TonyDetroit

Okay, I'm in Michigan and cold is an understatement here. I have a manual 99.5 1.8T Q. I am curious as to how long (if any) you are supposed to let the car warm up. I know lots of people who go outside and start their cars and go back 15 minutes later. I heard that this is bad for the car, and that you should start the car, wait about a minute or so for the fluids, etc. to get to pressure and then drive at low RPM's until the car warms up. True or no?

Are there any special wipers or washer fluid that you guys use that work great in the winter?...melting snow or ice? Not getting frozen?

How about making a winter survival guide faq for us newbies? Some nice premium stuff that everyone should have in/on their car during these cold winter months....

Oh, and what should I do to protect my cars paint and finish from the salt that is presently covering the car?...other than wash it. Any special waxes? Has anyone used a clay bar...or do they prefer maguires 3 step??

thanks,
TD

f3d

uhm...i get in and go after a min...altho im prolly well on my way to a new turbo..

howmuchyabench

well, i am no major car guy, but i don't see how running it for fifteen minutes could hurt. What i have always been told is that you should not run your car hard if the engine temperature is not up, so if you want to run it hard i'd wait, otherwise i would just drive it nicely and get in after a minute or two

Andy Hedin

...and then drive "easy" until the coolant and oil temp come up to normal.

Idling the car for long periods of time isn't great for the following reasons:

1) Wastes gas
2) The separate components of the car don't warm up "together". Sure, the engine is nice and warm after idling. But the transmission doesn't really warm up much sitting at idle. Wheel bearings don't warm up at all sitting there at idle, neither does the rear diff.

As far as winter wiper blades go, I have a set of the Autobahn (Audi OEM brand) wiper blades that have worked great for me. I bought them a few years ago when I had my A4, and I now use them on my S4. I bought them from Clair Parts for something like $25 (I think). They are encased in rubber so they won't freeze up like the regular blades can.

AudiAddict B7

Hi Tony,

Where in Detroit are you? I'm in Warren.

Okay Warming up. Idling is not good for your car for 2 reasons

1. Oil pressure is lower so it does not circulate up top as it should. (if you leave your 1.8T idling long enough it will start to Tick)

2. The car takes longer to Warm up at idle and therefore, The longer the engine runs cold the harder it is on the engine.

The object is to get the oil warm and moving as quickly as you can without damaging anything.
Start the car, let it run for about 30 seconds then drive it as gently as you can. Try not to go above 2000 RPMS for the first five minutes then not above three thousand rpms until the temperature guage starts to move. Don't get into boost until the Oil pressure guage has move one notch.

The Side benefit is that the other components warm at the same rate. Remember that gearbox oil gets very thick at low temperatures and needs to warm up as well. The most important thing is the Turbo, at idle the turbo is doing no work so although the engine itself is warm the Turbo is still cooler, Jumping on the gas and suddenly going into boost will cause the different metals of the Turbo to 'Balloon' as they rapidly heat up which may lead to cracking later.

The owners manual for Saabs and Audi's both reccomend driving gently to warm up the car instead of letting it sit.

During the Winter it really pays to use a decent Synthetic Oil, MOBIL 1 or AmsOil 0w30 is a good choice since it flows very well at low temperatures (good low pour point).

Paint protection:

I love the Maguires three step process. The best way to protect the cars fnish during the winter is put at least three coats of Wax on before the winter hits. I usually Wax mine every weekend in November until it gets to cold.

As long as its above freezing I'll use a spray and wipe wax during the winter after its been washed to help keep the Salt from getting to the paint.

Winter Blades:

If you don't have em, get em. I hate having to get out of the car to clear the Ice from my wipers. I've used Winter Blades for four years now and I can't live without them.

One word of caution though. Some people say that you should not use them year round since they are heavier than normal blades and may strain the motor. Personally I don't see the problem, Wiper motors are pretty strong.

my 2c

Sam.

Robert F

... for my sake cause I don't wanna freeze!

Never had any problems at all. Got 53,000 miles now. Car uses virtually no oil in between changes which I do every ~3,333 miles. (Mobil 1 0w-40)

On the other hand when I can't go back inside after starting it I always drive away right away so as to stoke up the heat ASAP!

Marcalucci

for 15 minutes is a bad idea because the engine heats up really slow at 800 rpms. Most engine wear occurs on a cold engine because the oil is thick when it's cold. Lightly workink the engine will heat up the engine and the oil faster and the engine will be better lubricated sooner.