Starting/Driving a cold car questions

I keep seeing and hearing different opinions about this:

When it's cold outside (say 32 degrees or lower), what is the best way to
get a car going after it has been sitting and the engine is cold?

Years ago I read an article from some Q&A article in the newspaper. These
two guys said it's better for a car if you just get in and go. For
starters, the car will warm up quicker...plus there is something about that
it's easier on the engine. For years I have always drove this way...get in
and go. After about 1.5 to 2 miles, the car is at normal operating
temperature. Well, a co-worker at work said that you actually want to leave
them run to heat up the oil. His opinion (this was mostly for older cars)
was that if you don't allow the oil to heat up, it might ruin the
transmission.

So I am asking folks here: My previous car did have some transmission
problems, but that occurred after 100K miles. I know that the previous
owner did let it sit and heat up. I didn't, and I now wonder if it
eventually caused problems. This was in a V6 with 5w-30 motor oil. I now
have a 2000 Grand Am V6. This summer I switched from 5w-30 to 10w-30 Max
Life oil since the engine has over 100K on it now. The car actually runs
pretty well. I want to try to keep it as it will be paid off come February.
So, to the folks here....what is the best way to drive a cold car in the
winter? Let it warm up fully? Partially? Or just start driving and have
it warm up quicker? Is the cold oil that big of a problem with the
transmission? Granted I have not had a problem over the last 4 years,
however I am now using a heavy oil (first time using it this winter)...could
that make a difference?

PS: My owners manual says nothing about this in the book. At least not what
I could find.

"Ryan" <nomoremail@netzero.com> wrote in message
news:IESyd.249706$V41.213638@attbi_s52...
>I keep seeing and hearing different opinions about this:
>
> When it's cold outside (say 32 degrees or lower), what is the best way to
> get a car going after it has been sitting and the engine is cold?
>
> Years ago I read an article from some Q&A article in the newspaper. These
> two guys said it's better for a car if you just get in and go. For
> starters, the car will warm up quicker...plus there is something about
> that
> it's easier on the engine. For years I have always drove this way...get
> in
> and go. After about 1.5 to 2 miles, the car is at normal operating
> temperature. Well, a co-worker at work said that you actually want to
> leave
> them run to heat up the oil. His opinion (this was mostly for older cars)
> was that if you don't allow the oil to heat up, it might ruin the
> transmission.
>
> So I am asking folks here: My previous car did have some transmission
> problems, but that occurred after 100K miles. I know that the previous
> owner did let it sit and heat up. I didn't, and I now wonder if it
> eventually caused problems. This was in a V6 with 5w-30 motor oil. I now
> have a 2000 Grand Am V6. This summer I switched from 5w-30 to 10w-30 Max
> Life oil since the engine has over 100K on it now. The car actually runs
> pretty well. I want to try to keep it as it will be paid off come
> February.
> So, to the folks here....what is the best way to drive a cold car in the
> winter? Let it warm up fully? Partially? Or just start driving and have
> it warm up quicker? Is the cold oil that big of a problem with the
> transmission? Granted I have not had a problem over the last 4 years,
> however I am now using a heavy oil (first time using it this
> winter)...could
> that make a difference?
>
> PS: My owners manual says nothing about this in the book. At least not
> what
> I could find.
>
>#%*
Most people in Man. where it gets real cold just warm the vehicle for an few
minutes and then drive slowly till the heater starts throwing heat
thereafter normal operation.

