Shane_Anigans
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- SE MI
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport DSG
7
Most annoying thing about your GTI
- Thread starter slik
- Start date
imthanick_a
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Ohio
I do believe that. Oil viscosity is high when cold, and if you let it idle you are not warming the oil up enough to lower the viscosity to a proper threshold, but running the cylinders with thick oil. It's a simple concept really, poor lubrication for extended time leads to wear. When you drive the car, the oil warms up quickly, minimizing the amount of time the engine is run with too-viscous oil.
Also, in many user manuals there is a note to not let the car idle for long on startup during cold weather.
I have no physical proof, but I have seen at my job what the wrong kind of lubrication can do to a system. Your engine is not designed to run with cold oil.
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Wrath And Tears
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Azusa, CA
- Car(s)
- 17 Sport, 99 E36
This is one thing I don't quite understand. The owners manual tells you to just start the car and drive, and outside of that causing the engine oil to heat up quicker, it also places more load on the engine. As far as I know, more load = more stress = you want the oil to be able to flow to the important bits when under load (which it can't do when it's cold I guess?). I am not an engineer, only a technician so maybe that's why I don't get it.
For awhile I was thinking this was due to not pressing the brake pedal hard enough, but now I totally think it has to do with button press time.
Recently with the temp drop in my area + some rain or heavy fog / dew, I've noticed that my first "grip" doesn't unlock the car and that I have to release and grip again for the unlock. Even when that isn't an issue, I'll still pull the handle as the car is unlocking and then have to pull it again to actually open it.
imthanick_a
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Ohio
Addressed these issues in my post that I was apparently writing at the same time you wrote this one haha. I in fact am an engineer, which in my work is where I have seen damage caused by improper lubrication. Idling isn't enough to get your oil temperature up to get the right viscosity in a good time frame. The oil stays cold much longer while not under load. It's not the initial stress of the components moving without warm oil, it's the duration of the stress which causes issues.
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Wrath And Tears
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Azusa, CA
- Car(s)
- 17 Sport, 99 E36
Dude, I think I love you right now!
imthanick_a
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Ohio
Haha thanks. I'm sure it's not a "don't ever let your car idle or the motor will explode" situation, but I prefer to not cause wear when I don't need to. I can handle the two minutes of cold while my car warms up driving to work.
Edit: I don't want people to take this as Bible. Again, I do not have any proof or experience with this exact topic. This is my input based on what I know about engines, engine oil, what I have read on the subject, and what I have seen in industry. My logic could be completely full of shit, who knows. I would be interested to see what an engineer in the automotive engine industry has to say about this topic. I come from the fluid system components industry so automotive industry is as familiar as a distant cousin that I only see on holidays.
Cheers
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Wrath And Tears
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Azusa, CA
- Car(s)
- 17 Sport, 99 E36
That makes sense, I just wasn't really sure how it all worked out in the end. Till your post I figured no load warm up was better for the car then normal driving load warm up. When explained that the wear is pretty similar till the oil gets warm, where the wear is then greatly reduced explains why getting the oil up to temp is important.
AtlantaDad
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- Cumming, GA
Why? Because he uses proper lubrication? Lmao
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Wrath And Tears
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Azusa, CA
- Car(s)
- 17 Sport, 99 E36
How did you know! Nothing like proper lube! kekeke
imthanick_a
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Ohio
"Honey, why is there a bottle of Castrol in the nightstand?"
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It’s also worth noting that in a cold engine the rings aren’t sealing well yet, so combustion byproducts are leaking out of the cylinders into the crankcase, contaminating the oil. The sooner an engine warms up, the better. And idling an engine using a remote starter is a very inefficient way to warm up an engine. That’s the beauty of having heated seats, you can drive off shortly after starting in the winter and not freeze your butt off!
Yep... I always start it, put my seat belt on, setup android auto, get some tunes going, and finally get the car moving. I have oil temperature set as my default view in the dash. Drive normally until temperature reaches 180°F. After that let the fun begin 
Wrath And Tears
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Azusa, CA
- Car(s)
- 17 Sport, 99 E36
Yep... I always start it, put my seat belt on, setup android auto, get some tunes going, and finally get the car moving. I have oil temperature set as my default view in the dash. Drive normally until temperature reaches 180°F. After that let the fun begin
I have a favorite radio station my car is always set to, and I use the performance monitor (oil temp, boost, g-force) and have the dash set to fuel economy so I can see how the different gears and rpm affect MPG, other then that I do everything the same!
takemorepills
Ready to race!
- Location
- USA
RE remote start, I have worked in the auto industry a LONG time. Not anymore, but I used to be an ASE tech many years ago.
Here's what I have generally observed:
The people concerned about the most minutiae of perceived wear or damage to their prized possession (their car) are the ones spending BIG bucks to detail it, baby it and/or use synthetic oils (or use only a certain gas station) are usually the ones who end up with a wrecked car sooner than later. Seriously, I swear the guys obsessing about their cars seem to wreck them at a higher rate.
I have seen SO many cars just flat-out neglected for hundreds of thousands of miles that run fine. Civics with valve covers fully packed with sludge that the valvetrain has carved out spaces for itself, 300K mile Toyotas owned by people who rarely change their oil and didn't even realize that cars need regular service.
With modern tech in cars pretty much driving consumer car buying trends now, for example, your infotainment is so outdated you *NEED* (want) to buy the newest car to get upgraded tech, why would anyone care if a remote-start reduces the life of a vehicle by some fractional amount?
Honda is including remote start on MOST of their cars/trims nowadays. My co-workers mid-level non-leather 2016 Civic has remote start.
I've used remote start on my truck for 10 years without issues. It can even start the vehicle to maintain the battery.
At this point, in owning my Mk7 GTI, the prospect of one of my LP headlights ($1200) or my sunroof seal ($1500) failing out-of-warranty is a much more REAL issue than some slight engine wear in my mind. All kinds of stuff is going to make you want to get rid of your Mk7 LONG before the engine goes bad 1 week earlier/500 miles sooner than it would have without remote start. You know, when the car is technically "ancient" and all of the "cool" doo-dads have all stopped working.....
Here's what I have generally observed:
The people concerned about the most minutiae of perceived wear or damage to their prized possession (their car) are the ones spending BIG bucks to detail it, baby it and/or use synthetic oils (or use only a certain gas station) are usually the ones who end up with a wrecked car sooner than later. Seriously, I swear the guys obsessing about their cars seem to wreck them at a higher rate.
I have seen SO many cars just flat-out neglected for hundreds of thousands of miles that run fine. Civics with valve covers fully packed with sludge that the valvetrain has carved out spaces for itself, 300K mile Toyotas owned by people who rarely change their oil and didn't even realize that cars need regular service.
With modern tech in cars pretty much driving consumer car buying trends now, for example, your infotainment is so outdated you *NEED* (want) to buy the newest car to get upgraded tech, why would anyone care if a remote-start reduces the life of a vehicle by some fractional amount?
Honda is including remote start on MOST of their cars/trims nowadays. My co-workers mid-level non-leather 2016 Civic has remote start.
I've used remote start on my truck for 10 years without issues. It can even start the vehicle to maintain the battery.
At this point, in owning my Mk7 GTI, the prospect of one of my LP headlights ($1200) or my sunroof seal ($1500) failing out-of-warranty is a much more REAL issue than some slight engine wear in my mind. All kinds of stuff is going to make you want to get rid of your Mk7 LONG before the engine goes bad 1 week earlier/500 miles sooner than it would have without remote start. You know, when the car is technically "ancient" and all of the "cool" doo-dads have all stopped working.....