How to warm up a car on a frosty morning. Is it necessary to warm up the car in winter before a trip Is it necessary to warm the engine in winter
With the advent of cold weather, motorists are interested in: how much do you need to warm up the car in winter? And when to warm up - in motion or in place. We will tell you how to properly warm up a car in winter and how long to warm it up cold engine- how many minutes and to what temperature.
Points for and against
Proponents of warming up argue that a cold engine is more susceptible to mechanical wear. When testing a cold engine, no noticeable wear was noticed. This is due to the fact that in motion, i.e. under load, it warms up faster and reaches the optimal operating mode.Why do motorists continue to warm up the engine in winter? This is a habit and experience of bygone years. In the past, a cold engine was warmed up to reduce wear. This is not required now. Modern motors warm up quickly, prolonged warm-up is an excess of the past.
Note that when the car warms up before driving, the spark plugs suffer. At this point, the air-fuel mixture is re-enriched, i.e. it contains a large amount of gasoline. This leads to a bay and, consequently, to an early replacement of candles.
The question remains: How does a car drive with a cold engine? Modern cars are equipped with an injection system that independently changes the parameters of the motor, depending on the situation. Those. electronics will do the rough work of warming up for you. The only rule that must be observed is not to spin the motor to the maximum speed and try not to give it maximum loads. This is necessary for warming and reaching the operating characteristics of process fluids: motor oils, lubricants, fuels.
How many minutes to warm up the car
Modern cars do not need to warm up for a long time, three to five minutes are enough to drive quietly and not worry about increased wear. The engine warms up faster while driving than when idling. Let's figure out how long it takes to warm up a car at a certain air temperature.From + 5 o to 0 o 1-2 minutes are enough. At this temperature, the windows of the car have not yet had time to be covered with ice, so a long warm-up is not needed.
At temperatures from 0 o to minus 10 o - it takes approximately 2-3 minutes. During this time, the engine will reach operating temperature, all technical fluids will warm up for further movement. In turn, it will take at least 5 minutes to warm up the car interior.
At temperatures from -10 o to minus 20 o - the warm-up time is from 3 to 5 minutes. At this temperature, the windows of the car may freeze and until they warm up, further travel is dangerous. The best option is to wait 2-3 minutes, and then turn on the stove and wait another couple of minutes until the car windows are defrosted.
At a temperature of minus 20 ° and below - warming up should be at least 5 minutes. Sufficient time depends on the technical condition of the vehicle. The more modern the machine and the better the stove works, the less time. To warm up technical fluids, no more than 5 minutes is enough, for the cabin - at least 10 minutes.
What to do if you do not want to wait a long time for the engine to warm up? In this case, an alarm with auto start (or a Webasto system) helps. Without leaving the house, they start the engine from the key fob, and while getting dressed and leaving the house, the car will be warmed up.
How to determine that the engine is warm? The engine has an operating temperature range and the criterion is the minimum temperature of the operating range, not the idling time. This is due to thermal gaps in the motor parts. They come to an acceptable rate only at the minimum temperature from the operating range. After that, the motor can safely take the load.
What happens if you don't warm up the car? If you drive carefully, without exceeding the engine speed above 2000-2500, nothing bad will happen. A modern car with the help of an injector will warm itself up in the direction of travel. If these rules are violated, scuffing is possible inside the engine and, as a result, premature repairs, fuel consumption will increase sharply. It happened that on an unheated car in severe frosts, oil seals and other rubber seals were torn off.
From experience I will say: 90 degrees is rather the optimal temperature for engine operation in all operating modes. And its operating temperature fluctuates from 60 degrees, so 3-5 minutes of warming up will not be superfluous. And 5 minutes is the maximum time. This refers to the warming up of the car itself, and not the interior.
Helpful Hints
Each new generation of drivers is wondering if it is worth warming up the car before setting off, especially after a long idle car.
Many environmentalists believe that if the car is in a parking lot, then you should start driving immediately after starting the car. Thus, less poisonous gases will be released into the atmosphere.