Rey

"Reynaud" <sjimk@mts.net> wrote in message
news:dRTyd.5439$Ka6.35038@news1.mts.net...
>
> "Ryan" <nomoremail@netzero.com> wrote in message
> news:IESyd.249706$V41.213638@attbi_s52...
> >I keep seeing and hearing different opinions about this:
> >
> > When it's cold outside (say 32 degrees or lower), what is the best way
to
> > get a car going after it has been sitting and the engine is cold?
> >
> > Years ago I read an article from some Q&A article in the newspaper.
These
> > two guys said it's better for a car if you just get in and go. For
> > starters, the car will warm up quicker...plus there is something about
> > that
> > it's easier on the engine. For years I have always drove this way...get
> > in
> > and go. After about 1.5 to 2 miles, the car is at normal operating
> > temperature. Well, a co-worker at work said that you actually want to
> > leave
> > them run to heat up the oil. His opinion (this was mostly for older
cars)
> > was that if you don't allow the oil to heat up, it might ruin the
> > transmission.
> >
> > So I am asking folks here: My previous car did have some transmission
> > problems, but that occurred after 100K miles. I know that the previous
> > owner did let it sit and heat up. I didn't, and I now wonder if it
> > eventually caused problems. This was in a V6 with 5w-30 motor oil. I
now
> > have a 2000 Grand Am V6. This summer I switched from 5w-30 to 10w-30
Max
> > Life oil since the engine has over 100K on it now. The car actually
runs
> > pretty well. I want to try to keep it as it will be paid off come
> > February.
> > So, to the folks here....what is the best way to drive a cold car in the
> > winter? Let it warm up fully? Partially? Or just start driving and
have
> > it warm up quicker? Is the cold oil that big of a problem with the
> > transmission? Granted I have not had a problem over the last 4 years,
> > however I am now using a heavy oil (first time using it this
> > winter)...could
> > that make a difference?
> >
> > PS: My owners manual says nothing about this in the book. At least not
> > what
> > I could find.
> >
> >#%*
> Most people in Man. where it gets real cold just warm the vehicle for an
few
> minutes and then drive slowly till the heater starts throwing heat
> thereafter normal operation.
>
> Rey
>
>

Follow Reynaud's advice, you can't go wrong with a few minutes of war up in
cold weather. It allows the metals to start warming and expanding before
putting major stress on the engine and transmission.

Brian

Ryan wrote:

> Years ago I read an article from some Q&A article in the newspaper.
> These two guys said it's better for a car if you just get in and go.
> For starters, the car will warm up quicker...plus there is something
> about that it's easier on the engine. For years I have always drove
> this way...get in and go. After about 1.5 to 2 miles, the car is at
> normal operating temperature. Well, a co-worker at work said that
> you actually want to leave them run to heat up the oil. His opinion
> (this was mostly for older cars) was that if you don't allow the oil
> to heat up, it might ruin the transmission.
>
> So I am asking folks here: My previous car did have some transmission
> problems, but that occurred after 100K miles. I know that the
> previous owner did let it sit and heat up. I didn't, and I now
> wonder if it eventually caused problems. This was in a V6 with 5w-30
> motor oil. I now have a 2000 Grand Am V6. This summer I switched
> from 5w-30 to 10w-30 Max Life oil since the engine has over 100K on
> it now. The car actually runs pretty well. I want to try to keep it
> as it will be paid off come February. So, to the folks here....what
> is the best way to drive a cold car in the winter? Let it warm up
> fully? Partially? Or just start driving and have it warm up
> quicker? Is the cold oil that big of a problem with the
> transmission? Granted I have not had a problem over the last 4
> years, however I am now using a heavy oil (first time using it this
> winter)...could that make a difference?
>
> PS: My owners manual says nothing about this in the book. At least
> not what I could find.

Just start the car and drive it. If it's really cold and you are parked
outside,
you will likely have to scrape the windows and get the ice off. This is
enough
time for the engine to run before you start off. As far as I'm concerned
and
by personal experience, there is no advantage to letting the car run for a
while.
This used to be the normal way of doing things when you had a carbureted
vehicle, back then...it made sense. You didn't want to drive right away as
the car would often stall. With fuel injected vehicles and the oil that we
are
using these days...it makes no difference whether you warm it up or just
drive it.

Ian

Start it and go. Been doing that for 30+ years with only one tranny issue
at 26K miles on a 1979 Ford LTD (knock on wood), which was a problem caused
from a factory assembly defect. And I mostly drive Chryslers (that are
known for tranny issues!) with a few Fords and GMs thrown in for good
measure. The key is drive them relatively easily the first mile or two.

