Winter mornings can be dragging, especially when your car takes an eternity to warm up. Here’s a guide on how to get your car ready for winter and get it to warm up faster:
Why Warming Up Your Car in Winter Is Important
Warming your car before taking it on road is critical for several reasons:
Lubrication: Cold oil is more viscous and does not work efficiently in lubricating moving parts of the engine. Warming up the engine enables the oil to flow better, thereby reducing friction and wear.
Engine Performance: With a cold engine, it may stall or miss-fire or misfire, and performance will also go down along with the mileage efficiency.
Passenger Comfort: The comfort level increases significantly with a warm car, especially during early morning on a cold day.
How Long Should You Warm Up Your Car in Cold Weather?
The best warm-up time will depend on the severity of the cold weather. As a general rule, some minutes of idling should be enough. However, with extreme conditions of cold weather, you would need to warm your car up for a longer period.
The Impact of Cold Weather on Your Car’s Engine and Fluids
Cold weather significantly affects your car’s engine and fluids:
Engine Oil: Cold oil is thicker and less effective as a lubricant for engine parts.
Coolant: Cold temperatures can impede the coolant from its main work of regulating temperature in the engine.
Battery: Cold weather can damage your car’s batteries, giving your car a more awful time in starting up.
Tires: Cold temperatures can reduce the tensile strength and traction of your tires.
Preparing Your Windshield and Windows for Cold Mornings
To prevent scraping off ice on your windshield and windows every morning, try these tips:
Windshield Cover: It prevents frost or ice on your windshield.
Ice Scraper and Snow Brush: Keep them in the car and use them while removing ice and snow.
Windshield De-Icer: It melts ice and frost instantly.
Windshield Wiper Fluid: Freeze-resistant winter-grade windshield wiper fluid prevents freezing.
Tips for Clearing Snow and Ice Before Warming Up
Before you start your car, make sure to clear all snow and ice from your vehicle, including:
Windshield: Remove all snow and ice from your windshield to ensure clear visibility.
Side and Rear Windows: Clear snow and ice from your side and rear windows to improve visibility.
Headlights and Taillights: Remove snow and ice from your headlights and taillights to improve visibility for other drivers.
Roof: Clear the snow from your roof. If you don’t, you’ll just be paving the way for some angry customers to drive by, dumping those snowflakes right onto your windshield.
Using Remote Starters: Benefits and Precautions
Remote starters are great innovations that get your car ready for you as you get closer. They just need to be used responsibly, though:
Short Low-Warm-Up Period: Don’t let your car run for an extended period without you inside.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Risk: Make sure to park your car in the aerated area so as to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
Local Regulations: You may want to check whether remote starting is legal in your area or not. If not, check with your local law.
Idling vs. Driving: Which Warms Up Your Car Faster?
While idling does get your car’s engine to warm up, driving it works much better. It heats the engine more quickly, and the oil circulates throughout the entire engine. Just be sure not to jack-rabbit your vehicle, as this will have many parts inside your car working overtime, not exactly what you want.
These are some of the things one can do to warm a car up faster. Use these suggestions and drive safely when the weather is cold.
