Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

There's an automotive question that's been bugging me for ages, of which I'm sure you guys have the answer to. This is the deal.

As far as my knowledge goes, one is not supposed to rev his engine when it's cold. The reason is that cold oil is thicker than warm oil, therefore quickly moving parts of the engine that need lubrication might experience problems with too thick lubricant and get damaged. Sounds good so far.

Then again, I often see how engines are being revved right away. People then say that as long as you do it when standing still it's no problem, since it's not the revs but the load that can damage a cold engine. That however contradicts the above reasoning.

So which story is right?
 
The former is more correct, though both have elements of truth.

General Motors, strangely, has spent billions of dollars over the years studying automotive wear patterns, human/car ergonomic interfaces, and pretty much everything about the automobile. They have the largest library of human-machine interface research in the world. The reason this is strange is because they never seem to actually use any of it.

Anyway, General Motors conducted several long term studies on what "cold start pattern" is best for an automobile engine. The conclusion they came to was that the best scheme for maximum engine life was to start the engine, let it idle for thirty seconds, then drive off using gentle acceleration to highway speeds until the engine is fully warmed up.

Cold revs are not great for an engine.
 
Thank you, that clears things up a bit.
 
Spectre said:
If so, I type corrected.

The TTB/TIB was truly terrible.
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Yeah the TTB or TIB died on the F-150 when they did the 1997 MY redesign. I worked on thousands of those trucks when I had my shop. The TTB did carry on for a couple of more years on the heavy duty F-series truck if they did not get a solid axle.
 
I have only just realised how much I want a new Fiesta. It really is just a joy to drive, and the clutch is like stepping on air compared to the commercial Kangoo's system. I'm so annoyed that my parents can't afford a new car (and that they bought the Kangoo so that the two young kids could have plenty of space).

That is my random thought for today.

Also in my lesson today I spun the wheels right in the middle of my local highstreet. Everyone looked, but we found it hilarious.
 
Speedtouch said:
I have only just realised how much I want a new Fiesta. It really is just a joy to drive, and the clutch is like stepping on air compared to the commercial Kangoo's system. I'm so annoyed that my parents can't afford a new car (and that they bought the Kangoo so that the two young kids could have plenty of space).

That is my random thought for today.

Also in my lesson today I spun the wheels right in the middle of my local highstreet. Everyone looked, but we found it hilarious.
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Face it, you're 17, what you need for a first car is the cheapest piece of shit you can find. Trust me, you're going to have far more fun in an 80's hatchback with a small engine, that in a new fiesta. + The added benefit of not constantly caring about the cars condition.

New fiestas are for grannies and academic "hip" young women. Bangers are for people who want to have fun.
 
^ I wouldn't say the new Fiesta is just for 'hip young women'. Thats the new 500 - IMO the Fiesta can be specced to either male or female ways.

But I guess you are right about 'having fun'. I just need a job, to top up the bank account, then I'll head to the used car market.
 
Posmo said:
Face it, you're 17, what you need for a first car is the cheapest piece of shit you can find. Trust me, you're going to have far more fun in an 80's hatchback with a small engine, that in a new fiesta. + The added benefit of not constantly caring about the cars condition.

New fiestas are for grannies and academic "hip" young women. Bangers are for people who want to have fun.
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I concur. I would have much rather had an 80's BMW with stick shift than the
volvo s40 I started with. It had automatic, and the worst tires and brakes on a car in the world.
 
^ Aw man an 80's BMW would be awesome. But alas we have something called 'insurance' to anally rape us here. 17yo male just passed? No lube for me.
 
Speedtouch said:
^ Aw man an 80's BMW would be awesome. But alas we have something called 'insurance' to anally rape us here. 17yo male just passed? No lube for me.
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Insure it in your parent's name? Im not sure how the system works there, but in here it's and excellent way of dodging insurance. If the cops stop yo, you're just "borrowing the car for going to the shops":)
 
^ In the UK every car is graded for insurance on a scale of 1 to 20. 1 Is your Lupos and Aygos, 20 is your Ferraris and Lambos. Insuring it as your parent's car does bring it down a lot - and its the way everyone does it, but even so for a young driver you don't really want to go above Insurance group 7 (for a group 7 car with 2 parents and a 17yo its about ?1000 a year, but that can vary on the engine size etc). For my parent's Kangoo (group 5), I apparently doubled the insurance costs by simply being on it. Its now about ?600pa.

Edit: You can look here at what insurance group a car is.

For a BMW E30 80s 316i - Group 12.
 
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I find that regulating engines on displacement is idiotic. A two liter rotary is going to be much more powerful, and "polluting", than a two liter four pot. Ditto when comparing a LS3 to BMW's new 4.something V8 (the LS3 gets better millage, produces less "pollution", is physically smaller, and more powerful). Then there is forced induction. Displacement is not the most defining engine characteristic.
 
argatoga said:
I find that regulating engines on displacement is idiotic. A two liter rotary is going to be much more powerful, and "polluting", than a two liter four pot. Ditto when comparing a LS3 to BMW's new 4.something V8 (the LS3 gets better millage, produces less "pollution", is physically smaller, and more powerful). Then there is forced induction. Displacement is not the most defining engine characteristic.
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So your insurance ratings are based on engine displacement? Ditto around here.
 
vikiradTG2007 said:
So your insurance ratings are based on engine displacement? Ditto around here.
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Nope (thank God). I just find it stupid when insurance companies/governments do this.
 
If anything I've noticed that more modern cars are cheaper to insure for us. I'm not sure what the groups are entirely based on, but I guess its something to do with engines and their efficiency, and not the car's value. For example:
A 1.1l MK3 Fiesta (group 4) is a lot more expensive to insure than a 1.25l brand spanking new one (group 1). A MK1 or 2 950cc Fiesta is even group 2! This country makes no sense.
 
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About the cold starts: Don't most cars automatically rev the engine at around 1k RPM above idle? I know my mom's Matrix does. It settles down to idle only after the oil temp is optimal. Now don't think I let the car sit and wait till the oil temp gauge gets to the middle, that's just stupid. :p
 
Yeah, some cars rev a bit higher after being started. Yet, my question rather pointed towards those who say that you can rev your engine to the redline right away, as long as you don't put actual load on it.

A lot of racing cars have warm-up programs where they're being revved up right away. I am aware that racing cars are a different matter, but their engines likely are more fragile than those of everyday cars, so my question stands for those, too.
 
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I know for a fact that F1 cars need to be fired up regularly and run at about less than 10k rpm (judging by the noise) in order to maintain the engines between sessions. 2 years ago, in Hungary, when I was there, between sessions, the teams kept firing up the cars in the garages (all three cars, including the spare car which was still allowed back then). Thing is, tolerances are a lot tighter in such an engine, and they need much higher temperatures to work normally (both the water and the oil need to be in the region of 90-100 degrees).
 
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