We can agree with environmentalists, especially considering that when driving, the engine warms up faster and fuel is burned more efficiently. However, it is worth noting that this method can affect the health of the engine, and not for the better.
Car companies reassure car owners, believing that after they start the car, they need to go right away, since everything was calculated at the factory and the engine can work quite normally in this mode.
In fact, this refers to the operation of the engine during the warranty period. After that, they are not responsible for the car.
Whether to warm up the car
Both in summer and winter, if you start the car and immediately go, the engine life is significantly reduced.
It is worth clarifying that for the most part, the operating temperature of car engines is 90 degrees or higher. That's the temperature they're designed for. This temperature allows the engine oil to better lubricate the gaps between the rubbing parts of the machine.
Even if it is +25 C outside, this is not enough for oil, which means that the engine still needs to be warmed up. Well, even more so in winter.
As a result, the answer to the main question is simple: you need to warm up the car.
Regarding the indignation of environmentalists, it is worth saying that in big city, where there are a lot of cars, the main air pollutants are not exhausts, but dust from the rubber of the wheels, which is erased on the asphalt, and abraded pads.
And in rural areas, warming up the car does little harm at all.
An interesting fact: Erwin Rommel, a German field marshal general and allegedly one of the conspirators of the assassination attempt on Hitler, always demanded that the troops warm up the engines for 10 minutes.
This rule even extended when he commanded troops in the deserts of Africa. As a result, his motorized troops showed, on average, a lower percentage of breakdowns compared to other troops.
Warming up the car in winter
How long does it take to warm up the engine?
If you are relatively new car, then it does not need to warm up for a long time. The average warm-up time is 3-5 minutes. It is worth noting that while driving, the engine warms up faster.
How long to warm up the car
* If the outside temperature from +5 to 0 С, then the warm-up time is 1-2 minutes.
* At air temperature from 0 to -10 C, engine warm-up time 2-3 minutes. Per given time all technical fluids will have time to warm up.
But to warm up the interior of the car at this temperature, you need 5 minutes or even a little more.
* If outdoors from -10 to -20 С, then it is worth warming up the car 3-5 minutes. In such a frost, the windows of the car freeze, which means that it will take a few more minutes to defrost them. Nai the best option ohm will warm up the engine first, and then start defrosting the windows.
* If the air temperature below -20 C, then it is worth warming up the engine at least 5 minutes, maybe a little longer. This time depends on the technical condition of the machine. A more modern car means less warm-up time.
In this case, the interior should be warmed up from 10 minutes or more.
Do I need to warm up the car (video)
How to warm up the car (video)
Warming up a diesel car
The best option is to warm up the engine in winter - from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the air temperature. The colder it is outside, the longer it takes to warm up.
In summer, the diesel engine warm-up time is 1-2 minutes.
After warming up (at an engine temperature of 40-50 degrees), the oil liquefies, the parts in the engine heat up, and the fuel in the cylinders burns out completely.
When you have warmed up the engine, start a smooth movement. While driving, the engine warms up faster to the desired temperature.
It is also worth noting that it is worth warming up not only the engine, but also the transmission. This applies to an automatic transmission, where a special transmission oil.
Automatic transmission warming up
Warm up automatic box gear is necessary so that it lasts longer. To warm it up you should:
1. Warm up the engine.
2. After the engine has warmed up, apply the brakes and put the transmission into "Drive" mode (D).
3. Wait 2 minutes.
4. Start moving smoothly and start moving several kilometers at a speed of no more than 50 km/h.
How to warm up the automatic transmission
How to warm up a car with automatic transmission (video)
Most of our country is located in latitudes where the temperature in winter drops below zero, sometimes significantly. The operation of vehicles at this time, as a rule, does not stop. It is generally accepted that in the cold, a car engine needs a certain warm-up, although there are opponents of such an action. What is the actual situation, is it necessary to warm up the engine in winter, if so, why, and how to do it right?