On Fri, 24 Dec 2004 0901 -0500, "el Diablo" <nomail@spam.not>
wrote:

>
>"Reynaud" <sjimk@mts.net> wrote in message
>news:dRTyd.5439$Ka6.35038@news1.mts.net...
>>
>> "Ryan" <nomoremail@netzero.com> wrote in message
>> news:IESyd.249706$V41.213638@attbi_s52...
>> >I keep seeing and hearing different opinions about this:
>> >
>> > When it's cold outside (say 32 degrees or lower), what is the best way
>to
>> > get a car going after it has been sitting and the engine is cold?
>> >
>> > Years ago I read an article from some Q&A article in the newspaper.
>These
>> > two guys said it's better for a car if you just get in and go. For
>> > starters, the car will warm up quicker...plus there is something about
>> > that
>> > it's easier on the engine. For years I have always drove this way...get
>> > in
>> > and go. After about 1.5 to 2 miles, the car is at normal operating
>> > temperature. Well, a co-worker at work said that you actually want to
>> > leave
>> > them run to heat up the oil. His opinion (this was mostly for older
>cars)
>> > was that if you don't allow the oil to heat up, it might ruin the
>> > transmission.
>> >
>> > So I am asking folks here: My previous car did have some transmission
>> > problems, but that occurred after 100K miles. I know that the previous
>> > owner did let it sit and heat up. I didn't, and I now wonder if it
>> > eventually caused problems. This was in a V6 with 5w-30 motor oil. I
>now
>> > have a 2000 Grand Am V6. This summer I switched from 5w-30 to 10w-30
>Max
>> > Life oil since the engine has over 100K on it now. The car actually
>runs
>> > pretty well. I want to try to keep it as it will be paid off come
>> > February.
>> > So, to the folks here....what is the best way to drive a cold car in the
>> > winter? Let it warm up fully? Partially? Or just start driving and
>have
>> > it warm up quicker? Is the cold oil that big of a problem with the
>> > transmission? Granted I have not had a problem over the last 4 years,
>> > however I am now using a heavy oil (first time using it this
>> > winter)...could
>> > that make a difference?
>> >
>> > PS: My owners manual says nothing about this in the book. At least not
>> > what
>> > I could find.
>> >
>> >#%*
>> Most people in Man. where it gets real cold just warm the vehicle for an
>few
>> minutes and then drive slowly till the heater starts throwing heat
>> thereafter normal operation.
>>
>> Rey
>>
>>
>
>Follow Reynaud's advice, you can't go wrong with a few minutes of war up in
>cold weather. It allows the metals to start warming and expanding before
>putting major stress on the engine and transmission.
>
>Brian
>
As a mechanic, my advice is start the car, get out and make sure your
headlights, tail-lights and licence plates are free of snow and the
wipers not frozen to the windshield. Scrape the windsheild if
necessary, then drive away gently. Do not "push" the car untill the
temperature guage comes off the bottom or you start to get heat from
the heater, then progressively increase your power.

This "warmup" before putting in gear and driving away should be
minimum 15 seconds - 2 minutes. That is generally sufficient - and
gentle driving warms the engine, transmission, final drive, and wheel
bearings together.

Warming the car up for 10 minutes then driving like a bat out of hell
is very hard on final drive and bearings, and can also be hard on
transmissions.

<nospam.clare.nce@sny.der.on.ca> wrote in message
news:pllps0t22t15bkt3193cj0ktp7bm9eb5uc@4ax.com...
> As a mechanic, my advice is start the car, get out and make sure your
> headlights, tail-lights and licence plates are free of snow and the
> wipers not frozen to the windshield. Scrape the windsheild if
> necessary, then drive away gently. Do not "push" the car untill the
> temperature guage comes off the bottom or you start to get heat from
> the heater, then progressively increase your power.
>
> This "warmup" before putting in gear and driving away should be
> minimum 15 seconds - 2 minutes.

Thanks. From now on I plan on doing just that. I think the thinner 5w-30
oil wouldn't be that much of a difference, now that I am using a thicker
oil.....I think it would be better to let the car warm up.