Block Heater

[M0nk3y]

Good Update. My E46 sat outside in winters 24/7 for all 9 years of ownership with my Dad and I. Never had any engine related problems and it was at 130k when it was sold

[ryankokesh]

I've been hearing a lot lately about not warming up a car by idling it. Does that only apply to our cars? (apparently it's in the manual) And why is it bad? It doesn't seem a whole lot different than driving it would be?

[M0nk3y]

I've been hearing a lot lately about not warming up a car by idling it. Does that only apply to our cars? (apparently it's in the manual) And why is it bad? It doesn't seem a whole lot different than driving it would be?

Yes, don't warm up to idle.

Reason is, is that you're only warming the engine...not suspension and transmission components.

So essentially, you think the car is to temp, when in reality the transmission and everything else is still cold. You can then brake things because you take the car to higher RPMs because you thought it was to temp. Makes sense?

[apridge]

I've been hearing a lot lately about not warming up a car by idling it. Does that only apply to our cars?

I agree with M0nk3y. In addition, driving the car (conservatively, at low RPMs) in cold weather will heat up your engine faster than letting it idle. It will also promote oil circulation more efficiently, as well as prevents carbon build up, which over time will harm your engine. (Anyone replaced their oil splitters lately?)

On a green note, an idling car's emissions are much worse than when driving. Idling isn't good for you, your car, or the environment.

[Whitexi]

At least if you let your car idle to warm up ( I usually do ) don't drive it hard for the first 10 minutes just as if you were starting and driving when cold. Ive been driving extremely conservative lately. Ive noticed it helps me be less angry if that makes sense even if im in a bad mood it gets me to relax lol.

[ryankokesh]

Haha, I know what you mean about it making you relax! People tell me I drive like an "old person".

I like to let it idle sometimes to make it toasty inside, especially if I'm driving other people. Good to know to make sure and drive it carefully for a while afterward still!


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[Rovert]

In the winter I just run 0w40 or 0w30 in the engine and I haven't felt any issues with the engine starting up. She just fires up no problem in sub arctic temperatures. I've come out to my car after not using it for a couple days and it's 0-10F outside. But I do make sure that I dress warm with jacket and gloves and scrape all the ice off the windows so I can start and drive it off the driveway right away. Even my sister's '01 A4 1.8T says to not idle warmup and they would also void your warranty by installing a block heater into the engine. She's been fine in Alberta where it's below 0F outside.

As what others have said, idling doesn't promote efficient oil circulation due to there being no compression pressure on the engine that happens when in motion. It uses up a lot of fuel which is very rich on a cold startup. That rich fuel can deposit onto the O2 sensors and cat which will prematurely cause them to fail due to gumming up. Now that's what a lot of experts have said and I'm not sure if the difference between that is a 10,000 mile difference in failure or a 100,000 mile difference in failure.

The amount of time wasted using fuel at idle to warm up vs driving to warm up is noticeable though. :D For example when it's freezing out, it'll take my car 10 minutes to get out of blue at idle. Driving "calmly" it will only take 1-2 minutes.