Modern cars
Today, gasoline and diesel cars are equipped with engines with a complex fuel supply system equipped with injection injection. If we compare them with the engines of carbureted machines, the power units have undergone many changes. Injection engines are more technologically advanced, they have an advanced fuel supply mechanism, the materials themselves from which engines are made have changed, oils, coolants have also evolved.
How the injector works:
A serviceable one in sub-zero temperatures normally works normally immediately after start-up, that is, theoretically, it is permissible to start movement immediately. But many car owners believe that engine warm-up is needed - from a small one, for a couple of minutes, to full, with the engine reaching operating temperature.
Technical manuals for injection vehicles basically state that warming up the engine before driving is not necessary. Car manufacturers argue this for several reasons:
- engines are made of high-quality materials that tolerate the “minus” overboard;
- technical fluids are made taking into account weather conditions (the main thing is to fill the engine with the right oil!), and allow you to start moving in a gentle mode immediately;
- when driving at low speeds, the fluid and the engine warm up evenly.
The engine resource, according to representatives of the automotive industry, does not suffer much at the same time.
This is partly true - technology does not stand still, engines are constantly improving. But there is another factor, because of which automakers are against warming up the engine.
Interestingly, one of the reasons for such statements is the influence of regulatory authorities on the auto industry, including environmental protection services. It is known that warming up the engine at idle takes longer than in motion, more fuel is consumed, and the amount of harmful emissions also increases. And the catalytic converter, which should neutralize those, is included in the work only when a certain temperature is reached. Therefore, it is proposed to warm the engine on the go, as it is less harmful to nature.
In some states, legislation has been introduced to regulate this issue. So, in a number of European countries there are bans on:
- long engine idle;
- warming up the engine or long periods of inactivity in parking lots and within residential areas.
If the police find a violation of the ban, the car owner will face a large fine.
When considering these laws, it should be borne in mind that:
- in the Russian Federation, similar, strict environmental standards for engines have not yet been adopted;
- natural conditions are often more severe;
- the main task for many motorists is to keep the engine in good condition, since the car in our country continues to be, to a certain extent, a luxury, and major repairs (or replacement of the car), unlike the current one, are not available to all car owners.
Interesting: in the regions of the Far North, where temperatures drop below 50 degrees in winter, turning off the engine is tantamount to the death of the power unit: it is very difficult to “revive” a frozen engine with iced liquids, especially if there is no warm box. Therefore, in especially cold seasons, cars are not jammed there for days and weeks. The vehicle must be specially prepared to withstand such a long operation without interruption in extreme conditions.
Arguments "for" warming up
The ideas of supporters of warming up the engine can be expressed in the following list:
- Warming up prolongs the life of the engine. In addition to viscous oil, there is such a thing as thermal contraction of the metal: in the cold, it contracts, and the gaps between the metal components of the engine increase. The oil, remaining thick, does not allow creating the necessary pressure in the line, and the engine parts are in a state of oil starvation for some time, which causes increased wear, which increases even more if you start moving immediately. There is an opinion that one cold start of the engine is equal to 100 km. normal mileage.
- Difference between engine oil and engine coolant temperatures. So when the cool in car engine warmed up to optimal 90 degrees, engine oil still relatively cold (about 50 degrees) and will need time to reach operating temperature. And the latter is critical for the normal operation of the internal combustion engine, so it is better to wait and warm up the engine in winter to a temperature of at least 4-5 degrees.
Arguments against"
Supporters of the decision to stop the practice of warming up the engine argue their position with the following arguments:
- Manufacturers recommendations - car manuals advise you to go right away, and many prefer to stick to this.
The basis of the opinion why it is impossible to warm up car engines in winter is the assumption that the manufacturer would never deliberately indicate something harmful to the vehicle in the instructions, especially if it concerns well-known and large car brands. After all, an accelerated failure of the engine leads to its repair under warranty, which is unprofitable for the plant.
