A popular belief among car owners is that they need to let their car warm up for a few minutes before hitting the road. The idea behind this is to let the car’s engine come up to temperature by idling for a few minutes, all to protect the engine’s longevity and performance. The reality of things, however, is different. If you let your car idle for a few minutes, you’re not only wasting time, you’re also wasting valuable fuel.
It's a tip from the days of carbureted engines!
Whoever told you that you had to stop your car on a cold morning to “warm things up” might be stuck in a time warp. Before 1980, most cars had carburetors, and these engines had to be warmed up in the winter. Why? Carburetors regulated the air-fuel mixture inside the engine and could not precisely adjust the air-fuel ratio in cold weather.
Systems with Electric Injection
Nowadays, practically every car sold in Romania has an electric fuel injection system that helps maintain the perfect air-fuel mixture required for a combustion event, regardless of the ambient temperature. Therefore, warming up the car before driving on a cold day has become a thing of the past. Sensors in your car’s electronic fuel injection system adjust the air-fuel mixture in real time, regardless of the temperature outside.
Reasons to avoid idling in winter
Causes Engine Damage: Wondering why the check engine light is on? It may be due to engine damage from idling in the winter. “Breaking your car in the cold not only wastes fuel, but also wastes oil from the essential components that help the engine run, namely the cylinders and pistons.” Less oil means more friction, more wear and a shorter life for your engine.
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Starting in the 1980s, car manufacturers switched from using carburetors to a more advanced system – electric fuel injectors. As such, the car is equipped with sensors that measure the outside ambient temperature. This system allows the electric fuel injector to adjust the air-fuel mixture to account for cold weather.
Typically, an electric fuel injector will create a fuel-rich air-fuel mixture, releasing more gasoline, compensating for low evaporation levels.
De ce multi oameni cred ca încălzirea motoarelor la relanti este așa importanta iarna
Internal combustion engines work by mixing gasoline with air in the engine’s cylinders. Once the air-fuel mixture is compressed, the mixture is ignited by the spark plug, which moves the pistons. In years past, especially before the 1980s, a carburetor controlled the mixture of fuel and air. A disadvantage of the carburetor was its inability to precisely control the fuel in the air-fuel mixture.
This system allows the electric fuel injector to adjust the air-fuel mixture to account for cold weather.
Typically, an electric fuel injector will create a fuel-rich air-fuel mixture, releasing more gasoline, compensating for low evaporation levels.
With this in mind, when you let your car idle, you use more fuel with little or no benefit.