frozen windshields

beermonster · 6 Jan 2009 at 20:57

MikeHunt79 said:
Indeed, but if you have a turbo you're best of taking it steady for the first few minutes to be on the safe side

I have 2

, Yep keep it below 3k rpm till proper temp, it makes me cringe when I hear people on the street 1st thing in a morning revving the nuts off their car to warm it up.

Lopéz · 6 Jan 2009 at 20:59

Clarkey said:
Use cold water, and turn the wipers on straight away (the water should unfreeze them very quickly), job's a good'un.

Too cold for that at the moment. At 7:00 this morning I chucked cold water on the screen (whilst the wipers were on) and it froze on contact with the glass. It's certainly cold as I remember it ever being in my years driving.

excaliborg · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:01

I just leave mine running for 10 to 15 mins while I drink my cup of tea, eat breakfast, and brush my teeth.

To be honest I don't see how it will wear my engine down any more than the daily full throttle abuse it receives anyway.

Only risk is someone nicking off with my car, but at 7.30am to be out in the sticks in this weather, fair play to them!

loltim · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:02

excaliborg said:
I just leave mine running for 10 to 15 mins while I drink my cup of tea, eat breakfast, and brush my teeth.

To be honest I don't see how it will wear my engine down any more than the daily full throttle abuse it receives anyway.

Only risk is someone nicking off with my car, but at 7.30am to be out in the sticks in this weather, fair play to them!

I sometimes do this, depsite people telling me the best way to warm the car up is with normal driving. meh.

Memphis · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:05

Warmed up properly, full throttle 'abuse' will never do the harm that idling from freezing cold will.

Liverpool-Lad · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:08

What a waste of money too.

excaliborg · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:08

Memphis said:
Warmed up properly, full throttle 'abuse' will never do the harm that idling from freezing cold will.

How many engines have you seen break when idling? Compare this to ones you've seen go pop when being driven hard???

CliffyBiro · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:10

Duke said:
Cold water (or near enough cold) is meant to be better than warm/hot water.

I (newly educated driver) said this to Mum today and she laughed at me.

Duke · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:12

skippi90 said:
I (newly educated driver) said this to Mum today and she laughed at me.

They did a demo of it last year on BBC Breakfast News.. was quite a difference (ok not the most scientific of studies

)

Conscript · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:18

beermonster said:
Idling a car is very bad for this length of time as it will take ages to get to optimum operating temperature as it's not under load, most engine wear occurs when cold, you should ideally start and drive off and get the engine to proper operating temp as quickly as possible without thrashing it.

So I keep hearing. But after leaving the car idling while I scraped it down the other morning, I found it much easier and smoother to drive when I did drive off. It's usually a bit jerky and sluggish first thing in the morning. I think Id rather let the car idle and have it be more comfortable in the long run, even if it does mean sacrifcing a few thousand miles off the engine life.

Deathwish · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:21

excaliborg said:
How many engines have you seen break when idling? Compare this to ones you've seen go pop when being driven hard???

Well, it wont go pop when its idling, no. What will happen is it will go pop earlier in life due to excessive wear on the internals due to lack of proper lubrication (over time).

http://www.makealeap.org/idling_myth

beermonster · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:26

excaliborg said:
How many engines have you seen break when idling? Compare this to ones you've seen go pop when being driven hard???

I've never seen any engine go pop that was properly maintained, have heard of engines getting wrecked due to no oil in them or overheated etc.

excaliborg · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:29

Deathwish said:
Well, it wont go pop when its idling, no. What will happen is it will go pop earlier in life due to excessive wear on the internals due to lack of proper lubrication (over time).

http://www.makealeap.org/idling_myth

That link is from a the "Lower Emissions and Particulates" group though, so are bound to say that leaving your engine running for anything more than necessary is bad.

It also says that for every 30 minutes idling uses approximately 0.2 gallons of fuel. Cool so that 10 mins of idling costs about 25p.

Clarkey · 6 Jan 2009 at 21:37

beermonster said:
I've never seen any engine go pop that was properly maintained, have heard of engines getting wrecked due to no oil in them or overheated etc.

Huh? Race engines go bang all the time, and you can't tell me they aren't maintained properly.

Oh and as for LEAP, they may be a tree-hugger group but the page is quite factual.

Deathwish · 6 Jan 2009 at 22:02

Clarkey said:
Huh? Race engines go bang all the time, and you can't tell me they aren't maintained properly.

Oh and as for LEAP, they may be a tree-hugger group but the page is quite factual.

Yep, I don't agree with too many of the things they say but that page to me is very good, even if it is aimed at the US.

Derailing the thread a bit here but some chat on engine wear here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/GASSING/topic.asp?h=0&t=549512&i=60
http://www.lloydstsbsavvysaver.com/savvy-savers-tips/car-tips/tip-detail/tip.aspx?id=130

Simon · 6 Jan 2009 at 22:07

Durzel said:
Thanks to Honda's crappy UK build quality I had more ice on the inside of my windscreen this morning than the outside!

Its because the car was warm and humid before you parked. Condensation forms on the screen when you stop the car as the blowers turn off, this moisture then freezes.

Best to use Aircon for last bit of your trip to avoid this, aircon will dry the air.

Simon · 6 Jan 2009 at 22:10

excaliborg said:
I just leave mine running for 10 to 15 mins while I drink my cup of tea, eat breakfast, and brush my teeth.

To be honest I don't see how it will wear my engine down any more than the daily full throttle abuse it receives anyway.

Only risk is someone nicking off with my car, but at 7.30am to be out in the sticks in this weather, fair play to them!

Camshaft wear is at its greatest at idle. The oil isn't up to temperature meaning the layer that wears away instead of metal - thus protecting the engine - doesn't get replenished.

Scuzi · 6 Jan 2009 at 22:16

Muffin` said:
What exactly am I looking for?

Jonnycoupe · 6 Jan 2009 at 22:19

excaliborg said:
How many engines have you seen break when idling? Compare this to ones you've seen go pop when being driven hard???

Dont confuse symptons with cause.

My Focus heated screen is a bit irritating, it always clears the passenger side much faster than the drivers.

Ice cream tub with holes in the lid with silica crystal type cat litter in will soak up humidity in the cars.

agw_01 · 6 Jan 2009 at 22:19

avrc said:
Just start the car 10 - 15mins before you need to get in it. All the windows should be defrosted in that time and it'll be nice and warm for you.

If you don't plan to keep your car, then sure

I pour midly warm water onto my windscreen and then turn the wipers on. Stops the water re-freezing.