This is true, but in part. If you look closely at the terms of the car warranty, often it is only 100-150 thousand km. run. And such a mileage is able to drive without major breakdowns, even a car that is operated in harsh conditions. There may be situations when there is a separate warranty for engines, but even here, in the event of a breakdown, it will be difficult to prove that it was the line in the manual with the recommendation not to warm the engine that was to blame.
There is an opinion from the field of “conspiracy theories” that automakers deliberately advise not to warm up the engine in order to force motorists to make repairs, purchase spare parts, etc. Of course, modern cars are made not by engineers, but by marketers, and the principle of “programmed failure” has successfully migrated from the automotive industry to many areas. But still, this seems unlikely, since they will simply stop buying equipment that breaks down quickly, because a car is not a kettle, and is purchased for several years. If the engine starts to frankly “crumble”, they will simply get rid of the car, and the model will receive a negative review, which will affect the reputation of the brand as a whole.
- The quality of engine materials and oils.
This point was discussed above - it is believed that the metal of engines, other components and liquids are adapted for a “cold start”, the main thing is not to “turn” the engine immediately, moving smoothly, and there is no need to warm up the engine even in winter before the trip.
- Reduced fuel consumption.
The argument is obvious: the less the car idles, the less fuel the engine will burn. In addition, emissions of harmful substances will also decrease.
- The engine heats up faster while driving.
This is true, any car owner can verify the correctness of the statement in practice. Under moderate load, the engine will reach operating temperature much faster. What is especially true if not preheater, creating a comfortable, and for the driver in the cabin in advance. But it is still not recommended to start off immediately in the cold.
- Incorrect operation of the engine ignition in cold idling.
Modern engines equipped with electronic sensors are guided, among other things, by the outboard temperature, adjusting the ratio of air and fuel supplied to the engine. In a cold engine, gasoline evaporates worse, and the fuel mixture is not optimal in composition. To compensate for this, the engine ECU gives a command to add gasoline to the combustion chamber until the engine warms up to at least 4-5 degrees.
It turns out that with a long "idle" warm-up, the engine gains temperature more slowly, while not being under load. At the same time, excess fuel does not burn out, settling on the surfaces of the engine cylinders, which can later cause various problems, including in the lubrication system. Especially harmful is the regular "cold" warm-up until the engine reaches full operating temperature.
carbureted cars
The myth about the need for a long "full" warm-up of the engine came from an era when all cars were carbureted. The power supply system of such an engine is simpler: the composition of the fuel mixture does not change electronically "on the go" in accordance with the readings of the sensors, but is set by the carburetor setting. And until the engine reaches operating temperature, the quality of the fuel mixture remains suboptimal, the power plant is unstable, with failures, and may even stall. This is where the common myth comes from that any car needs to be warmed up completely, and only after that start moving.
There are fewer and fewer vehicles equipped with carburetors, but they still go on Russian roads, especially for samples of the domestic auto industry.
Scheme of work:
Important: the engine, where the mixture is regulated by the carburetor, must be warmed up in the cold.
So is it worth warming up the engine
From all of the above, we can conclude: if you have a car with a carburetor engine, you need to warm it up until the engine reaches normal temperature, and, preferably, outside the winter period. Is it worth warming up a car engine in winter if it is a gasoline injector or a diesel engine?
Modern cars do not need a long warm-up: it is enough to let the engine run for 5-15 minutes (and in winter this is just enough to shake off the snow from the car, wipe the headlights). The engine will warm up a little and slightly drop the speed from “warm-up” to close to normal, the oil will also become less viscous and will be able to provide the proper quality of lubrication. After that, you can gently start moving without overloading the engine unnecessarily in the first minutes.
Diesel engines
The issue of warming up diesel engines is separate, due to the characteristics of diesel fuel. Car owners with power plants know that in the cold it is more difficult to start a diesel engine than a gasoline one. This difficulty arises from the tendency of diesel fuel to thicken in the cold: it becomes viscous, poorly sprayed by engine injectors and ignites reluctantly.
