Proper Warmups

Tuesday morning, -30c (that's -22f for those still living in the dark ages
) car was completely frozen due to a mix of fine hail and freezing rain we had the day before. I let the C63 idle for a while. Would I let the car idle for long period of times, all the times? No. But -30c on a completely frozen car, well, even if I wanted to drive away shortly after start up, the car was still covered in ice.

The CAA says to let idle from 1-2min in cold weather before driving off. No hard acceleration before the car is properly warmed up.
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That said, the idea is to get the engine up to temp as quickly as possible and the best way to do that is to drive it.
Jalopnik just had an article on car warm ups: http://jalopnik.com/yes-warm-your-da...old-1678251730
After work, since it's outside, I turn it on, finish cleaning up, then hop in. Oil is usually at about 50C by then. By the time I'm home oil is at 110C or so.
So starting up the car, rolling out of the garage to warm it up for 10-15 minutes then drive it back in is bad for the car? (for those who store their cars in winter months like me)
I was recommended by AMG instructors at the AMG performance tour to do so to let the fluids circulate, prevent flat spot on tires & charge the battery vs letting the car sits for 5 months in winter w/ battery tender.
Actually, I've been doing this for 4 winters now & not a problem. Keep in mind I flush my oil in the spring time though.
If you drive your car in the bitter cold, the best thing you can do is plug the block heater in over night. This warms the coolant and block. Start it up and let it idle for a coupe mins and drive away.
So is it safer to warm up the car til the oil light stop flashing? Thx for the good infos guys.
Best bet is to just leave it sit all winter and change oil in the spring before you fire it up.
Jason, ya there is one, you probably need the cord. It will plug on the block where the element is.
Assuming it's in the manual but where on the block is the connector? Can you reach it from the engine bay?
If you drive your car in the bitter cold, the best thing you can do is plug the block heater in over night. This warms the coolant and block. Start it up and let it idle for a coupe mins and drive away.
False. 60-90 mins is not enough in this weather we have had lately. Heat doesn't just magically stop. The block and fluids will warm up. 3-4 hours are minimum in -20c + weather.







