art. 1989. Additive effectively removes valve deposits. Removes carbon deposits on injectors, carburetor and intake tract. This helps normalize engine operation: confident starting and stable idle speed.

For cars with a diesel engine, to clean the diesel fuel injection system, Liqui Moly technicians recommend using Diesel Spulung Diesel System Cleaner art. 1912. This is a highly effective diesel fuel cleaner that removes carbon and deposits from injectors. The use of the additive also allows you to protect the fuel system from corrosion, improve engine parameters by increasing the cetane number and improving the fuel combustion process.

To reduce the load on the particulate filter of a diesel car, use the additive Diesel Partikelfilter Schutz art. 2298 will help reduce soot formation in the combustion chamber, and also minimize the amount of soot entering the filter.

Why is it not necessary to warm up the engine in your car in winter?

When cold weather sets in, any driver, guided by common sense, before driving the car anywhere, starts the engine and lets it idle for some time so that it can warm up.

But is this really necessary? There are a large number of opinions on this matter, and car owners can talk and argue for quite a long time. As a result, drivers were asked the following question: is it necessary to warm up a car engine in the winter? There is a clear and specific answer to this: warming up the engine before driving does not extend its service life at all, which may surprise most drivers.

Warming up and operating features. Warming up the engine in cold weather can lead to insufficient lubricant in the inside of the engine block. The result of frequent warm-up is a strong reduction in its service life, due to deterioration in the quality of lubricant in the components of the power plant.

In more detail, the operation of an internal combustion engine is carried out using pistons that compress a mixture of air and injected fuel, which is subsequently ignited by a spark supplied by a spark plug in a special combustion chamber. Such a fuel ignition is a practically uncontrollable mini-explosion, which results in the release of the amount of energy necessary to power all internal components of the engine.

When the engine is cold, gasoline has a lower percentage of the opportunity to evaporate in sufficient quantities. This means that after being parked outside during the cold season, gasoline may be virtually unsuitable for optimal combustion.

Modern motor systems. Most engines of modern cars have numerous sensors in their design, the task of which is to monitor the level of temperature outside and, depending on the result, send a certain signal to the control unit to inject additional fuel. This means that in frosty weather, even with poor gasoline evaporation, the automation will supply an increased amount of fuel to the engine. This will happen until the engine warm-up temperature reaches 4-5 degrees.

Consequences. The result is that in an unheated state, more fuel enters the combustion chamber of the engine than is required by the engine, even when it is in a warm state. According to experts, this leads to the fact that all the excess fuel is deposited on the cylinder walls, which, in turn, contributes to the leaching of engine oil. It is also worth remembering that gasoline is an excellent solvent and, when starting the engine in a cold state, begins to wash out the lubricant quite quickly. One cannot but agree with the opinion that when warmed up for a short time, this is unlikely to cause significant harm to the engine, but when warmed up “the old fashioned way” for a long time, this can lead to a significant reduction in the service life of the power plant. The main reason for this will be considered a constant shortage of engine oil inside the engine.

Bottom line. However, the engine should still be allowed to warm up for some time to bring its parts into working condition. This especially applies to internal metal elements, between which there are certain thermal gaps.

Why You Shouldn't Warm Up Your Engine for a Long Time in Winter!

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Why You Shouldn't Warm Up Your Engine for a Long Time in Winter!

It seems like everyone does this: they start the car in the morning and sit inside, not moving, until the engine “warms up .”
If you are one of those who believes that this is important and right, be sure to read this article!

You are probably doing this to protect the engine. This means that we have become a victim of a myth that actually does more harm than good .
Business Insider spoke with former drag racer and University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering doctorate Steven Chiatti about the pervasive myth that you need to warm up your car in the winter.
For the last 26 years, Chiatti has been studying internal combustion engines, i.e.
motors that burn liquid fuel to produce energy. He even currently oversees the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. In short, the expert's conclusion is this:
Idleing a car engine in cold weather not only causes you to waste extra fuel, but also harms the engine.