There are several varieties of DT:
- summer diesel fuel designed for air temperatures from 0 degrees and above;
- winter, suitable for work in conditions up to -30 degrees;
- arctic, for the extreme cold of the Far North.
Most of the problems of starting a diesel engine for car owners with such are associated with the wrong choice of diesel grade: in winter, summer fuel is poured into the tank.
To facilitate starting, there are pre-heating systems (“webasto”, etc.), which allow eliminating many “winter” problems with diesel engines. At the same time, it is important not to forget to pour the correct grade of diesel fuel into the tank.
Important: similar systems are offered for injection and carburetor engines, their use can also be useful.
The device of the Webasto system:
The rest of the technique is standard: you need to let the engine run for a few minutes, and if everything is in order, you can hit the road. Some rules for warming up the engine are set out below.
Warm-up rules
Car owners have empirically deduced several rules regarding how much to warm the engine:
- at temperatures from 0 to +5 degrees, it is enough to warm the engine for 1-2 minutes. Glasses in such conditions do not have time to freeze, so there is no need to wait for the stove to reach operating temperature in order to heat the interior;
- from 0 to -10 it is worth warming up the engine for about 3 minutes. Technical fluids and engine metal will warm up to the minimum temperatures allowed for movement, but it may take more time to heat the interior;
- from -10 to -20 - it should take 3-5 minutes to warm up the engine. The windows of the car can freeze, and they should also be warmed up. Therefore, after warming up the engine, you need to turn on the stove and provide heat in the cabin to defrost the windows.
Important: do not turn on the stove at the same time as starting the engine! This will only increase the overall warm-up time.
- at temperatures below -20, it is necessary to warm the engine for 5 minutes, the specific time is determined individually, depending on the age and condition of the car. The more powerful the stove and newer machine the faster it warms up. On average, the engine heats up in about 5 minutes, the interior in 10.
After the start of the movement, it is impossible to sharply gas, “turn” the engine and give it heavy loads during the first 2-3 kilometers of the journey. Only after complete and, most importantly, uniform heating, obtained already in the direction of travel, power unit will be able to adequately perceive such actions, but if they are taken before, the metal parts that have not fully expanded after freezing will experience increased wear, the engine life will decrease.
An important note applies to other components of the machine. So, even if the engine was heated before starting to move, other elements (gearbox, steering mechanism parts, brake system) are still cold, and heat up already during operation. Cold damages the transmission, suspension, damper performance, rubber parts (including tires!) and seals tan, and all of them take some time to heat up. It is also necessary to start moving slowly and carefully for this reason - so as not to cause wear and sudden breakdown of other components of the machine.
On vehicles with before starting off, it makes sense to “warm up” the gearbox a little, switching the gearbox modes 1-2 times in turn with a delay of 2-3 seconds in each. This will help warm up the transmission oil and automatic transmission components, facilitating their further work.
- if the car is equipped with a hydraulic booster, this will disperse the power steering fluid in the system;
- in the case of an electric booster, the engine will receive additional load through the generator and warm up a little faster.
conclusions
So, the answer to the question of whether it is necessary to warm up the engine before a trip is still positive: yes, warm it up! But not for long, especially if it's modern vehicle With injection engine Long idling harms the engine no less than starting from a standstill “to a cold one”, and a slight warm-up with a slow and careful ride without “spinning up” to high speeds will help the engine to quickly reach the optimal mode, saving a resource. old carbureted engines it is desirable to warm up longer, until they fully reach the working temperature zone.
Turning on the stove at the same time as starting the engine in the cold is not worth it, this will significantly increase the total warm-up time. A good help to the car owner will be the engine preheating system, launched according to a schedule or remotely, by pressing a button on the key fob. It will ensure that the car is ready to drive, for example, while the driver is preparing to leave the house, thus reducing the time spent on warming up the engine.
For diesel cars be sure to use diesel fuel that is appropriate for the season.
