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Good morning from the Great White North. For those of you in the southern states, to keep you aware of how good you (and your cars) really have it, this morning it's minus 31 degrees F here, and with a windchill of -54F:eek:
I have a block heater and interior warmer (thank god) so the FB started up right away and ran without any problems.
Right at start up the power steering growls a bit, but quiets down within 10 sec and the engine idle stabilizes at 700 rpm (already warm from block heater) but shakes a bit more than on a warm day.
I don't spend any time warming up the car like some people do. The start their cars and let them idle for 10-15 min (or more) to warm them up. I don't. I start the car, let things stabilize a bit, and then drive it. I drive it very easily to allow things to warm up, and it takes a bit more power and rpm to get and keep the thing moving. The tires are so frozen that they have flatspots for the first couple of miles. Combine this with a suspension that practically refuses to move because the oil in the shocks/struts is so thick and the bushings are so hard, the ride is very harsh. Transmission shifts are painfully slow (A4) to the point that the car will actually loose a couple of mph during the shift! This is most certainly the is the biggest stiffy that I have to deal with in the morning.
But once everything warms up, things loosen up and smooth out and the car runs normally but definitely has bags more power. Engine temp doesn't get over 160 and the fuel economy is definitely not as good. The heating temperature is dialed to the full hot position and it's just enough to keep the interior warm, but not hot.
It amazes me that this car (and most others for that matter) can operate in temperatures ranging from +120F to -40F with the reliability and ease that it does.
As I have done with all of my cars before, I'm thinking of blocking off the airflow to the radiator cause if I let the car idle for a long period of time the temp does eventually get to 210F, but as soon as I start to drive it, it drops back to 160. I'm most worried that I'm not burning off all the moisture in the oil at this temperature and that's really not a good thing. I need a minimum of 180F. If I can get the temp to stay at 210F both fuel economy and interior heat will get better.
I have a block heater and interior warmer (thank god) so the FB started up right away and ran without any problems.
Right at start up the power steering growls a bit, but quiets down within 10 sec and the engine idle stabilizes at 700 rpm (already warm from block heater) but shakes a bit more than on a warm day.
I don't spend any time warming up the car like some people do. The start their cars and let them idle for 10-15 min (or more) to warm them up. I don't. I start the car, let things stabilize a bit, and then drive it. I drive it very easily to allow things to warm up, and it takes a bit more power and rpm to get and keep the thing moving. The tires are so frozen that they have flatspots for the first couple of miles. Combine this with a suspension that practically refuses to move because the oil in the shocks/struts is so thick and the bushings are so hard, the ride is very harsh. Transmission shifts are painfully slow (A4) to the point that the car will actually loose a couple of mph during the shift! This is most certainly the is the biggest stiffy that I have to deal with in the morning.
But once everything warms up, things loosen up and smooth out and the car runs normally but definitely has bags more power. Engine temp doesn't get over 160 and the fuel economy is definitely not as good. The heating temperature is dialed to the full hot position and it's just enough to keep the interior warm, but not hot.
It amazes me that this car (and most others for that matter) can operate in temperatures ranging from +120F to -40F with the reliability and ease that it does.
As I have done with all of my cars before, I'm thinking of blocking off the airflow to the radiator cause if I let the car idle for a long period of time the temp does eventually get to 210F, but as soon as I start to drive it, it drops back to 160. I'm most worried that I'm not burning off all the moisture in the oil at this temperature and that's really not a good thing. I need a minimum of 180F. If I can get the temp to stay at 210F both fuel economy and interior heat will get better.
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