Because when the engine is running and the car is stationary, the frozen oil does not have time to reach the cylinders and pistons in time.
The result is an increased, unacceptable load on them. How it works.

Under normal conditions, your car engine runs on a mixture of air and evaporated fuel - let's take gasoline as an example.
The mixture enters the cylinder, the piston compresses it - and this leads to a micro-explosion, which gives energy to the engine. But when it's cold outside, gasoline doesn't evaporate well.
Initially, your car compensates by adding more gasoline to the mixture, which is why the engine revs at higher speeds at first. And this is where the problems begin. Here is an animation that shows how the cylinders in a car work to produce energy:

“The problem is that when too much fuel enters the combustion chamber, some of it remains on the cylinder walls.
- says Chiatti. - Gasoline is an excellent solvent, and it really washes lubricants off the walls when you start the engine in the cold. This is especially important if the car has been parked on the street for a long time and will not start.” This results in insufficient lubrication of the piston rings and cylinder liners. And they are crucial for starting the cylinders and pistons, i.e. in order to “ breathe life ” into the engine of your car.
Now once again and “ in a simple way ”.
The main problem with frost is that it thickens the butter. As a result, friction units operate “dry”, and wear of mechanical parts in this case occurs much faster than usual. But in which case will the engine warm up faster - if you drive or if you stand?
Conclusion: contrary to popular belief, running the engine at idle does not prolong its life, but only shortens it.

not one of them recommends warming up the engine while parked.
And further. If you have an automatic transmission , then you need to warm it up too.
Of course, the only way to do this is to drive slowly, using the gas pedal gently. A couple of tens of seconds are enough for this: this is exactly what is usually required to leave the yard. A simple solution.

Once your engine warms up to 4.4 degrees Celsius, the speed will begin to drop.
And you will see this on the tachometer scale. Along the way, you will notice that warm air has begun to flow into the cabin. But don't confuse radiator heat with engine heat! “Idling will cause the engine to warm up more slowly than usual.
This means that the car’s electronics will continue to actively saturate the cylinders with the fuel mixture,” says Chiatti. So the fastest and best way to warm up your car is to wait 30-60 seconds after you start the engine and calmly start driving.
Or you may not have to wait at all. The main thing is not to press the gas pedal too actively in the first minutes of movement.
“Be gentle with the car for the first 5-15 minutes of driving.
This way you will save the engine from unnecessary stress,” the expert recommends. Plus, it’s simply unprofitable. An insufficiently warmed up engine spends at least 12% more fuel than usual.
If you press the gas pedal too hard immediately after getting on the road, you are simply wasting fuel without reaping any benefits. A mechanical engineer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology assures us of this. The roots of this myth.

Some myths are very tenacious, and this one is no exception. The basis for it was the era when all gasoline engines were carburetor . But back in the 1980s, electronic fuel injection began to be used, which made this “5 minute” rule irrelevant.
The key difference here is that electronic fuel injection itself regulates the composition of the air-fuel mixture that enters the cylinder.
The carburetor could not do this: it did not have a special sensor for this. But since they no longer make cars with carburetors, there is no need for idling.

Death to the engine: to heat or not to heat a modern engine?

HOW THE MOTOR HEATS

The engine will be fully warmed up when all its parts and working fluids reach operating temperatures, that is, at a fixed operating mode they stop changing. The coolant warms up the fastest - this is the process that we see by the change in the position of the arrow on the temperature gauge. It also warms up the parts of the upper part of the engine (pistons, cylinders, head) - the pace is almost the same. But the oil in the pan heats up much more slowly. Where can you see this? Anyone who has an on-board computer has probably noticed that even after reaching normal coolant temperature, fuel consumption at idle may continue to decrease for some time. This is precisely due to the slow heating of the oil. And finally, the converter takes the longest to heat up, and with it the toxicity of the exhaust gases reaches the operating level. But all warm-up speeds depend on the engine operating mode.