The engine will be fully warmed up when all its parts and working fluids reach operating temperatures, that is, with a fixed mode of operation, they stop changing. The coolant warms up the fastest - this is the process that we see by changing the position of the arrow on the temperature gauge. It also warms up the details of the upper part of the engine (pistons, cylinders, head) - the pace is almost the same. But the oil in the pan heats up much more slowly. Where is this visible? Anyone who has an on-board computer has probably noticed that even after reaching the normal temperature of the coolant, fuel consumption at idle may decrease for some time. This is just due to the slow warming up of the oil. And finally, the converter heats up the longest, and with it the toxicity of the exhaust gases reaches the working level. But all warm-up rates depend on the engine operating mode.
RESISTANCE TO MOVEMENT
Why doesn't the engine like frost? main reason is that any motor oil thickens in the cold. And at certain temperatures it can stop flowing altogether. Mineral oils - already at minus 20 ... 25 ° С, the best synthetics - at minus 45 ... 55 ° С. As a result, the friction units work "dry", the power of mechanical losses increases sharply, which require excess gasoline. But when will the motor quickly reach the normal level of mechanical losses? If you stand and warm yourself, or if you go on the road immediately after launch? This will give an answer to the question of economy - after all, extra losses require additional fuel.
Let's check how much fuel a conventional injection engine eats with the same mileage, but different warm-up algorithms. A little about the patient. Net "European" 2005 release, 1.6 liters of working volume, declared as Euro-4. He spent his entire conscious life in Russia, but, apart from Maintenance, nothing was done in it. So, three warm-up programs. The first option is "grandfather's": fully warm up the engine and only after that go. The second - according to the instructions modern cars: "let it go and go." And the third one is the one that can most often be found: they started up, brushed off the snow, waved a shovel (in general, they pulled time), and we warm up the car already on the trip. On the street - minus 15. The battery is good, in the pallet - expensive synthetics. Mileage - from parking to work: it's about 5 kilometers, and without traffic jams! You can dream...
So, option 1. Let's start. The tachometer needle is set at "1200", the computer shows an instantaneous fuel consumption of 2.5 l / h. After a minute, the flow rate drops to 1.9 liters, after 10 minutes - to 0.9 liters. At the same time, visible changes in on-board computer end - the arrow on the temperature gauge does not even crawl up to 50 degrees and gets up tightly. For reliability, we wait another 10 minutes - fuel consumption decreases to 0.8 l / h, which is still more than the usual 0.6 observed when the entire engine is fully warmed up. best result can not be reached - let's go! We are driving in fixed mode, third gear, 50 km/h, there are no traffic lights on the road. Consumption on the computer - 6.4 ... 6.6 l / 100 km. In total, they spent 0.45 liters on warming up, about 0.33 liters on the road. Total - about 0.8 liters.
Option 2- sat down, wound up and immediately drove off. The car did not like it very much, and for a start it gave out a flow rate of more than 10 liters. Then he began to decline rapidly, but due to a short run, he did not crawl to the previous 6.5 - he stopped at 6.8 liters. Total spent only 0.45 liters. Plus saving 20 minutes of precious time. Savings, it seems, are there, but it seems impressive only at low runs.
Option 3- after starting, the engine was warmed up for 5 minutes, while the ice was scraped off the windows. We started with an idle consumption of 1.3 l / h. The beginning of the run was marked by the figure of 7.6 l / 100 km, by the end of the race they returned to 6.6. Total, taking into account the mileage - 0.55 liters. Better than the first, but slightly worse than the second.
IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
It is clear that the unwillingness of automakers to warm the car is not caused at all by concern for our wallet. The main argument is ecology. After all, modern toxicity standards Euro-4 and above impose severe restrictions on the content of toxic components in starting modes and during the warm-up period. So let's see what will happen to the toxicity before the neutralizer (in professional slang it is called "raw") and after (this is "dry" toxicity).
So, the "raw" toxicity during cold start is very large. The reason is the need for a sharp enrichment of the air-fuel mixture. The fuel should be evaporated, and with a large "minus" on the street, it does not really want to evaporate. And the air enters the cylinders cold, dense. This means that in order to compensate for the low volatility of the fuel and the low air temperature, much more gasoline must be poured. And what has not evaporated or has already evaporated in the process flies into the pipe. "TseO" and "TseAshi" - well, very big! And catalytic converters should crush them. But the trouble with most modern converters is that they work effectively only in a narrow range of temperatures and mixture composition. The temperature must be high, and the composition of the mixture must be stoichiometric, that is, there must be exactly as much air in it as is necessary for complete combustion of the fuel. Otherwise, the efficiency drops sharply.
It is curious that at low temperatures during the warm-up process, a higher concentration of toxic components can be observed behind the neutralizer than at the inlet! Where? Most likely, it is the gasoline that did not burn out on the first start-up cycles soars - it "sits" on the honeycombs of the active catalyst element. As it warms up, the efficiency of work increases, and, finally, the hot catalyst, with the working composition of the mixture, crushes almost all toxicity. In other words, in starting conditions and during warm-up, if a modern externally heated catalyst is not used, the toxicity of an engine with a converter will not differ much from its earlier counterpart, which does not have one. Therefore, the main task is to bring the temperature of the active zone of the catalyst into the operating range as soon as possible.
The converter is heated by the flow of exhaust gases, and the faster, the greater their consumption and temperature. But when the process has begun in it, it begins to warm up itself - the afterburning of toxic components proceeds with the release of energy. Therefore, the temperature in the active zone of the operating catalyst is higher than that of the exhaust gases. Our experiment showed that even with normal temperature in boxing, at minimum speed idle move, the neutralizer does not enter the operating mode! Especially in the cold. Therefore, it will not work to suppress toxicity in the warm-up mode, if you warm up the engine in the parking lot: it means you need to move.
What is the difference in emissions? The initial content of CH is very high, under 1000 ppm, which, however, is expected. As the engine warms up, it begins to slowly decrease. But even after 20 minutes of warm-up, when the temperature of the coolant has already reached the operating level, the content of residual hydrocarbons remains high - about 180 ppm. - it warmed up, but the converter is cold, it works inefficiently.
Now we are trying to warm up the motor immediately under load, simulating the second warm-up option. The beginning is the same, but the pace is different: at the end of the race, the output was somewhere around 15…20 ppm. The neutralizer worked! It looks like there is an answer...
But not everything is so simple! We looked at the relative concentrations of toxic components, but we breathe in their absolute values, that is, not in “peeps”, but in grams and kilograms! That is, these concentrations must be multiplied by the consumption of exhaust gases. At idle during warm-up, it was about 15 kg / h, but when driving, if taken on average, it will be about 80! We multiply one by the other and we get: when warming up in the parking lot, along with the further road, we rewarded nature with a number of grams of residual hydrocarbons, almost twice as much as when driving immediately after launch (4.5 grams versus 2.8).
But the third option - when we warmed up a little, and then went - gave an even greater reduction in the absolute emission of CH: up to 2.1 grams. By the way, in this variant, when driving for 5 km, we threw out a little more than a gram of CH, which is close to the Euro-4 standards.
The figures are very indicative and generally understandable. When driving on a cold engine, we work for a long time at high toxicity, while the consumption of exhaust gases is high. And blowing the converter with cold air while driving also slows down its warming up. When warming up in the parking lot, the converter does not reach its normal mode, but when you start driving at high costs, it quickly begins to effectively extinguish toxicity. And with a short initial warm-up, the engine doesn’t have time to pretty much “harm” even in the parking lot, and when warming up in motion, it works much better: after all, it has already gained some kind of temperature. Here is the result.
But what we did not take into account. A car stinking in a parking lot envelops the space around it with a cloud of smoke, and it is disgusting to live there ... And a moving one, as it were, blurs its “good” over space. Globally, it turns out to be comparable, and at a single point, the damage from one moving car is several times less. But after all, one or two carriages are puffing at the same time in the parking lot, and crowds of them are crawling along the road ...
DEATH TO THE MOTOR...
Only the lazy did not write about the fact that it grows sharply during start-up and warm-up. Not so long ago, a bearded professor from the screen convinced people that one cold start is equal to 100 km of run! Of course, he knows better, but we would never give such EXACT figures - they are completely different. And the motors are different, and the temperatures overboard, and the oils poured into the sump, and the mileage with which they are compared can also be either outside the city or in city traffic jams. Therefore, in our opinion, the equivalent of 20 to 200 km is more fair: the main thing is the trend. And it is important that movement without warming up does not allow engine parts to prepare to receive heavy loads. They have a bad time - and not only bearings.There is such a detail in the motor - a piston, and grooves are cut on its side surface so that piston rings put. So, these grooves are the most sensitive to loads and are the first to collapse when they become excessive. And this is exactly the situation here. If you immediately start and even skid a little, getting out of a snowdrift, the load on the motor will immediately become large. Heat flows from the working fluid heat up the piston crown quickly, and the groove zone touches the cold cylinder, which is slightly warmer than antifreeze. There are large temperature differences, and with them - exorbitant stresses. And a piston without grooves is no longer a piston ... And the better the engine warms up, the less danger of such a disaster.
But what about automakers? They know everything, but frankly, they don't care. The motor must go out of warranty, then be sold and shipped somewhere in the third world. Otherwise, the market will overstock. Recommendations dance from there - ecology is primary, savings are also somewhere out there, and the resource - who is interested in it?
STILL WARM!
We believe that the third option is the most preferable. And in terms of fuel economy, it is acceptable, and in terms of toxicity, it is generally the best. The preheated engine is ready to take on loads and well protected from wear. By the way, in fact, we most often follow this recommendation: the engine heats up while the windows are scraped off and snow is swept away ...And one more thing ... Suddenly you have to rev sharply on a completely cold engine - you never know how the situation on the road will turn out? And here it’s easy to fly into a very bad situation - the valves can hang and meet the piston, or the liners will turn
In order to answer this question, let's imagine that you need to wake up early in the morning to start running a marathon right from home. What will be your course of action? It is unlikely that you will immediately run out of the house for a marathon as soon as you wake up, is it? A similar situation with a car, but only partly similar - in fact, it is not necessary to warm up the car engine in the summer on most modern models, at least their operating instructions tell us about this. But the opinions of auto professionals and experienced drivers on this matter differ when it comes to warm summers, although in the case of winter, opinions are almost the same - you need to warm up the car in winter.
So is it really necessary to warm up the car engine in the summer before driving in the morning? To answer this question, we again have to delve a little into the bins of the engine.
The indisputable fact is that the engine needs some time to build up normal operating oil pressure and for the aluminum pistons to expand from temperature and form an ideal gap between them and the cylinders. And the operating temperature of the engine is on average 90 degrees. Thus, it turns out that in summer we still need to warm up the engine, albeit not by 100-120 degrees, as in winter (if it is -30 - -10 degrees outside), but much less, but still required. On the other hand, in summer the engine warms up much faster than in winter, since the warm-up process does not accelerate uniformly, but exponentially - that is, the higher the initial temperature, the faster the car engine will warm up (for example, warming up from 0 to 40 degrees will take 1 minute , and warming up from 40 to 80 degrees - that is, for the same temperature difference - is only 30-40 seconds. Therefore, most opinions agree that it takes 1-3 minutes to warm up the engine in summer. That is, in principle, that time will be enough for you, defogged windows, check your mirrors and fasten your seat belts, then your engine will warm up and be ready to drive, but only soft and easy driving until you get to operating temperature.
However, all of the above is not entirely true for cars made 20 or so years ago, when cars were not equipped with automatic choke, they were carbureted. Cars today are all computerized, and warming up the engine in the summer actually takes place in a very short time - just a few minutes - what experts call "engine fully warmed up to operating temperature", which simply means that the car is in its ideal temperature environment. .
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